Singh-Patel triumph

March 1: The team of Brijinder Singh handicap 8 and Shailesh Patel 11 collected the highest 46 points to win the Soaring Hope-Pratt amp...

March 1: The team of Brijinder Singh handicap 8 and Shailesh Patel 11 collected the highest 46 points to win the Soaring Hope-Pratt amp; Whitney golf tournament at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club today.

The pair put up a splendid show, finishing their forward round with a card of 23. Kishore Thakker 15 and K K Raman 8 finished runners-up with 45 points. With 44 points, the team of DC Patel 8 and Vilas Chitnis 14 had to be content with the third place.

In this stableford event, the two-member team had to play to 70 per cent of their actual handicap, with the better ball counting for the score. In addition, the players were allowed to replay their shots, limited to 30 per cent of their handicap. But they were not allowed to replay their shots on the greens. Though they were allowed to replay their shots, many of the participants quite sportively preferred to carry on with their original strokes.

The best individual stableford score was registered by Ratan Bali 4. He finished with 40 pointsafter a gross round of par 70. His effort was studded with a total of six eagles and an equal number of birdies.

The best of the ladies was turned in by Rani Goenka-Maheshwari 15 with a score of 36.

The prize for the longest drive went to O Ravi while Ashok Goenka won a special prize for the most accurate shot, closest to the flag.

Many of the bosses from the corporate world, aviation industry and amateur golfers formed the list of 88 participants for the one-day invitaional extravaganza. Six golfers from Hardford, Connecticut USA also took part in the event.

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8220;It was a welcome change,8221; said one of the participants. 8220;It was a new concept. Wish we could have more.8221;

Apart from the unique format, the event also held some challenges for non-golfers, like the golf quiz contest which was won by Sunayara Bhargva and Jitender Bhargava.

Five shared the top spot in a putting competition which formed a part of the event. They were Smita Kapoor, Sandy Palmer, Vinita Vaidya, Bina Sidhu and MeetaMarwah.

Michael Mascarenhas, MD, Air-India gave away the prizes.