South India's largest amateur golf tournament - the Toyota Karnataka Golf Festival, kicked off to a great start yesterday with over 100 amateur golfers teeing off at one of the best golf courses in Asia, the Karnataka Golf Association.
David D'Souza, who clinched the top honours in the 2009 Golf Festival and went on to represent India in the World Golfers Championship in Spain, displayed great golfing prowess yet again to emerge the best individual golfer of the day with a score of 32 points.
Akshay Kilachand scored 34 points to win the top honours in the 0-5 handicap category for the day. With a handicap of 8, Krishna Prasad scored 37 points to win the 5 - 10 handicap category on day 1. A windy day at KGA also saw some stellar performances from Sandeep Kulhalli (36 points) who won the 11-15 handicap category and Vivek Rao (42 points) who emerged winner in the 16-20 handicap category. Sharad Junghare scored 39 points to emerge on top of the leader board on day 1 in the 21-24 handicap category.
Avinash Deoskar pocketed the Golf Commune Long Drive Challenge with a masterful stroke that landed the ball 310 yards away in Hole 9.
On the second day, Hitesh Joshi produced a brilliant performance and scored 33 points clocking the best individual score of the day.
Fresh from his successful outing at the Nomura Cup, Bangalore Boy Khalin Joshi justified his billing as one of India's best amateur golfers by topping his handicap category with a score of 38 points. Wing Commander S. R. Nair played well in the windy conditions to top the 6-10 handicap category with a score of 38 points. N Prakash scored 38 points to top the 11-15 handicap category and J S Ahluwalia emerged victorious in the 16-20 handicap category with a score of 36 points. Priyadarshi Harsha scored 37 points to top the 21-24 handicap category. The day's long drive challenge winner was L N Vittal who shot the ball 295 yards away to win the challenge on Hole 9.
While celebrities like Ashwini Ponnappa and Sujith Somasunder teed off on the first day of the Festival, Sharmila Nicollet and Nikita Ponnappa were present on day 2 to lend their support and add glitz and glamour to the Golf Festival. The stage is all set for an exciting golfing extravaganza with the likes of India's top amateur player Chikkarangappa and celebrities like Syed Kirmani, Venkatesh Prasad, Sunil Joshi and E. Prasanna lined up in action.
