Apart from the fact that it was an enjoyable morning for both amateurs and professional players, the pro-am was certainly a useful outing for the pros. Keeping in mind that there is a hectic and stretched season ahead, the professional golfers were out on the course to understand the conditions better before the business hours start tomorrow.
Gaganjeet Bhullar, heading home team Jaypee Greens Greater Noida , said, "Before the actual competition starts, it was really helpful for us to get to analyze the course better. There was a bit of humidity in the morning so the greens were slow, but towards the back nine as the temperature warmed up, greens were faster and putts were rolling better. I'm hoping to shoot some low numbers after making 9 birdies today in the warm up round. This will carry my team into the semi-finals."
Shubhkamna Noida's Jeev Milkha Singh added, "It's always good to have a serious practice session on a course I am not familiar with. You get to work on your targets off the tee, distance judgement, club selection and the best angle of approach into the flag. The key focus is to get into the top four spots after two rounds and play in the semi-finals so we have a shot at the title. I have a young team who are capable of shooting low numbers. I think I have an advantage because whereas most of the players on the domestic circuit are just starting their season with this tournament, I have already had our weeks on the European Tour and after my 10th place finish in Dubai a week ago, my game is already tuned in."
Among those seen swinging on the greens included actor and avid golfer Madhavan, legendary Kapil Dev, cricketers Syed Kirmani, Madan Lal and Murali Kartik, shooter Mansher Singh, comedian Papa C J, cricket commentators Charu Sharma and Nikhil Chopra , former Indian Hockey team Captain Ashish Ballal & top ranked lady golfer Gauri Monga. The highly anticipated event provided an opportunity for the pro golfers to get to know the course better and the amateur golfers got a chance to pick up valuable pointers to improve their game.
Team of 2011 Singapore Classic champion Himmat Rai and amateur golfers Manav Sardana, Aman Sawhney, and Nikhil Mehra came out on top with a brilliant total of 21 under par score of 51 played in a four man team format while Kapil Dev triumphed in closest to pin contest. Film actor R Madhavan hit the ball 308 yards to win the Turkish Airlines Longest Drive contest.
Participating teams with details:
Ahmedabad
1. Mithun Perera
2012 PGTI Rank - 4
Winner, 2012 Standard Chartered Open
Winner, 11th TATA Open (2012)
2. Vinod Kumar
2012 PGTI Rank - 8
Winner, 10th TATA Open (2011)
Winner, PGTI Players Championship, Aamby Valley
3.Vikrant Chopra
Runner up, 2011 BILT Open
2nd Runner up, 2011 CG Open
Runner up, PGTI Players Championship, Coimbatore GC
Bangalore
1. Anirban Lahiri
2012 Asian Tour Rank - 10
Winner, 2012 SAIL SBI Open & 2011 Panasonic Open (Asian Tour)
Tied 31st in his debut at the British Open Championship, England
2.Manav Jaini
2012 PGTI Rank - 10
Winner, 2011 SRF All India Matchplay C'ship
2nd runner up, 2012 BILT Open
3.O P Chouhan
2012 PGTI Rank - 7
Winner, 2012 PGTI Players Championship, Oxford G & CC
Winner, 2012 PGTI Players Championship, Golden Greens G & CC
Chandigarh
1.Ajeetesh Sandhu
2012 PGTI Rank - 6
Winner, 2012 DLF Masters
2nd runner up, PGTI Players Championship, Noida GC
2.Harendra P Gupta
2012 PGTI Rank - 3
Winner, 2012 CG Open & PGTI Players C'ship, Chandigarh GC
Runner up, 2012 Indian Oil Masters
3.Sujjan Singh
32nd Rank on Asian Tour debut season (2011)
Winner, 2012 Taman Dayu Open, Indonesia with record score -22 under par
Winner, 2011 PGTI Players C'ship, Oxford G& CC
Chennai
1.Mukesh Kumar
2012 PGTI Rank - 5
Winner, 2012 Indian Oil Masters & PGTI Players C'ship, Poona Club
Winner of over 70 Indian Pro Titles
2.Anura Rohana
Winner, 2011 Global Greens Bangalore Open
Winner, 2012 PGTI Player's C'ship, Prestige Golfshire
Runner Up, 2010 Haryana Open
3.Khalin Joshi
Ranked No 1 Amateur Golfer (2012)
Winner at 2012 PGTI Pro Qualifying School
Members, Asia Pacific Team for Michael Bonallack Trophy, Portugal (2012)
Represented India - World Amateur Team C'ship, Eisenhower Trophy (2012)
Delhi
1.Himmat Rai
Winner, 2011 Singapore Classic (Asian Tour)
2012 Asian Tour Rank - 46
Winner, 2011 DLF Masters
2.Rashid Khan
2012 PGTI Rank - 2
Asian Games 2010 Silver Medallist
Ranked 11th in 2010 World Amateur Rankings
3.Shamim Khan
2012 PGTI Rank - 1
3 victories in 2012 PGTI
Top 10 finishes on PGTI in 2012 - 18
Greater Noida
1.Gaganjeet Bhullar:
2012 Asian Tour Rank - 5
Highest Indian in the World Rankings (Dec '12)
Winner, 2012 Macau Open & TPC (Taiwan) (Both Asian Tour)
2.Sanjay Kumar:
2012 PGTI Rank - 12
Runner Up, 2012 Standard Chartered Open, Colombo
Winner, 2011 PGTI Players C'ship, Jaipur
3.R Murthy:
2012 PGTI Rank - 19
2012 top 10's - 5
Gurgaon
1.Jyoti Randhawa:
First Indian to win Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2002
Winner of 8 Asian Tour titles
2012 Asian Tour Rank - 30
2.Digvijay Singh:
2012 PGTI Rank - 15
Winner, 2012 Panasonic Open India (Asian Tour)
2nd runner up at 2010 Aircel PGTI Players C'ship presented by Oxford G & CC
3.Abhinav Lohan:
2012 PGTI Rank - 13
Seven Top 10 finishes on PGTI in 2012
Runner up, 2012 PGTI Players C'ship, Golden Greens G & CC
Kolkata
1.Rahil Gangjee:
Winner, 2004 Volkswagen Masters, China
3 Top 25's in 2011 Web.com Tour season
2.Chiragh Kumar:
2011 PGTI Order of Merit Winner
Winner, 2011 BILT Open
Winner, 2010 LG Masters of PGTI
3.Shankar Das:
2012 PGTI Rank - 9
Winner, Indian Oil Masters (2011 and 2010)
Six Top 10 finishes on PGTI in 2012
Noida
1.Jeev Milkha Singh:
Winner, 2012 Scottish Open (European Tour)
Winner, Lifetime Achievement Award at Asia Pacific Golf Summit in 2012
Two-time Asian Tour number one in 2006 and 2008
Four European Titles, Four Japan Tour Titles, Six Asian Tour Titles
2.Ashok Kumar:
2010 PGTI Order of Merit No 1
Winner, 9th TATA Open (2010)
Winner, 2010 DLF Masters
3.Abhijit Singh Chadha:
2012 PGTI Rank - 14
Winner, 2012 Surya Nepal Masters
Top 10 finishes on PGTI in 2012 - 8
