Kolkata, Jan 22 (Inditop.com) The excitement was on a high pitch with more than 90 players teeing it up Friday for the Vodafone Invitational Golf Tournament, a part of the inaugural Vodafone Royals Trophy being played at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club.
Anirban Nath played some superb golf to take the honours in the 0-16 handicap category aggregating 35 stableford points while Angad Luthra who finished with 32 points ended up as the runner-up after pipping two other players on a count-back.
S.S. Das emerged victorious in the 17 and above handicap category with a total of 34 stableford points while Yashwant Goenka came second with 33 points.
Meanwhile, almost all the participants of the Vodafone Royal Trophy from the various ‘Royal’ golf clubs tested the greens and fairways on the eve of the mega event. Going by the intense practice session in the afternoon and the strategies being discussed at the welcome dinner, there were clear signs that the camaraderie was sure to end on
the first tee.
Former England cricketer Tony Lewis who fondly recalls his visits to India when he captained his side about four decades ago, is now on a mission to achieve success in his other loved sport golf, representing his club – The Royal Porthcwal Golf Club.
“We will give our best shot although we are not sure of the other teams’ strength,”
said Lewis after the practice round. “I am aware of the RCGC’s heritage and I am proud to be a part of the first edition of this historic event,” added Lewis.
Meanwhile, the fortunes of hosts Royal Calcutta Golf Club are led by the Captain of the club Aveek Sarkar who will pair up with the president of the Indian Golf Union Ashit Luthra to form the RCGC `A’ team.
Asian Games gold medallist Lakshman Singh and Aditya Khaitan will represent RCGC `B’ while RCGC `C’ team comprises of Ranabir Sen and Partha Gupta.
In the current format, a team will consist of two golfers each. Taking the full advantage of the format, The Royal Melbourne Golf Club has fielded three teams who are actually paired as life partners too.
The opening round will be played on an eclectic stableford format while the final round will see the golfers playing in the Texas Scramble format.
rounak