After a 2-week break for Diwali, the 2017 Volvo World Golf Challenge picked up right where it left off.
The 3rd leg was held at Panchkula Golf Club on November 3. The weather being in near perfect condition, close to 110 golfers participated in an afternoon start. Sticking to its tradition of producing some of India’s finest golfers, the Chandigarh leg was keenly contested. The two winners from Chandigarh were Sahil Sehgal and Shalini Sheoran. There were other prizes on offer – Longest Drive was won by Sandeep Sandhu, Closest to Pin by Ajay Singla and the Straightest Drive by Rajbinder Singh Chahal. HS Kang, one of India’s leading amateur golfers, shot a remarkable round of 4-under for the day.
The following week, action moved to “City of Nawabs” Lucknow at The Palms Golf Club & Resort. The layout was challenging and yet the golfers were up to the task and shot some low scores. The winners from Lucknow were Ajeet Singh and Sachin Gupta. Sachin Gupta drove with his fourball from Kanpur to participate at the Lucknow event and he was happy he did. The format of play was Double Peoria, where handicaps were adjusted using “12 hidden holes”. The event captured all the drama and unpredictability of a great golf event as Rishi Khanna lost by 4 despite shooting an incredible 3-under-par for the day. He did not leave disappointed as he won Longest Drive. Other winners were Prem Prakash and Vikram Bhargava, who respectively won Straightest Drive and Closest to Pin.
The event will now head to Ahmedabad (November 18), Pune (November 24), Mumbai (December 1), Hyderabad (December 8) and Bengaluru (December 15). The National Final, which will be staged in Bengaluru on December 16, will see 18 regional round winners battling it out for a spot in the World Final. The Indian National Final winner will then compete with golfers from 39 other countries at the World Final in 2018.
(Read more in the December issue of Golf Digest India. Download here.)