From L-R – Pramod Bhambani, Bharti Purker, Rahul Dalwani & Abhay Kanoria punch their tickets for the National Finals in Thailand
Four winners from Mumbai booked their spots at the coveted National Finals of the 23rd annual Chola World Corporate Golf Challenge – India to be held in Thailand, in summer 2024. The four golfers – the winners Rahul Dalwani & Pramod Bhambani plus runners up in the two handicap categories – lady golfer Bharti Purker and Abhay Kanoria competed with 88 golfers at Willingdon Sports Club.
From the national final, eventually two players from the 16 finalists will be selected to represent corporate India at the World Finals of the World Corporate Golf Challenge, in Spain where they compete with winners of country qualifiers held in over 30 countries for the opportunity to be crowned World Champions.
Last month, NP Thimmaiah, Subhasish Ghosh, lady golfer Anupama Vatal, and Vivek Varma secured their spots in the National Finals through the Bangalore qualifier at Prestige Golfshire.
One of the highlights of the Mumbai event was the participation of winners from the inaugural India edition of the World Corporate Golf Challenge held in India back in 2000 – Pradip and Sudhir Patel as well as Vijay Chauhan who won in 2003. Also a member of the winning Indian team at the World finals – Rahul Divan.
Indian teams have won two world titles – the last one coming in 2016 when Shashidhar Reddy and Sonam Chugh won in Cascais, Portugal.
A month ago the team of Ajay Reddy from Hyderabad and Ajay Kasana from Delhi participated at the World Finals in Tenerife, Spain.
4 Winners each from the next 2 rounds in Delhi and Hyderabad to make up the 16 finalists who will travel to Thailand.
Play was in individual stableford category and live scoring on mobile phones with a live leaderboard provided not only excitement but also transparency and fair results as can be seen from the modest winning scores.
Results
Winners in Two Handicap Categories – Entry to National finals
Category Name Nett Score
Winner 0-16 Rahul Dalwani 38
From L-R – Arun Murugappan, Dharmesh, [WINNER (0-16)]- Rahul Dalwani), Sridhar, Mariam, Senthil Naidu
From L-R – Arun Murugappan, Dharmesh, [WINNE(17-24) -Pramod Bhambani], Sridhar, Mariam, Senthil Naidu
Runners-Up in Two Handicap Categories – Entry to National Finals
Category Name Nett Score
Runner-Up 0-16 Bharti Purker 38
Runner-Up 17-24 Abhay Kanoria 33
Arun Murugappan with Abhay Kanoria (RUNNER UP (17-24))
On Course Contests –
Category Name Measurement
Chola Straightest Drive #1 Rajiv Gaur 1ft 7 inches
Rangananth Ananth
From L-R – Dharmesh, Senthil Naidu, (WINNER- Rajiv Gaur), Sridhar, (WINNER- Ranganath Ananth), Mariam, Arun Murugappan
Savills Closest to Pin #2 Rahul Divan 28ft
Abhay Kanoria swinging into precision for the Savills Closest to Pin contest
Grant Thornton Closest to Pin #6 Shailender Mittal 3ft 3 inches
From L-R – Closest to Pin Winner – Shailender Mittal presented by – Ashish Chhawchharia Grant Thornton Bharat LLP Partner
Audi Most Electrifying Player (Best Gross)
Category Name Gross Score
Winner Aryan Nath 34 Gross Points
Aryan Nath (Centre) presented by Ruchika Khullar (Regional Sales Manager, AUDI) & Moupriya Das (AGM Marketing AUDI India)
Lucky Draw Winners –
Name
Raghav Rao
Devashish Das
LUCKY DRAW Winner Devashish Das presented with a wedge by Sneha Singh, the current Hero Order of Merit leader
Pradip Patel
K.H. Gopal