Times IGP Golf Tournament held at CGC

Chandigarh, By Sanjay Pahwa: Chandigarh Police with Times of India as the media partners inaugurated the two-day event opened with a glittering welcome dinner at Taj Hotel in Chandigarh on 03.03.2012 Saturday evening, where Punjab Governor and UT Administrator, Shivraj Patil teed off the tournament in style. It was high and mighty’s golf day out at the Chandigarh Golf Club, as the inaugural edition of the Times IGP Invitational Golf Tournament got off to a rollicking start on 04.03.2012 Sunday morning. The Chandigarh Golf Club played a perfect host with its glorious vistas and unique challenges, as the gunshot started at 8 a.m.

An initiative of Inspector General of Police, Sh. P. K. Srivastava, Chandigarh Police, the tournament saw participation of over 96 prominent golfers of the region competing in five categories. The event had golf and glitz at its best, with cream of the decision makers including bureaucrats, police officers, prominent members of the judiciary and those from defense cadres, and the top shots who matter in the business world from Punjab, Haryana, J&K and Chandigarh on one platform, competing against each other as usual, but on a different field.

The coveted event got a dash of glamour with the presence of galaxy of Bollywood and Hollywood stars including Oscar winner, American director, Kathyrn Bigelow, Mike Boyle along with Bollywood stars Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt, Abhay Deol, Kiron Kher, Neeru Bajwa, Sikander Kher and singers Harbhajan Maan and Lakhwinder Wadali.

Some of the leading lights from the corporate corridors, seen during the event included KD Singh, Chairman, Alchemist, NR Munjal, Chairman Ind Swift Ltd, Ankush Goel, Director, Goel Motors, Dalip Sharma, Regional Director, PHD, Neeraj Jain, Director, JJ Diamonds and Akash Garg, Director Kawa.

International golf star Jeev Milkha Singh was special guest and ‘Beat the Pro’ along with noted golfers like Harmeet Kahlon, Gurbaaz Mann and Haryana leader Abhey Chautala.

Through ‘Beat the Pro’ event, Jeev gave an opportunity to those taking part in the tournament to beat his shot at hole No. 14 along with tips on swinging the iron to a perfect tee. “It’s a great initiative by Chandigarh Police and The Times of India Group to organise such a big event in the region. It’ll certainly give Philip to the game, which has already become so popular in this region. Golf is really catching up with the young crowd in the region, particularly in Chandigarh, there are several youngsters in the city who have signaled their arrival in the golfing circuit,” said Jeev.

His father and legendry athlete Milkha Singh also participated in the tournament and encouraged the youngsters to make it big in life through hard work and sharp focus on their goal.

The first-of-its-kind event saw participants coming to the golf course, getting out of their corporate and official attire and beginning their urgent quest to bag the tag of the most accomplished golfer in the region. Lady golfers, amateurs and young budding golfers like Jaiveer Sandhu and Karanveer Sangha joined them.

Golfers were spotted discussing their strokes, then moving on to the midway cafe for a glass of water and some refreshment before proceeding to the next hole with a swagger in their steps.

IGP, Sh. P.K. Srivastava, DIG, Sh. Alok Kumar, SSP Sh. Naunihal Singh and other top officials of the Chandigarh Police were present at the CGC.

“The tournament is a part of the constant endeavor of Chandigarh Police to reach to various sections of the society through various programmes and events. Our aim is to bring together people of merit in high profile event a the most popular venue of the region- Chandigarh Golf Club with a common goal to put their best drive forward,” said Sh. PK Srivastava.

The event concluded with a grand prize presentation ceremony. In the 0-9 Handicap category, Y S Bains was the only winner with 36 points. In the 10-18 Handicap category, IPS, SK Sharma emerged victorious with 42 points, while Satbir Singh bagged Ist runner up trophy and Prithivi Sen was adjudged 2nd runner up. In 19 and above Handicap, IPS officer ID Bhandari was adjudged the winner with 37 points while Gurkirat Singh and Varinder Kumar bagged 1st and 2nd runners up award respectively. In the junior’s category, it was Jaiveer Sandu who was declared winner with 35 points while Karandeep Kocchar and Karamveer Sangha were adjudged 1st and 2nd runner up respectively. In the Ladies category, Jaipreet Singh emerged victorious with 33 points, while Neelu Chopra bagged prize for 1st runners up and Pauline JM Singh bagged 2nd runner up title.

The highlight of the event was the performance by Live Goan Band and various fun activities for audience and guests. The inaugural edition of Times IGP Invitational Golf Tournament was sponsored by Alchemist, Ind Swift Ltd, Goel Motors, PHD, JJ Diamonds, Kawa, Bombay Traders, Trident, Monte Carlo, Pernod Ricard, Nik Bakers, Amit Sood Photography (Roshan Sutdio) and Artscapes. The tournament will now go to Jalandhar in April, Srinagar in June, Gurgaon in August and then the winners of the 4 cities come back to Chandigarh on 17th Nov, 2012 to compete among themselves to lift the IGP trophy.