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EVENT—GOLF

TEE IT UP An unusually early summer did little to stop India Inc.’s movers and shakers from teeing it up at the 15th Business Today-Honda Pro-Am of Champions. SHARAD KOHLI

midst the plethora of cor- the Jack Nicklaus Signature course at centre to mix with the top corporate porate golf events, the ITC Classic Golf Resort, an oasis swingers from the National Capital there’s one that stands nestled in the rocky Aravalli Range at Region. Throw in the best performers out, year after year. Tauru, an hour-and-a-half drive from from the country’s domestic pro AEveryone who is anyone the national capital, on a bright and circuit, and you have a brew that’s as in the upper echelons of India unsually hot morning on March 28 fizzy as the after-round drink. Incorporated hopes to play with the for the grand finale. And in the heat, that drink was a land’s top professional golfers. Every year, the four-leg tourna- welcome thirst quencher once the And, it was no different at the 15th ment visits Bengaluru, Kolkata and golf was over. Delhi’s denizens have BT-Honda Pro-Am that saw winners of Mumbai before moving to Delhi for been trying to figure out what on the eastern, western and southern the Finals. Winners of each of the legs earth happened to the city’s delec- legs of the tournament congregate at congregate in the nation’s political table spring season. Summer, this

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VIVAN MEHRA/www.indiatodayimages.com

Ashok Kumar, the overall runner-up Professional golfer Sujjan Singh led a Vikram Kapoor of SAAB Travels, overall Shobhodip Pal of Hewlett Packard, in the Pro category team of debutants winner of BT Straightest Drive on Day 1 winner of the Closest to Pin prize on Day 2

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1. Tatsuya Natsume, Director, Marketing, time around, seems to have followed However, its good riddance to the Honda Siel Cars India with , hot on the heels, literally, of a bracingly cliché that corporate honchos “net- professional golfer, runner-up on day 2 chilly winter. But, golfers being golfers, work” on the golf course. They may 2. Anil Mehra, Managing Director, India Today Group with C. Muniyappa, overall winner in the addicts of the game who’ll find any very well meet up on the fairways and Pro category excuse to play (come rain or shine), a greens, often as part of a foursome or 3. Jnaneswar Sen, Vice President, Marketing, blazing March sun was hardly going fourball, but very rarely are deals made Honda SIEL Cars India with Shekhar Agarwal, to put them off playing. amid perfectly struck irons or dis- overall winner of the Honda Almost Made It prize It certainly didn’t put off R.C. heartening three-putts. That’s a myth 4. Lahiri, the pro from the South, in action Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki that probably deserves a hasty bur- 5. A Honda CRV was up for grabs for a hole-in- Ltd., from teeing it up. Bhargava has ial. “I am a doctor, so when I’m play- one, but it went abegging taken part in the BT Pro-Am many a ing, people come up to me for free ad- time. “It’s a fun place to come to. I vice!” says former Air Force man, Dr. enjoy it,” he says. “You meet people (Group Captain) G.S. Sabhikhi, now you otherwise don’t normally come Director, Radiodiagnosis and Imaging, across.” The bespectacled Bhargava Super Religare Laboratories Ltd., who tries to get in a round on weekends. was debuting in the BT Pro-Am. “Time is a problem. I can only manage Networking, adds Chander Singh, Sundays.” may be a by-product of an encounter Asked whether a “golfing culture” on the course. Agrees Maroli: “I’ve exists in Maruti Suzuki, Bhargava done business with people whom I says, “Well, there are a lot of Japanese have met on the golf course, which is in the organisation, and most of them a good place to make new acquain- play golf.” Surely, if a CEO, or MD or tances. But business has only come chairman, displays a penchant for the later, and not while playing.” game, it can rub off on employees—a So, an extension of the boardroom gentle (or fiercely competitive) 18 (or the golf course most certainly is not. nine) holes can help banish the And because corporate golfers who pressures of the boardroom. play together are already well Chander Uday Singh, a senior acquainted, there is, Singh empha- Delhi-based advocate, and Rahul sises, already a “comfort level” that Maroli (Head, Operations, LeasePlan won’t allow “business” to enter the India Ltd.), also regulars at the annual conversation. But there would, need- corporate-professional get-together, would agree. Both try to fit in a few 4 holes of golf every weekend. “I was earlier working out of Mumbai, and would play the Bombay Presidency GC, or Willingdon or the USI, on the weekends,” says Singh. “But since shifting to Delhi, I’m neither here nor there! What with the traveling, I can’t seem to find the time to tee it up.” 5

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1. Ashish Bagga, CEO, India Today Group (L) less to say, be plenty of good-natured (MD, Corporate Risk India) and Rahul giving away prizes to the winning team. The team ribbing. “There’s a lot of camaraderie Maroli to victory in the team event. comprised Rahul Maroli of LeasePlan, pro golfer Ali Sher, Supreme Court advocate Chander Uday amongst golfers,” says Maroli. The two-time winner of the Indian Singh and Ajay Dadwal of Risk India Meanwhile, Asoka Iyer (Head, Open finished with a two-day aggre- 2. Maninder Singh Grewal (2nd from L), MD, Group Advisory Services, Apollo gate of nine-under 135. And Religare Technova and B. Hariharan, VP, Marketing, Tyres), Kavi Arora (CEO, Religare Chinnaswamy Muniyappa, who so ITC Welcomgroup (2nd from R) giving away prizes Finvest Ltd.), and Harpreet Singh memorably won the Hero Honda to the runner-up team. The team comprised Max Rajesh Sud of New York Life, pro golfer Raju Ali (Chief Operating Officer, Bharti Airtel last year, constructed a Mollah and IT commissioner H.S.B Gill Ltd.) were playing the BT Pro-Am for superb title defense at the Classic. 3. Pro golfer Jyoti Randhawa gave tips to the first time, and each confessed to Muniyappa opened with a six-under- the corporate golfers having a splendid time. “It was good par 66 and signed off with a scorching fun playing with (pro partner) Sujjan 11-under 61, a round as blistering Singh. I found him a really nice guy, as the overhead atmospheric condi- and we chatted about golf,” says Iyer, tions, to win by a couple of shots. who looks to play “one-and-a-half” The Kumars, Ashok and Mukesh, times every week. “Ours was a nice finished first and second runners up, foursome, and overall it was a great while Anirban Lahiri, another talent experience,” he adds. from the south, and Bangladesh’s Arora, who besides golf has played Mohammed Siddikur Rahman com- hockey and cricket, had the good for- peted the top five. tune to be in the same quartet as Jyoti The winning teams from the three Randhawa (recently appointed brand city legs and the Finals, as well as the ambassador of Religare). “Jyoti gave me individual winners, get to fly to Macao, a couple of tips which worked a treat. where they can live it up, for three On some holes, I was actually out- days and two nights, at The Venetian. driving him! Unfortunately, I just The lucky few also get to tee it up at missed out on the ‘longest drive’ and the Macao Golf & Country Club. ‘closest to the pin’ awards.” The successful running of this “Well-organised” are two words prestigious tournament would not be that always seem to be associated with possible without the support of a select the event, and Arora and Harpreet few: Honda SIEL Cars India is the title Singh were among many to praise co-partner of the BT Pro-Am, and the conduct of the BT Pro-Am. “I really Religare and ITC WelcomGroup are enjoyed myself,” raves Arora. “My the associate sponsors; the event’s 3 fourball was great!” The tournament’s prize sponsor is Ethos Summit, while concept, feels Harpreet Singh, is a good Golf Digest India is the “official maga- one. “Prize money on offer encour- zine”, and Cleveland Golf the “equip- ages the pros to play. Also, it is hosted ment partner”; The Venetian Macao at a top-class layout.” is the “international destination part- For the record, Ali Sher, legend ner”, and Urban 18 the “SIM partner”. of Indian golf, guided his team of Also partnering the BT Pro-Am is Chander Uday Singh, Ajay Dadwal Beam Global. 

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