Some of the prominent amateur golfers from Maharashtra will showcase their talent and look to play key roles for their respective clubs, that will be fighting for the top honours in the 21st Grover Vineyards Inter-Club Golf Championship, which will tee off at the prestigious Bombay Presidency Golf Club, Chembur on 4th and 5th February, 2017.
(From L to R) – Akshay Kilachand (WSC), Cdr J.S. Arora (USC), Kapil Grover (Chairman – Grover Zampa Vineyards), Ashish Chemburkar (BPGC) and Kedar Bondre (PCG) at the launch press conference of the 21st Grover Vineyards Inter-Club Golf Championships.
This two day event will bring together players from the four leading golf clubs in Western India: United Services Club (USC), Bombay Presidency Golf Club (BPGC), Willingdon Sports Club (WSC) and Poona Club Golf, making it the biggest amateur -golf event in Maharashtra.
Defending champions U S Club, who retained their title, won in 2015, will stake their claim for hat-trick of wins, but will be pushed hard by BPGC, who will enjoy the home advantage as well as WSC and PGC.
Speaking at a media conference to announce details of the tournament, Kapil Grover, Chairman, Grover Zampa Vineyards said, “We are pleased to present yet another season of the Inter-Club Golf Championship. The event has grown in stature year on year and we are committed to taking it to new heights moving forward. Through this platform we aim to provide golfers with an opportunity to compete and bond over fine wines. Grover Zampa Vineyards aims to provide people with quality experiences that reflect in our wines as well as through the events that we associate with. The Golf tournament is a lifestyle sport that has direct synergy with our product range.”
US Club will be fielding four talented juniors in their team, namely Kanishka Sinha (handicap 3), Naynika Sanga (handicap 7), Keshav Mishra (handicap 7) and Trimam Saluja (handicap 9) and one will have to also look out for Raman Singh.
The juniors who will be looking to shine on the big stage for BPGC will be Akash Modi (handicap 2), Jay Vora (handicap 3), Ivana Shah (handicap 8) and Aryaan Nath (handicap 11) and BPGC will also be banking on their seasoned campaigners Arjun Singh and Nakul Bakshi among others.
For W S C, all eyes should be on Khushaal Thakersey, Akshay Kilachand, Jamshed Mehta, Riaz Batliwala & Rahul Diwan besides talented junior Zachary Yusuf, while Poona Golf Club will be looking for good performances from players like Rohan Dholepatil , Ihit Joseph and Romel Mazumdar to see them through.
A round-robin Ryder Cup matchplay format (on the lines of the mega golf duel between the US and Europe every two years) which involves a great deal of strategizing and team play intensifies the competition to exciting, nervous limits. Each team is represented by 24 players, out of which 21 play each day. From each club, three players play the singles, three pairs comprise the foursomes and six pairs compete in the four ball match-ups.