Viraj, Gurbani in lead

[1]

Gurbani Singh

Local favourite and last week’s winner Viraj Madappa carded an even-par 72 on the inaugural day of the Toyota IGU all India finals at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club in Kolkata on Tuesday.

Behind him were Mohan Sardar, playing on his home course, and Toyota IGU Haryana Open winner Manu Gandas at two over 74.
In the U-18 category for girls, Delhi’s Gurbani Singh, Aastha Madan of Gurgaon and Millie Saroha from Noida shared the lead with an identical score of 11-over par 83.
DLF’s Piyush Sangwan carded a level par score to lead the pack in the U-14 boys category, while home golfer Tutul Ali was second at three over par 75.
Karandeep Kochar of the Chandigarh Golf Club with a score of eight-over 80 was third.
Bangalore Golf Club’s young prodigy Aditi Ashok, who recently grabbed the headlines with a top-10 finish at the Hero Women Indian Open, continued her hot run of form as she topped the U-14 category with a score of five-over 77.
Ridhima Dilawari from DGC was second with 12 over par 84.
The points earned from these tournaments will be used in national team selection as well as the “player of the year” awarded at the end of the tournament.
The points will also be the eligibility criteria for international tournaments like the Asia-Pacific Junior Championship in Thailand. Duke of York tournament, Malaysian Junior Open among others.
In deciding the number one player, points will be totalled from seven tournaments that must include the four zonal championships — North, South, East and West as well as the all India junior finals — besides the best two other tournaments from the season.