Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 5: The Jammu Tawi Golf Course (JTGC), in partnership with the Directorate of Tourism, Jammu, hosted the Golfers Day Out event, marking the New Year 2025 Golf Tournament at the Jammu Tawi Golf Course in Sidhra. Shailendra Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Government for Agriculture, Horticulture, Floriculture, Parks & Gardens, initiated the tournament by teeing off the first ball, alongside Secretary of JTGC, Manav Gupta. A total of 96 participants competed throughout the day, organized into 24 four-player teams.
Shailendra Kumar and Pawan Parihar emerged as the overall champion and runner-up respectively. SM Yasin received the straight drive award for his impressive 1 foot, 10-inch shot at Hole No. 6, while Shafat Sultan excelled on Hole No. 14. The longest drive accolades were claimed by Farooq Yasir (250 meters), Arindham Sudan (260 meters), and Yousif Choudhary (250 meters) at Holes 5, 8, and 10 respectively.
In the closest-to-the-pin category, awards were given to Ankush Hans, Shabir Malik, Rohit Bhalla, and Rajan Sharma at Holes 7, 13, 17, and 2, while Shailendra Kumar, Danish Khan, and Arindham Sudan took top honors for their second shots at Holes 4 and 11. Gurpreet Singh was recognized for the Monster Putt, alongside Col. Basharat Bhat, Yousif Choudhary, Shailendra Kumar, Shafat Sultan, Omair Nisar Ganai, and Pawan Parihar for their skills demonstrated at Holes 18 and 9. The Bull’s Eye award went to Rakesh Gupta.
The best four-ball teams included Shailendra Kumar, Aijaz Qaiser, Sanjay Mahajan, Mubasshir Latifi, Hafiz Gillani, Yashvir Sudan, Rohit Bhalla, Azhar Majid, Adharv Rishi, Firdous Ahmed Masoodi, Shafat Sultan, Jaideep Singh Manocha, Arindam Sudan, Ankush Hans, Jaipal Singh, S.S Pathania, Pawan Parihar, Lt. Gen. Shamsher Singh, Er. S.S Jamwal, Umesh Gupta, Sunil Gupta, Joginder Singh, and Gurdeep Singh.
Emphasizing the importance of nurturing a golfing culture among youth, Shailendra Kumar praised Secretary Manav Gupta and the JTGC management for orchestrating a successful tournament and encouraged the organization of similar events in the future.
Subsequently, Shailendra Kumar, Manav Gupta, and Director of Tourism Jammu, Vikas Gupta, presented trophies and mementos to the winners, runners-up, and participants who excelled in various categories.
Additionally, the Jammu Tawi Golf Course in collaboration with the Directorate of Tourism Jammu arranged a “Golfing Day Out Women Putting Competition” designed to promote competitive spirit among female golfers in Jammu.
A large group of women competitors including Minakshi Kour Slathia, Dr. Farhat, Diksha Thakur, Ritu Slathia, Smridhi, Karuna, Ankita Shetty, Ria Arora, Shafiqa Banoo, Mamta Wahi, Renu Sharma, Tanvi Gupta, Dhanvi Dubey, Pratima Sharma, Widhana Khan, and Shridha Gupta participated with great enthusiasm and energy.
Widhana Khan showcased exceptional skills, claiming the trophy while Farhat secured the runner-up position. Pratima Sharma finished in third place. Sunaina Sharma, Joint Director of Tourism Jammu, who was the chief guest at the event, remarked that the putting contest is an innovative method to attract women players to golf and develop talent among women in Jammu and Kashmir. National Golf Academy of India (NGAI) certified Professional Coach Rohit Gupta and several sports enthusiasts were present to celebrate the occasion.
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