Winning Uttarakhand Lions team with owners and the Pearls GPL Trophy and cheque in Aamby Valley on February 11, 2013.
Aamby Valley, February 10, 2013: Darren Clarke, one of the
most successful players in team competitions and a many-time hero at the Ryder
Cup, and Mukesh Kumar, one of the most successful golfers of all times in
Indian golf, pooled in their amazing experience and carried Uttarakhand Lions
along with Chapchai Nirat and Shankar Das to a memorable win in a nail-biting
finish in the inaugural Pearls Golf Premier League in association with Aamby
Valley City on Sunday.
Uttarakhand Lions, who were third overnight and seven shots
adrift of leaders Witalsee Punjab Lancers and five behind second-placed Nippon
Kenwood Delhi Darts, zoomed to the top at 34-under. Witalsee Punjab Lancers and
Nippon Kenwood Delhi Darts were tied for second at 33-under, while Shubhkamna
UP Eagles ended fourth at 32-under despite an incredible and best-of-the-day
11-under by Anirban Lahiri and Shamim Khan.
Uttarakhand Lions were powered by sterling performances from
the Clarke-Chapchai and the Mukesh-Shankar combinations. Clarke, a five time
member of the European Ryder Cup team, who has also played World Cup and Alfred
Dunhill Cup for Ireland, and Chapchai soared on the wings a dramatic eagle and
seven birdies for nine-under in the 14-hole round.
Mukesh and Shankar were eight-under with two holes to play,
before they bogeyed the 13th, the penultimate hole, but then Mukesh birdied the
final par-3, which has a beach bunker and hauled his team atop the leaderboard.
Uttarakhand Lions’ duo Clarke and Chapchai, had two groups
behind them when they finished at 34-under. They then sat in the marquee facing
the closing hole and watched Delhi Darts and Witalsee Punjab Lancers failed to
find a birdie on the last, leaving them stranded at 33-under.
Delhi Darts’ pair of Rahil Gangjee and Scott Barr had two
unlucky breaks, which may well have cost them the title. First Barr’s tee shot
on the third found a sprinkler in the middle of the fairway and went into the
trees and then managed only a par on the par-5 where a birdie is what most
others got. Then on the 14th, the final hole, Gangjee sitting on a 12-footer
for birdie, suddenly saw his ball move after addressing it. That cost him a
stroke and Barr’s par was what they got for the final hole.
In the final group Johan Edfors and Ajeetesh Sandhu played
with Gaganjeet Bhullar and David Howell. Edfors and Sandhu were eight-under
after 12 holes and their team was 34-under, when they bogeyed the 13th and
failed to birdie the last finishing at 33-under.
Rashid Khan and Thaworn Wiratchant also bogeyed the
13th and failed to birdie the last to finish at four-under. Bhullar and
Howell played to five-under and despite brave efforts to add any birdies in the
last four holes.
The day’s best score came from Shubhkamna UP Eagles pair,
Anirban Lahiri and Shamim Khan, who had one eagle and nine birdies. The only
holes they failed to birdie were second, fourth, 10th and 12th holes.
With the other Shubhkamna pair of Daniel Chopra and Michael Campbell managing
only five-under the team finished fourth at 32-under, one behind the tied
second and two behind the winners.
The prizes were given away by Mr. K K Bakshi, CEO of Pearls,
and Col S K Sinha, the General Manager of Aamby Valley
City
The event is being played over 14 holes with a total par of
55 at Aamby Valley Golf Course
Holes: 14; Par 55
Final Team scores
406 (34-under):
Uttarakhand Lions
407 (33-under): Witalsee
Punjab Lancers
407 (33-under): Nippon Kenwood Delhi Darts
408 (32-under):
Shubhkamna UP Eagles
417: (23-under): Maharashtra 59ers
422 (18-under):
Tamilnadu Pullees and Gujarat Underdawgs
423 (17-under): Colombo 6s
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