Vijitha Bandara clinches 8th NCR Cup trophy

Bandara with the trophy of 8th NCR Cup in New Delhi on March 1, 2013

New Delhi, March 1, 2013: Gannon Dunkerley 8th NCR Cup has seen a Sri Lankan winner second time in a row as Vijitha Bandara ran away with the trophy on the final day at the Delhi Golf Club. N Thangaraja who has turned professional now, won the trophy last year. Bandara shot four-over 76 for the total of 293 in windy conditions to lift the trophy.

India’s Prince Kajotia who has joined Indian Navy recently, returned with the career best finish after shooting three-over 295 as a runner up. India born Thai Samarth Dwivedi ended the day with 3rd position as he scored 300 while coming from behind another Indian Lakhan Singh WAS tied for fourth place along with Amit Kumar at 303.

Bandara started the day with a birdie on 1st and was one-over after front nine. After taking a lot of pressure on himself, 24-year-old Bandara dropped two shots and made a double bogey on 10th. Number one on Sri Lanka amateur circuit, Bandara got confused in choosing the clubs on 11th hole as the wind speed high and he used 3-wood for the tee shot where in he normally uses his 52 wedge. His best shot of the tournament came on the finishing hole where he rescued the ball from a difficult condition as he landed his tee shot in right bushes but managed a par with advice from his caddy.

A delighted Bandara said, “I am so excited to show the trophy to the defending champion N. Thangaraja in my country. The pressure, which was built on me throughout the day, helped me in choosing the right clubs at the right place. Though, I am not very happy to tell my today’s scores but I can take this kind of victory any day.”

Another highlight of the day was a hole-in-one on 7th hole by Devendra Singh who finished 22nd. Lakhan Singh took the longest drive challenge prize on 6th hole, which was also a hat-trick in NCR Cup by him. Sunny Nagar won the straightest drive on 10th hole.

Press release

Vijitha Bandara holds 3 shot lead on day 3 of 8th NCR Cup

Bandara on 18th green after missing the eagle at Delhi Golf Club on February 28, 2013

New Delhi, February 28, 2013 Overnight leader Sri Lanka's Vijitha Bandara shot one-over 73 to hold the lead on day three of Gannon Dunkerley 8th NCR Cup at the Delhi Golf Club. Bandara’s three days total was 217. Three shots behind was India’s Samarth Dwivedi after firing a two-under 70 for a total of 220 along with another countryman Prince Kajotia who finished third.

India’s Amit Kumar, who was tied on 2nd position yesterday, came back with the score of four-over 76 for the total of 224 to slip at 4th. India’s Pratap Atwal, whose best score on this course is seven-under, returned with two-under 70 for the total of 225 in a tie along with Dhruv Sheoran who shot four-over 76 for the total of 225.

Currently Number one on Sri Lanka amateur circuit, Bandara started the day with a bogey on first hole which led to lapse in concentration but he did some breathing exercise on the 2nd tee box to hit back to back birdies on 2nd, 3rd and 5th. He was level par after front nine but bogeys on 11th and 17th and a birdie finish got him one-over in total.

Not too impressed with putting, Bandara said, “I could have been three or four under today if I would not have missed short putts on first, 8th, 11th and 14th. I was also confused at some of the holes as my mind was saying something and my caddy was saying something else. I closed my eyes on the 18th green and counted from 20 to 1 to balance my mind but still I missed the eagle by six inch. I will do my breathing exercise in the evening so that I can start fresh tomorrow to clinch the title.”

43 players will be vying for the title tomorrow as two Pakistani players Sardar Murad and Amir Mehmood and Indian K. K. Bajoria withdrew from the tournament. 

Vijitha Bandara leads as Sri Lanka win team championship

Sri Lanka’s Number one amateur golfer Vijitha Bandara

New Delhi, February 27, 2013: Sri Lanka’s Number one amateur Vijitha Bandara lived up to his country’s expectations as he shot two-under 70 to take the lead on day two of Gannon Dunkerley 8th NCR Cup. Bandara’s two days total of 144 and his colleague Sisira Kumara’s 154 also got them the team championship trophy after fighting hard on the tricky greens and fairways of the Par-72 Delhi Golf Club.

India’s Hemendra Chaudhary who was 13th yesterday, jumped to the second place after carding one-over for the total of 148. Amit Kumar and Nepal’s Dinesh Prajapati who shared the lead with Imamul Haque yesterday, again matched the scores as both of them came back with a four-over 148 and finished 3rd and 4th respectively.

After impressing the packed clubhouse on day one, Imamul Haque shot a disappointed 10-over 82 for the total of 154 to slip to 18th position.

24-year-old Bandara said, “I hit 15 greens in regulation and did not take out the driver even once which happened first time in my life. Though, I hit two bogeys throughout the round, I am happy that I am taking atleast one trophy back home. I am quite confident of taking the individual title in next two days and show it to the defending champion Thangarja back in my country.”

In the Team Championship played concurrently, Sri Lanka was the winner with the team total of 298 while The Rovers became runner-up with the score of 301. Third spot was taken by Oil India at 301. Germans Christof Korth and Klaus Michael Borbe who got selected through a note on facebook in their country to play in the NCR Cup, were unable to impress their sponsor Oliver Duenkel as they finished at the bottom of the team championship leader board at 999.  

Top 46 players will be vying for the title over the next two days as the cut was applied at 17-over.

Dinesh, Amit and Imamul share day one lead at 8th NCR Cup

New Delhi, February 26, 2013: Nepal’s Dinesh Prajapathi, Noida’s Amit Kumar and Varanasi’s Imamul Haque played a level-par 72 round to share the lead on day one of Gannon Dunkerley 8th NCR Cup at Delhi Golf Club. Prajapati finished on top as he played 2-under in the back nine while Kumar and Haque finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Delhi’s Dhruv Sheron shot one-over 73 along with Gunvir Rana who was playing on his home course. Sheron ended the day with fourth position while Rana followed on at 5th.

Sri Lanka’s Vijita Bandara submitted a scorecard of two-over 74, which matched to Kapurthala’s Prince Kajotia, Arjun Atwal's cousin Jaiveer Atwal, India born Thai Samarth Dwivedi and DGC’s Kshitij Kaul, the youngest boy on the field of 75.

Leader of day one, Prajapati said, “This is my second time at the Delhi Golf Course and I am content with my performance. I struggled a bit with my putting in the beginning but as I got used to the conditions, I managed to chip very well which improved my score at the back nine.”

In the team championship played concurrently, Delhi’s team The Rovers took the lead with the total of 148 represented by Gunvir Rana (73) and Hemedra Chaudhary (75). Sultans of Swing came second at 149 represented by Harjot Singh Soni who shot 75 and Kshitij Kaul who played a round of 74 while Panthers also finished with 149. Among the foreign teams, Nepal was fourth with team score of 150 along with Sri Lanka and came 4th and 5th respectively. Ireland was on 12th position with 157 while two Pakistani teams finished 15th and 16th with score of 162 and 169. Germany had a disappointing round as they finished at the bottom with the team total of 178.

10 Indian Players were eliminated as the cut was applied at 13-over 85.

Photo caption: Nepal’s Dinesh Prajapathi takes a shot on day one of Gannon Dunkerley 8th NCR Cup at Delhi Golf Club on February 26, 2013.

Top amateurs ready to light up Gannon Dunkerley 8th NCR Cup

New Delhi, February 25, 2013: India-born Thai golfer Samarth Dwivedi, Gagan Verma and Satwik Jain along with 60 top amateurs of the country and 15 foreign participants will lead a stellar cast at Gannon Dunkerley 8th NCR Cup from February 26 to March 1at the Delhi Golf Club. Among the foreigners, the field will see seven players from Pakistan, two from Ireland, two from Germany, two from Sri Lanka and two from Nepal at the Par-72 golf course from Tuesday.

DGC’s Arshad Ali and Gagan Verma will carry the local challenge while Geoff Rey Lenehan and John Greene from Ireland, Christof Korth and Klaus Michael Borbe from Germany, Dinesh Prajapati and Ashish Pariyar from Nepal, Vijitha Bandara and Sisira Kumara from Sri Lanka, Abbas Ali Khan, Sohaib S. Bokhari, Faisel Ali Malik, Sardar Murad, Amir Mahmood, Col. Muhammad Shafi and Col. Asif Mehdi from Pakistan will also try not just enjoy the serve settings of DGC but also conquer the greens.

While the tournament will be played in stroke play format, players will be playing as an individual as well as teams from different golf courses, states and organizations. The team winner will be decided after two days when the cut will be applied and the field will be reduced to 45 players who will vie for the title on Thursday and Friday. The winner and runner up of the NCR Cup will be sent to play in one of the National Amateur Championships of European region.

 Hardip Singh Kingra, General Secretary, Delhi Golf Society, said, “Amateurs Golf is the nursery of professional golf in any country and the quality of pro players is directly proportional to quality and quantity of young talent. With this in mind, Delhi Golf Society is making definite efforts to promote and broad base the amateur golf in India and NCR."

As a part of welfare activity, a health checkup camp for the caddies will be held during the NCR CUP tournament in collaboration with BLK Hospital, New Delhi. A team of five doctors will do the health checkup. Prize distribution function will be held at the Delhi Golf Club on 1st march 2013.

Photo caption: On the extreme left: Jasjeet Singh (defending champion, team championship of NCR Cup 2012), HS Kingra (general secretary, Delhi Golf Society), Prakash Bhandari (president, Delhi Golf Society), IVS Juneja (President, Delhi Golf Club) and Sohaib S. Bokhari (A participant from Pakistan) Extreme right