Patna, Jan. 17: Chilly winds lost out to the enthusiasm among amateur golfers today, as everyone turned up at Patna Golf Club for the inaugural day of the VHR Cup.

The tournament marked the beginning of the club's centenary celebrations. The club was established on March 21, 1916. It was then called South Bihar Gymkhana Club.

At least 200 people have registered for the tournament that will conclude tomorrow. Around 50 turned up well in time for the 7.30am tee off today. The 10°C temperature and chilly winds did nothing to deter the participants' will to get to the greens.

'Golf is about perfect timing and shots. You have to be disciplined to get both of these perfect,' said Narendra Kumar, the director of Vascoda Housing and Realty Pvt. Ltd that is sponsoring the two-day tournament.

Saturday was reserved for seniors, women and 19-24 handicap golfers. Patna Golf Club coach Rizwan Ali said: 'We have some good and serious female golfers at our club. They can give tough competition to many senior golfers.'

Ali was earlier at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club and joined Patna Golf Club's academy as coach around two year ago. He was spotted giving the players last-minute tips. 'The only advice I have for the golfers is to maintain the course and concentrate on the game,' added Rizwan.

Ten female golfers have registered for the VHR Cup and they left the spectators tongue-tied with their performance. The 19-24 handicap golfers, considered babies in the world of golf, had some good strokes up their sleeves. A handicap is a numerical measure of an amateur golfer's ability and lower the handicap, the better the player.

Babita Kumar, an entrepreneur playing golf for the past six years, said: 'All of us are quite good irrespective of our experience in the game. These tournaments help us learn new skills. The number of women golfers should go up so that we can have a day dedicated to ourselves.'

The golf club captain, Tapan Ghosh, also said: 'The 19-24 handicap golfers are quite promising and dedicated towards learning the game. I hope a few of them will turn professionals.'

Some serious action is left for tomorrow with the 18-hole tournament of the 0-18 handicap golfers.

Captain Ghosh said the winner of the hole-in-one (the biggest prize in the tournament) would get an office space of around 200sqftsponsored by Vascoda Housing and Realty. The prizes would be announced on Sunday.