Vignettes from the group stage of the Royal Premier Golf League 2018 at RCGC, with The Telegraph
TT Bureau
Published 10.03.18, 12:00 AM
The Emami Double Bull gang was chomping down extra servings of banter with breakfast. “We’re unbeaten so far but don’t want to jinx it,” said owner Manish Goenka (seated, fourth from left). “Last year we were at a similar position at this stage but ended up not qualifying for the knockouts.”
The Mavericks were pleased as punch having beaten Royal Buddies. “Unlike in the previous years, this season we’re having plenty of close games. Any team can win on a given day,” said Atul Almal (fourth from left) before heading off to celebrate with the team. Sheena Rawla has also been enjoying the experience. “This is my third time playing RPGL and it just gets better each time. I’d say we (the Mavericks) are combining well and playing well,” she said.
Cleantek United were lunch-bound when t2 caught up with them. “This is Cleantek’s first season and it’s been a mixed bag so far in terms of results. We’re hopeful of winning a few of the remaining games and finishing well,” said owner Joydeep Chowdhury (fourth from left).
Rahul Chokhany (left) and Siddhartha Kapoor were found waiting for their Royal Buddies teammates after a morning round. “This season marks our debut as a team and we’re still finding our feet,” said Siddhartha. “The owners are nine friends, so we’re a team of buddies — till the friends become enemies!”
Putt Pirates co-owner Shashi Kant Bubna was chilling in the shamiana, his team having notched up a big win the previous day. “We lost the first three matches but came back strong yesterday to win the match 6-0,” he said. “Team morale is high now, and we feel our potential energy is finally getting converted to kinetic!”
Karnbir Choudhary (top) chipped one onto the green, while teammate Saurabh Dudhoria (centre) sized up a putt. As it turned out, it wasn’t a great day for Greentech Giants as they lost that game to Manoj Joshi (above) and Aditya Parasramka of Purti Golfers, who went on to win the match 3.5 games to 2.5.
Suveer Kapoor (above, left) and Ambarish Khaitan (above, right) helped Skipper Eagles win their match against the Devils. The duo had teamed up earlier in the tournament to win a game against the Mavericks as well. To end up on the losing side was disappointing for Joyjit Mukherjee (below), who had won a game against Cleantek United in January but lost to the Mavericks a fortnight later.
Shuddhanta Tagore, part of the organising team, ferried us around the greens.
The Royal is home to birds of the regular kind as well — apart from all the birdies, of course!
Vineet Nahata, who represented Power Gilt Spartans in the Q9 Golf League, has been watching from the sidelines thanks to other commitments. “It’s a fantastic tournament and I would’ve loved to be a part of it. The spirit of golf is at its peak during RPGL,” he said.
(L-R) Vivek Jaireth, Rahul Jaireth and Gaurang Ajmera tracked the scores on the RPGL app when they weren’t busy looking after the players.
