Snapshots from the Royal Premier Golf League 2018, in association with The Telegraph
Snapshots from the Royal Premier Golf League 2018, in association with The Telegraph
Royal Knights member Vinod Kumar Chamria made his RPGL debut this year and had won all his games when we met him on Sunday. “I cannot do without playing golf,” said the 75-year-old who has been playing for the past 18 years.
TT Bureau
Published 26.01.18, 12:00 AM
Royal Knights member Vinod Kumar Chamria made his RPGL debut this year and had won all his games when we met him on Sunday. “I cannot do without playing golf,” said the 75-year-old who has been playing for the past 18 years.
t2 found Royal Premier Golf League (RPGL) debutants D Company — Nilesh Jatia, Micky Kapur, Gautam Jatia and Raj Patodia — in chill mode on Sunday. “Nine of us have been playing regularly in the morning for more than 10 years and we got together and made a team. Everyone is an owner. We are doing well so far, people say we are a strong team,” said Nilesh, the team’s co-owner. Mona Grewal and Anshu Kapur were there to cheer for the team at the ongoing RPGL.
Amaya Swingers were not feeling the pressure of being defending champions. “I think we are playing a little patchy golf… no pressure… let’s see, still lots of games to go,” said Jitendra Khaitan, owner (left). Samir Khaitan (right) said he had been playing golf for the past 35 years! The young gun of the team? Sanaya Tulsyan (centre). “My dad (Prawal Tulsyan, who is also a part of Amaya Swingers) put me on to it,” said the 14-year-old, a La Martiniere for Girls student and an S.S.P. Chawrasia fangirl.
For Kamal Baheti, RPGL is “absolutely rare”. “I have not seen any tourney which involves more than 500 golfers at a time. We play with the other team and then come back and share a drink with them. Because of this tourney, I have played with more than 100 different golfers… made new very good friends!” said the Verdant Colts co-owner.
One of the “RPGL pillars” — Gaurang Ajmera — was one happy man. “We have managed to get 513 golfers, 27 teams, the whole club is a party zone. Most importantly, we have got all the golfers who are not playing now to start playing again, practise hard and they are all playing very good golf,” he said, with niece Aanya by his side. Who would the 10-year-old like to play golf with? “Shah Rukh Khan,” she squealed.
Manish Rastogi started playing golf 20 years back. “It is a long tournament. Good fun. Our team is full of youngsters and we are hopeful of cracking into the top three,” said the co-owner of Verdant Colts.
For everyone, Vivek Jaireth might be the man to go to for RPGL, but for him, son Rahul was the “boss”. “He brings me here and he takes me back. Without him I am immobile, he has all the cart keys!” said Vivek.
Anshul Mishra’s golf club might be taller than him, but the nine-year-old already is a four-and-a-half year veteran in the world of golf. “I play six days a week,” said the young member of Royal Flamingos who goes to The Heritage School.
(L-R) Indrajit Roy and Akshay Khanna of Royal Flamingos and Prasan Lohia and Ranajay Giri of Merino Royals in between putts at RCGC on Sunday.
This RPGL would be the third time in a row for Sanjay Jhunjhunwala’s Royal Cheetahs. “Every time we find new buddies in the game… new competition,” he said.
Deepak Kejriwal, the co-owner of OTT Royals, paused for a quick t2 snap on the RCGC greens on Sunday.
If the lush course is the beauty at RCGC, these lovely sights make it even prettier.
The fun part of RPGL for Mohit Agarwal? A full RCGC. “You don’t get to park the car and the shamiana is full of people!” said The Rat Pack owner, whose mantra was to “play hard, fight hard”.
Kishan Tekriwal, the owner of Royal Realtors, might not be swinging it at RPGL this year but had his fingers on his team’s pulse. “I am very anxious, but irrespective of a win or a loss, celebrations have to happen,” he said.
Amit Sarda, co-owner, OTT Royals, might have broken his right wrist when he fell down from a golf cart during a practice round, but he was there to support his team, his arm in a sling. “You have to play the tourney or be here to feel the vibrancy. Because of RPGL, the game has improved,” he said.
Even though he wasn’t playing on Sunday, Aditya Khaitan of team Avengers did not miss his date with the greens. “I think it is going better than expected. I think every year it’s getting better. I feel a lot of people who did not take part in the tournament a few years ago are now taking part. This is what I keep hearing from a lot of members who are enjoying being part of a team and the tournament. What we started as an exercise of getting people together has worked well and I hope this kind of camaraderie carries on and it can become bigger and bigger. It is competitive… people who are not playing (well) are being dropped from the team,” said the RCGC captain. His golf favourites? Dustin Johnson. “I am also keen to see if Rory McIlroy can make a comeback,” he added.
Thursday, 21 August 2025
