New Delhi, Oct 26 In what has been the most evenly-matched contest in the four-year history of the league, Tee Birds and MMG Coca-Cola were adjudged joint winners in a nerve-tingling final at the fourth edition of the Delhi Golf Club League. In a tragic turn of events, both the joint winners had lost key members Gaurav Karnik and Advait Luthra, who had passed away before the start of the tournament.
“There were two changes made this year, which included a new point system and a more robust handicap system, and it resulted in the knockouts game becoming very tight. We had four new teams in the knockouts and got shared winners,“ Digraj Singh, Tournament Committee member told IANS.
“Besides the talent that was on display, the way these amateur golfers handled the immense amount of pressure that was on them, with crowds following them, and then the spirit they showed in the end to agree to be joint winners was incredible. Both the teams had lost members, they had passed away and perhaps divinity was in play," he said.
Earlier, Tee Birds and MMG Coca-Cola tied at 3-3 with an identical points tally of 3.5 apiece. In the contest for third place, Dayal Opticals beat Sara Golf Code on the first playoff hole to make their own third position. Earlier the two teams had tied at 3-3 with a points-tally of 3.5 each. This necessitated a play-off on both occasions.
The play-off between Tee Birds and MMG Coca-Cola witnessed Angad Kumar and Sidharth Sahni represent Tee Birds while Arvinder Singh Johar and Kabir Juneja took the field for MMG Coca-Cola. In an evenly-fought contest and a series of hits and misses, both teams tied the first four holes.
In the par-3 fifth hole, in full view of the Clubhouse gallery, Sidharth Sahni found the green with his tee shot coming to rest 20 feet from the pin. Angad Kumar, Sidharth’s teammate, was lodged in the right greenside bunker. Both the MMG Coca-Cola players were placed to the left of the green, just on top of the left greenside bunker. Angad chipped out and made a bogey as did Arvinder Singh Johar.
The contest was now between Kabir Juneja who had chipped to 5 feet from the pin and sat for par and Sidharth Sahni. Juneja sank the putt and parred the hole. Sahni too parred and the two teams tied their fifth hole in succession. Taking into consideration fading light and poor playing conditions, Tee Birds and MMG Coca-Cola were declared joint winners.
Angad was later adjudged the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. However, the MVP admitted that he was not in favour of sharing the trophy and wanted to play for it on Sunday.
“It feels great, I played eight matches and won all. I also won the best pair award as well so it feels good. The playoff was very intense, my partner and the mentor were fully involved and were trying not to get ahead of ourselves. After five holes we called it a tie and decided to share the trophy,” Angad told IANS. “Honestly I and my partner wanted to continue the playoff tomorrow but the team and mentor decided to share the trophy and it was a unanimous decision," he added.
Earlier, in the day, in the Tee Birds v MMG Coca-Cola contest, MMG Coca-Cola drew first blood with a win in the first game, with Ikjot Singh Bahl and Preet Singh beating the Tee Birds duo of Dilip Sharma and Deepak Jaini.
MMG Coca-Cola, won the second game as well to go two up early on. However, Tee Birds co-owner Pia Sahni and Angad Kumar pulled their team back into the scheme of things with a win in the third game, against Yudhishthira Kapur and Alok Mehta.
“It feels amazing, it's been an incredible tournament. The three youngsters of our team Nikhil, Siddharth, and Angad, brought the day in and we won because of them. (On why the team decided to share the trophy) Both the joint champions had sadly lost a player just before the tournament, Gaurav Karnik from our team and Advait Luthra from Coca-Cola, both passed away unexpectedly. I feel that they both had a hand in the result,” said Pia Sahni, owner of Tee Birds.
Then Gandharva Kohli and Varun Raj Khanna helped Tee Birds level scores with MMG Coca-Cola in the fourth game. The fifth game was tied and actioned moved into the sixth game which MMG Coca-Cola won. Nikhil Sahni of Tee Birds then nailed his approach shot to win the seventh hole for his team and ensure a playoff.
“It's a surreal experience to have two teams progress to the final where unfortunately both of us had lost a dear member before the league started. They were both a part of the top 11 and if you had seen the way the game played out it was definitely two higher powers fighting us out. Both teams decided to step aside and say let's share this in their memory,” said Viraj Gadhoke, member of MMG Coca-Cola.
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