Jordan Spieth wins Masters

AUGUSTA, April 12: As a kid growing up in Dallas, Jordan Spieth would haul the lawn mower out to the front yard and create a makeshift putting green.

On many days and usually into the night, with his brother, Steven, in the gallery, Spieth would face a putt and imagine it was to win the Masters.

In a far different place, on a far bigger green, Spieth's dream came true.

On Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club, the big kid from Big D put the finishing touches on a Masters masterpiece by tapping in for bogey on the final hole to win his first major championship. He didn't need the putt to win, of course, but it felt the same.

Under cloudy skies, Spieth shot 2-under-par 70 to finish at 18-under 270 and four shots clear of three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson and 2013 U.S. Open victor Justin Rose.

"It's the most incredible week of my life," said Spieth, who finished in a tie for second last year in his first Masters. "This is as great as it gets in our sport. …

This isn't an honor that's carried lightly. The members of Augusta National and everyone who partakes in the Masters and is a part of the Masters, demand the most, the highest quality on and off the course from their champions. I feel ready to carry that baton."

From his opening 64 Thursday, Spieth, the second youngest winner of the Masters at 21, lit up the famous white scoreboards and the history books.

Saina Nehwal is Numero Uno

NEW DELHI, March 29: Saina Nehwal created history today as she became the first Indian woman shuttler to attain the world number one ranking after her closest challenger for the spot, Spain's Carolina Marin, lost in the India Open Super Series semifinal here.

Though the official rankings will be out only on Thursday next week, the 25-year-old Indian has been assured of her ascent to the top owing to Marin's loss in the last-four stage.

The reigning world champion, who was seeded second, lost to third seed Thai Ratchanok Intanon 21-19 21-23 22-20.

Prakash Padukone had the distinction of being the No. 1 men's badminton player but Saina became the first Indian woman to achieve this feat.

KLM India tee off with a great game of Golf!

GURGAON, March 22:

KLM Corporate Golf Tournament, organized at the Golden Greens Golf Course, Gurgaon, witnessed one of the most successful and enjoyable events in the first quarter of 2015.

Some of the eminent persons who participated in the tournament included Arjun Awardee golfer Amit Luthra, who is also Managing Partner of Luthra & Luthra; The Leela Ambience Gurgaon General Manager Michel Koopman;Men of Leisure Brian J Anderson; Philip Morris International Director Sales Victor Vickers; Hiro Maruyama of ADB Bank; and Wg Cdr Bhupinder Singh of Ranbaxy.

The game was played in a double Peoria format and took off with a shotgun start. The total number of participants was 100 top elite customers.

The event was very well attended and greatly appreciated by everyone.

The hospitality at the event was sponsored by The Leela Gurgaon.

The winners of the tournament were provided with trophies, 4 ball group photos, KL goodies and Hotel vouchers.

The Grand prize winner got a couple ticket to Netherlands to attend the upcoming KLM Open scheduled in September.

This event was a platform to auction two economy class return tickets to Amsterdam, the proceeds of which went to the NGO, Smile Foundation. This NGO works towards the care and education of the under privileged children.

New Zealand play like champs to reach World Cup final

AUCKLAND, March 24: In a thrilling nail biting match, New Zealand beat South Africa by four wickets in the semifinal of the ICC Cricket World Cup played at Eden Park in Auckland. Grant Elliott turned out to be New Zealand's saviour as he scored 84 off 73 balls to guide New Zealand to victory with 1 ball to spare.

South Africa made 281-5 batting first. The match has been reduced to 43 overs a side after rain forced the players from the field for nearly two hours and New Zealand's victory target was adjusted to 298 under the Duckworth-Lewis method.

For South Africa, Faf de Plessis made 82, AB de Villiers was not out 65 while David Miller smashed an 18-ball 49.

Indo-Nippon Golf Cup Celebrates India-Japan Ties

By Deepak Arora

GURGAON, March 15:

Lord Indra, the weather God, has been playing truants in the month of March. Unseasoned rains in abundance began on the first day of the month and continued for the next few days, breaking 100 years record.

The rains destroyed lot of crops in the country and brought misery to farmers. Thought he rains brought the mercury down, it made golfers unhappy as it cut down on their golfing hours, especially on weekends (the golf days).

A similar weather was predicted for the next three days beginning March 13 evening. There was a kind of gloom on the faces of Indian and Japanese golfers who had been anxiously waiting for the much awaited annual Indo-Nippon Golf Tournament on March 15 at the Golden Greens.

Much to the delight of the golfers, Indra Devta showed kindness and the 10th Indo-Nippon Golf Cup 2015 began at 8 am under cloudy conditions.

However, the rains held up until the end of the tournament at 1 pm. Thereafter, it started raining again, bringing smiles on all the 100 faces that played the tournament.

The golf tournament witnessed coming together of top executives from India and Japan to play the match in an environment of friendship and business harmony.

The tournament is held every year with the objective to develop and enhance socio-economic relations between the two countries, according to Rahul Sharma, Founder and President of the Indo-Nippon Golf Tournament.

The first tournament was held in 2006 with the idea to enhance ecomomic ties between the two countries.

Rahul Sharma said the focus of this year’s tournament was on Skill Development and encouraging Japanese investment in the development of smart communities and technologies in Water, Solid Waste Management and Urban Transportation in India.

Some of the important participants who were seen in their golf gear at the Golden Greens Golf Resort in Gurgaon included Akio Isomata, Minister (Economic & Development), Embassy of Japan; Toshihisa Fuse and Tatsuo Nishimoto, President and Secretary General respectively of the Japan Chamber of Commerce & Industry in India (JCCII); M Sakakida, Chairman & Managing Director, Mitsubishi Corporation; veteran golfer Amit Luthra, philanthropist and eminent golfer Neelam Pratap Rudy and Chief Commissioner Income Tax in Ahemedabad J C Pegu.

The 10th Indo-Nippon Golf Cup 2015 was supported by the Embassy of Japan in India, the Japan Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Assocham. It was managed by GolfLan.

Speaking on the occasion, Akio Isomata, Minister (Economic & Development), Embassy of Japan, expressed his delight the success of the tournament and thanked all the sponsors for contributing to the cause of enabling people to become friends with each other. He said the Japanese embassy would continue to whole heartedly support the Indo-Nippon Golf Cup.

Arjun Awardee and eminent golfer Amit Luthra and Y Tamura, Managing Director of Daifuku, the company which is in factory automation, were declared Gross Winners from the Indian and Japanese sides. Chief Commissioner Income Tax in Ahemedabad J C Pegu (India) and Deputy Managing Director of KHM Drive Y Kamihara (Japan) were the winners in the 0-16 Handicap category. In the 17-24 Handicap Category, Real Estate entrepreneur Anuj Khanna and T Tokimuni of Hitachi Group were the winners.

Kunihiko Ishij won the prize of Straightest Drive. Hayakawa, Managing Director of Furakawa India, claimed the prize of Closest to the Pin. Koji Yamada of Tokai Imperial won the Longest Drive with 280 feet.

Tatsuo Nishimoto, Secretary General JCCII, was the winner of the lucky draw. He won the 55” Sansui LED TV. It was handed over to him by Abhijit Kotnis, Global Manufacturing Head, Sansui and Rahul Sharma, Founder and President, Indo-Nippon Golf Cup.

Speaking on the occasion, Kotnis added “it was an honor and privilege to be present at the 10th edition of the Indo-Nippon Golf Cup. Sansui, being a Japanese Consumer Electronics brand, draws immense pride in associating with this successful Indo-Japanese initiative.

Winning and losing in sports is not as important as playing the game in the right spirit and I am confident that such initiatives will not only strengthen the Indo-Japanese bonds, but will also open gates to many wonderful opportunities. Sansui looks forward to such events in the future.”

On March 13, a cocktail dinner reception was held at the Assocham House for the players and eminent citizens to celebrate the 10th edition of the tournament.

Some of the esteemed guests present at the dinner included Dr. Samudrala Venugopal Chary, Ex-Member of Parliament and special representative of Telengana cabinet, Dushyant Singh, Member of Parliament (BJP), Gaurav Gogoi, MP Congress, eminent golfer Neelam Pratap Rudy, cricketer Nikhil Chopra, Secretary General JCCII Tatsuo Nishimoto and Head of HIDA (Japan's Overseas Human Resources and Industrial Development Association Satoru Mitani.

The chief patrons for the event are Arjun Asrani, former Ambassador India to Japan, Toshihisa Fuse, President Japan Chamber of Commerce & Industry in India, Aftab Seth former Ambassador of India to Japan, Tatsuyo Nishimoto Secretary General Japan Chamber of Commerce & Industry in India, Neelam Pratap Rudy, Philanthropist and eminent Golfer.

Speaking on the occasion, Rahul Sharma said “with the presence of the eminent patrons for our Indo-Nippon Golf cup 2015, the event has definitely been elevated and the magnitude of its importance in terms of skill development between the two countries is at an all time high.”

Dazzling Finale to India-UAE Friendship Golf Cup in Dubai

By Deepak Arora

DUBAI, March 14: Summers are real warm in the dazzling city of Dubai. So was this Saturday. Despite that many businessmen, diplomats and senior executives had come together at the prestigious Emirates Golf Club to participate in the grand finale of the first edition of the India-UAE Friendship Golf Cup.

As many as 100 participants had come from different emirates of the UAE and from Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal from India to play in the grand finale which was the fifth round under the first edition of the first India-UAE Friendship Golf Cup.

The first round of the four-city India-UAE Golf Tournament was inaugurated on August 29 at Dubai. The second round the India-UAE Cup was held on November 1 at Abu Dhabi. The third in Sharjah on December 20 at the Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club and the fourth round of the Friendship Cup was held in February at Ras al-Khaimah.

Diplomats from India, Korea and Malaysia had also participated in the tournament to foster better ties not only between India and UAE, but also among global community.

Echoing similar sentiments at the award ceremony, India’s Counsel General Anurag Bhushan said he was extremely happy the way the India-UAE tournament has evolved and succeeded in such a short span of six and half months.

“The journey has just begun. I would like this Friendship Cup to come up on the golf map of the UAE before I complete my assignment in this beautiful country,” he added.

Anurag Bhushan said “through this tournament we are using golf as a medium to further strengthen the relationship between the two counties, especially between the business communities.”

“This tournament is a bridge between Emiratis and Indians,” he said to a huge round of applause from the audience.

Some of the prominent golfers who participated in the tournament included the Counsel General of India Anurag Bhushan, Vice President of Turkish Indian Chambers of Commerce Mehmet Ali Seker, Counsel General of Malaysia Fadil, and Counsel General of Korea Moon.

There were also CEO of Landmark Group Vipin Sethi, Chairman of Al Dobowi Group Surender S Kandhari, Group CEO of Abul Khair Group V R Sharma, member of the UAE National Golf Team Mohammed Moshareq, Head of Wealth Management of Rak Bank Deepak M Ahuja, Advocate of Supreme Court of India Prashant Chandra, Indian businessman Mukesh Arora and Editor of TheTribuneOnline.com Deepak Arora.

Also present were Vice President (Business Development) Srivats Asur and Assistant General Manager (Marketing & Communications) Evelyn Bousiou of Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS), Chief Marketing Officer of Dabur Vivek Dhir, Chief Information Officer of Wall Street Exchange Centre LLC Rajendra Srivastava, Group CEO Acore Group Sudhakar Murthy, and Managing Director of Metfood Bijay Madan.

With the first round which happened in Dubai on August 29 till the finale, we saw participation from all quite a few UAE nationals along with a lot of our Indian Friends. It was also very heartwarming to see participants flying in from India to participate in this various editions of this event, said Anurag Bhushan.

Counsel General Bhushan said “this clearly demonstrates the friendship between the two countries. Golf has now become one more tool to further foster the same. I am looking for the second edition of the India-UAE Friendship Cup which will begin in September this year.”

It was good that organizer of the event, Dhruv Verma, CEO of the GolfLan, had fixed the Tee Off at 4.30 pm. By then the mercury had come down a bit. It’s a different story that almost all the 100 participants arrived much before tee off time. After a usual ceremony of a group photograph, the golfers headed for their carts.

The officials and staff of the Emirates Golf Club had done excellent arrangements with all the carts lined up with each cart having printed score cards of each participant and other required accessories like well sharpened pencils, tees and clean towels.

As the night fell on the beautiful golf course, the participants played under the flood lights. The game ended around 9 pm.

Narendra Swarup with 44 stable fort points lifted the India-UAE Friendship Golf Cup finale held at the prestigious Emirates Golf Club here. India’s Counsel General Anurag Bhushan gave away the grand trophy to Swarup.

This unique series has being conceptualized and managed by GolfLAN, a renowned golf consultancy company that allows golfers across the world to gather at a unique platform.

GolfLAN, which launched its UAE operations in June this year, is committed to making golf accessible to a much wider population in the UAE through their innovative product "Elite Golfer's Club" membership card, according to Dhruv Verma, CEO, GolfLAN.

Dhruv Verma said "the membership allows golfers to play hassle free golf across 30 plus golf courses in India and over 90 golf courses worldwide at unbelievably subsidized rates."

He said "We have seen participation from all the affluent Indians and Emiratis in all the five rounds.”

Emirates Golf Club offers the sublime international championship Majlis course - 'the desert miracle' - as well as the beautiful and challenging Faldo course.

With a rich history and a passionate dedication to service, Emirates Golf Club is the premier golfing destination in Dubai. The Club provides a comprehensive set of services including dining options, event facilities, a modern golf academy, floodlit par-3 course, driving ranges and a pro-shop.

The Majlis course has the honour of hosting the European PGA Tour Omega Dubai Desert Classic and the Ladies' European Tour sanctioned Omega Dubai Ladies Masters annually. The Majlis Golf Course has been officially ranked amongst the 'World's Top100 Golf Courses' by internationally acclaimed golf magazine, Golf World.

Golfers are now able to enjoy a full round of 18 holes championship night golf in the heart of Dubai thanks to the Faldo Course becoming the only fully floodlit 18-hole course in the UAE.

One of Dubai's most attractively maintained courses, Emirates Golf Club's Par 3 course offers plenty of challenges for all, whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced player.

Golf: It Takes Conscious Action

By Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev

NEW DELHI: If I had more time, the one thing I would do is play more golf. I’m not very good by professional standards, but I usually finish in the lower 80s. And I hear that in the golfing community, most people do not finish below 100. A few times I finished less than five over par, and twice just three over par. So when I finished three over I thought, ‘This is it. I have arrived!’ But the next day, I’ll go and finish 18 over!

People keep saying golf is the most difficult game, but I do not think so because if you play any other game, the ball will come at you at different velocities and spins, different angles and curvatures, but with golf, the damn thing is just sitting there; you just have to hit it! That’s why it is so frustrating because if you play cricket and get beat, you can say the bowling was too good. Or you can say it bounced on me. But with golf, it’s just you and you, that’s all.

That is the beauty of the game. There is nobody else, just you. You may play with somebody else, but in reality, the game is structured in such a way that you are only playing with yourself. Most of the game, about 70% of it, is just mind. That part I do well. But the subtleties of the game I do not know much of and the problem is I don’t have enough practice. You need to build muscle memory for golf; the body has to learn it. And for that, you need to be swinging the club everyday, whereas for months on end, I won’t get a moment to play. Then suddenly, one day I will just go to the course and play a round.

Usually, if someone has not played in some time, he will start out on the driving range and swing it out, and then hit the course. But I’m not like that, I just go and tee off. I will never even take a practice swing. I may goof up a few holes because I’m hungry to hit the ball. I’m not so concerned about the score, I just want to whack the ball because I haven’t whacked enough balls in my life.

I see people getting overly tense and agitated at times when they are required to be calm and stable. If they’re about to par or a birdie is coming, I see the way they stretch and breathe and get all worked up. Not me. I can birdie with ease and I can goof up with equal ease.

The reason golf is breaking a lot of people is, instinctive ways of action will not do. It takes conscious action to play golf; in that sense it is really a wonderful game.

@ Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev is a spiritual master and an enthusiastic golfer. He has had a few golf rounds at Karma Lakelands as well.

ITC Classic warms up Nescafe Gold spirits despite heavy rains

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI: It was first Sunday of March and the unexpected heavy rains since the previous night had virtually brought life to standstill. No one had exprienced such heavy unseasonal rains in Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida and other parts of India in the month of March. Later on one realised that the first few days of March had wintnessed the heaviest rains in the last 100 years.

Heavy rains had disrupted traffic due to water logged roads and streets. Major golf tournaments were cancelled including the Lt Governor's Cup at Qutab Golf Course in Delhi.

Other golf courses like the Delhi Golf Club, DLF Golf Club, Noida Golf Club, Karma Lakelands, Golden Greens etc had cancelled games disappointing golfers and losing money on a Sunday that is nornally heavily booked.

However, the ITC Classic Golf and Country Club on Sunday morning held the Nescafe Gold Classic Medal Round much to the delight of 65 participants who had turned up for the event.

Col Narendra Singh, CEO of ITC Classic, said "despite the heavy rains we could hold the tournament thanks to the very good drainage system that the golf course has."

He said within one hour of stoppage of rain we open the course to the members to play and that is the feedback I have received from the members. Col Singh, who has recently joined the ITC Classic, was earlier Secretary of the Army Golf Course that is also now known as Environmental Park and Training Area.

Col Narendra Singh said the 18-hole golf course has an impeccable drainage system that has been designed by golfer Jack Nicklaus. ITC Classic Golf and Country Club is the first South Asian Signature Championship golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus.

He also pointed out that water does not accumulate in the course for long here due to the soil and adulation is so good. It is perhaps so as the golf course is close to the border of Rajasthan. Therefore, I would also like to give credit to God for quicker vanishing of water after rains.

Col Singh also said we also allowed use of carts but only on the cart path to save the grass from further damage.

The CEO said our friendly staff tries to make the members feel comfortable and relaxed and provide all facilities. That is why when most golf courses are closed on a rainy day like this, we are still open."

Bikram Singh, Shubodeep Pal and F C Narayanan were the winners of the tournament that had prizes in three handicap categories.

"Despite the tough playing conditions I manage to put a decent game toghether," said Bikram Singh, Vice President (Events), IMGR Reliance.

Besides India, there were players from Japan and Korea that participated in the tournament. Some of the players who participated included former Indian cricketer Nikhil Chopra, Hariharan from ITC and Varindra Sewak from Nestle.