Ballantine’s Team-Am Golf Challenge 3

182 Golfers teed-off at the Ballantine’s Team-Am Golf Challenge 3

Chiang Mai, Thailand
18 – 22 October 2012

STORIES, PICTURES & RESULTS

182 golfers teed-off in the charming northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, for the Ballantine’s Team-Am Golf Challenge 3, from 18 – 22 October 2012, where the competition was tight and the setting fabulous.

In the words of Mr.Sethaphan Buddhani, Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand, “In the history of Tourism Authority of Thailand, this is the largest golfing group ever to visit and play in Thailand”.

The group had Indian and International teams competing for Team, Individual Gross Stableford and Individual Net Stableford prizes.

The Event Round Up

Participants were accommodated at two perfectly located and luxurious hotels, Le Meridien and Dusit D2. Both 5 star properties had the advantage of being in the centre of Chiang Mai with the night market and other sights within easy reach.

The team event (teams of 4) was played in the Standard/Modified Stableford Strokeplay over three rounds in Chiang Mai’s best courses – Alpine Golf Resort, Chiang Mai Highlands Golf & Spa Resort and Inthanon Golf & Natural Resort.

The event was marked by tight competition throughout the three days, a result of the interesting format which took the sum of the best 3 Net Stableford points out of a team of 4 golfers on each day to determine the team’s score for the day. The top score which was the total for the 3 days determined the winning team. The Golftripz “Powerplay” was introduced on all three days and lent a twist to the golfing tale.

The entire group of 182 golfers was split in 2 and each of these sub-groups played at the same 3 golf courses in rotation.

Action kicked off at the challenging Ron Garl designed Alpine Golf Resort and the Inthanon Golf & Natural Resort, which overlooks Doi Inthanon, Thailand’s highest peak. Top honours on the first day went to Anshul Bagai in the individual net category, which also propelled his team Delhi Danes to first place in the team event. B Manohar Reddy topped the individual gross category.

On Day 2 with the golf at Alpine and the spectacular Schmidt –Curley designed Highlands Golf Course, things turned around quite a bit. Aditya Gupta from Delhi showed his class carding a superb round of just 2 over at the Alpine thereby going to top of the leaderboard in the Individual gross category.  His performance also meant that his team Delhi Danes stayed on top despite a strong rally from Pune Titans. Nehal Vasudevmurthy the youngest participant in the event from Bengaluru played a cracking round at Highlands and shot to 1^st place in the Individual Net Category.

The final day at Highlands and Inthanon Golf Courses, was really the day of reckoning with lots at stake and almost all teams were found engaged in working out their strategy especially with the Power Plays – which would be make or break. Pune Titansplanned and more importantly executed theirs almost flawlessly with inspired performances from Ikramuddin Khan and  Aditya Deshmukh.  Supported very well by Anant Pandit and Sanjay Naik over the 3 rounds, they hit the pedal that took them to the top place. Delhi Danes finished in 2^nd place, followed by Birdie Boys from Hyderabad.  Aditya Gupta of Delhi Danes continued his form to finish at the top in the Individual Gross Category as did Nehal Vasudevmurthy in the Individual Net Category.  Bhaskar Reddy from Hyderabad finished as the Best Senior Golfer, whereas Poonam Sheth from Bharuch was the best lady golfer.

There was plenty of action off the golf courses as well. Many participants were accompanied by their spouses and had the opportunity to indulge in the rich Lanna heritage that Chiang Mai is known for, during their sightseeing tours and night market shopping trips. There was sparkling entertainment on all evenings, each with a different flavour. The first party was at the traditional Lanna restaurant Khum Khantoke spiced up by some enchanting performances and shows that included a Thai Kick Boxing match. On the 2^nd evening, everyone had their spirits up at the hip Infinity Bar, one of the trendiest spots in Chiang Mai. If this wasn’t good enough, one couldn’t ask for more than the Prize Giving Gala Dinner at the Le-Meridien – the host hotel for the event. In the backdrop of an exquisite set up, adorned by Ballantine’s signage and promoters, one of Chiang Mai’s top local rock bands wowed the crowd with a power packed performance. This set the stage for a memorable prize distribution ceremony, which left everyone raving, thus capping off an exhilarating tournament in style.

For Pictures  of the event, go to our Facebook page.

Team Results

Individual Results

Individual Results

Individual Results/Course-wise

Other Results

Complete Tournament Results & Scores

1. Individual Gross Scores
2. Individual Net Scores
3. Scoring Table – Individual (Without Powerplay)
4. Scoring Table (With Powerplay)
5. TEAM STANDING – Team Am Golf Challenge
6. List of Winners

Which Group did I belong to?