Big bosses just love to compete on this turf

MUMBAI: The Big Bosses of India Inc gathered at the lush green Bombay Presidency Golf Club in Mumbai to kick start the five-city The Economic Times Leader’s Challenge Tour 2007 presented by Color Plus in association with Emaar-MGF. The co-sponsors were Mitsubishi, Kingfisher Airlines, Kingfisher Premium, Art d’Inox, Srixon and Black Dog.

Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif was the guest of honour who teed off the event at 8 am. And the Indian cricket team’s dismal performance at the World Cup didn’t dampen the spirits of over 70 head of corporates as they waited eagerly for the game to start. The game was played in the stableford format with about players divided into groups of three and four. The top guns slogged it out on the green turf for nearly five hours for the 18-hole course.

The Mumbai heat was not a deterrent as the course tested the temperament and concentration of each player. While there was tough competition between teams, camaraderie was in ample evidence.

And there were prizes galore for the winners. Vijay Chauhan, MD, Parle Products and DP Goel, director, Depe Global Shipping Agencies were declared the winning team, followed by first runners up Carl Saldanha, chief financial officer, Jet Airways and Murad Talib, director, Talib & Shamsi Constructions and second runners-up Teji Sabharwal, assistant V-P, Aptech India and RS Krishnan, V-P, ICICI Securities. Bharat Patel, chairman, P&G India was the winner in the Handicapped Category 15-20, while Puneet Chaddha, head of cards & retail assets, HSBC India, topped in the Handicapped Category 0-14. A special prize of Rs 15,000 was awarded to Kabir Kewalramani, MD, Berggruen Holdings who scored the sole Hole in One at the 8th hole.

The winners at the grand finale will take home the grand prize — a Mitsubishi Cedia each and attend a pro-golfing clinic at The Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore. In addition, there are prizes and trophies galore sponsored by Srixon and Art d’inox for winners in each city.