The first day of the Merchants and Bankers golf tournament, organised jointly by Rotary Club of Madras and The Hindu , got off to a spectacular start at the Cosmo-TNGF course here on Saturday with corporates from all over Tamil Nadu taking part with fervour.
“It was fantastic,” said P.N. Mohan, a Rotarian and chief co-ordinator of the event. “There were so many corporates, so much so that we have to say no to some of them,” he added.
Mohan said around 116 golfers participated on the opening day with a few drop-outs. “The objective,” Mohan stressed, “was not just to play, but play for a good cause.”
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“We want the golfers to enjoy the hospitality.” The tournament is getting bigger and bigger, said Mohan, mentioning that it was only a matter of time before the tournament equalled the stature of Kolkata.
Venkoji Rao, Managing Director, and S. Thiyagarajan, General Manager, Narayana Pearls India Pvt. Ltd., described the tournament as good with nice hospitality. “The course is good. It’s also nice to connect with different people,” said Thiyagarajan.
South Korean J.H. Heo, working with Samjin Shipping Pvt. Ltd. and playing in the Cosmopolitan Course for the first time, said the course had been good overall. He added that the greens were in pretty good condition.
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Wilson Mathews, Director (Sales and Marketing), True Value Homes, the title sponsor of the event, said it felt great to see a tournament being conducted for a common cause.
“TVH found association with Rotary and this golf tournament more meaningful; it was wonderful to see close to 120 players tee off on Saturday towards a common cause in an event organised by Rotary Club, apart from great support from women golfers.
“We saw a youngster, Vikkash Babu, travel all the way from Singapore to the senior-most player aged 83 years from Chennai; all showed great passion.”
Mathews described the course as challenging. “With the number of golfers increasing, we feel it will be more appropriate for TVH to look at creating residential communities with golf course,” he said.