Lady golfers back on course in city

The Captain’s Trophy is played as a grand finale at TNGF and the calendar looks full. Matches at the Madras Gymkhana are usually planned keeping in line with the schedule for horse racing, since the MRC racing track and MGC golf course converge. 

“We also hope to travel to at least two clubs in other cities and compete in tournaments,” said K Umamaheswari, Captain, TNGF (ladies). “We plan to play in Mumbai and Bengaluru. We have also received an invitation from Poona Club Golf Course to play in September,” she added. Many lady golfers are back in the city after travelling and visiting families in summer, she added. 

“It’s a good sport and I hope to tee off in many of the monthly events,” said Revathy Sudhakar, who plays both golf and tennis. The first match of the season this year was the Satomi Cup. It was sponsored by Satomi, a Japanese lady who played often in the city in the 1980s and 1990s. 

“She preferred to play in the Stableford format and sponsored it accordingly,” said Malini Srinivasan, who had played with Satomi often. Winner of the Satomi Cup this year is S Lakshmi with 31 points while Jayashree Bharath was the runner-up with 30 points. 

Revathy Sudhakar and Geetha Thiagarajan missed the post by a mere three points, in what was a keenly fought tussle. “A couple of greens are a challenge this year, and putting is quite tricky. You may think the ball will curve a little to the right and fall in, but it has stopped just short of the hole. 

But that is the best kind of golf,” said Mangala, after playing the Monthly medal on Wednesday in the second tournament in the ladies calendar. The calendar also includes Ladies Double matches (as against the standard four ball individual rounds on other days) and Mixed Doubles. 

Malini Srinivasan Cup (October) and Susie Kurien Ladies Doubles(November)  are the other eagerly awaited entries.  Susie is one of the longest-playing golfers in the city.