March 22, 2014: Niki Ponappa won the inaugural Satish Tandon Memorial Pro Am, organised by the Women’s Golf Association of India (WGAI) yesterday at the DLF Golf & Country Club in Gurgaon.
“This win has come at a time when I really needed a boost, and my confidence to be reinstated that I can make it!” Nikki told golfingindian.com.
The running trophy for the event has been instituted by Mrs Mridula Tandon, wife of the late Satish Tandon, the first president of WGAI . The event will now be a permanent fixture on the WGAI calendar. The occasion also coincided with the tenth anniversary of WGAI’s formation.
“On an emotional level, this win will be most special as it is in the memory of a gentle and kind soul Mr. Satish Tandon, without whom we women would not have thought of golf as a career option. I played my first pro am about five years ago in the presence of Mr. and Mrs. Tandon,” added Nikki.
The field comprised of nine professional golfers and 18 amateurs vying for the winner’s trophy. The tournament that was played in the stableford format saw Bengaluru golfer Niki Ponappa walk away with the winner’s trophy. Nikki’s three – ball, which comprised of Rahul Khanna and Monica Jajoo, clinched the winners trophy in nail biting finish with 99 points, edging out the runner’s up by a solitary point..
Kolkata golfer Neha Tripathi along with Maj Gen. Abhi Parmar and MD Sinha finished as the runner’s up with a total of 98 points. Among the other winners was amateur Aashana Monga, who won the longest drive challenge hitting 230 yards. Pooja Batra won the closes to Pin challenge while Anuva Saurabh emerged victorious in the straight drive contest.
Women Golf Association of India has been established as a nation-wide honorary non-profit organization with the sole objective of upliftment of women through the medium of sport. ‘Empowerment of women through sport’, the motto of the organization, highlights that it aims at creating a structured plan to provide an opportunity to those from socially weaker sections to carve out a career in golf. WGAI intends to enable women to compete in an organized professional Tour which serves as a launching pad for greater honors worldwide.
