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PGTI honour for Jeev Milkha
There were generous dollops of glamour and opulence at the 1st Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) Annual Awards, but if something was amiss on a chilly Sunday night, it was warmth.
There were generous dollops of glamour and opulence at the 1st Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) Annual Awards, but if something was amiss on a chilly Sunday night, it was warmth. The anxiety to make the event a success was understandable, but while ensuring the objective was met, civility was bypassed. The elite of the golfing fraternity gracing the occasion, the security at a top five-star hotel was on its toes, but some of the personnel forgot to incorporate courteousness in their approach.
It was Vijay Amritraj’s wit that lit up the evening. In-between one-liners like “There’s no video presentation, you’ll have to put up with my jokes”, and “I had a chance to play with Jeev (Milkha Singh) in the pro-am (of the Tour Championship) and I am sure he won’t see me again,” PGTI president, Gautam Thapar, feted Jeev with honorary life membership to the body.
Also felicitated were eight first-time winners on the Tour — Gaganjeet Bhullar, Anirban Lahiri, Himmat Rai, Amandeep Johl, Gurki Shergill, Vishal Singh, Gaurav Pratap Singh and Kunal Bhasin. Australia’s Anthony Choat received the Emerging Player of the Year Award.
Soon after Lahiri was handed a crafted Rolex timepiece for finishing atop the Order the Merit, Amritraj, the master of ceremonies, brought the curtains down with another humourous one: “The programme ends but dinner continues.”
