It was a cool, nippy and bright winter morning at the ITC Classic Golf Resort in Gurgaon where 120 keen golfers had gathered for the 2nd YES Bank-Golf Foundation Invitational Golf Championship. For the most part, these 120 golfers were sponsors’ of the event, with a few special invitees thrown in. Everyone was there for two reasons: to show their support with the objectives of the Golf Foundation and of course, to have a great time.
Over a delicious breakfast spread, Amit Luthra, the Founder-CEO of the Golf Foundation welcomed all the invitees and explained the objectives of the Foundation. He said the Foundation’s mission was to identify and assist golf talent with the objective of producing global golf champions and that its beneficiaries were helped with golf equipment, specialised coaching, financial assistance, monthly stipends and job placements. Shubham Jaglan, the current World Champion in his age category and pride of the Foundation, also spoke a few words and impressed all with his sincerity, humbleness and honesty.
Like the hugely successful inaugural tournament in May 2014, the 2nd edition of the tournament was designed to have a very innovative and exciting format. Apart from the main prizes, there were spot prizes, competitions and events each and every hole of the 18 hole course.
This ensured that nearly everyone went home a winner!
Naturally, everyone had a great time on the course. The game ended with a sumptuous lunch on the lawns.
The evening saw everyone at the Le Meridien in New Delhi for the Gala Dinner and Prize Distribution. While Charu Sharma did a commendable job of anchoring the evening, the evening commenced with a stellar singing performance by Sonal Kalra. Chief Guests of the evening were Aamir Khan (arguably India’s most respected and loved film star), the Hon’ble Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Gail Da Silva (Miss United Continent 2014) and R Madhavan, the actor and anchor.
In his speech, Aamir Khan praised the work of the Golf Foundation and said that he would be there to support the Foundation in its cause. He also took various questions from members of the audience and answered them in his own inimitable, clear and well thought out manner. The audience thoroughly enjoyed the interaction and the evening ended with felicitations to the winners of the tournament.
Both editions of the Foundations tournaments did a fantastic job of attracting the best corporate – both Indian and multinational – sponsors. And it has been decided to make the event an annual, multi-location event.
The next tournament is scheduled to be held in Mumbai at the Willingdon Sports Club on December 5, 2014. This would be followed by a Gala Dinner and Prize Distribution at the ITC Grand Central, Mumbai.
The Golf Foundation’s success stories include India’s best golf champions. Just a few of the young champions making waves on the Indian and international circuits are Rashid Khan, Chikkarangappa, Honey Baisoya, Manu Gandas and Harinder Gupta.
Thanks to help from the Foundation, these youngsters are fully exploiting their talent, shattering quite a few records in the process.
The Foundation’s newest kid off the block is Shubham Jaglan. All of 9 years of age, Shubham has been the world champion in his age category in 2013. With The Golf Foundation’s support, Shubham has won over 120 Indian and international golf tournaments and is well on the way to achieving glory at the highest levels of golf in the future.
The Golf Foundation’s work has not gone unnoticed. It has been supported and endorsed by eminent personalities from all over the world. These include the Indian Cricket team, Jeev Milkha Singh, Aamir Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, R Madhavan, Rati Agnihotri, Mandira Bedi, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Lee-Ann Pace, Lori Kane, Laura Davies and Christina Kim, among others.
Even Gary Player – one of the world’s greatest golfers with 165 professional wins including 9 Majors – is a supporter and has contributed to the cause.
The Golf Foundation, being a charitable organization, depends solely on donations. Donations of all kinds – cash, golf equipment, clothing – are accepted. All donations get Section 80G benefit under the Income Tax Act, and the Foundation also has FCRA clearance.
Most importantly, all companies now have to earmark 2% of net profits mandatorily towards Corporate Social Responsibility and donations to the Golf Foundation are covered under this.
Looking back at the sterling efforts of The Golf Foundation over the past years, it would certainly seem that the future of Indian golf is bright and is in safe hands.
The event was managed by Digraj Golf Inc.
The Golf Foundation’s Activities Include:-
* Providing the Juniors with state of art modern golf equipment, specialized coaching and other technical inputs from experts
* Financial assistance to play various domestic and international golf tournaments
* Provision of monthly stipend to look after their daily needs
* Foster job placements – help them towards financial stability while pursuing a career in Golf
* Maintaining their physical and mental balance through Yoga and nutrition based educational classes
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