MercedesTrophy: Saurabh, Vaneet qualify for final

Tribune News Service

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Chandigarh, February 16 

Local favourites Saurabh Singh Mangat and Vaneet Khosla claimed the two National Final spots available on the opening day of the Chandigarh leg of the 17th Annual MercedesTrophy golf tournament here today.

Saurbh CAT-A (0-17) and Vaneet Khosla CAT-B (18-24) ended the day at a net score of 72.8 and 74 respectively.

They will now be playing the National Finals scheduled to be held at Pune's Oxford Golf Resort from March 15-17.

"It was a very nice event and it was very well organised. I will look to play a good round of golf at Pune as well," said Saurabh.

There were a host of other prizes on offer on the day.

Prominent winners included Sachin Dev Mehta, who won the Ballantine's Long Drive Challenge on the 15th hole with a mammoth drive of 292 yards.

Arun Talwar won the SWISS Closest to Pin contest landing the ball just 9.5 ft from the pin on hole 13. 

In the Mercedes-Benz straightest drive contest played on hole four, Karan Kaila was declared the winner, while in the Mercedes-Benz Closest to Pin in Two Shots was won by Nitin Mittal on hole 16.

The format of play was Double Peoria. The unique format of adjusting handicaps of players levels the playing field enabling golfers to have a greater chance of qualifying for the National Finals. The Chandigarh leg is the ninth leg of the 12-city tournament.

This year, the MercedesTrophy will travel to 50 countries engaging 60,000 golfers worldwide.

The Indian leg will witness 25 days of competitive amateur golfing action in 12 cities, engaging 2,500 golfers.