Mohapatra wins CII Eastern Region Golf Tournament

Col S K Mohapatra of Sewa Golf Resort & Spa won the 2nd CII Eastern Region Golf Tournament, which was organized by Confederation of Indian Industries at Bhubaneswar Golf Club (BGC) Course in Bhubaneswar on October 30 and 31. Augustin Ekka (Paradip Port Trust) won the Best Gross prize. Jayant Biswas (ESSPL) and Lakhi Swain emerged winners in 19-24 handicap and ladies categories respectively. The team title went to ESSPL. Altogether 60 golfers, including 10 ladies from West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa took part in the two-day tournament, which featured competition in individual and team events. As many as seven corporate companies vied for honours in the team event. These seven included ESSPL, Mahanadi Coalfields Limited, Tata Steel, Paradip Port Trust, Indian Oil Corporation, Vesus Visa and REDA. The tournament, which aimed at promoting industry and tourism in Orissa, howeve, ended on sour note as the Tourism and Culture Minister Devi Prasad failed to keep his commitment of joining the prize distribution ceremony as chief guest. ``He kept everybody waiting for a long time and did not turn up. When the desparate CII officials contacted the Minister, his took the excuse that the Chief Minister had called him for a meeting,’’ said member of BGC. In the absence of Mishra, State Sports Director P K Pradhan gave away the prizes. On the sideline of the closing ceremony, BGC treasurer Devesh Sinha announced that the CII tournament would be followed by a mixed doubles tournament on November 15, the Signature Cup Tournament on November 22 and the Pine Cask Tournament on November 29. He also revealed that the BGC course had, in the meanwhile, been equipped with the sprinkling facility. ``This facility is first of its kind in the eastern region and helps in the uniform watering of the course.’’ RESULTS: Individual category: 0 to 18 handicap: Champion: Col S K Mohapatra (31 points): Runner-up: Dulal Pany (31 points). Best gross: Augustin Ekka (20 points). 19 to 24 handicap: Winner: Jayant Biswas (30 points): Runner-up: D P Satpathy (23 points). Ladies: Winner: Lakhi Swain (19 points): Runner-up: Revati Pani (16 points). Team event: Winners: ESSPL (Devesh Sinha, Sailendra Upadhyaya, Jayant Biswas, Somprabh Jha) 72 points. Runners-up: Mahanadi Coal Fields (AK Padhi, SK Lal, B Nayak) 70 points. Special prizes: Nearest to the pin: Annapurna Dash (20 feet). Longest drive: Rajnish Das (259 yards, 11 feet). Straightest drive: Col S K Mohapatra (11 inches). PHOTO: Prize winners and guests at the CII Eastern Region Golf Tournament in Bhubaneswar on Oct 31, 2009.