The fifth leg of the Indian Golf Union (IGU) East Zone Junior and Amateur Feeder Tour 2023 concluded on May 18, with 41 players competing. The tournament, also known as the Jharkhand Amateur Open 2023, was held at Jamshedpur's Golmuri Golf Course.
Pratham Chaudhary of Jamshedpur won the Amateur category with a score of 137 (seven under par), followed by Abhishek Mitra of Hyderabad with a score of 152. Mitra won his own division, the Mid-Amateur category, where Satyaranjan Pattanaik of Odisha finished second with a score of 159.
Abhishek Mitra (second from left) collecting his award Protouch Sports
Mitra's next tournament will be the British Mid-Amateur Golf Championship in the UK, so this victory will motivate him to perform better in the UK and raise India's profile on the international stage.
Balkar Singh of Ranchi won the Senior category with a score of 166 over two rounds, and Nitai Patnaik of Odisha finished second with a score of 188. K. Hasdah won the Super Senior division with a score of 209.
The tournament also included junior categories, making it a part of the East Zone Junior Feeder Tour 2023. Ahaan Gupta of Kolkata won the A&B Boys’ division with a score of 152, while Lakshya Agarwal of Kolkata finished second with 163. However, Lakshya won the B Boys’ title, with Jamshedpur's Biswakrit Ghosh finishing second with a score of 166.
Ahaan Gupta (left) receives his trophy from Farzan Herjee Protouch Sports
Mehak Lohan of Kolkata won the A&B Girls’ division with a score of 167, followed by Aditi Biradar of Ranchi with a score of 194. Patna's Aaditya Manglam Trivedi won the C Boys’ category with a score of 164, and Andrew Baid came in second with a score of 167. Nahida Parvin of Kolkata won the C&D Girls’ division with a score of 177, while Julinka Roychowdhury of Kolkata fought hard for first place but finished second with 179. Samarth Agarwal of Kolkata won the D Boys’ division with a score of 192.
In the E Category, which is for children under the age of nine, Kolkata's Vir Nayar won with a score of 104, while Jamshedpur's Agam Abhishek Doshi finished second with a score of 106. Novika Kakkar, a seven-year-old girl from Ranchi, won the E Category Girls’ title with a score of 136.
D.B. Sundara Ramam, vice president of Raw Materials Division, Tata Steel, and Jamshedpur golf captain, graced the occasion as chief guest along with R.N. Murthy, managing director, Tinplate, and chairman, Golmuri Golf Club; and Farzan Heerjee, vice president, IGU.
All the winners from the Jharkhand Amateur Open 2023 Protouch Sports
Speaking on the occasion, Sundara Ramam said: “Golf as a sport teaches one to be highly focused and disciplined. I’m happy to see so many young children participate in this year’s tournament.” He congratulated the winners and wished all the budding golfers a bright future. He also lauded the efforts of IGU for driving golf at the grassroot level.
The tour's education partner was The Champ for Life Academy, the outdoor media partner was Balaji Ads and the online proshop partner was Golfedge. The event was managed by Protouch Sports.