Page 26 - The Indian EYE 100424

NORTH AMERICAN Newsline OCTOBER 04, 2024 | The Indian Eye 26

SAGA celebrates 20th Annual

Golf Outing with SAGA Open 2024

OUR BUREAU
Lawrence Township, NJ
he South Asian Golf Associa-
tion (SAGA) held its 20th An-
Tnual Golf Outing on Septem-
ber 21 as a spectacular celebration
of the gentle game, community, and
friendly competition.
The daylong SAGA Open
brought together over 70 enthusiastic
golfers at Cobblestone Creek Country
Club in Lawrence Township, NJ. Ev-
erybody enjoyed an unforgettable day
on the greens with clear skies, perfect
weather, and a spirit of camaraderie.
Known for its thrilling compe-
tition and warm, welcoming atmo-
sphere, the SAGA Open has estab-
lished itself as a premier event for SAGA Tour 2024 (Sponsor - NJ Group Services Amin Khatri - Left, Flight 1 Winners - Deep SAGA Tour 2024 Champion - Anish Johi
the South Asian golfing community. Thapliyal, Amit Parekh, Varun Malhotra) Memorial Trophy Winner - Deep Thapliyal)
Using a handicapped-based scoring
system, players of all skill levels are in In other SAGA Open maintained and stays true to the sport.
contention to win the year-long com- 2024 Highlights, Low In keeping with SAGA’s commit-
petition. Gross Score was carded by ment to nurturing young talent, three
This year’s final tournament
kicked off with a shotgun start. Both Santosh Hanumaiah – Score of deserving students were awarded the
SAGA Junior / Anish Joshi College
75 (Winner with Tie-breaker, tied
seasoned players and eager new- with Abdhullah Vohra). Scholarships ($1,650 each) for their
comers teed off for a chance to win • Closest to the Pin claimants were: academic and golfing achievements:
prestigious prizes, including a Mer- Hole #2: Tito Singh (6’ 9”); Hole Tanya Chowdary – Bentley University,
cedes-Benz for a hole-in-one, spon- #4: Romil Bhagat (18’ 4”); Hole MA, Tanvi Samayam – Nova South-
sored by Mercedes-Benz of Princeton. #7: Amit Sud (1’ 9”); Hole #11: eastern University, FL, and Vikram
The Anish Joshi Memorial Tro-
phy, awarded to the overall 2024 SAGA Jassi Singh (5’ 4”); and Hole #14: Bajaj – Stonybrook University, NY.
As the sun set over Cobblestone
Santosh Hanumaiah (8’ 5”). Clos-
Tour Champion, was the highlight est to the Line: Hole #13: Rajeev Creek Country Club, golfers and
of the day, which comes with a one- Chaudhary (3”). guests gathered in the ballroom for a SAGA Open - Low Gross Winner - Santosh
week vacation anywhere in the world, The UnitedHealthcare Cup was fun-filled awards ceremony. Laugh- Hanumaiah (Right), United Healthcare
donated by Dr. Anil & Mrs. Anju awarded to the victorious SAGA ‘The ter, stories, and smiles filled the room
Joshi, parents of late Anish Joshi - a Gate Squad’ Team, led by captain as everyone celebrated the 20th anni- Sponsor (Madhura Inamdar-Left, Theresa
former member and strong supporter. Deep Thapliyal. His team, consist- versary of the SAGA Golf Open. Lee -Middle)
Deep Thapliyal was declared the
With sponsorship support from
SAGA Founder & President Ma-
winner of the Anish Joshi Memorial ing of Amit Parekh, Varun Malhotra, hesh Yadav thanked all participants, UnitedHealthcare, NJ Group Ser-
Shashi Gautam, Sachin Mally, Sanjay
Trophy.
Seth, Ashish Shah, and Uday Patel, sponsors, and volunteers for contrib- vices, Prajapati & Company, Optima
Following are other SAGA Tour celebrated a hard-fought win, round- uting to the successful and memora- Global Solutions, TV Asia, and other
2024 winners: ing off an incredible day of golf. The ble event. The awards reception was valued partners, SAGA Open has ce-
• For Flight 1, Deep Thapliyal, Var- SAGA Board and the Tour commit- followed by dinner, dancing, and raf- mented its place as one of the top golf-
un Malhotra, and Amit Parekh tee ensure that competitive integrity is fle prizes. ing events for South Asians in the US.
took first, second, and third place,
respectively.
• For Flight 2, Niraj Desai, Jassi
Singh, and Shashi Gautam took
1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, respective-
ly.
• For Flight 3, Ankit Patel, Haresh
Majmundar, and Jayesh Parikh
claimed 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.
• Ronak Patel, who reduced hand-
icap from 20.3 to 14.7, was de-
clared Most Improved Golfer.

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