Golf: Sajnish Puri farewell shotgun-Patrick Asba shoots best gross score, Damien Hoareau wins best net |06 December 2006
There was a healthy turnout of 32 players who contended for a host of attractive prizes.
Although the weather looked quite bleak in the morning as rain pounded almost the entire island of Mahe, the conditions looked fine for an enjoyable 18 holes of golf by midday at the Seychelles Golf Club, Anse Aux Pins, well before the scheduled start time of 1.45 p.m.
Golfers trooped to their respective tee-boxes in high spirits and from the moment the clubhouse bell signaled the start of the round, everyone wanted to give it their best shot.
Many started off well, some persisted, some fell by the wayside, but there was no doubt all the participants had fun.
Patrick Asba, playing the back nine first, shot an incredible 3 under par 31 gross, leaving no one doubting his intentions.
Godfrey Andrade and Alix Esparon put in fighting efforts but didn’t seem to seriously threaten the forerunners.
Damien Hoareau performed well with a 32 net on the back nine, staking his claim early for the best net score. He managed to follow this up with a consistent 31 net on the front nine for a total of 63 net for the best net prize.
Though Morin continued to play well through the front nine and scored a level par 33 gross for a total gross score of 67, Asba just managed to beat him on the count-back rule, also scoring 67 with a relatively dubious front nine gross of 36 strokes to grab the crystal trophy for best gross.
Morin still managed to win the prize for the second best net with his 64 net. Alix Esparon took third place for his superb effort of 64 net, losing on the count-back to Morin.
The best front nine prize went to Robert Savy, playing some of his best golf for a 32 net. Hevens Andrade, always amongst the prize winners, won the best back nine prize with his 32 net. There was a prize for the best net by a golfer over the age of 50 and this went to Guybert Pragassen for his effort of 71 net. The best net by a golfer under 20 years old went to young Anthony Lablache, with a 72 net.
Morin easily won the prize for the least number of putts over 18 holes with a tally of only 23 putts, a delightful average of just 1.27 putts per hole. He also bagged the longest drive on the 1st hole, thus winning a total of three prizes on the day.
Jayant Mayadas, playing an otherwise unimpressive round, was nearest to pin in 2 strokes on the 7th hole. Dr Yalavatti, a newcomer to competitive golf here, had the dubious honour of taking home a statuette trophy for “most golf”, which he did with good humour.
While giving away the prizes, Morin, standing in for club captain Peter Moncherry, appreciated Sajnish Puri’s goodwill in sponsoring the golf day for the members of the club and wished him the best of luck in his future endeavours. He presented a special ceramic plate and a club T-shirt as souvenir to Puri
As for Puri, he reminisced the great times he had had at the course and the clubhouse and assured members he would be a frequent visitor to Seychelles and the golf club. He also gracefully sponsored snacks and soft drinks for all participants.