Bindra, Ali Sher shine

Indian Airlines-sponsored Monish Bindra put the experience acquired form his month-long training stint in the United States to good use to return a career best round of eight-under 64, while twice Indian Open winner, Ali Sher pulled some old magic out of the bag to post a seven-under 67 at the Pro-Am event of the Tk 1.5 million (INR 1.2 million) Dutch-Bangla Bank Bangladesh Open 2002, being played at the Kurmitola Golf Club.

The main tournament commencing tomorrow will mark the 19th leg of the 2001-02 season's Hero Honda Golf Tour.

The Pro-Am event was won by Delhi's Jaiveer Virk's team while Kolkata's Akbar Ali and team finished second. Another Kolkatan, Binod Pandey led his team to the third spot..

The tournament was inaugurated by Lt. Gen. M Harun-Ar-Rashid, Bir Pratik, president-Kurmitola Golf Club, in a grand opening ceremony held at the club premises prior to the commencement of the Pro-Am.

The Pro-Am was played on a Stableford format with the professional's score and the two best nett scores of the amateurs over 18 holes forming the team total.

Jaiveer Virk and his team of captain - Kurmitola Golf Club, Manzoor Ahmed, Iqbal Bahar Chowdhury and Mrs. Jung Sook Jung tallied a winning score of 115 of which Jaiveer contributed 40, amounting to four-under 68. Akbar Ali and his team of Brig. Gen. Shahid Hasan Salim, GP Capt. Lokman and Shibaab Rahman aggregated 109.

Binod Pandey and team edged out Indrajit Bhalotia's team in a back-nine countback after the two teams had tied together at a tally of 107. Panday's team constituted MH Cho and KS Yoon.

Virk, as the professional in the winning team, took home Tk 8,400, while Bindra and Pandey earned Tk 6,000 and Tk 3,600 respectively.

Monish Bindra earned Tk 6,000 for returning the 'Best Individual Score' by a Professional while Ali Sher pocketed Tk 3,600 for returning the 'Second-best Individual Score' by a pro.

Among the leading golfers participating in the event are the likes of top-ranked golfer on the Hero Honda Golf Tour and winner of four tournaments this season, Mukesh Kumar; second ranked golfer on the Money List and thrice winner this season, Feroz Ali; twice-Indian Open winner, Ali Sher; leading Asian Tour professionals, Indrajit Bhalotia and Digvijay Singh; joint-runner up at the '99 Indian Open, SSP Chowrasia; winner of the 'Rookie of the Year' award for the 2000-01 season, Rahul Ganapathy; fifth ranked golfer on the Money List and winner of the Cotton City Open, Coimbatore this season, Shiv Prakash; winner of over 100 tournaments in a career spanning over 35 years, Rohtas Singh and a number of talented golfers including Jaiveer Virk and Rookie Sheeraz Kalra.