Olympian Udayan Mane and Vani Kapoor Make IGPL Debut in Jaipur

The Rambagh Golf Club in Jaipur has been a good hunting ground for many of the players in the field.

Mane, who played for India at the Tokyo Olympics, won his first pro event at the Rambagh Club exactly ten years ago. He has happy memories of Jaipur and looks forward to a solid week. In addition, two other players, Aman Raj (twice) and Sachin Baisoya, have also won in Jaipur. "Years ago, in her early days as a pro, Vani came close to a win before losing in a play-off in Jaipur. “I need to improve on that and maybe win this week. And that will be fun with men pros also in the field,” said Vani.

Mane, a former Order of Merit winner on the Indian Tour, and Vani Kapoor will be part of the 54-player field, which includes 36 men professionals, 12 women professionals, and six amateurs.

Mane said, “Jaipur has great memories for me. I won my first pro event there, and I love the city. So much to see, but then when you come here for golf, that’s our big focus. It is a nice, challenging course, and I am looking forward to playing it.”

Baisoya, who won a title here last year on the Indian Tour, will now look to add an IGPL title in Jaipur. Aman Raj, who, like Baisoya, is having a good run on his return from injury, has won twice at Rambagh – in 2023 and before that in 2018. “Naturally, it is one of my favourite courses with two wins here,” said Aman Raj, who is searching for his first win on the IGPL Tour.

Vani Kapoor, the leader of the Women’s Golf Association of India (WGAI), has already won four times this year on the WGAI. She is also coming off a Top-10 at the Hero Women’s Indian Open two weeks ago. She was also Tied-sixth in Germany earlier this season.

She is thrilled to be part of the IGPL, which has already seen the likes of Hitaashee Bakshi, Sneha Singh, Durga Nittur, and others make a mark. Vani said, “It is a nice course, and the city is great. It will be awesome to line up with men professionals, and the concept is very good.”

Apart from Vani, the field includes two other players, Amandeep Drall and Sneha Singh, who have been multiple winners on the WGAI this year.

Meanwhile, the stakes are very high for some of the professionals who are high up on the IGPL Rankings list.

Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO of IGPL, said, “The field is quite strong, even though some of our players like Gaganjeet Bhullar and Karandeep Kochhar are playing on the International Series in the Philippines. The past few weeks have shown that players like Kapil Kumar, Kartik, Sachin Baisoya, and Pukhraj Singh Gill are all ready to win. Kapil did win in Pune, and the others are looking to do the same. “The race for the IGPL Order of Merit is intense with more than one player having a chance this week to overtake Bhullar at the top.”

Kapil, who won his maiden pro title at the IGPL Pune, has a chance to go past the current Merit List leader, Gaganjeet Bhullar, who, after two wins in the first two events at Chandigarh Golf Club and Jaypee Greens, has been busy on the Asian Tour.

Kapil has already won Rs. 29,93,925. A win this week, which will be worth Rs. 22.50 lakh, can see him get to the top ahead of Bhullar’s Rs. 45 lakh.

Another player, who can get to the top this week with a win, is the teen wonder, Kartik Singh, who has Rs. 28,71,557.

The Rambagh Golf Club, which was founded in 1944, is a challenging, 18-hole, Par-70 championship course. It is situated within the historic Rambagh Palace, which was once the residence of the Maharaja of Jaipur, and has a rich history.

- IANS