Zafar Iqbal wins HSBC India Legends Championship’s Wednesday Pro Am with Shacklady’s team

Khel Today Bureau

Greater Noida: England professional David Shacklady led his team that included former India hockey captain Zafar Iqbal to a narrow victory in the Wednesday Pro-Am of the inaugural HSBC India Legends Championship at the Jaypee Greens.

Vijay Jumar Jha and Nadeem Khan were the other two members of Shacklady’s team who won the event on a six-hole countback after they and Scotland’s Scott Drummond and his team of Manpreet S. Sachdev, Vikas Gupta and Arjun Narsipur finished dead level on 82 points. Even a nine-hole countback failed to break the deadlock.

Taking third place just one point behind on a total of 81 was the team led by Spain’s Miguel Angel Martin that included amateurs Dr Kapil Tyagi, P.K. Gupta and Dr Hamidi.

The second Pro Am of the HSBC India Legends event will be played on Thursday with former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh as the star draw.

The USD 500,000 HSBC India Legends Championship will be played from August 30 to September 1 and is being hosted by Jeev Milkha Singh at the picturesque Jaypee Greens Golf Course.

The no-cut event, the first formal senior (50 years and over) golf event in the country, will be held over 54 holes and contested by a field of 64. It is the 11^th leg of the Legends Tour, the circuit for senior players.

The event will feature amongst others former US Open champion Michael Campbell of New Zealand, who got the better of the Tiger Woods at the 2005 US Open in Pinehurst for his first and only major title.

In the evening on Wednesday, a clinic conducted by Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg and Paul Wesselingh was held for sponsors’ guests and Jaypee Greens members at the golf academy adjacent to the course.

About the Legends Tour:

Formerly known as the European Senior Tour and the Staysure Tour, the Legends Tour is the men’s professional golf tour for members aged 50 and older. Five years after the first edition of The Senior Open, won by Neil Coles in 1987, more than 60 professionals called for a formally structured Tour, which was then created in 1992. Many of the pioneering champions who played on the European Tour during the 1970s, 80s and 90s make up the Legends Tour’s active membership.

In September 2020, Ryan Howsam, Staysure Group CEO, acquired a majority equity share in the Tour in a ground-breaking joint venture with the European Tour, a unique structure whereby an individual has the majority ownership in a professional tour.

Colin Montgomerie, Sam Torrance and Woosnam are among the winners of the John Jacobs Trophy, which is awarded to the golfer who finishes first on the Legends Tour Order of Merit presented by Rolex each season.

In 2024, the Legends Tour began new ambassador partnerships with former Ryder Cup captains Paul McGinley and Colin Montgomerie along with Major winners Michael Campbell (2005 US Open), Paul Lawrie (1999 Open Championship).

The Legends Tour provides unmatched playing experiences for amateur golfers at its Legends Experience, Championship Pro-Am and Celebrity Pro-Am events. These experiences provide golfers with unique once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to rub shoulders with and play alongside legends of the game at competitive events hosted at world-class golfing destinations.

About HSBC India

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited in India offers a full range of banking and financial services through 26 branches across 14 cities.

HSBC is one of India’s leading financial services groups, with around 42,000 employees in its banking, investment banking and capital markets, asset management, insurance, software development and global resourcing operations in the country. It is a leading custodian in India. The Bank is at the forefront in arranging deals for Indian companies investing overseas and foreign investments into the country.

HSBC Holdings plc

HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of HSBC, is headquartered in London. HSBC serves customers worldwide from offices in 60 countries and territories. With assets of US$2,975bn at 30 June 2024, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations.