72 The League brand ambassador Arjun Atwal (centre) with team captains (from left) Saptak Talwar (Mumbai Aces), Viraj Madappa (Kolkata Classics), Shaurya Bhattacharya (UP Prometheans), Amardeep Malik (Nava Raipur), N. Thangaraja (Charminar Champions) and Ajeetesh Sandhu (Rajasthan Regals) at the Classic GCC on Monday.
By Rahul Banerji
Rajasthan Regals take on the Kolkata Classics in the opening matchup of the PGTI’s 72 The League at the Classic Golf and Country Club near Manesar on Tuesday.
In the other two first-round matches, Hyderabad’s Charminar Champions will take on Noida-based UP Prometheans, while the Mumbai Aces will be up against Nava Raipur.
The order of play emerged at a draw on Monday in the presence of Arjun Atwal, the only Indian to win on the PGA Tour and brand ambassador of the League, and the six captains.
Ajeetesh Sandhu will lead the Regals against Viraj Madappa’s Classics in Tuesday’s opening set of matches spread over two singles, two fourballs and a foursomes.
Captains will name their playing members in the morning ahead of the tee-off. Each team will field eight players per set of matches.
Matches will tee off at noon and pairings will be determined after the captains submit their eight names for each format during the round. The remaining two players will be on the bench as reserves.
Event format
Unlike the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup, 72 The league will feature two singles, two fourballs and a foursome match in each round.
Fourballs involve all four balls (two on each side) in every match with the lowest score among the four winning the hole.
Foursomes or alternate ball, will have two players from each team playing with one ball and hitting alternating shots. It is generally regarded as one of the most difficult formats in the game.
Teams played a practice round at the Jack Nicklaus-designed venue with most changing partners and formats frequently to find the best possible combinations when the matches start.
Sandhu leads a strong Rajasthan team with the experienced Chikkarangappa S., a long-hitting Yuvraj Singh, the aggressive Akshay Sharma and Italian Michele Ortolani.
Madappa’s Kolkata have plenty of experience in the form of Rashid Khan, Khalin Joshi, Angad Cheema and the veteran Mukesh Kumar.
Asked about how his team planned to take on Kolkata, Sandhu said: “I think it should be a great match.
Key areas
“They have a very experienced team with a lot of winners, so they can definitely handle the pressure of match play, and I think that’s going to be our key focus if we want to counter that.
“We’re a very balanced team throughout, we will go through the strategy of who our players are, who are feeling good about their game, and then choose the order of play for tomorrow.”
Added Madappa, “Rajasthan are a really strong team and they have a lot of depth.
“But we also have the experience, and I think for us, it’s more about making sure that the pairs have good chemistry. That is going to be very important and also, how we complement each other’s game.”
Saptak Talwar representing Mumbai in the absence of Veer Ahlawat, who is inbound from Kenya, said his team would try and feed off the energy of two of the youngest players in the field – Kartik Singh (16) and Pritish Singh Karayat (17).
“We have a very experienced and a very strong team. But we also have the two youngest players in the League. So, we’re excited about the firepower and the energy that they can bring.
Testing time
“We tried a bunch of different pairings, a bunch of different strategies out there today. I liked what I saw, and I believe the team was on the same page as well,” said Talwar.
Amardip Malik said his Nava Raipur team, who have the current PGTI Order of Merit no. 1 and 2 in Honey Baisoya and American Jhared Hack, would focus their strategy on the foursomes.
“For us, the most interesting aspect is going to be the foursomes. Most of our team, and I’m sure all the others, are used to the fourball format a lot.
“I think foursomes is something which nobody’s ever played, even in practice.
“We feel that the alternate shot format, which also carries three points, is going to be really important. So we are going to look at making sure that our pairing gets us those points.”
Also read: Glitzy start to PGTI’s 72 The League, action tees off on Tuesday
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