2021 felt like it was a continuation of 2020 with the Covid-19 pandemic still going on. Golf continued to provide a major source of entertainment, and much needed relief from the stresses of living in a pandemic.
South Asian Golf Association (SAGA) OPEN 2021 – 17th Annual Golf Outing was held at the picturesque Cobblestone Country club on September 25th. SAGA members came in full force and all the rounds were sold out in short order.
SAGA open was graced by the attendance of famed teen age phenom golfer Megha Ganne from Holmdel, NJ.
Ganne burst onto the golf world by leading the 2021 LPGA US Open on the 1st day and won the Low-Amateur title.
Ganne gave away the much-coveted Anish Joshi trophy to the SAGA Tour overall winner Chirag Batki.
The SAGA tour like every year was heavily contested and the frenzy reached a crescendo at the SAGA OPEN. Weather was perfect. Chirag Batki who led the flight 3 throughout the year, won the overall championship by leaving the strong competitors in the dust. Congratulations went out to all the winners. Flight 1: Vamshi Vaddirajja, Deep Thapliyal, Punkaj Rishi. Flight 2: Varun Malhotra, Rajesh Saggi, Sanjay Seth. Flight 3: Chirag Batki, Paresh Sangani, Pavi Malhotra. Other winners include highest stableford points Chirag Batki; most improved golfer Sandesh Shetty; Closet to the pin: Deepesh Vellore, Santosh Hanumaiah, Satish Krishna, Swaroop Choksi; Closet to the line: Mahesh Patel.
The day ended with an awards ceremony.
With the help of Dr. Anil and Mrs. Anju Joshi, SAGA entered its 4th year of SAGA Junior Scholarship that is awarded to the college bound students who have demonstrated their love of golf while excelling academically. This year’s Junior Scholarship winners are Arav Patel and Rahul Kochhar.
Saga Open 2021 participants
