Winning Team: (L-R) Harish Moolchandani of Ballantine's with the winners Simon Y.S. Shim, Sheila Sangwan and Vijay Chauhan, and Vishal Dehia of SAA

Special: (L-R) Beijing trip winner Ashish Bharatram with Harish Moolchandani of Allied Domecq, Sheema Vohra of Marriott Global and Harvinder Singh of China Eastern

Allrounder: Bharat Patel (centre) receives a plaque from Aroon Purie, Editor-In-Chief, India Today Group, and his wife Rekha Purie for having participated in all the rounds since the tournament's inception

Longest Drive Award: Nikhil Chopra with the longest drive of 296 yards collects the prize from Rekha Purie

If the drive through the Aravalis to the picturesque Classic Golf Resort on Gurgaon's outskirts was a breeze that fine morning, thank the drizzle at dawn. The occasion was the final of the 10th Business Today Ballantine's Pro-Am of Champions, and for the highs of the day, thank the spirit of the game: a competition not of mutual antagonism but of mutual inspiration, on common ground, towards that common goal. The tournament, India's only Professional Golfers Association of India (PGAI) recognised standalone Pro-Am golf event, is designed to get India Inc.'s amateurs golfing with professionals, and the final had the former outnumbering the latter 108 to 18. To the delight of both. "It's good fun," smiles Gurbaaz Mann, a pro from Chandigarh, "you tend to find out so much more about other people."

The fourball format had each pro playing in a team with three corporate golfers. Each team playing simultaneously (keeping all 18 holes busy), the 6,674-yard course took the golfers a little over five hours. And what was for lunch? Sighs that nobody since the start of the tournament had managed to win the gleamer of a white Honda CR-V up for the first hole-in-one (popping the ball into the hole in a single stroke from far afield). Just as well, perhaps. After all, it's a game of many swings and putts, some hard-hit drives, some gentle nudges. Of artistic touch as much as heavy heaving. Of the fine choice of strategic tools.

Ace Of Clubs

Gentle words wafted across the greens, too. "I tell them about issues of transfer of weight, head position and grip," says Ali Sher, a pro, explaining the broad thrust of his advice to amateurs. Rana Kapoor, MD & CEO of Yes Bank, got handy tips from his team pro Vijay Kumar. "You learn a lot by just watching," says Kapoor. Another avid golfer, Ashish Bharatram, came really close to registering the longest drive. "It's all about testing yourself against the pros," he says.

Amongst women, Sheila Sangwan, Joint Secretary (Revenue), Ministry of Finance, had a dream run. "I've never played better, I never even left the fairway," she quipped. For Alok Malhotra, MD of Tommy Hilfiger, who'd come from Bangalore, the very course was a novelty. "It was great fun to play," he says. For some, the pressure was too much. Er, pressure? "Looking at the Honda CR-V," elaborates Ashutosh Khanna, coo of Grey Worldwide, with a grin.

Victory Stand

The awards ceremony, held at Delhi's ITC Hotel Maurya Sheraton & Towers, who were the associate sponsors, had India Today Group ceo Aroon Purie making his fondness of the game evident. It also had Harish Moolchandani, MD, Allied Domecq, calling the Business Today-Ballantine's partnership "a good brand fit" of rare blended maturities.

The winning team? Vijay Kumar, the pro, along with Vijay Chauhan, Sheila Sangwan and Simon Y.S. Shim, with the three amateurs winning a trip to South Africa, courtesy South African Airways and Marriott International. The runner up team? Gurbaaz Mann with Nikhil Chopra, Justice Vikramjit Sen and Rajan Kapoor, with the amateurs snagging a trip to Shanghai, courtesy China Eastern and Marriott International.

"You tend to find out so much more about other people" GURBAAZ MANN OVERALL WINNER (PRO) ACROSS TWO DAYS	"You learn a lot by just watching" RANA KAPOOR MD & CEO YES BANK	"It was great fun to play at the tournament" ALOK MALHOTRA MANAGING DIRECTOR TOMMY HILFIGER

Among special awardees, Ashish Bharatram and Pradeep Shah won a trip to Beijing, while Bharat Patel got a plaque for having participated in all events since the tournament's inception. The Longest Drive award went to Nikhil Chopra (296 yards) and Kapil Dev (290 yards). The Closest to the Pin prize went to Harinder Bansi and Kapil Dev. Philips was an associate sponsor as well. And the Honda CR-V? Back to the showroom, unclaimed. No big shock, that. People did try. But scoring a hole-in-one is the proverbial long shot. Besides, getting to a goal sometimes calls for calibrated progress rather than wild swings.