Pune: The first season of the annual AVT Champions Tour Golf will see the commencement of the third leg of the tour at the Par 72 - 6700 Yards course of the Oxford Golf Resort in Pune on September 19-20. The AVT Champions Tour, co-sponsored by Incredible India, holds the unique distinction of being the only golf tour catering to 50 years old or above senior golfers in India.
The first leg in Delhi NCR was hosted in March followed by the second leg in Bengaluru in June with the final leg scheduled for Kolkata in January.
Star senior golfers who would be vying for top honours in Pune include former cricket world cup winning Indian Captain, Kapil Dev, former Asian Games double gold medallist Lakshman Singh, former Asian Games gold medallist and 2018 IGU Senior All India National Champion as well as winner of the first leg of the AVT Champions Tour Rishi Narain.
The field will also feature All India Senior Golf Champions Gangesh Khaitan along with Vijay Kumar and former India International David D'Souza who was the winner of the AVT Tour Bengaluru leg in June. Besides, twelve senior women golfers will also be seen competing in Pune.
In the first leg in Delhi NCR, Kapil Dev (74, 72) and 2018 National Champion Rishi Narain (76, 70) were locked at 146 after 36 holes with Rishi Narain winning based on the tournament tie-breaker of the better final-round score. Meanwhile, in the Bengaluru leg, played at the Par 72 Eagleton Golf Resort, Bangalorean David D'Souza won easily with a gross score of 152 after rounds of 79 and 73 over two days.
Speaking before the Pune leg, Rishi Narain said "The Tour was started to enable Indians to compete regularly and be match ready for international events like the Asia Pacific Senior Amateur and others. Our rivals from other countries compete in around twenty tournaments each year and prior to 2019, India played only one event. We were at a big disadvantage."
"Veteran sports events are getting very big all over the world now with people staying fit and active till much later in life. The AVT Tour is motivating many competitive golfers across India to work harder at their games and we see the popularity of the tour growing by leaps and bounds in the first year itself." Narain added.
The Deutsche Bank Champions Golf Tournament on The AVT Champions Tour will be played in the individual gross stroke play format over 36 holes and the winner will be announced based on the best total score over two days.
112 top senior golfers, with a maximum handicap of 18 across four age categories viz. 50-54, 55-59, 60-64 and 65 & above, have already confirmed their participation. They would also be competing in a simultaneous four-man team event with prizes for individual winners and for the winning two teams counting the best 3 gross scores each day of the four-team members.
The inaugural year of the annual AVT Champions Tour Golf is being played at four locations across India with a final "Champion Golfer of the Year" being crowned based on the best total performance across the four tournaments. The next leg is scheduled in Kolkata in January 2020.