Sanjeev Mehra winner Vredestein AVT Champions Tour with Khalid Sayeed – Head of Sales E&Central India, Apollo Tyres & team
The venerable Royal Calcutta Golf Club, proved a stern test of golf for India’s leading senior amateurs who returned to competition at the Vredestein Tyres Champions Event on the AVT Champions Tour after a 10 month break.
The AVT Champions Tour, now in its 3rd season, is a series of four annual tournaments that attracts the best veteran players in the country, including the likes of Asian Games gold medalists Lakshman Singh, Rishi Narain & Amit Luthra, former All India Senior’s Champions Ashok Malik, Alan Singh, Gangesh Khaitan & Vijay Kumar, 1983 cricket world cup team winning captain Kapil Dev, senior internationals Jaspreet Bakshi, Anil Jule, Ajai Sirohi, Capt Cheema & GC Sharma among the 100 players who make up the field at each event.
Former top amateur, Sanjeev Mehra playing his home course, emerged winner with rounds of 77 & 73 (150) to win the Vredestein Champions Title comfortably by a margin of five strokes over Arvind Khanna (78-77) of Delhi Golf Club at the 36-hole individual gross stroke play event.
Arvind Khanna (R) (Overall Runner-up)
At the Vredestein Tyres Event, 85 outstation players had flown into Kolkata to compete with a contingent of 40 players from Delhi NCR alone. In addition, 14 golfers from Bangalore, 8 from Mumbai, 7 players each from Chandigarh and Pune, with 15 local players making up the field. Three lady players were seen in action as well.
Vredestein AVT Champions Tour Photo Gallery – AVT Champions Tour – Kolkata 2021 Picture Gallery – India Golf Weekly | India’s No.1 Source For Golf News and Knowledge (indiagolfweekly.com)
The players competed for the overall title, as well as in various veteran age categories over 50, over 55, over 60, over 65, & over 70. There was a 4 member inter-city team event in gross and net categories as well as net prizes in two handicap categories as well as long drive contests on both days by Vredestein Tyres and Indian Terrain.
Results – Hole No. 4 – Indian Terrain Longest Drive Challenge –
Sandeep Sandhu (Winner – Longest Drive Challenge Indian Terrain)
Day 1 – Sandeep Singh Sandhu – 279.8 yards
Day 2 – Sudeep Chitlangia – 270.2 yards
Results – Hole No. 15 – Vredestein Tyres Longest Drive Challenge –
Day 1 – Kanwal Mago – 250 yards
Day 2 – Vikram Singh – 267 yards
The AVT Champions tour series prepares Indian seniors to test out their skills against the country’s best while preparing for their international outing to the annual Asia-Pacific Senior Amateur Championship.
The AVT Champions Tour will crown season long overall champions and in each age group based on cumulative points earned from performances in the four events starting with Bangalore in Jan 2021, the Vredestein Tyres event in Kolkata and two upcoming events in Pune this January and culminating in March 2022 at Classic Golf & CC in Gurugram.
Vredestein Tyres Champions Event Kolkata – Age Group Winners
Category Player Score
50-54 Gaurav Ghosh 78-80 (158)
Gaurav Ghosh (Winner 50-54) with Khalid Sayeed – Head of Sales E&Central India, Apollo Tyres
55-59 Sandeep Sandhu 79-77 (156)
Sandeep Sandhu (Winner 55-59)
60-64 Sanjeev Mehera 82-85 (167)
Sanjeev Mehera (Winner 60-64)
65-69 Vijay Kumar 82-79 (161)
Vijay Kumar (Winner – 65-69)
70 & Above KK Bajoria 87-78 (165)
For complete results of the Vredestein Tyres event please visit this link – https://www.rnsportsmarketing.com/events/avt/Kolkata/pdf/Overall%2036%20Hole%20Scores.pdf
Team Results – Gross for 36 holes
Winners – Lakshman Singh, Gaurav Ghosh, Jaideep Singh & Sanjeev Mehra – 450 ( Kolkata)
Gross Winners from L-R -Sanjeev Mehra, Lakshman Singh, Devrishi Singhal (CEO, RCGC), Gaurav Ghosh & Jaideep Singh with Sanjeev Mehera
Runner-up – Vivek Bajoria, Vikram Singh, Sanjay Samwal, Sandeep Ghosh – 452 ( Kolkata)
Winners of past AVT Champions Tour events –
2019 –
Rishi Narain – Classic Golf & CC, Gurugram (March)
David D’Souza – Eagleton Golf Resort, Bengaluru (July)
PS Rathore – Oxford Golf Resort, Pune ( September)
PS Rathore – Tollygunge Golf Club, Kolkata (January 2020)
Overall 2019 AVT Champions Tour Winner– PS Rathore
Overall 2019 AVT Champions Tour runner-up – David D’Souza
2020 –
Ajai Sirohi – Classic Golf & CC, Gurugram (November)
2021 – 2022 season
David D’Souza – Eagleton Golf Resort, Bengaluru (January)
Sanjeev Mehra – Royal Calcutta Golf Club, Kolkata (November)
Upcoming 2021-22 AVT Champions Tour schedule –
Oxford Golf Resort, Pune ( Jan. 6-7, 2022)
Classic Golf & CC, Gurugram (March 10-11, 2022)