Kalhaar Blues & Greens to host IGU’s Senior & Mid-Amateur Championship
The much awaited senior amateur tournaments – Indian Golf Union’s (IGU) All India Senior Amateur & Mid Amateur Championship and the AVT Champions Tour have both announced new dates of March 8 to 11 at Kalhaar Blues & Greens, Ahmedabad and March 15-17 at ITC Classic Golf Resort, Gurgaon.
The All India Senior & Mid amateur tournament was originally scheduled from Jan. 31- Feb. 4, 2022 . However, due to the rising number of Omicron cases in India, the tournament was postponed.
The IGU mid Amateur is open to players over 35 years of age & the Seniors is open to players over 55 years. The tournaments will be conducted simultaneously over 72 holes and 54 holes in stroke play format.
The All India tournament was last played in 2019 when Gangesh Khaitan (222) edged out Amit Luthra (225) to win his third career Senior Amateurs title at Bangalore’s Eagleton Golf Resort. No Senior Nationals were held during 2020 or 2021 due to the pandemic.
In the past three years, the popularity of Senior amateur golf has grown by leaps and bounds with 8 new senior events having taken place at the national level on the AVT Champions Tour. The return of the All India Seniors and Mid Amateur will crown the official national champions in both age groups. For the seniors, the top 6 finishers will earn a spot on the Indian team for the next Asia-Pacific Senior Amateur Championship, should that event be held.
The last edition of the AVT Champions Tour was played at Oxford Golf Resort in Pune on Jan 6-7th, which saw 80 senior golf enthusiasts tee-off.
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 are expected to be among the 100 players who make up the field at the March event.