From L-R – Rishi Narain, Overall Champion Sandeep Sandhu & Dilip Thomas at Pune Leg of the AVT Champions Tour
Sandeep Sandhu, of Chandigarh, with two wins and a 2nd place in 3 events is in an unassailable position to win the AVT Champions Tour Champion of the Year crown for the 2022-23 season after narrowly missing out to Ankur Prakash in the 2021-22 title race.
The hugely popular AVT Champions Senior Amateur Tour, which started in 2019, is all set to play the final event in the 4 event series from March 13-15 at Chandigarh Golf Club, when the season champion will be crowned.
The Tour, which helps Indian veteran players prepare for international competition, is played as a 36-hole Gross Stroke Play competition, and is open to players over age 50 with handicaps of 14 and below.
An initiative of Chennai industrialist and international golf administrator Dilip Thomas and a national committee of veteran golfers, has created a vibrant community of competitive golfers in their 50’s and 60’s following the lead of active senior amateur circuits in other developed golf nations which boast as many as 40 to 50 tournaments each year.
The two top ranked players at the end of the season are provided entry and expenses to play in a selected international senior amateur championship. In November 2022, Ankur and Sandhu both were sent by the AVT Champions Tour to the Asia Pacific Seniors in Kuala Lumpur as a result of finishing 1st and 2nd on the season long rankings.