The 2025-26 season of the AVT Champions Tour kicked off today at the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA), Bengaluru. Blessed with ideal weather conditions and a beautifully prepared golf course, over 110 senior golfers from across the country teed off for Round 1 of this prestigious event.

In the overall gross leaderboard, three-time defending Champion Golfer of the Year, Sandeep Singh Sandhu, set the tone early with an impressive round of 3-under par (69) to take the lead after Day 1. Close on his heels is Jehangir Tankariwala, who shot a solid 2-under (70), followed by David D’Souza at 1-under (71).

In the individual gross categories, Ashish Kapoor leads Category A (age 50-54) with a round of 75, just ahead of Dayamay Tiwari at 76. In Category B (55-59), David D’Souza leads with a 71, followed by Raul Rai, Amitabh Poddar, and Kim Sanggun, all tied at 76. Category C (60-64) sees the overall leader Sandhu in front with his 69, chased by Tankariwala at 70. In Category D (65-69), Pramod Kurian tops the table with a round of 78, ahead of Amardeep Singh Bajwa and Satyaprasad MK, both at 81. In Category E (70+), Navneet Singh shot an 83 to lead, followed by Vijay Kumar at 85. Among the ladies, Paromita Mukherjee leads with an 83, with Roopa Pratap close behind at 85.

In the nett categories, under Handicap Category 0-9, Sandhu and Tankariwala lead with nett scores of 67 and 68 respectively. Tiwari, D’Souza, and Kurian follow closely at 69. In the 10-18 handicap category, Col Bhupender Singh and Satyaprasad MK are tied at 71, just ahead of CS Grewal at 72.

The event also features a Team Category for golfers from the same city. The Bangalore home team, comprising David D’Souza, Paromita Mukherjee, Jehangir Tankariwala, and Suhas Kulkarni, leads both the Gross and Nett team leaderboards with scores of 220 and 211 respectively. In the gross team standings, they are followed by the Noida team of Ankur Prakash, Manav Prakash, Ashish Kapoor, and Kim Sanggun at 230. In the nett category, the Madras team—Keshav Murthy, Jitinder Singh Ahuja, Dayamay Tiwari, and Raju Gowda—is just behind at 214.

As the players prepare for the final round tomorrow, the stage is set for an exciting finish at KGA, where the winners of each category and the overall champions of this season-opening event will be crowned.