City of Joy’s corporate bosses, business heads to grace BT Golf Kolkata

What started out on a freezing Gurgaon December morning in 2022 will wind down on Saturday at the heritage-laden Tollygunge Club as BT Golf presented by Royal Ranthambore sees its fifth and final leg welcome the cream of corporate Kolkata’s golfing talent turn out for a morning on the fairways and greens, and a celebratory afternoon off it.

The best of business and corporate golfing talent of the City of Joy will take to the leafy expanses of one of the world’s iconic golf courses to strut their stuff, hoping to add some sporting glory and at least one of the many attractive prizes on offer to their accomplishments in the boardroom and the office.

India’s most exclusive, by-invitation golf tournament is co-presented by Indian Oil Corporation and Qatar Airways, mobility partner MG Motor and tourism partner Rajasthan Tourism.

West Bengal Industry Minister Shashi Panja will attend the event as the chief guest and be a part of the post-golf festivities along with the host of dignitaries who have confirmed participating in the golf tournament.

Commencing in 1996 as a standalone single-city Pro-Am, BT Golf evolved into one of India’s most-desired places to be seen for the next 22 years and its revival has sparked a flurry of interest. For the fifth and closing event of the 2022-23 season, a packed field of close to a hundred golfers – far bigger than the average corporate event attracts – will be seen in action at the par-70 course in the heart of South Kolkata.

As with the Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore legs, BT Golf Kolkata will also have a ladies tournament that has attracted its own share of interest and a good number of entries all vying to be crowned as the best on the day.

A look at the list of entries shows the breadth of the event’s appeal. Besides industry, business and a long list from the tea industry as is only to be expected given the city’s premier status as a trading centre for the cherished morning cuppa, the list of invitees

includes top minds from international bodies. The bureaucracy and defence, and the hospitality industry.

Teeing it up on Saturday will be Amit Bhowmik and Hitesh Gurtu of Linde India, Amit Daga, MD, Amrawati Tea Company, Harmeet Sahaney of Avendus Wealth Management, Harsh Pal Singh of Shrishti Infra, Texmaco Rail and Engg’s Indrajit Mookerjee, Cognizant VP Indranil Chakravarty, Jayanta Gohain of Hindustan Unilever, Kapil Thapar, executive director of CSEC Limited, L.K.S. Chauhan of IOCL, ITC Limited executive VP and head of Audit Murali Ganesan, Vijay Dewan, MD, Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels, and Vikram Singh Gulia, CEO of Amalgamated Plantations.

The ladies challenge will be carried by Maitreyo Kandoi of Jayshree Tea, Tolly regulars Ritu Thapar and Sonia Barman, Oona Khanna, architect and designer Sheena Rawla, among others.

Format

BT Golf Kolkata presented by Royal Ranthambore will have a maximum handicap allowance of 24 and participants need to submit handicap certificates duly certified by their clubs. Scoring will be on the Stableford points with 3/4 handicap of each player.

Programme

7 am: Registration & Breakfast

7.40 am: Welcome Address

7.45 am: Golfers proceed to Tee after Briefing

8 am: Tee Off

12.30 pm: Submission of scorecards (within 10 minutes of round finishing)

12.45 pm: Cocktails & Lunch

1.45 pm: Prize Distribution ceremony

Prizes

0-14 Handicap: Winner & Runner Up

15-24 Handicap: Winner & Runner Up

Ladies: Winner

Overall prizes

Straightest Drive

Longest Drive

Closest to the Pin