Corporate heavy-hitters, sports stars, celebs line up for Royal Ranthambore BT Golf Delhi

A broad spread of top names from the world of commerce and governance, sports stars and celebrities will tee it up at the opening Royal Ranthambore Business Today Golf event of the 2023-24 season at the Classic Golf and Country Club on Saturday to celebrate the launch of India’s most prestigious multi-city corporate tournament.

The seven-city season that will run till March 2024 will be co-powered by Qatar Airways, with Bandhan Mutual Fund as investment partner, Darwin Platform Group of Companies as conglomerate partner, and O3 Plus as gifting partner. Morris Garages will drive the events and location courtesy offered by ITC Hotels.

Commencing in 1996 as a standalone single-city Pro-Am, BT Golf evolved into India’s most-desired corporate/celebrity golf event over and its second edition post a short gap has acted as a magnet for the National Capital Region’s movers and shakers. On Saturday, a field in excess of 120 – a number far above the average corporate hit-about – will be seen in action on the par-72 Jack Nicklaus-designed course in the lap of the Aravalis near Gurgaon.

This year, Royal Ranthambore BT Golf has drawn a good number of entries for the ladies section studded with luminaries from the corporate world, the social sector and the arts. Amongst them are 2022-23 winner Anju Razdan of the Zabarwan Foundation, Bharti Verma of Bharti Art Studio, Dr Usha Kothari, Sheela Sangwan of JSW Energy and others.

A quick look at the still-growing list of entries shows the breadth of the event’s appeal. Be it travel, technology or finance, the media, hospitality and real estate, they will all be well-represented at the Classic Golf and Country Club, a championship course that has played host to international professional tournaments in the past including its very own event on the Asian Tour.

Teeing it up on Saturday will be Pepsi managing director Deshant Kaila, Silverglades chief executive Anubhav Jain, Pankaj Tandon of the Jakson Group, Siddharth Sangwan, MD and CEO of Lightspeed India, IndusInd Bank’s Vineet Sharma, Vipin Verma of Kotak Mahindra Bank, Deloitte partner Anmol Puri, Rajesh Sud of Bharti Enterprises, India Today Group advisor Anil Mehra, and Delhi Metro ED Anuj Dayal.

Other corporate achievers include yatra.com co-founder and CEO Dhruv Shringi, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries director Rei Kimura, Dhruv Verma of Thriwe, ITC Limited’s Rajiv Ohri, Orchid Hospitals managing director Dr Hariom Gupta, Ashish Mathur of International Travel House, Anil Tandon of Country Inn & Suites, Culinary Brands CEO Dev Amritesh, William Grants India CEO Sachin Mehta, and Kartik Mohindra of Pernod Ricard India.

The world of sport will be represented by 1983 World Cup winner Madan Lal, former India left-arm spinner and noted commentator Murali Kartik, and equestrian international medallist Rajesh Pattu. Former India all-rounder Suresh Raina will be a special guest.

Format

Royal Ranthambore BT Golf Delhi – as indeed the other events across India – 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

7.30 am: Welcome Address

7.45 am: Golfers proceed to Tee after Briefing

8 am: Tee Off (shotgun start)

12.30 pm: Submission of scorecards

12.45 pm: Cocktails & Lunch

1.45 pm: Prize Distribution ceremony

Prizes

Overall Winner

Straightest Drive

Longest Drive

Closest to the Pin

Runner Up Prizes

Ladies

Handicap 15-24

Handicap 0-14

Winners

Ladies

Handicap 15-24

Handicap 0-14