United Spirits Ltd., who sponsored the Royal Challenge National Amateur circuit last season, announced their decision to extend their sponsorship of the Tour into the 2006-07 season.

The Royal Challenge Indian Golf Tour will feature eight events starting with the Northern India Amateur at the Classic Golf Resort from July 25 to July 28, followed by the Golden Greens Open Amateur from August 8 to August 11. The action will then shift to Chandigarh for the Samarvir Sahi Amateur in November. After that the bandwagon moves to Kolkata for the Eastern India Amateur and the RCGC Cup in December. The western leg will feature two tournaments in January, namely the Western India Amateur in Mumbai and the Pune Amateur. The tour will culminate with the All India Amateur golf championship at the KGA in February.

Speaking to the media while announcing the details of the sponsorship on Thursday, Mr Ashwin Malik, COO-Northern Region, United Spirits Limited said: “We are pleased to sponsor the National Amateur circuit for the third year running. We had a fruitful association over the last couple of seasons and are keen to continue our efforts in supporting the growth of the game. Golf is a game of rare spirit. It has image, status and appeal. It is also premium, exclusive, distinctive and aspirational. An association with golf has, therefore, helped United Spirits Ltd. impart an aura of sophistication to Royal Challenge, the same attributes that the brand stands for."

Amateur golf has indeed come a long way in as short a period as two years, and Royal Challenge, through their support have made it happen. A look at last season’s Order of Merit reveals that competition has increased to an extent where no one golfer starts as favorite at any event.

As many as seven players’ won titles on the 2005-06 Royal Challenge National Amateur circuit and 'Gen Next' has already started making its presence felt with the likes of Himmat Rai and Anirban Lahiri coming up from the junior ranks and wasting little time in staking a claim of the pie. The rapid progress made by juniors into amateur golf and amateurs into the professional version of the sport, has left Indian golf in a very healthy state of being.