IGPL looks to pick up pace ahead of launch with new signings as Indian golf enters unsettled phase
The Indian Golf Premier League is seeking to make inroads into the settled world of men’s professional golf by offering a parallel circuit with some tweaks and innovations reminiscent of the ongoing PGA Tour-LIV Golf spat.
- Jul 25, 2025,
- Updated Jul 25, 2025 7:53 PM IST
The idyllic backwater of Indian golf is in the throes of a rare shakeup. The men’s game in particular is facing the emergence of a parallel, franchise-based circuit that promises to break the mould of the professional setup.
The Indian Golf Premier League, which will be fronted by a set of “icon” players including the newly-unveiled Gaurav Ghei, Shiv Kapur and Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia and with former India cricket all-rounder Yuvraj Singh as its brand ambassador, offers itself as a platform of change and transformation.
Also expected to join as icons are the path-breaking Jeev Milkha Singh, former Indian Open champion Jyoti Randhawa and Gaganjeet Bhullar, currently active on the Asian Tour, besides 30 from the PGTI’s membership who have signed up for sums ranging reportedly between Rs 10 and 30 lakh.
Expectedly, the ‘establishment’ in the form of the Professional Golf Tour of India has not taken kindly to the development and threatened to suspend its members who have reportedly put themselves on the IGPL payroll.
So far, the IGPL has sought to rope in the WGAI, parent body of women’s golf and the Indian Golf Union, which is tasked with running amateur golf. It has also sought official blessings through publicised meetings with the union sports minister, though the why of it is unclear.
Presenting itself as “India's first ever professional league and tour to feature both men and women players competing on the same platform across franchise teams as well as regional circuits”, the IGPL is set to hold a set of tournaments over 54 holes between September and December involving men and women professionals with guaranteed prize money followed by a city-based league that will also have amateurs in the ranks.
So far, this sounds pretty much like a scaled-up mish-mash version of LIV Golf and the wildly popular club leagues that have mushroomed around the country.
At a virtual interaction, 2002 Asian Games Gold medalist and Arjuna Awardee Shiv Kapur claimed the IGPL would have the same impact on golf as the Indian Premier League had on Indian cricket.
"Indian cricket has really benefited from the IPL. That has been our hope with IGPL as well, to promote the next generation of golf alongside experienced veterans. I think there is no better way to do it than a team format where you are bringing in men and women players together, along with the top amateurs of the country.”
Added two-time Indian Open winner Chawrasia, “This is a totally different format and I would say it's good for the game. This is something new for all of us.”
For Gaurav Ghei, it is a question of seeking to reinvent the game. “We have all kinds of things with social media coming in now. So, new things have to be tried out. IGPL with the tours, the league and the relay format is going to be very exciting.
“It's going to bring new viewership to the game and will engage a lot of the youngsters. Professional golf is a very lonely sport, and IGPL will give the players an opportunity to feel the excitement of being a part of a team.”
The 56-year-old also made a point of adding, “There is no restriction on who can take part in the IGPL. I will be happy to see players take part in both IGPL and PGTI. I have seen this in Thailand, where they have two golf tours.
“If that happens here, players will get 40 tournaments a year, which is fantastic.”
What is, however, not clear is how IGPL teams will deal with the concept of floating personnel as envisaged by Ghei. Talks between the PGTI and IGPL stopped at an early stage, which the former’s CEO Amandeep Johl told the Times of India was because “the (presumably IGPL) demands were a little unacceptable”.
The PGTI chief executive, who succeeded IGPL head Uttam Singh Mundy last year, added he had no problem if his players went over to the proposed league, but would have to make a choice. “You can’t have your foot in both boats. That’s not fair to the rest of the membership (of the PGTI).”
Talk about deja vu LIV-PGAt style.
The idyllic backwater of Indian golf is in the throes of a rare shakeup. The men’s game in particular is facing the emergence of a parallel, franchise-based circuit that promises to break the mould of the professional setup.
The Indian Golf Premier League, which will be fronted by a set of “icon” players including the newly-unveiled Gaurav Ghei, Shiv Kapur and Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia and with former India cricket all-rounder Yuvraj Singh as its brand ambassador, offers itself as a platform of change and transformation.
Also expected to join as icons are the path-breaking Jeev Milkha Singh, former Indian Open champion Jyoti Randhawa and Gaganjeet Bhullar, currently active on the Asian Tour, besides 30 from the PGTI’s membership who have signed up for sums ranging reportedly between Rs 10 and 30 lakh.
Expectedly, the ‘establishment’ in the form of the Professional Golf Tour of India has not taken kindly to the development and threatened to suspend its members who have reportedly put themselves on the IGPL payroll.
So far, the IGPL has sought to rope in the WGAI, parent body of women’s golf and the Indian Golf Union, which is tasked with running amateur golf. It has also sought official blessings through publicised meetings with the union sports minister, though the why of it is unclear.
Presenting itself as “India's first ever professional league and tour to feature both men and women players competing on the same platform across franchise teams as well as regional circuits”, the IGPL is set to hold a set of tournaments over 54 holes between September and December involving men and women professionals with guaranteed prize money followed by a city-based league that will also have amateurs in the ranks.
So far, this sounds pretty much like a scaled-up mish-mash version of LIV Golf and the wildly popular club leagues that have mushroomed around the country.
At a virtual interaction, 2002 Asian Games Gold medalist and Arjuna Awardee Shiv Kapur claimed the IGPL would have the same impact on golf as the Indian Premier League had on Indian cricket.
"Indian cricket has really benefited from the IPL. That has been our hope with IGPL as well, to promote the next generation of golf alongside experienced veterans. I think there is no better way to do it than a team format where you are bringing in men and women players together, along with the top amateurs of the country.”
Added two-time Indian Open winner Chawrasia, “This is a totally different format and I would say it's good for the game. This is something new for all of us.”
For Gaurav Ghei, it is a question of seeking to reinvent the game. “We have all kinds of things with social media coming in now. So, new things have to be tried out. IGPL with the tours, the league and the relay format is going to be very exciting.
“It's going to bring new viewership to the game and will engage a lot of the youngsters. Professional golf is a very lonely sport, and IGPL will give the players an opportunity to feel the excitement of being a part of a team.”
The 56-year-old also made a point of adding, “There is no restriction on who can take part in the IGPL. I will be happy to see players take part in both IGPL and PGTI. I have seen this in Thailand, where they have two golf tours.
“If that happens here, players will get 40 tournaments a year, which is fantastic.”
What is, however, not clear is how IGPL teams will deal with the concept of floating personnel as envisaged by Ghei. Talks between the PGTI and IGPL stopped at an early stage, which the former’s CEO Amandeep Johl told the Times of India was because “the (presumably IGPL) demands were a little unacceptable”.
The PGTI chief executive, who succeeded IGPL head Uttam Singh Mundy last year, added he had no problem if his players went over to the proposed league, but would have to make a choice. “You can’t have your foot in both boats. That’s not fair to the rest of the membership (of the PGTI).”
Talk about deja vu LIV-PGAt style.