Honey Baisoya fetches Rs 20.5 lakh at the PGTI's 72 The League auction, while six-team bidding frenzy around Shubham Jaglan signals growing commercial interest in professional golf in India.
Indian professional golf announced its commercial ambitions Monday with a spirited player auction for PGTI's inaugural 72 The League, a franchise-based circuit that drew fierce bidding from six newly minted franchises and left veteran observers reaching for comparisons with cricket's storied Indian Premier League.
Baisoya Headlines a Star-Studded Sale
Honey Baisoya, 29, emerged as the auction’s most prized domestic talent, selling to the Delhi-based Capital Lancers for Rs 20.5 lakh — the highest price of the day — after a spirited three-way contest with Rajasthan Regals and Kolkata Classics. The bidding war underscored the premium placed on proven tour performers in a league that promises to redefine how professional golf is packaged and consumed in India.
Close behind was Arjun Prasad, whose recent form — an eighth-place finish at the DP World Players Championship and a tied-ninth at the SECL Chhattisgarh Open Golf Championship this month — made him one of the most sought-after names at the table. UP Prometheans secured his services for Rs 18 lakh.
Jaglan Triggers a Six-Team Scramble
Perhaps the auction’s most dramatic sequence unfolded around Shubham Jaglan, whose base price of Rs 3 lakh belied the frenzy he inspired. All six franchises entered the bidding, driving the price to Rs 19 lakh — more than six times his starting figure — before Hyderabad’s Charminar Champions finally prevailed. The episode was a vivid illustration of the outsized value teams placed on marketable names capable of drawing audiences to a format that blends golf with the spectacle of franchise sport.
A League for Every Generation
The auction spanned generations. Kartik Singh, just 16 and listed in the silver category at a base price of Rs 3 lakh, found himself at the center of a three-way tug-of-war among Mumbai Aces, Capital Lancers, and Charminar Champions before landing with Mumbai for Rs 14.40 lakh — a testament to the premium placed on precocious talent in the league’s inaugural year.
At the other end of the spectrum, Indian golf veteran Mukesh Kumar, 60, joined Kolkata Classics for Rs 7 lakh, ensuring the league would carry the weight of experience alongside its youthful energy.
Global Flavour: Twelve Internationals Across Seven Nations
The league’s organisers have also looked outward. A total of 12 foreign professionals from seven countries were picked across the auction, lending the competition an international dimension rare in Indian golf. The most expensive overseas signing was American Jhared Hack, who joined Capital Lancers for Rs 15.80 lakh, affirming the Lancers’ intent to field a formidable mixed squad.
The first edition of 72 The League, jointly launched by the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) and Game of Life Sports (GOLS), is scheduled to tee off on February 21. Whether it can capture the popular imagination the way cricket’s franchise leagues have remains to be seen — but Monday’s auction suggested the sport is not short of believers.