THE PLAYER AUCTION for the inaugural edition of PGTI’s 72 The League concluded in New Delhi on Monday, with leading Indian golfers attracting strong interest from franchises. The auction featured six city-based teams, each operating with a purse of Rs 1 crore to assemble squads of ten professionals.
The six franchises in the auction were Capital Lancers, Charminar Champions, Kolkata Classics, Mumbai Aces, Rajasthan Regals and UP Prometheans.
In-form Honey Baisoya, fresh from his DP World Players Championship victory at the Qutab Golf Course, emerged as one of the biggest attractions, alongside young prodigy Shubham Jaglan.
Placed in the Platinum category with a base price of Rs 10 lakh, the 29-year-old Baisoya was snapped up by Capital Lancers for Rs 20.5 lakh after a three-way bidding battle with Rajasthan Regals and Kolkata Classics. Arjun Prasad, who registered two top-10 finishes this month, was acquired by UP Prometheans for Rs 18 lakh.
The biggest mover of the auction, however, was rising talent Jaglan, who triggered an intense bidding war among all six franchises. Listed in the Silver category with a base price of Rs 3 lakh, the 21-year-old was eventually picked up by Charminar Champions for Rs 19 lakh, after they fended off strong competition from Capital Lancers and Mumbai Aces.
Another young prospect, Kartik Singh, fetched an impressive Rs 14.4 lakh from Mumbai Aces following a prolonged bidding contest with Capital Lancers and Charminar Champions.
Experience also found its reward at the auction, with Indian golf veteran Mukesh Kumar, 60, joining Kolkata Classics for Rs 7 lakh. Among the international signings, USA’s Jhared Hack led the way with a bid of Rs 15.8 lakh. In total, 12 overseas professionals from seven different countries were picked during the auction.
Baisoya said, “I’m very excited. I called my parents and I told them that I had a really good auction and they were very excited. They were really happy. Good things have been happening from last three weeks and I’m really, really glad, really grateful. I’ve been working hard and I’m having a good time now.”
Jaglan shared, “I’m extremely excited and honoured to be representing the Charminar Champions in the first season of 72 The League. I know Manu (Gandas) will be on our team, which I’m extremely excited about and get the season underway.”
Hack added, “I’m really excited that I just got drafted by the Capital Lancers. I heard Honey Baisoya is also on my team, which will be exciting. I’ve gotten to play with him a few times this year, so maybe we can pair up for some match play stuff. I’m excited too because I’ve been here a couple weeks playing only tournaments, so this will be a fun, exciting, different format.”
