The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) on Saturday announced, new Tour events, significant new collaborations and the likely setting up of its own league, all of which “promise to accelerate the sport’s growth across the nation”.
The PGTI’s plans for a league comes days after the launch of a rival Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL),
The modalities for the league are being worked out. “It’s not in response to IGPL. We have been thinking about it for a while,” PGTI CEO Amandeep Johl said at a press conference.
PGTI president Kapil Dev brushed aside concerns of an exodus. “I have the responsibility of 350 golfers, not just 20. I have to see the bigger picture — for my team, my board, and everyone involved. Of course, I would have liked if they’d worked with us,” he said.
IndianOil, a leading force in the global energy sector and a diversified and integrated energy major, has been the patron for the longest-running event on the PGTI, the IndianOil Servo Masters, which will celebrate its silver jubilee later this year. IndianOil deepens its commitment to PGTI this year by extending its association to multiple events.
Powering the PGTI surge is the new Tour Partner – Amul, the world’s strongest food and dairy brand and with its 36 lakh farmers, Amul is also the world’s largest farmer owned dairy cooperative. Being a household name in India, Amul will play a pivotal role as Tour Partner in enhancing the PGTI’s brand presence nationwide.
Coal India Limited, the world’s largest coal producer and one of India’s leading public sector enterprises, too comes on board as title sponsor to the inaugural Coal India Open, an INR 1 crore event that flags off the second half of the season from August 5 – 8 at the Kensville Golf & Country Club in Ahmedabad.
Trident Group, a diversified conglomerate with businesses in textiles, paper, chemicals, energy and more, begins its association as title sponsor of the inaugural Trident Open Golf Championship. The INR 1 crore event is scheduled to be held from November 11 – 14 at the Chandigarh Golf Club.
IndusInd Bank has been a Tour partner since the first half of this season and PGTI looks “forward to building on this great start”.
One of the other key highlights of the season’s second half is the addition of two new venues on the schedule: Clover Greens Resort and Golf Club, Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu and Zion Hills Golf County, Kolar, Karnataka.
The Clover Greens Resort and Golf Club will host the INR 1 crore PGTI Players Championship from August 19 – 22 while the Zion Hills Golf County will host the inaugural Kolar Open, an INR 1 crore event, from August 26 – 29.
Once underway, the season’s second half will feature a minimum of 15 tournaments between August and December with a combined prize purse of INR 17 crore on offer (excluding the DP World India Championship). This takes the season’s total prize purse to over INR 33 crore (excluding the Indian Open and the DP World India Championship).
The total prize purse on offer in the second half of the 2025 season has seen an increase of INR 3.15 crore as compared to the second half of 2024. The number of events in the second half has also increased from 12 to 15 in comparison to last season. The total prize money for the season is set to increase by over INR 8 crore.
The DP World India Championship, a DP World Tour and PGTI joint-sanctioned event, to be held from October 16 – 19 at the Delhi Golf Club, will be the richest ever event to be staged in India as it will offer an unprecedented prize purse of $4 million. The field at the DP World India Championship will be headlined by global golfing icon and reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy. The event serves as a great platform to provide international exposure to top Indian golfing talent.
The other major development is the resumption of PGTI’s second tier tour – PGTI NexGen. Five PGTI NexGen events have been staged so far this season with a prize purse of INR 20 lakh each. Three more events of INR 20 lakh each are scheduled to be staged in the second half with the venues being Patna, Lucknow and Bhubaneswar. PGTI makes its debut at the Bhubaneswar Golf Club.
The PGTI has so far staged events across India in 17 States, 2 Union Territories and the National Capital Territory of Delhi. With the staging of the NexGen event in Bhubaneswar, the PGTI makes its first foray into the state of Odisha, thus further expanding its geographical footprint in the country to 18 states.
Kapil Dev, president, PGTI, said: “The growth of Indian professional golf is truly a collective effort, and today marks a momentous occasion for the PGTI. We are absolutely thrilled to welcome new Tour partner Amul, whose commitment will undoubtedly elevate the stature and reach of our sport in the country. The exciting onboarding of new event title sponsors Coal India Limited and Trident Group, the expansion of commitment by long-standing partner IndianOil and the addition of new top-class championship venues, are a major boost for the Tour. These developments are testament to the increasing appeal of golf in India and our shared vision to provide our talented professionals with more opportunities, better platforms, and bigger prize purses. On behalf of all our players and the entire PGTI family, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all our partners for believing in this journey. This is a game-changer for Indian golf, and we look forward to a spectacular second half of 2025.”
IndianOil chairman AS Sahney stated: “IndianOil is proud to renew its enduring collaboration with the PGTI as we host the milestone 25th IndianOil SERVO Masters Golf Tournament at the IndianOil Digboi Refinery Golf Course. This tournament has been instrumental in firmly placing India’s North-Eastern region on the national golfing map. As one of the longest-running events on the PGTI calendar, the SERVO Masters has become a defining fixture in Indian professional golf and IndianOil’s association with this tournament reflects more than sponsorship — it is a celebration of sportsmanship, consistency, and regional pride. With a legacy of promoting sporting excellence across disciplines, IndianOil reaffirms its commitment to nurturing golfing talent and supporting platforms that elevate the sporting landscape. We wish all the players the very best as they compete in this landmark edition.”
Amul managing director Jayen Mehta noted: “Amul is proud to be associated with PGTI as the Tour partner — a platform that embodies determination, discipline, and the pursuit of excellence…”
Trident Group chairman Rajinder Gupta opined: “… At Trident, we view golf as more than just a sport — it is a discipline that reflects precision, strategy, and connection, all of which deeply resonate with our core values of fostering meaningful and enduring partnerships. We are especially honoured to host this prestigious event at the Chandigarh Golf Club, affectionately known as the ‘Nursery of Indian Golf’, celebrated for its rich legacy of shaping champions who have brought glory to the nation.”
IndusInd Bank Country head, Affluent Banking & International Business, Samir Dewan, added: “Five months into our partnership with the PGTI, we are proud of the momentum we’ve built together. This collaboration goes beyond sponsorship and reflects IndusInd Bank’s commitment to the growth of Indian professional golf, and a lifestyle our customers aspire. Through our association with PGTI, we continue to bring forth unique experiences for our clients making an impact in the world of elite sport. We look forward to deepening this relationship and continuing to champion Indian golf.”
6-team IGPL expected to debut next January
Per Hindustan Times, the six-team IGPL is expected to debut next January and will feature 60 golfers in a home-and-away, mixed-team format. IGPL haas already announced the signing of veterans Shiv Kapur, SSP Chawrasia, and Gaurav Ghei as three of the skippers with Asian Tour regular Gaganjeet Bhullar revealed as an icon player.
The bulk of IGPL’s male players will be drawn from PGTI — women pros will come from WGAI while the amateurs come under the Indian Golf Union (IGU) umbrella. Both WGAI and IGU are with IGPL and their representatives accompanied IGPL management when they met Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya recently.
PGTI and IGPL have been in touch for over a year but talks fell off in recent months. “What’s happened has happened. Let’s not talk about what went wrong,” Johl told HT. Insiders claim the major point of contention was Bharat Golf Private Limited’s — the company backing IGPL — opaque funding.
“We don’t know where the money is coming from. The company was floated only last year. They are yet to file tax returns. They have the backing of a businessman from Hyderabad but there’s no transparency,” a senior PGTI member told the daily. Queries regarding IGPL funding, at their recent virtual press meet, were ignored.
Per NT, IGPL intended to take over PGTI and rename it as IGPL Tour. The PGTI in lieu was to get INR 15 crore annually.
“We couldn’t have let that happen. Also, we are dealing with DP World Tour and PGA Tour and any financial dealing that appears fishy will not work in our favour,” the official said. “Most of the players they are in touch with are either past their prime or struggle to make the cut on PGTI.”
With its no cut, three-day stroke play format, IGPL, like most leagues, envisions to “revolutionise the sport and make it spectator friendly”. All contracted men and women pros will earn guaranteed prize money.
Johl dismissed it. “Golf is about being competitive. If you want to play at the highest level, you have to compete. If players start getting used to free money, you’re never going to create world champions,” he said.
“We are going to play on the DP World Tour, the Olympics, the Asian Games — and we’re going to win medals. But if you start giving freebies, players will stop working hard. Also, playing on PGTI gives you ranking points while there’s no such incentive at IGPL,” he explained.
Indian pros, meanwhile, have been struggling in international tours for a while now. For the past three years, thanks to PGTI’s partnership with DP World Tour, the Order of Merit topper gets the full season European card. Every PGTI tournament offers a minimum prize purse of INR 1 crore, but the results are not coming. The last Indian man to win a European Tour event was Shubhankar Sharma in 2018, at the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur.
“It’s a concern, no doubt. Guys like Yuvraj Sandhu and Veer Ahlawat need to string together four good days, and once they do that, they can get on a roll,” Johl said.
Shiv Kapur put it down to conditions and a lack of hunger. “There are many factors. The conditions are starkly different overseas, but our players should show more hunger and desire to win,” he told HT.
Highlights of PGTI’s new collaborations, events
IndianOil strengthens presence with Multi-Event Association
Amul elevates Tour Partner Portfolio
Coal India Limited and Trident Group come on board as Event Title Sponsors
IndusInd Bank reiterates support as Tour Partner
Zion Hills & Clover Greens added as new venues on main tour
Second half to feature 15 events with combined prize purse of INR 17 crore; Season’s total prize money to exceed INR 33 crore
PGTI NEXGEN to feature three more events with Bhubaneswar added as new venue
Season resumes on 3rd August in Ahmedabad at Kensville Golf & Country Club
