Inaugural IGPL tour from Sept. 10; Yuvraj compares its potential impact to IPL

New Delhi, Sep 4 (PTI) The Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL) on Thursday announced its inaugural tour schedule starting September 10, with co-owner and brand ambassador Yuvraj Singh likening the venture's potential impact on golf to the game-changing effect the IPL had on cricket.

In partnership with the Indian Golf Union (IGU) and the Women's Golf Association of India (WGAI), the IGPL tour will comprise a 10-event calendar, beginning with the first tournament scheduled at Chandigarh Golf Club from September 10 to 12.

Each event will be a three-day affair with no cuts, featuring a mix of young and veteran golfers alongside women professionals and amateurs.

The field size for the inaugural year will be 48 professionals: 36 men and 12 women, along with some amateurs, for a total of 54 participants.

"I'm really excited to be part of IGPL because I feel that golf needs to grow in our country. I think it should become a part of our culture. IGPL will give them a chance to be fearless and be the best in the world," former India all-rounder Yuvraj told reporters here.

"When I was playing cricket, I always thought I could have played more matches and done better. But when I started playing golf, I realized that probably my biggest regret is not starting golf at a young age." Drawing from his experience as a cricketer, Yuvraj said: "Golf is such an amazing sport, but a golfer's life is tough. When you're on tour, you have to pay your own bills, and manage everything yourself. In cricket, with the BCCI, we never had to worry about daily allowances or renting rooms because everything was taken care of.

"I think IGPL is providing a format where especially the young generation coming on board doesn't have to worry about those issues. That will give a lot of confidence to young talent to come forward. Going down to the grassroots level is very important.

"...I believe this format is going to be great. I hope it changes the momentum of golf because if you compare IGPL to IPL, the IPL changed the whole dynamics of Indian cricket and world cricket. If IGPL can do that for golf, it will be incredible to see." IGPL has also entered into a partnership with the Asian Tour.

"Because this is the pilot year of the IGPL, we're going to give the top four from the Order of Merit eligibility into the final stage of qualifying school," Cho Minn Thant, Tour Commissioner and CEO of the Asian Tour, said.

"The OQS (Open Championship Qualifying Series) also gives a spot into the British Open. So what will happen is the top player from IGPL, not otherwise exempt, will get an invite into one of the Asian Tour's OQS events.

"And if he finishes in the top three at that event, he'll get a spot in the British Open." Yuvraj hoped that someday golfers coming out of IGPL can go on to win Olympic medals.

"It's a full tour, it is going to be faster-paced, with men and women both competing. I truly hope it changes the face of golf in India. I want to see budding golfers and current golfers reach higher levels of the game — whether Asian, European, or PGA tours," he said.

"With the Olympics coming soon, it would be great to see Indian golfers winning medals there. Golf is a global sport, and hopefully IGPL can make it really big in India and across the globe as well." The event was also attended by veteran golfers SSP Chawrasia, Shiv Kapur, IGPL CEO Uttam Singh Mundy, secretary general of WGAI Champika Sayal and president of PGAI Romit Bose.

Key Players: Gaganjeet Bhullar, Gaurav Ghei, Aalap I L, M Dharma, Digraj Singh Gill, Harshjeet Singh Sethie, Kapil Kumar, Karandeep Singh Kochhar, Kartik Singh, Samarth Dwivedi, Raghav Chugh, Veer Ganapathy, Aadil Bedi, Shaurya Binu, Naman Dawar, Pukhraj Singh Gill, Shat Mishra, Sudhir Sharma, Trishul Chinnappa, Tushar Pannu, Saarthak Chhibber, Harendra Gupta, Milind Soni, C Muniyappa, Yashas Chandra MS, Syed Saqib Ahmed, Aryan Roopa Anand, Kartik Sharma, Aman Raj, Sachin Baisoya, Jaibir Singh, Ranjit Singh, Chiragh Kumar.

IGPL Tour 2025 Schedule: Chandigarh: Sep 10 - Sep 12, Chandigarh Golf Club Greater Noida: Sep 17 - Sep 19, Jaypee Greens Golf Course Pune: Oct 1 - Oct 3, The Poona Club Ltd. Golf Course Hyderabad: Oct 24 - Oct 26, Golf Course (TBA) Kolkata: Oct 29 - Oct 31, Tollygunge Club Jamshedpur: Nov 5 - Nov 7, Beldih Golf Course Mumbai: Nov 18 - Nov 20, Bombay Presidency Golf Club IGPL & Asian Tour Joint Sanctioned: Nov 27 - Nov 30, Kensville Golf Resort Ahmedabad: Dec 2 - Dec 4, Golf Course (TBA) UAE: Dec 8 - Dec 11, Golf Course (TBA) Sri Lanka: Dec 23 - Dec 25, Royal Colombo Golf Club. PTI ATK AH AH