Chandigarh, March 10 Defending champion Gaganjeet Bhullar will lead a strong field in the opening leg of the Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL), to be held here from March 11 to 13.
Bhullar gave the IGPL a sensational start in 2025 by winning the inaugural event.
As India's most successful player in the Asian Tour history with 11 wins, the third highest on the all-time Asian list, Bhullar leads a group of talented stars including the big-hitting Pukhraj Singh Gill, who won the 2025 IGPL Order of Merit, Asian Tour star Karandeep Kochhar, also an IGPL winner in 2025, and Aman Raj, who narrowly lost out on the Order of Merit honours to Pukhraj.
The competition in 2025 was so close that the top three players – Pukhraj (Rs 81,90,652), Aman Raj (Rs 81,81,708), and Bhullar (Rs 81,30,000) – were separated by just over Rs 60,000.
A total of 58 players, including nine amateurs, will play the main event from March 11–13, and there will be no cut.
The Rs 1.5 crore event, which will set the wheels in motion for 2026, will also see the arrival of the pedigreed Varun Parikh, a multiple winner, Indian-American Manav Shah, a winner on the PGA Tour of Latinoamerica and Varun Chopra.
Bhullar said: "The game has given me a lot, and I want to give back to the game."
The young brigade will be led by Veer Ganapathy, who came close to registering his maiden win more than once. The 18-year-old Bengaluru lad and son of professional Rahul Ganapathy was seventh overall in the 2025 IGPL standings. Raghav Chugh (22) and newcomer Arjun Bhati (21) will be among the other young pros in the field.
The amateur segment will feature Harjai Milkha Singh, son of the legendary Jeev Milkha Singh, who has been having a good run on the Indian Golf Union circuit. Other notable amateurs include Krish Chawla and Chaitanya Pandey.
The invitees list includes the legendary Chawrasia, a six-time winner in Asia.
Meanwhile, Gaurav Ghei, the first Indian to play the Open, has committed to playing the full season.