New Delhi, February 16 – Top player Honey Baisoya emerged as the top buy with a bid of 20.5 lakh, while 16-year-old Kartik Singh was the youngest player to be bought in the auction for the first edition of PGTI's 72 The League. The event kicked off in New Delhi on Monday with top Indian golfers going under the hammer.
USA's Jhared Hack, the most expensive foreign buy at Rs 15.80 lakh, featured six city-based franchises, each with a purse of Rs 1 crore, looking to assemble a squad of ten professional golfers.
The six teams involved in the auction were Delhi-based Capital Lancers, Hyderabad's Charminar Champions, Kolkata Classics, Mumbai Aces, Rajasthan Regals, and UP Prometheans.
Honey Baisoya, who had recently won the DP World Players Championship at the Qutub Golf Course, was the biggest draw, closely followed by young prodigy Shubham Jaglan.
Baisoya, who was placed in the Platinum category at a base price of Rs 10 lakh, was acquired by Capital Lancers for a staggering Rs 20.5 lakh after a bidding war with Rajasthan Regals and Kolkata Classics.
Arjun Prasad, who had two top-10 finishes this month – 8th at the DP World Players Championship and 9th at the SECL Chhattisgarh Open Golf Championship – went to UP Prometheans for Rs 18 lakh.
The biggest gainer was upcoming talent Shubham Jaglan, who sparked an intense bidding war among all six franchises. Jaglan, who was placed in the Silver category at a base price of Rs 3 lakh, went to Hyderabad-based Charminar Champions for Rs 19 lakh, over six times his base price.
Charminar Champions successfully outbid Capital Lancers and Mumbai Aces, who consistently raised the stakes for the 21-year-old.
Kartik Singh, expectedly, was another hot property, going for an impressive Rs 14.40 lakh to Mumbai Aces after a fierce bidding war with Capital Lancers and Charminar Champions. The 16-year-old was placed in the Silver category at a base price of Rs 3 lakh and eventually went for close to five times his starting value.
Besides the young guns, the auction also rewarded experience with Indian golf veteran Mukesh Kumar, 60, going to Kolkata Classics for Rs 7 lakh.
Among the international star cast, USA's Jhared Hack led the way at Rs 15.80 lakh, courtesy of aggressive bidding from Capital Lancers.
Honey Baisoya commented, "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 for the last three weeks, and I'm really, really glad, really grateful. I've been working hard, and I'm having a good time now."
Shubham Jaglan, who was snapped up by the Hyderabad franchise, added, "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."
A total of 12 foreign professionals from seven different countries were picked at the auction. Jhared Hack, the most expensive foreign buy in the auction, said, "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 of weeks playing only tournaments, so this will be a fun, exciting, different format."
The first edition of 72 The League, jointly launched by PGTI and Game of Life Sports (GOLS), will take place on February 21 and will be held across three of Delhi-NCR's most prestigious golf venues – Classic Golf & Country Club, Jaypee Greens, and Qutab Golf Course.
