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A breath of fresh air, 72 The League has a very important year coming up
The inaugural 72 The League was a huge hit among the Indian professional golfers.
If the inaugural 72 The League on the DP World-PGTI was conceptualised as a kneejerk reaction to the rival Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL), let’s have some more of these.
Bigger tournaments with bigger prize purses and benefits have been announced in the history of Indian golf, but nothing seems to have energised the players to this level as the team match play event has.
Chikkarangappa S, who has risen through the amateur ranks and has played as a professional for more than a decade, summed it up: “I have been speaking to other players, and I don’t think we have had anything more exciting than 72 The League in PGTI for a long, long time.”
Dhruv Sheoran, who successfully partnered Chikka for the eventual champions, Rajasthan Royals, added: “You feel the nerves on the first tee while playing an individual strokeplay event. But this is different…you are nervous on every tee, because you are thinking about your partner, and also about other members of the team. You are always thinking that you are part of something bigger.”
The PGTI and organisers, Game of Life, have taken care of their biggest stakeholders – the players. Now is the time to look at others and make sure this becomes a money-spinning property for all parties involved.
I worked with 72 The League as a media consultant and closely followed the action over the two weeks. These are some of my observations and how the property can be made better…
More time, better planning: For a tournament that was so different, and massive – two continuous weeks, three courses, two ProAms, auction, launch ceremony and parties, collaterals, uniforms – putting it all together in less than five months was a major achievement.
The organisers now have more than a year for the next edition. Planning needs to begin now. And they will have the wisdom of doing it once. They will know what they can do better, and what can be avoided/added.
Schedule and format: The tournament for 2027 needs to be allotted dates – or at least ad hoc dates – as soon as possible. That would provide the necessary direction for all efforts. Of course, not having a conflicting date with something as major as the ICC T20 World Cup would also be nice.
An important thing to consider and decide right now is whether 2027 will be another compact, ‘two-week, one-city’ structure, or if it will be more spread out in the calendar and over the country.
A two-week run makes logistical and economic sense, but it would be better for the tournament if the league stages are held in the cities of the various franchises, followed by a final.
Getting the franchises more involved: As it happened, the two teams that had the most involved owners this year – UP Prometheans and Rajasthan Royals – did the best out of the six and reached the final.
Kapil Dev, the PGTI Chairman, said: “My job is to make the players and the sponsors (franchises) happy. If I can do these two things, I think we are going to have a very successful future for this tournament.”
There now needs to be a year-long plan to keep these team owners engaged. A calendar of events involving fans and media needs to be chalked to keep the teams in the spotlight.
Television: The final of the tournament was telecast live, and finding a broadcaster for the future will be as important as finding an audience for the broadcast. Unlike cricket, it is highly unlikely that television channels will line up for media rights. But the organisers will have to tie a long-term deal, because television coverage is a vital component that determines the valuations of sports properties.
On the other hand, the League did a very good job with the other important media element – social media. The updates on Instagram, YouTube and Twitter were timely and well executed.
Format for the final: Each league round comprised two singles, two fourballs and one foursome matches. That worked out really well and created a lot of drama.
That same format was used in the final as well, but Rajasthan won the first three matches, and that was it. It made results of the last two matches of academic interest. As a competition, everything was over much before the scheduled prize presentation.
A solution to this could be 10 individual match play matches for the final. At least, it would mean a team will have to win the first six matches to make it a completely one-sided affair.
Keep Arjun Atwal as the brand ambassador for life: Atwal, as the brand ambassador of the League, was absolutely amazing. He was so good with his time – available whenever he was asked, and he was brilliant in his interactions with the players, media and with the team owners and sponsors.
