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More co-sanctioned events, better prize money on PGTI's 2027 agenda
While the number of competitions on the PGTI are unlikely to go up, the prize purse of most tournaments is set to increase.
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Fuelled by its partnership with logistics major DP World, the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) will introduce several co-sanctioned tour events in the next calendar year while also looking to increase the prize money for its competitions. Speaking to the media on the second day of the DP World India Championship, PGTI CEO Amandeep Johl underlined the tour's vision while reflecting on the domestic season that will conclude with the ongoing tournament.
"We want our players to have more international pathways. We want to stage more co-sanctioned events—not only with the DP World Tour, but also at the Asian Development Tour level. We will introduce at least two ADT events, and we are already in talks with the HotelPlanner Tour, which is the challenger tour for the DP World Tour," Johl said.
The lack of international exposure for Indian pros has cost them vital world ranking points which will, in effect, hamper their qualification for the 2028 LA Olympics. Johl admitted the tour is "concerned" about the situation and is planning to bring in players from Japan, Thailand and South Korea to compete on the PGTI to bolster the field.
"The aim is to create more opportunities to earn world-ranking points and help our players work towards Olympic qualification. We are concerned about our players’ world rankings. Changes to the ranking system affected the points available to us, and we weren’t playing enough co-sanctioned events," he said.
“The intent is to increase prize money, bring in more co-sanctioned tournaments and encourage players from other tours to compete in India. We’ve reached out to tours in South Africa, Thailand, Korea and Japan. Where their schedules allow, we’re happy to invite players to compete here. Stronger fields can help improve the ranking points available. That is part of the effort to give our players better opportunities internationally.”
The number of tournaments on the domestic tour, however, is unlikely to increase even though the PGTI is inclined to raise the prize purse to ₹1.5 crore- ₹2 crore. "We don't want to cramp the calendar. The number of tournaments will be between 25-30, but the prize money will go up. You'll see more events offering a purse of ₹1.5 crore- ₹2 crore in the coming year," he said.
PGTI president Kapil Dev pointed to the lack of access to quality courses within India as one of the major impediments to the game's growth.
“There are many good courses where our professionals cannot easily go and practice. They have to go through the process of getting access and paying a fee. If we could open those doors, even for our top 50 players, and allow them to practice in their own cities, I believe it would help their performances. They need infrastructure not just to compete, but to practice," the cricket icon said.
Further, Johl reiterated PGTI's commitment to take the sport to uncharted territories within the country through a mix of NextGen (second-rung PGTI event) and professional events.
“We’re looking at other states and new venues. In Assam, we’ve traditionally gone to Digboi for the Indian Oil tournament, but we’re exploring another city as well. The state government is interested in golf tourism and developing the sport, and we’re engaging with them. We received an excellent response in Jammu and Kashmir. We also want to build on events such as the Dilip Tirkey Invitational in Odisha. The intent is to keep finding new venues and expanding the game’s reach," he said.
"I want to follow the BCCI model to grow the game, which means better prize money, more corporate investment and taking better care of our players."
Johl said the PGTI has earmarked a budget of ₹30 lakh to support players willing to test themselves at Q-Schools abroad. A maximum of ₹3 lakh per player will be allocated for this purpose.
"Q-schools is where the grind is There is no money to be earned, the conditions are tough, but that's where you forge your skills. I want more of our players to test themselves, and this initiative should encourage them," Johl added.
