After the auctions, the ceremonies and the predictions, 72 The League finally tees off Tuesday at Classic Golf and Country Club — where captains, pairings and unfamiliar formats will decide which franchises can handle the pressure.
The speculation ends Tuesday. After a week of auction drama, trophy unveilings and strategy sessions, PGTI’s 72 The League finally begins at Classic Golf and Country Club, where six franchises — each armed with 10 professionals, a captain, and competing theories about match-play golf — will discover whether India’s appetite for team golf is real or imagined.
Three Matches, Three Rivalries, One Unfamiliar Format
Opening day features three first-round clashes. Ajeetesh Sandhu’s Rajasthan Regals face Viraj Madappa’s Kolkata Classics in what promises to be a battle of experience versus depth. Charminar Champions take on UP Prometheans, while Mumbai Aces square off against Nava Raipur in the day’s third match.
The matchups were determined Monday during a draw involving Arjun Atwal, the league’s brand ambassador and India’s only PGA Tour winner, alongside the six captains. Unlike the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup, which feature multiple singles matches, 72 The League will stage two singles, two fourballs and one foursome per round — a compressed format designed to deliver results in hours, not days.
Fourballs, Foursomes, and the Art of Chemistry
The formats themselves will be unfamiliar territory for many. In fourball, two players per team each play their own ball, with the lowest score winning the hole — a straightforward concept, four balls in play at any time. Foursome, also known as alternate shot, is more demanding: two players share a single ball, alternating shots throughout the hole. It is widely considered one of golf’s most difficult team formats, requiring not just skill but rhythm, patience and trust.
Captains will submit eight names for each round, leaving two players on the bench as reserves. Pairings and match order will be strategic decisions made behind closed doors, with chemistry and complementary skill sets weighing as heavily as individual form.
Sandhu vs Madappa: Experience Meets Depth
Sandhu’s Rajasthan Regals boast a deep roster: the experienced S Chikkarangappa, long-hitting Yuvraj Singh, aggressive Akshay Sharma and Italian Michele Ortolani. Madappa’s Kolkata Classics counter with their own veterans — Rashid Khan, Khalin Joshi, Angad Cheema and 61-year-old Mukesh Kumar, one of Indian golf’s most enduring figures.
“They have a very experienced team with a lot of winners, so they can definitely handle the pressure of match play,” Sandhu said. “I think we’re a very balanced team throughout. We’ll go through the strategy of who our players are, who are feeling good about their game, and then choose the order of play.”
Madappa acknowledged Rajasthan’s strength but emphasised the importance of pairing chemistry. “They have a lot of depth,” he said. “But we also have the experience, and for us, it’s more about making sure that the pairs have good chemistry. How we complement each other’s game is going to be very important.”
Youth, Firepower, and the Foursome Gamble
Mumbai Aces, represented at Monday’s draw by Talwar in the absence of captain Veer Ahlawat — who was travelling from Kenya — plan to harness the energy of the league’s two youngest players: 16-year-old Kartik Singh and 17-year-old Pritish Singh Karayat.
“We have a very experienced and a very strong team, but we also have the two youngest players in the league,” Talwar said. “We’re excited about the firepower and the energy that they can bring.”
Nava Raipur, led by Malik and featuring both the current PGTI Order of Merit leader Honey Baisoya and American Jhared Hack, are placing their strategic emphasis on the foursome format. “Most teams are used to playing the fourball format,” Malik said. “Foursome is something which nobody’s ever played, even in practice. The alternate shot carries three points, so we’re going to look at making sure that our pairing gets us those points.”
By Tuesday evening, the theories will have been tested. Pairings will have either clicked or collapsed. Captains will have either read the room correctly or learned expensive lessons. And 72 The League, launched by PGTI in partnership with Game of Life Sports, will have taken its first real step from concept to reality.