~ Order of Merit runner-up Aman Raj, Olympians Udayan Mane, and SSP Chawrasia to play
~ Varun Parikh, Varun Chopra, and Manav Shah in the field
~ Rs. 1.5 Crore on offer as prize money
Gaganjeet Bhullar, who got the Indian Golf Premier League to a sensational start in 2025 by winning the inaugural event, is back at the Chandigarh Golf Club to kick-start the brand-new 2026 season.
The field at the IGPL Invitational 2026 – Chandigarh, presented by K R I S H N A, will be led by Bhullar. As India’s most successful player in 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 battle 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 Pro-Am will be held on March 14.
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.
“We are very excited to tee off with our Season 2 of IGPL. It was a hugely successful inaugural season and our plans have been very much on track,” commented Uttam Singh Mundy, the CEO of IGPL , and a very successful professional of yesteryears with multiple wins in India.
He added, “It seemed most appropriate to start our 2026 season in Chandigarh for this is where IGPL started its journey last year. Chandigarh is like a nursery of Indian golf and it has given us so many stars.”
He further noted that IGPL’s leading stars like the Order of Merit winner Pukhraj Singh Gill, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Karandeep Kochhar, and Aman Raj, all of whom were big winners, will be in action this week.
“Our breakout stars like Veer Ganapathy will be joined by some more teen stars and our mentors and icons like SSP Chawrasia and Gaurav Ghei, who will play the full season, are ready to take this young generation to new heights. In the coming weeks, we will be sharing our additional plans to take the golf ecosystem to the next level.”
Bhullar’s credentials are well-known. His wins in Asia and India are legendary and, in addition to golf, the son of a former India athlete has also been involved in charities, growing junior golf, and mentoring young stars. “The game has given me a lot and I want to give back to the game,” says the 37-year-old, who feels he has a lot of years left to play top-level golf in Asia and Europe. Bhullar, a regular on the Asian Tour, plans to divide his time between the Asian Tour, International Series, and the IGPL.
The young brigade will be led by Veer Ganapathy, who came close to registering his maiden win more than once. Crowned as the ‘Young Turk’ of 2025, 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, all hoping to snare their first big pro win.
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 will include Krish Chawla and Chaitanya Pandey.
The invitees list includes the legendary SSP Chawrasia, a six-time winner in Asia. Four of those wins were on the DP World Tour and he has twice won the Indian Open. Meanwhile, Gaurav Ghei, the first Indian to play the Open, has committed to playing the full season. Ghei is also deeply involved with coaching youngsters and growing the game.
Pukhraj, whose brother Digraj also plays pro golf, learnt the game in Ludhiana and then travelled all over Punjab honing his skills. Now based in Chandigarh and considered one of the brightest sparks in Indian golf, Pukhraj sees IGPL as the pathway to higher levels in Asia and beyond.
Kochhar was the star of 2025. Once the youngest pro winner in India, Kochhar last year registered his first international win in Egypt and is now a full member of the Asian Tour. “I feel playing a mix of IGPL and Asian Tour has been great for me,” said Kochhar, who was one of the IGPL winners in 2025.
Multiple winner Aman Raj, Olympian Udayan Mane, Sachin Baisoya, Kapil Kumar, Aryan Roopa Anand, former Indian Open champion C. Muniyappa, and former Asian Tour winner Chiragh Kumar are part of the 58-player field.
