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The player auction for the first edition of PGTI's 72 The League got off to a cracking start in New Delhi with top Indian golfers going under the hammer on Monday. The auction featured a total of six city-based franchises, each with a purse of Rs 1 crore, looking to pick a squad of ten professionals.
The six teams that participated in the auction were Delhi-based Capital Lancers, Hyderabad-based Charminar Champions, Kolkata Classics, Mumbai Aces, Rajasthan Regals, and UP Prometheans, according to a PGTI release. In-form Honey Baisoya, riding high on his DP World Players Championship win at the Qutub Golf Course recently, was the top draw, closely followed by young prodigy Shubham Jaglan. Placed in the Platinum category for a base price of Rs 10 lakh, the 29-year-old Baisoya was bagged by Capital Lancers for a whopping Rs 20.5 lakh after a three-way 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 Tied-9th at the SECL Chhattisgarh Open Golf Championship - went to UP Prometheans for Rs. 18 lakh. The biggest gainer, however, was upcoming talent Shubham Jaglan, who sparked an intense bidding war among all six franchises. Placed in the Silver category for a base price of Rs 3 lakh, Jaglan went to Hyderabad-based Charminar Champions for Rs.19 lakh, over six times his base price. Charminar Champions warded off a strong challenge from Capital Lancers and Mumbai Aces, who consistently raised the stakes for the 21-year-old. Young Kartik Singh was expectedly another hot property, fetching an impressive Rs14.40 lakh from the Mumbai Aces after a stiff, prolonged bidding war with the Capital Lancers and Charminar Champions. The 16-year-old was bracketed 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 the experience with Indian golf veteran Mukesh Kumar, 60, going to Kolkata Classics for Rs 7 lakh. Among the international starcast, USA's Jhared Hack led the way at Rs. 15.80 lakh, courtesy some aggressive bidding from Capital Lancers. Speaking on the auction, Honey Baisoya said, "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 from 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 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 7 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 off on February 21 and will be held across three of Delhi-NCR's most prestigious golf venues -- Classic Golf and Country Club, Jaypee Greens and Qutub Golf Course. (ANI)
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