Veteran Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar created history by winning the title at the inaugural Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL) Invitational event in Chandigarh. An early eagle and a late birdie coupled with smart course management drawn from his experience of almost two decades saw Gaganjeet Bhullar card a 2-under 70 final round and become the first IGPL Invitational champion on Friday.
Bhullar, winner of 11 Asian Tour titles, the most by an Indian, and an icon player in the IGPL shot three great rounds of 70-71-70 for a 5-under total and won by two shots over the consistent M Dharma at the Chandigarh Golf Club.
“This one is for the history books,” Bhullar, who has won on many Tours, said after the win. Indeed, there will be many more IGPL champions in the coming weeks, but Bhullar will always be the first.
Gaganjeet Bhullar conquers the IGPL Invitational 2025 – Chandigarh, the first chapter of the IGPL Tour. #IGPL #GolfOn #GolfForAll pic.twitter.com/TjnT52uEIz
— IGPL (@Officialigpl) September 12, 2025
Bhullar took home a whopping cheque of R. 22.50 lakhs from the prize purse of Rs. 1.5 crores. Dharma bagged Rs 15 lakhs and the trio of Veer Ganapathy, Kartik Sharma and Shaurya Binu earned around Rs. 8.7 lakh each.
The 37-year-old Bhullar was challenged hard by Dharma, young Ganapathy and Binu. Dharma shot 70-75-68 to finish sole second and he gave Bhullar a tough fight with a 5-under back nine, but his two bogeys on the front nine cost him dearly.
Other Players Also Make Mark In Inaugural IGPL Invitational Event
Left-handed debutant Ganapathy (72-72-70), son of former pro and now coach, Rahul Ganapathy, was tied for third alongside another southpaw, Kartik Sharma (73-73-68) who produced a 4-under 68, the equal best round of the tournament, and Binu (69-72-73), finished in a tie for third. Binu had held at least a share of the lead for the first 36 holes.
Another young player, Neil Jolly and the experienced Kapil Kumar were tied for sixth at 1-under for the week as only seven players came under par on a challenging course.
Three players, Dharma, Kartik and Sunhit Bishnoi (75-73-68 for 8th place) produced 68s on a course that was difficult to score after the rains pounded in the few weeks before the event. Yet the Chandigarh Golf Club managed to get it in shape for the Rs. 1.5 crore event.
Kartik Singh, who at various stages this week indicated that he could be the next big star, finally finished Tied ninth alongside Aman Raj, Sanju Kumar, Sachin Baisoya, Harendra Gupta and Pukhraj Singh Gill.
Jahanvi Bakshi making a comeback after two years of injuries was the top woman finisher with rounds of 73-71-75 and was 19th in a field of 54 that included 38 men pros, 10 women pros and six amateurs.
The next IGPL event will be held at the Jaypee Greens, Greater Noida, from September 17 to 19.