Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) CEO Amandeep Singh Johl says cricket legend Kapil Dev's elevation to the presidency of the tour marks a watershed moment for the sport in India, lending it credibility and national confidence that no other sporting association has managed to generate. Speaking on 30 May, Johl described Dev's commitment as a rare and powerful endorsement from a sporting icon.

Kapil Dev's Role and What It Signals

'I think that Mr Kapil Dev becoming president of PGTI is a powerful statement from a legendary sportsman that the game of golf has huge potential,' Johl said. He noted that Dev's journey within the PGTI — from board member to vice president and now to the presidency of DP World PGTI — reflects a deepening personal conviction in the sport's future.

Johl pointed out that it is rare for a sporting icon of Dev's stature to actively champion a discipline outside his own. 'There are so many people supporting cricket, yet no sportsman has supported another game,' he said, adding that Dev's endorsement signals to the country that Indian golfers can compete at the highest level globally.

Sponsorship and the 'Elite Sport' Perception Problem

Johl was candid about the structural challenges confronting Indian golf, chief among them being the difficulty of attracting corporate sponsorship. 'Whenever I go to any organisation, any corporate, they always think that golf is already an elite sport, an elite game. Why do you need money? You are already rich people,' he said. He argued that this perception is fundamentally mistaken, pointing to golfers who rose from modest, lower-middle-class backgrounds to win on the biggest stages.

Johl cited the late Vijay Kumar from Lucknow — who passed away recently and who won the Indian Open despite coming from a humble background — as well as players like Ali Sher and Rashid Khan as examples of golf's grassroots depth in India.

Infrastructure: Golf's Golden Quadrilateral Moment

The second major challenge Johl identified is infrastructure. Drawing an analogy with India's highways before former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee launched the Golden Quadrilateral Project, he argued that golf courses across the country are at a similar inflection point. 'Infrastructure in golf was what we had in highways before Vajpayeeji started the Golden Quadrilateral Project. Our infrastructure needs to improve in golf,' he said.

Johl urged state governments to view golf investment as a triple benefit — economic development, tourism, and Olympic sport representation. 'It's a triple whammy, not a double whammy,' he said, calling on states to step forward given that sports is a state subject under the Indian Constitution.

DP World India Championship and the Asian Games

On the competitive calendar, Johl highlighted two marquee events: the upcoming DP World India Championship at the Delhi Golf Club in October and the Asian Games taking place in the coming months. The $4 million championship is expected to draw global stars including Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, and Justin Rose, among others.

'That is very good for India. That is very good for Indian golf because people start taking notice of India when such huge, big champions are coming into India,' Johl said. He also confirmed that DP World and the DP World Tour are keen to extend their sponsorship for the next five to ten years, signalling long-term institutional confidence in the event.

A Word on Cricket — and the IPL

Johl acknowledged following the Indian Premier League (IPL) closely and singled out Rajasthan Royals teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as 'a child prodigy' and 'a future star of India', noting his back-to-back scores of 97 and 96. On the IPL final between Gujarat Titans and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, he said: 'I think the entire country is rooting for Virat Kohli before he retires to win the IPL again.'

With elite international golfers set to descend on New Delhi and a cricket icon now steering the PGTI, Indian golf appears to be entering one of its most consequential phases.