AM Green IGPL Heads to Ras Al Khaimah as Vimtra Chennai Lions Get Their Home Leg

The AM Green Indian Golf Premier League is returning to the UAE, but this time the action is moving beyond Dubai.

Ras Al Khaimah is set to host the first franchisee event of the second half of the 2026 IGPL season, with Al Hamra Golf Club providing the backdrop from September 23 to 25. The event will be presented by Vimtra Chennai Lions GC, giving the franchise an opportunity to compete in what will effectively become its home territory for the week.

It is another significant step for a league that is steadily expanding its footprint beyond India. After beginning the 2026 season in Chandigarh and subsequently travelling to Mauritius, South Africa, and Morocco, the IGPL will resume its campaign in Ras Al Khaimah before moving into the rest of the second-half schedule.

The choice of Al Hamra Golf Club adds plenty of pedigree to the occasion.

Ras Al Khaimah has developed into an increasingly attractive destination for golf, with a growing community of players, sponsors, partners, and enthusiasts. Al Hamra itself has hosted a number of high-profile international events, including the DP World Ras Al Khaimah Championship between 2022 and 2025.

The venue has also welcomed European Challenge Tour events on three occasions between 2016 and 2018. For the IGPL, the move represents an opportunity to combine competitive professional golf with the wider business and social ecosystem that has become part of the league's identity.

It also follows the success of the IGPL's first UAE event in Dubai last December. That debut generated a strong response, and the league is now returning to the country with a franchise-led event rather than simply another stop on the calendar.

Chennai Lions Bring a Proven Winner

The hosts will be Vimtra Chennai Lions GC, and they arrive with one of the strongest combinations of experience and recent success in the competition.

Leading the side is Gaganjeet Bhullar, an 11-time Asian Tour winner and former Asian Games medallist. Bhullar is also a proven performer within the IGPL, having won four times three victories in 2025 and another in 2026.

He will be joined by Yashas Chandra M.S., Samarth Dwivedi, and Harshjeet Singh Sethie. For a franchise with an established star at the top of its lineup, the Ras Al Khaimah event provides a particularly interesting opportunity. Playing in a familiar UAE environment and carrying the expectations of being the presenting franchise, the Chennai Lions will be looking to make their presence felt from the opening round.

Vimtra recently unveiled its logo and introduced its players at a high-profile event in Chennai, giving fans a first look at the squad that will represent the franchise during the IGPL season.

A League Built Around Teams

One of the distinguishing features of the IGPL is its franchise-based structure. Rather than presenting golf purely as an individual pursuit, the league gives players a team identity and creates rivalries between franchises. The 2026 field features ten teams, representing cities and regions across India.

Atri Mumbai Garudas GC will field Aman Raj, Udayan Mane, Aadil Bedi, and Tushar Pannu, while Auro Goa Eagles GC features Varun Chopra, Saarthak Chhibber, Aalaap I.L. and Kanav Chauhan. Flying Man Kolkata GC includes Varun Parikh, Sukhman Singh, Syed Saqib Ahmed, and Kartik Sharma, while Green Fuels Vizag Dolphins GC will be represented by Manav Shah, Dharma M., Milind Soni, and Danish Verma.

GolfKonnekt Bengaluru Stallions have Veer Ganapathy, Sunhit Bishnoi, Trishul Chinnappa, and Sudhir Sharma. Unico Gurugram Tuskers GC feature Pukhraj Singh Gill, Shaurya Binu, Shat Mishra, and Digraj Singh Gill.

Krishna Punjab Raptors GC have Karandeep Singh Kochhar, Kapil Kumar, Harendra Gupta, and C. Muniyappa, while Phoenix Hyderabad Firebirds GC will field Sachin Baisoya, Raghav Chugh, Arjun Bhatti, and Ranjit Singh.

RVR Delhi Blue Bulls GC bring considerable experience of their own through Shiv Kapur, Aryan Roopa Anand, Chiragh Kumar and Gaurav Ghei.

And, of course, the Vimtra Chennai Lions will be led by Bhullar alongside Chandra, Dwivedi, and Sethie.

For IGPL officials, the Ras Al Khaimah event is about more than simply staging another tournament. Vimtra Ventures CEO Subash Yammada said the organization was excited to return to the UAE following the successful Dubai event and viewed the Ras Al Khaimah tournament as an opportunity to deepen relationships with partners and sponsors while showcasing the destination.

IGPL CEO Uttam Singh Mundy similarly sees the event as another chance to bring professional golfers, business leaders, partners, and sponsors together around the sport.

That combination of competition, networking, and entertainment has become an important part of the league's proposition as it attempts to build a broader golf community.

The September 23-25 event at Al Hamra Golf Club effectively marks the starting gun for the second half of the IGPL's 2026 campaign. For the Chennai Lions, it comes with the added incentive of playing in their presenting event. For the rest of the field, it represents another chance to make ground in a season where team performances are becoming increasingly important.

The UAE has already shown that there is an appetite for the IGPL's format. Now Ras Al Khaimah gets its opportunity to become part of that story.

Against the backdrop of Al Hamra's championship history, a strong field of Indian golfers, and a growing community of fans and partners, the stage is set for three days of competitive golf.

Dubai opened the IGPL's UAE chapter.

Ras Al Khaimah now gets the chance to take it forward.