A record 15 Indian golfers are teeing up this week at the Asian Tour Qualifying Final Stage at Lake View Resort and Golf Club in Hua Hin, Thailand, where 201 players have enrolled from 54 countries.
The 90-hole marathon will decide full playing rights for the 2026 season, with the top 35 finishers earning cards and ranking status on the main tour.
Since the launch of the Saudi PIF-backed International Series in 2023 — ten events with purses of US$2 million or more — the Asian Tour has grown into one of global golf’s most attractive pathways, drawing record entries from India this year.
Indians exempt from Qualifying – Chandigarh’s Gaganjeet Bhullar (Top-65) & Karandeep Kochhar (secured his card through top 10 ranking on Asian Development Tour in 2025).
First Stage Qualifiers –
Yuvraj Singh – from Chandigarh
Varun Parikh – from Ahmedabad
Shubham Jaglan – former US college golfer
Indian players exempted to Final Stage Qualifying –
Category B – Players in positions 66-80 from the 2025 Asian Tour Final Order of Merit
Ajeetesh Sandhu (77th) – from Chandigarh
Category C – Asian Tour Tournament winners from 2017 – 2024
Viraj Madappa
Khalin Joshi, both from Bangalore
Category N – The leading available player not otherwise exempt and within the top 5 from the 2025 PGTI Final Order of Merit
Shaurya Bhattacharya of Delhi
Category Q – Nominated Country Exemption Players
Honey Baisoya, Rashid Khan, Chikkarangappa S
Category R – Nominations by Asian Tour Qualifying School Committee
Aman Raj, Pukhraj Singh Gill, Sachin Baisoya, Kartik Singh (top 4 on 2025 IGPL Tour rankings) & Arjun Prasad
Over the years, the Asian Tour Qualifying School has witnessed the emergence of many top players in the region. Successful graduates include Thai stars Thongchai Jaidee (1999), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (2009) and Sadom Kaewkanjana (2019); Australian Scott Hend (2007); Korea’s Yikeun Chang (2016); and the American duo of Kurt Kitayama (2018) and John Caitlin (2018).
Photo – Asian Tour
