Rory McIlroy leads the celebrity charge as the DP World Tour India Championship comes to Delhi
Rory McIlroy and other European golf superstars will tee off for the DP World Tour's India Championship 2025 in Delhi. Expect a thrilling weekend of golf
You don’t need to enter the Delhi Golf Club, or even be a golfer, to see that something big is taking place. “Looks like the PM is coming here," says my cabbie after some thought, even as scores of spectators around us disembark and make a beeline for the course on foot. In this part of the Capital even cab drivers know that golf tournaments attract crowds on weekends. But it’s midday, mid-week, mid-October and all roads leading to the DGC are packed.
Never before has a pro-am of a golf event attracted such attention. He’s certainly got a hero’s welcome, Rory McIlroy has, on his maiden trip to India to tee it up at the DP World Tour’s India Championship 2025. On Wednesday, the crowds in the galleries rival final day attendance for most events, with junior golfers excitedly following McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Luke Donald, Shane Lowry, Viktor Hovland, and their cohorts on the DP World Tour. A veritable galaxy of European stars, fresh from their heroic Ryder Cup triumph.
The DP World Tour co-sanctions the Hero Indian Open but this is the first time since 2013 that the tour has returned to India with a second marquee event. And its anything but a token appearance. The $4 million India championship carries the biggest purse for a professional golf event in India, has all the trappings of a world-class event and a full complement of European golf stars.
The Peter Thomson-design Lodhi Course, always presents a bit of a riddle to those who haven’t encountered it before. “The first driver I’ll hit will be in Abu Dhabi," says McIlroy at a presser after the pro-am. Fans can only hope he gives in to temptation a few times during the week and doesn’t stick to that strategy. But you can’t blame him if he does; the landing areas at the already tight Lodhi course have been hemmed in even further. For those who haven’t played here before, the greens can be very deceiving. But everyone knows that you can’t overpower this course. You have to negotiate with it.
This is the first event that the Continentals are playing after their triumph at the Ryder Cup in New York. It was inevitable that questions about fan behaviour would emerge. Asked if it was possible for golf to retain a universal character while becoming popular in different parts of the world, the world number two gives a nuanced response.
“Look, I’d love for more people to watch golf…that would be amazing. But I would love more people to play the game…" says McIlroy, adding, “it’s when they play golf that they realise what the game is about and what makes it different. They learn and they can acknowledge what golf is what it represents, and the etiquette and the values that you need to adhere to when you play the game."
For the Indian pros, this week represents both an opportunity and validation. Golfer Shubhankar Sharma, now a DP World Tour regular, will carry the home flag. There’s Anirban Lahiri, back on familiar turf after his LIV Golf stint. And then there’s Shiv Kapur, the DGC homeboy who knows every kink in the Lodhi Course’s fairways.
Yes, it’s a big-ticket event with valuable “Race to Dubai" points, but for the players, and the Tour, it’s also about reopening a door. Every tour talks about “growth markets", few actually show up in India. DP World has put its logistics muscle and brand equity behind the idea that this event is worth the investment. Could there be an Asia swing that could could tie India with Singapore and the Middle East, creating a true winter circuit? It does fit in well, in terms of scheduling. “Our goal is to make India a permanent fixture on the global golf calendar and to build a legacy that connects trade, sport, and culture," says Yuvraj Narayan, Group Deputy CEO and CFO, DP World.
It’s going to be a cracking week of golf. Expect golf fans to turn up in droves come Thursday morning to watch as the tournament gets underway. To watch McIlroy throttle natural instinct and play the precious game, watch Sharma feed off the crowd, and envy Fleetwood’s metronome-like tempo. The latter’s temperament, always sunny and grounded, won the media over at the first presser. He’s taken some hard knocks, with as many as 30 top-finishes on the PGA Tour before finally winning the grand prize—the FedEx Cup in August. With that monkey off his back, Fleetwood is on a roll, and if the way he was hitting it during the pro-am is any indication, Fleetwood appears to have the measure of the Lodhi Course.
If the weather holds—which looks very likely—the winning score could hover around 12-under. It’s going to be one heck of a weekend. Sadly the event is not free entry but tickets are available online.
Meraj Shah is a Delhi-based writer, golfer and television producer.
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