File photo of 2021 and 2022 Hero World Challenge winner Viktor Hovland of Norway, who is in the field for next month’s $4 million DP World India Championship, with tournament host Tiger Woods at Albany in the Bahamas. Image courtesy PGA Tour/X.
By Rahul Banerji
The Ryder Cup will be played this week at New York’s Bethpage Black, and the progress of more than one player at the iconic venue will be keenly followed in India.
That is because Europe team mates Viktor Hovlandand Shane Lowry have joined the entry list for the $4 million DP World India Championship next month,
They will start alongside team mates Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood at the Delhi Golf Club from October 16 to 19 at the event offering the largest prize fund ever offered for a DP World Tour event in India.
Major winner Lowry, who lifted the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush in 2019, will make his third consecutive Ryder Cup appearance in defence of the trophy Europe won in Rome two years ago.
The Irishman, who last played in Delhi at the 2010 Avantha Masters, said: “I’m really looking forward to going back to Delhi for the first edition of the DP World India Championship.”
Hovland, the first Norwegian to win on both the DP World Tour and PGA Tour, claimed his 11th worldwide title at the Valspar Championship in Florida.
The 27-year-old will join Lowry in making a third appearance for Team Europe at this year’s Ryder Cup.
First visit
“I’ve heard a lot about Delhi as a city and I’m excited to tee it up in India for the first time at such a historic golf course,” the genial Hovland said.
“It’s shaping up to be a great event, and I’m looking forward to everything about the experience.”
The DP World India Championship is co-sanctioned by the Professional Golf Tour of India and marks a new chapter for professional golf in India.
With four Ryder Cup stars in the field along with home hero Shubhankar Sharma, the tournament promises to be a standout events of the season on Indian soil.
“We’re all very excited about the DP World India Championship. I can’t wait to get back to Delhi Golf Club,” the 29-year-old from Chandigarh said.
“It’s a historic course – I played there a lot as a junior and have very fond memories. It’s a tough course, it’s iconic, and I’m sure the DP World Tour players who have played there will remember it well.
Potential game-changer
“Having players like McIlroy as the reigning Masters champion and FedExCup champion Fleetwood coming to the event, things like this can change golf in India.
“I remember Tiger Woods playing an exhibition match many years ago and the impact walking with him had on me, so to have such an incredible field coming to the country will make this event really special.”
The DP World India Championship is the eighth of nine events in the ‘Back 9’ phase of the 2025 Race to Dubai, building towards the season-ending DP World Tour Play-Offs.
The tour culminates in the DP World Tour Championship in November at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai.
Also read: Fleetwood to join lineup at DP World India Championship
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