World number two and tournament top draw Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland in action at the DP World India Championship’s Wednesday Pro-Am at the Delhi Golf Club. Image courtesy DWPIC.
By Rahul Banerji
International stars assembled for the inaugural DP World India Championship got a taste of the Delhi Golf Club course at a Pro-Am ahead of Thursday’s formal tee-off.
Top draw Rory McIlroy gets going at 7.25 am alongside Viktor Hovland of Norway and USA’s Ben Griffin from Tee 10, while Ryder Cup team-mates Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and captain Luke Donald are clubbed together on 10 at 12.10 pm.
Fleetwood returns to India for the first time in nine years after the 2016 Indian Open in 2016 while Lowry is back after 2010 when he played the Avantha Masters.
“It is nice to be back,” Fleetwood, 34, said on Wednesday. “It’s been nine years, I think. I was struggling back here in 2016, so it’s great to come back.”
The field has 26 Indians, many of them winners of international events at the DGC including 2015 Indian Open champion Anirban Lahiri, Chiragh Kumar and Shiv Kapur.
Past Indian Open winners besides Lahiri in the DPWIC field are Marcel Siem (2023), Keita Nakajina (2024) and Eugenio Chacarra (2025), with the latter two out to improve on their Race to Dubai standings as well.
Other international winners on Indian soil include England’s John Parry, Frenchman Ugo Coussaud and Maximillan Keiffer of Germany who have won Challenge Tour events, while South Africa’s Thomas Aiken won the 2013 Avantha Masters.
Long line-up
Co-sanctioned with the Professional Golf Tour of India, the DP World India Championship features a $4 million prize fund, the largest ever offered for a DP World Tour event in India.
McIlroy has seen his lead in the Race to Dubai Rankings reduced by this season’s three-time DP World Tour winner Marco Penge and is out to strengthen his pursuit of a seventh Harry Vardon Trophy with Penge not in action this week.
While Lahiri, Sharma, Kapur, Gangjee and Ajeetesh Sandhu, are the biggest Indian names in the field, there are also a number of young players at the mega event who have made a mark on the PGTI.
Veer Ahlawat is the most prominent among these names having earned a DP World Tour berth as order of merit topper in 2024. The four-time PGTI winner also finished runner-up at the 2024 Indian Open to record his best international result.
Ahlawat said, “I’ve not had the best of seasons but I feel this week presents me with a great opportunity to make an impact.
“I want to make this event count as I know that a top-10 here would help me save my card on the DP World Tour.
Ireland’s Ryder Cup-winning star Shane Lowry at Wednesday’s Pro-Am at the DGC. Image courtesy DPWIC.
Opportunity beckons
“Indian golfers will have a distinct advantage this week as we all know the DGC course well and have played here since our junior days. The layout at DGC has always favoured Indians.”
Yuvraj Sandhu, a winner on the Asian Development Tour, is another who will be watched. The 13-time winner leads the Order of Merit with four titles to his name this season.
“I’ve just enjoyed some great form playing in India this year. I would love to carry that momentum into this week,” Sandhu said on tournament eve.
“I’m very excited to be here amongst this world-class field. Since the announcement of this tournament, this week has been the most eagerly-awaited for all of us Indian golfers.
“The DGC feels like a second home course for me so I’m quite comfortable playing here.”
Arjun Prasad, fresh from his maiden victory two weeks back, is ranked second on the PGTI’s money list courtesy his 11 top-10s this season.
“Playing the DP World India Championship serves as a huge boost in confidence for me as making it to this event was one of my goals as soon as the tournament was announced,” Prasad said.
Living the dream
“Competing in a field that has McIlroy and Fleetwood is a dream come true. I really look forward to playing alongside Tommy once again who was my playing partner at the 2016 Indian Open when I was an amateur.”
There are a few others out to make a mark like former PGTI Order of Merit champions Om Prakash Chouhan and Manu Gandas, both of whom have the experience of playing a season each on the DP World Tour.
Olympian and former PGTI Order of Merit champion Udayan Mane has also been in prime form this year. A 12-time winner, Mane has seven top-10s this season while Shaurya Bhattacharya, 22, is a two-time winner this year.
With so many names jostling for attention on tournament eve, Thursday’s first tee off is bound to open a new chapter in Indian golf.
Also read: Watching a cricket match in India is high on McIlroy’s to-do list
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