DP World India Championship to debut at DGC
New Delhi: The iconic Delhi Golf Club (DGC) will host DP World Tour's latest offering later this year with a record prize purse of $4 million, making DP World India Championship the most expensive golf tournament ever played in India. HT reported the development in January along with the likelihood of five-time Major winner Rory McIlroy making his India debut in the said competition. That possibility hasn't been ruled out yet.
'DP World Tour is in touch with many top players, including Rory, and we are hopeful that he will turn up,' a senior DGC member told HT.
The competition, to be played from October 16-19 on the Gary Player-designed course, is co-sanctioned with the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI). It will be eighth of the nine events on the Back 9 phase of the 2025 Race to Dubai, building towards the season-ending DP World Tour Play-Offs and culminating in the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai.
The tournament also marks the Tour's return to DGC for the first time since 2016 and ends club's two-year wait for an international event. Post its facelift by Gary Player in 2019, the club hosted the first two editions of DGC Open (2022 and 2023) but the Asian Tour co-sanctioned tournament has since failed to return.
The club signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with DP World Tour in January when the latter's Chief Tournament Business Officer Ben Cowen flew down to Delhi. Along with McIlroy, who won the 2025 Masters in a playoff with Justin Rose, Hero Indian Open winners Eugenio Chacarra (2025) and Keita Nakajima (2024) are expected to tee off at the European Tour competition.
The DP World India Championship will be the third high-profile men's golf event in India this year, followed by the maiden Asian Tour and LIV Golf-funded $2 million International Series and DP World Tour's Hero Indian Open last month that offered a purse of $2.25 million.
'We are delighted to extend our commitment to golf in India by establishing the new DP World India Championship and we look forward to building on our shared vision to grow the game in the country. Our thanks also go to Delhi Golf Club for giving us the opportunity to return to such an iconic venue this October.' Cowen said.
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