THIS week is not the DP World Tour’s first visit to India. In fact, the circuit has been a regular visitor there in recent years. But the inaugural DP World India Championship is different, and, as is the way of the world, it all boils down to money. Put simply, this week’s purse is more significant than previous events played in the country, and we can safely assume that the appearance fee pot is quite big, too, because the field is impressive.
Rory McIlroy is playing, and so are his Ryder Cup teammates Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and Viktor Hovland. It’s an enticing prospect, and given that they’re all still feeling a little giddy after the Ryder Cup, there’s a real sense of 1968 when the Beatles headed to the country for a hippy time out from the insanity of their fame back home. As it happens, Tommy makes a neat Paul (both cheery), Viktor is a nice fit for Ringo (a bit daffy), and Rory has a touch of John’s spikiness. It’s a pity that Shane doesn’t really feel much like George (unless he has a fondness for the sitar and transcendental meditation).
For McIlroy, the week represents something of a change in strategy when it comes to his schedule. In the wake of his acquisition of a Masters Green Jacket (and with it the Career Grand Slam), plus his lead role in Europe’s triumph in the Ryder Cup last month, the Northern Irishman is looking to re-assess his career goals and, while he’s not quite going backpacking, his trip to India does represent something of a break from the norm after two decades of nonstop competing.
“I want to go and play in different places in the world, to experience things that I haven’t experienced before,” he explained ahead of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. “Going to India for the first time excites me because I don’t want to name a tournament, but if you’re going back to the same place 15 or 20 years in a row, it can get a little bit monotonous and a little bit tedious.
“I had a chat with Roger Federer a few years ago at the end of his career, and he was saying he wanted to go and play a lot of the places he could never play in his career – the smaller events where not a lot of people had never seen him play. As time goes on and I get to this stage of my career, I get excited about doing that sort of thing.”
Golf was introduced to India during the British Raj when Calcutta Golf Club was built in 1829, and various sources suggest it is either the oldest or second oldest golf course outside the United Kingdom. Bombay GC opened in 1842, Bangalore GC in 1876, and Madras Gymkhana GC in 1877. Meanwhile, Lady Curzon, the wife of the Viceroy of India, was among the founder members of the Calcutta Ladies GC in 1871, and the All India Amateur Championship was first played in 1892, which means it is the second oldest tournament in golf after the Open.
Delhi GC is relatively youthful in comparison. It opened as a municipal course in the 1930s. The Australian Peter Thomson won the first Indian Open there in 1964, winning again in 1966 and 1976. He also redesigned the course in the early 70s having been unimpressed with the 1950s renovation of the greens.
It’s a tight, tree-lined design that features a backdrop of partially ruined temples and tombs, which the club website describes as “relics of mighty empires.” The same source also talks of the “jungle” that exists beyond the fairways, warning: “Torn shirts, bruised arms, and battered egos are what one gets for straying into Cobra country.”
McIlroy wants new experiences. If he hits a few stray drives, he might get more than he bargained for. Is he worth a bet this week, though? He’s obviously got a great shot, but we’ll focus our attention elsewhere.
John Parry
The Englishman has been rejuvenated in the last two years and he is on track to complete a remarkable journey from the Challenge Tour to the PGA Tour. The rapid rise started with a victory in the Delhi Challenge last March, and two further victories on the second tier vaulted him to the DP World Tour where he wasted little time landing a second win at that level in December’s Mauritius Open. Since then he has finished second at Muthaiga in Kenya Open and fourth at Rinkven in Belgium – both of them short, tree-lined layouts much like Delhi (where he finished T17th 10 years ago). He was also third only two starts ago in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Martin Couvra
The mop-topped French youngster (more Beatles vibes?!) has enjoyed a startling rookie season, and it looks like he’ll be joining Parry on the PGA Tour in 2026. It’s not the only thing he has in common with the Englishman because he led last year’s Delhi Challenge through 54 holes before slipping back to fifth. This spring he won the Turkish Open and in June he was second at the fiddly Argentario in the Italian Open. He was also a fine T13th on debut at Wentworth last month.
Nacho Elvira
We’ll end with the Spanish outsider who was second after 18 and 36 holes when he played Delhi back in 2016. He was also sixth in the Indian Open at DLF in 2019, but of more interest is that he was second last year at Muthaiga and T11th this year. He’s also won at the short Rinkven and Geneve and been third at the tree-lined Milano.
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