Rory McIlroy receives warm welcome ahead of making India golf debut

Rory McIlroy has received a warm welcome in India ahead of his first competitive outing in the country this week.

McIlroy, 36, starts a red-hot tournament favourite at the DP World India Championship in New Delhi. 

The Northern Irishman's appearance this week is considered a landmark moment for Indian golf. 

McIlroy's presence, aided by fellow European Ryder Cup heroes Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and Viktor Hovland, will hugely elevate Indian golf and get it very much on the map this week. 

To many Indian sports fans, the inaugural DP World India Championship will mark one of the nation's biggest events of the calendar. 

The DP World India Championship is a new event on the former European Tour circuit but the tournament is returning to Delhi Golf Club for the first time since 2016. 

Originally established in the 1930s, the Lodhi Championship Course hosted the inaugural Indian Open in 1964 and was redesigned by Peter Thomson in 1977, with further enhancements by Gary Player Design in 2019.

The DP World India Championship is co-sanctioned on the DP World Tour and the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI),

Previously, India's most promiment golf tournament has been the Hero Indian Open. 

While it has failed to attract superstar names such as McIlroy this week, the tournament remains India's national open. 

The Hero Indian Open has been co-sanctioned by the European Tour, now the DP World Tour, since 2015, and it's part of both the Asian Tour and PGTI.

The DP World India Championship marks the second Indian event of the 2025 DP World Tour season following the Hero Indian Open at the end of March.

That tournament was won by Spain's Eugenio Chacarra, who also lines up in the field this week. 

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The DP World Tour Championship marks the fourth last event on the DP World Tour this season.

The circuit then heads to South Korea before ending with next month's Playoffs in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. 

McIlroy is currently some 400 points clear of three-time season winner Marco Penge in the DP World Tour Rankings.

The grand slam champion is looking to win the Race to Dubai for a seventh time in his career.

Should he go on to do it as expected then he will move to within one of eight-time record Order of Merit holder Colin Montgomerie. 

With last week's Open de Espana winner Penge not in the field this week, it gives McIlroy a huge chance to stretch his lead and cap his year in style. 

McIlroy has already enjoyed the season of his life no matter what happens from here on in.

The Ulsterman's year was of course highlighted by completing the career grand slam at The Masters in April.

On top of that McIlroy won for the first ever time at Pebble Beach, captured a second career title at The Players, won on home soil at the Irish Open and then helped Europe win the Ryder Cup in a hostile atmosphere in New York.

The DP World India Championship's total prize pot of $4m marks the largest fund ever offered for an Indian golf tournament. 

McIlroy is also joined in the field by three of his European Ryder Cup teammates Fleetwood, Lowry and Hovland as well as their victorious captain Luke Donald. 

US Ryder Cup player Ben Griffin and 2023 Open champion Brian Harman have also made the trip over to Delhi GC. 

McIlroy has openly expressed excitement about the opportunity to play in the country for the very first time.

"I'm excited to not only tee it up in India for the first time but also visit a country that I've always wanted to explore," McIlroy said earlier this season. 

"I'm proud to play in the inaugural DP World India Championship.

"I've always enjoyed playing a global schedule and as I have previously said, there is tremendous potential to grow golf further in the country.

"This is a great opportunity, and I can't wait to play in front of Indian golf fans."

The five-time major champion will also return to Australia for the first time since 2014 when he competes in the Australian Open this December.

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Early images of McIlroy touching down in India have surfaced on golf social media today. 

Golf reporter Joy Chakravarty has taken a snap of McIlroy wearing a welcome garland ahead of the DP World India Championship.

"Superstar @McIlroyRory has landed in India for the @DPWorldTour India Championship," commented Chakravarty.

"The Grand Slam champion was accorded a warm traditional welcome at his hotel. 

"Probably the biggest sporting event in the country outside cricket events, the $4 million DP World India Championship features four of the top 15 players in the world."