Rory McIlroy breaks silence with surprising announcement

Rory McIlroy has confirmed he will tee it up in India for the very first time. 

McIlroy, 36, will head to Delhi over 16-19 October for the inaugural DP World India Championship. 

The Northern Irishman has played in the country before as an amateur (2006) but never as a professional. 

At the turn of the year, Bryson DeChambeau became the first reigning major champion to play in India when he participated in an Asian Tour at DLG Golf & Country Club in Gurugram.

"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 in a statement.

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

The DP World India Championship will have a total prize purse of $4m.

This is not the first surprising announcement McIlroy has made with regards to his schedule. 

Before the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, McIlroy revealed he also plans to head Down Under in December for the Australian Open. 

McIlroy previously spoke of his desires to help elevate national opens as he revealed his wishes for a truly global PGA Tour schedule. 

He has also committed to playing in the Australian Open in 2026 when it heads to Kingston Heath. 

Rory McIlroy defended over media snub

Last week, McIlroy attempted to become the first golfer since Jordan Spieth in 2015 to win the first two majors of the calendar year.

He was the joint favourite alongside Scottie Scheffler to lift the Wanamaker Trophy and many pundits predicted that an unburdened McIlroy was going to be a scary proposition for the field to deal with. 

McIlroy made the cut on the number and ultimately finished in a share for 47th. 

He did not have his best stuff at Quail Hollow and only hit four from a possible 14 fairways in round one. 

News later broke he was forced into a late driver switch after his gamer was deemed non-conforming by the USGA. 

McIlroy decided not to speak to the media after each of his rounds at the major championship. 

It was an uncharacteristic approach from the Masters champ and it was unclear if his media snub was owing to the fact someone leaked the news he had to switch his driver. 

Sky Sports commentator Ewan Murray has now leapt to McIlroy's defence. 

"Why would you want to speak to somebody who's outside the top 100," Murray said on the Sky Sports Golf podcast.  

"Why wouldn't you go and speak to another player? Why would speak to him? He's got nothing to say. I back Rory McIlroy on that."

Murray said McIlroy gave a significant amount of time to the media at the beginning of his career and continues to do so. 

"Rory's never changed," he added. "He's the same lad since I met him as a teenager. 

"My question to the press would be: 'Why do you want to talk to McIlroy when there's 107 players ahead of him?'

"He doesn't have a great Saturday. Why do you want to speak to him on Saturday when Scheffler's just played five of the greatest holes you'll ever see.

"There were one or two other players in contention that many thought wouldn't be in contention. These are interesting stories. 

"A lot of golf fans wouldn't know who Davis Riley is or who Jhonatthan Vegas is. Let's hear from them. Why do you want to talk to Rory? There's nothing to say in these situations.

"If he's up there first second and third, I fully understand it you want to know how he's feeling, how he's playing, what great shots he's hit. Not when he's 107th."

"I'm on McIlroy's side for that."