Fleetwood in full swing as he wins DP World India Championship

When golf’s European Tour — or the DP World Tour, as it has been known for the past four seasons — announced its final schedule for the latter part of 2025, New Delhi was strategically placed within the overall scheme of things.

Announced on April 23 this year, the DP World Tour India Championship quickly grabbed attention within the country’s golfing community and beyond for several reasons — including the highest prize money ever for an event in the subcontinent and India’s second event on the European Tour after the marquee Indian Open.

Its timing also stood out: scheduled towards the end of the year, it aligned perfectly with the national capital’s early winter and festive season, while serving as the penultimate event in the Race to Dubai season finale. The week of October 13–19 proved that, despite everything, big-ticket sporting events will always attract crowds and attention in India. Englishman Tommy Fleetwood took home the trophy and 834 ranking points, catapulting him to 25th in the Race to Dubai — a remarkable leap of 69 places. His victory is proof that more than a big name or a powerful game, it was patience and consistency that held the key to success on one of the Tour’s shortest courses. The Lodhi Course at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC), revamped in 2019, measures just 6,912 yards.

Part of the Tour’s ‘Back 9’ series, which offers significantly higher ranking points than regular events, the $4 million DP World India Championship was headlined by arguably the greatest European golfer of all time, Rory McIlroy, and featured several of the sport’s biggest names.

It also drew one of the largest crowds seen at the historic DGC in recent years. The last time the venue — located in the heart of the city and considered among the most challenging in the country, dotted with 14th–15th century tombs and monuments from the Lodhi Dynasty — witnessed such a turnout was in 2014, when then World No. 1 Tiger Woods stopped by for a sponsored exhibition match. The stakes this time were far higher, and so were the numbers following the likes of Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, and of course, McIlroy, over four days across the 18 holes.

“It’s pretty tricky. You’re really just trying to be as conservative as possible off the tee and then trying to pick off birdies on the par fives and maybe a couple more. It’s a tricky golf course — you just have to get the ball in the fairway. The rough is unpredictable. Maybe being a little less aggressive with approach shots and getting it on the right side of the pin,” said McIlroy. The Irish World No. 2 — one of only six men with a career Grand Slam and the reigning Masters champion — finished tied 26th, struggling on a course that, by general consensus, is a throwback to older times when accuracy was at a premium and brute power had little to contribute.

Dismal show: European great and World No. 2 Rory McIlroy struggled at the Delhi Golf Club’s Lodhi Course, ending the tournament tied for 26th. 
| Photo Credit:
AP

Shane Lowry, a six-time winner on the Tour with three PGA victories and one of the few big names to have played at the DGC before, echoed the sentiment. “I’m so excited to get out there and take it on this week. It’s kind of refreshing to be playing a course like this. We play so many now where you just hit the driver on every hole without thinking. This is an old-school course — it’s very tight off the tee and enjoyable to play,” he said. Lowry used that familiarity to his advantage, taking the lead on Day 1 with an impressive seven-under-par 65 before errors pulled him back.

Fleetwood’s experience was similar. He carded an impressive 64 on Day 2 before succumbing to the narrow fairways, tree-lined bushes and unpredictable greens. The last time Fleetwood played at the DGC, in 2016, he was ranked 82nd in the world with just one DP World Tour win, earned three years earlier. Nine years on, he is a seven-time Tour winner, a four-time Ryder Cup player, and this year broke through on the PGA Tour for the first time — becoming only the third man in history to win both the FedEx Cup and the Race to Dubai.

“I think the course is so good — you can have a definite strategy for how you want to play it. I can’t imagine many people doing it, but you can be as aggressive as you want, really, in terms of the clubs you’re hitting off the tee. Overall, you have to keep the ball in play, stay patient and be strategic. I really like that about golf courses when we get to play those,” Fleetwood said.

Tour sponsor DP World’s Deputy CEO and CFO, Yuvraj Narayan, insisted the event would not be a one-off spectacle. “Every sport needs a trigger to capture people’s imagination. The DP World India Championship is exactly that. When young Indians see Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood or Viktor Hovland competing on their home soil, it plants the seed for a lifelong connection with the game. We believe golf is ready to take its place on the Indian sporting stage,” he declared.

The event, co-sanctioned by the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), also has its president, cricketing legend Kapil Dev, convinced that India stands on the cusp of a golfing revolution. “It’s a reflection of our rising stature. Over the past 50–70 years, any country that has done well economically has also done well in sport — that can’t be a coincidence. The DP World India Championship is a landmark moment for Indian golf and a true reflection of India’s rising stature on the international golfing stage,” Kapil said.

He agreed it was a great opportunity for local talent to learn from the best. “You won’t get a better opportunity to learn if you’re an Indian golfer playing here. I’ve been watching Tommy and Rory particularly closely — one thing our boys can learn is their focus. These guys never waver, never give up,” he said.

Published on Oct 24, 2025