DP World India Championship 2025 preview, picks & analysis

Rory McIlroy is the star attraction in this week’s inaugural DP World India Championship at Delhi Golf Club, a tournament that has attracted a glittering field.

The 2025 Masters champion confirmed his status as a global golfing icon when he completed the career grand slam in memorable fashion in April, adding the Green Jacket to his four previous major victories at the 2011 US Open, the US PGA Championship in 2012 and 2014 and The Open in 2014.

He has enjoyed an astonishing season, winning The Masters, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Players Championship and the Irish Open, as well as leading Europe to an unforgettable victory in the Ryder Cup. He has described 2025 as the best year of his glittering career as he eyes winning the Race to Dubai for the seventh time.

Co-sanctioned with the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), the $4 million tournament features the largest prize fund ever offered for a DP World Tour event in India, with an exciting field set to gather in Delhi.

McIlroy said: "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.

"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."

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

He will be joined by seven-time DP World Tour winner and fellow Ryder Cup hero Tommy Fleetwood, still basking in the aftermath of his memorable victory at the Tour Championship, which saw him score the FedEx Cup.

European Ryder Cup star Fleetwood makes a long-awaited return to India, teeing it up in Delhi for the first time since 2016.

The Englishman was named European Number One after topping the Race to Dubai Rankings in 2017, and the following year made a memorable Ryder Cup debut in Paris, winning four points out of five to help his side to victory. He has gone on to represent Europe ever since, delivering the winning moment in Rome in 2023 in his 3&1 victory over Rickie Fowler.

Fleetwood is also passionate about giving back to the game - establishing the Tommy Fleetwood Academy at Formby Hall in England, where he grew up playing the game, and at the DP World Golf Performance Centre at Jumeirah Golf Estates in his adopted home of Dubai.

Fleetwood said: "I can’t wait to get back to Delhi for the DP World India Championship. It’s such an amazing place - the people, the food, I’m looking forward to soaking it all in. But mainly I’m aiming to play some good golf and entertain the Indian fans at an important point in the season.

"I’m also very much looking forward to playing at Delhi Golf Club again. I remember it as a tight, challenging, strategic golf course. I think it’s a great leveller, where players with all styles of play can contend, so it should help to make for a very exciting week.

"DP World are such huge supporters of our sport - including the Tommy Fleetwood Academy, which I am so passionate about - and it’s fantastic to see them help to grow the game in India with this new event."

Ryder Cup stars Viktor Hovland and Shane Lowry are also in the field. Lowry, who is returning to Delhi for the first time since the 2010 Avantha Masters, said: "Having the opportunity to play in front of golf fans all over the world is one of the best parts of my job, so I’m really looking forward to going back to Delhi for the first edition of the DP World India Championship."

Hovland, who was the first player from Norway to win on both the DP World Tour and PGA Tour, tasted further success this season when he claimed his 11th worldwide title at the Valspar Championship in Florida. The 27-year-old will join Lowry in making a third appearance for Team Europe at this year’s Ryder Cup.

He said: "I’ve heard a lot about Delhi as a city and I’m excited to tee it up in India for the first time at such a historic golf course. It’s shaping up to be a great event, and I’m looking forward to everything about the experience."

A number of leading Americans are also in the field this week, including Ryder Cup player Ben Griffin and former Open champion Brian Harman, one of the best putters in the business.

Two-time DP World Tour winner Shubhankar Sharma is the leading home hope.

Sharma - who enjoyed a recent career highlight by representing India at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games - became the youngest Indian player to win on the DP World Tour when he claimed the Joburg Open title in December 2017, aged just 21.

He lifted a second trophy two months later after carding a sublime final round of 62 to win the Maybank Championship, and capped off the season by claiming the 2018 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award and topping the Asian Tour Order of Merit.

The 29 year old has also recorded six wins on the Professional Golf Tour of India, and boasts a major championship top ten, following his impressive tied 8th finish in The Open at Royal Liverpool in 2023.

Sharma said: "We’re all very excited about the DP World India Championship. I can’t wait to get back to Delhi Golf Club. It’s a historic course - I played there a lot as a junior and have very fond memories. It’s a tough course, it’s iconic, and I’m sure the DP World Tour players who have played there will remember it well.

"Having players like Rory McIlroy as the reigning Masters champion and the FedExCup champion Tommy Fleetwood coming to the event, things like this can change golf in India. I remember Tiger Woods playing an exhibition match many years ago and the impact walking with him had on me, so to have such an incredible field coming to the country will make this event really special.

"There are also so many good players from India just now, it’s a very exciting time. I’m sure fans will see some of those names alongside the global stars on the leaderboard at the DP World India Championship."

The Course:

Delhi Golf Club was established in the 1930s and was redesigned by Peter Thomson in 1977. It is heavily tree-lined. It is a par 72 measuring 6,912 yards and puts a premium on accuracy from the tee.

Form Guide:

Would you bet against Rory McIlroy adding yet another title to his glittering collection? He will be refreshed after a break following his efforts at the Ryder Cup and is not here to make up the numbers.

Prize Money:

Total prize money is $4m, with 5,000 Race to Dubai points awarded to the winner.

How to Watch:

Thursday, October 16, Sky Sports Golf, 7.30am; Friday, October 17, Sky Sports Golf, 7.30am; Saturday, October 18, Sky Sports Golf, 8am; Sunday, October 19, Sky Sports Golf, 7am.

To Win:

Rory McIlroy. Looking for fifth win of 2025

Each Way:

Tommy Fleetwood. Flying high

Each Way:

Viktor Hovland. So solid

Five to Follow:

Rory McIlroy. Closing in on another Race to Dubai title

Tommy Fleetwood. Playing wonderful golf

Viktor Hovland. Great iron player

Shane Lowry. Wondrous short game

Ben Griffin. Gifted American

Five Outsiders to Watch: 

Shubhankar Sharma. Has struggled of late

Ryggs Johnston. Looking to rediscover early-season form

Jeff Winther. Can make birdies for fun

Nicolas Colsaerts. Enjoying his swansong

Michael Kim. Recent winner on the DP World Tour