DP World India Championship 2026: Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood Headline Star-Studded Field as Shubhankar Sharma Leads Indian Challenge

Delhi Golf Club hosts a $4 million championship featuring seven major winners, with 27 Indian golfers looking to make an impact against some of the world's best.

New Delhi is preparing for a major week of international golf as the DP World India Championship 2026 gets underway at Delhi Golf Club on Thursday, October 15. Headlined by Rory McIlroy, defending champion Tommy Fleetwood and former Major winners Justin Rose, Patrick Reed and Shane Lowry, the $4 million tournament brings a world-class field to India for the penultimate event of the DP World Tour's regular season.

The championship, co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), will feature 144 golfers, including a 27-strong Indian contingent. For the domestic players, the event offers an opportunity to compete against established international stars on home soil, while the visiting professionals will face the challenge of a demanding course and an enthusiastic Indian golf audience.

McIlroy returns to competitive action for the first time in a month, seeking his 22nd career victory on the DP World Tour. The reigning back-to-back Masters champion last competed at the BMW PGA Championship, where he finished tied for second alongside Aaron Rai, two shots behind winner J.J. Spaun.

Fleetwood returns to the venue where he claimed the 2025 title, hoping to defend his crown. His victory last year produced one of the tournament's most memorable moments when his son, Frankie, ran onto the 18th green to embrace him after the winning putt.

The international field also includes Major champions Rose, Reed, Watson and Lowry, alongside Robert MacIntyre, Ryan Fox, Min Woo Lee, Viktor Hovland and European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald.

Aaron Rai, the US PGA Championship winner, will make his debut at the event. Eugenio Chacarra, who finished runner-up at the Spanish Open despite dealing with a broken toe, will also be among the players to watch. Grant Forrest arrives after winning the Open de España, adding further depth to the field.

Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson said he was looking forward to playing the event after hearing about Delhi Golf Club's challenge and the passion of Indian golf fans.

Shubhankar Sharma Arrives on the Back of a Win

India's hopes will be led by Shubhankar Sharma, Anirban Lahiri and Gaganjeet Bhullar, with several domestic professionals also looking to capitalise on the opportunity.

Sharma enters the championship with renewed confidence after winning the Kapil Dev Invitational Tour Championship the previous week. He said the result had helped him regain momentum and reconnect with the fundamentals of his game.

Lahiri returns to competition after a seven-week break during which he focused on fitness, recovery and mental freshness. The experienced Indian acknowledged that his recent season had fallen short of his expectations but said he was approaching the championship in a better frame of mind.

“I wasn’t very happy with how I played the season. It was probably my weakest season in the last few,” he said. “I'm excited. I'm fresh. Mentally I'm in a really good space.”

Lahiri also has a long association with Delhi Golf Club, having first competed there in a C-category tournament in 1999.

Bhullar arrives after winning the Krishna Invitational Hyderabad, his fifth AM Green IGPL title and second of the 2026 season. The 38-year-old has won 11 Asian Tour titles, with his most recent international victory coming at the 2023 Indonesian Masters.

Other Indian players to watch include Saptak Talwar, Khalin Joshi, Veer Ahlawat and Yuvraj Sandhu, who will aim to use the tournament as a platform to challenge established names.

Star Groupings Set Up an Intriguing Opening

The first two rounds feature several marquee groups. McIlroy, Fleetwood and MacIntyre will play together in the opening round, creating one of the most anticipated groupings of the tournament. Rose, Chacarra and Lee will also share a tee time, while Lowry, Donald and Thomas Detry form another notable trio.

For viewers in the United States, the tournament will require late-night or early-morning viewing. The opening round begins on Wednesday evening in US Eastern Time, corresponding to Thursday morning in India.

The championship arrives at an important point in the DP World Tour season, with players looking to strengthen their positions before the regular season concludes. For India, the presence of 27 golfers adds a strong domestic dimension to a tournament featuring some of the biggest names in world golf.

With McIlroy chasing another milestone, Fleetwood seeking a successful title defence and Sharma arriving with fresh confidence, the DP World India Championship promises a compelling week at Delhi Golf Club. 

The challenge for the Indian contingent will be to turn home advantage into a meaningful challenge against a field packed with major champions and international winners.