Luke Donald, Shane Lowry to headline star-studded field at 2026 India Championship
New Delhi, July 23
European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald and 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry will return for the second edition of the India Championship, joining a world-class field for the $4 million tournament to be played at the Delhi Golf Club from October 15 to 18, 2026.
The tournament, co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), will once again form part of the decisive Back 9 phase of the 2026 Race to Dubai. Fans have also been invited to register their interest in tickets ahead of the event.
Donald, who guided Team Europe to Ryder Cup triumphs in Rome in 2023 and New York in 2025, will make his second appearance in Delhi after debuting at the tournament last year. The Englishman became only the second European captain after Tony Jacklin to lead Europe to both home and away Ryder Cup victories and is now preparing for another captaincy assignment at Adare Manor in Ireland in 2027.
Joining him will be Lowry, who finished tied third in the inaugural edition and will be aiming to improve on that result when he returns to the Indian capital.
The field is expected to feature several of Europe's biggest names, including defending champion Tommy Fleetwood, two-time reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy, Major winner Justin Rose, newly crowned Open champion Ryan Fox, and Viktor Hovland, adding further strength to one of the richest tournaments ever staged in India.
Reflecting on his return, Donald said he was looking forward to competing once again in Delhi. "It's a privilege to be able to play golf all over the world, and I really enjoyed my first experience of Delhi last year. It's shaping up to be another incredible India Championship field, and I look forward to teeing it up alongside so many European Ryder Cup players in particular."
Lowry, who enjoyed a strong debut at the event in 2025, said he was eager to build on that performance. "I was pleased with how the week went at the India Championship last year, and the fans gave us such a warm welcome. It was enjoyable to be part of the first edition of the event, and I look forward to more of the same this October."
The India Championship was launched in 2025 by a global smart logistics provider in partnership with the DP World Tour. Offering the largest prize purse for a DP World Tour event in India, the tournament has quickly established itself as a key stop on the international calendar.
DP World's Country Manager for the Indian subcontinent, Hemant Kumar Ruia, said the event reflects the company's long-term commitment to Indian sport and the continued rise of golf in the country.
"India has been a key market for DP World for more than three decades, and our support for the India Championship reflects that long-term commitment. The remarkable growth of golf in India over recent years reinforces our confidence in the future of the sport and its potential to inspire the next generation of players.
"We are delighted to welcome Shane Lowry and Luke Donald back to Delhi Golf Club, alongside a world-class field of players. Their return is a testament to the tournament's growing stature and the reputation it has established on the global golfing calendar following a successful inaugural edition.
We look forward to another outstanding week of competition and to celebrating the continued growth of golf in India through this championship."
The second edition of the championship further strengthens India's position on the global golfing map alongside the long-established Indian Open. Scheduled as the eighth of nine tournaments in the Back 9 segment of the 2026 Race to Dubai, the India Championship will serve as a crucial stop before the season-ending Tour Play-Offs, culminating with the Tour Championship in Dubai in November.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Have to hand it to DP World and the organizers — this purse is massive for an event in India. But the real test will be how many Indian fans actually follow golf beyond the top three superstar names. I attended the first edition and the crowd was decent but mostly expats. Hoping for better local turnout this time! 🤞
This is a wonderful development for Indian sports beyond cricket. Golf isn't a mass sport here yet, but tournaments like this inspire young talent like Shubhankar Sharma and Rashid Khan. Plus, the Delhi Golf Club caddies are some of the most knowledgeable in the world — would love to see them get some recognition too!
Happy to see this event returning, but let's also acknowledge the elephant in the room — October in Delhi is still pretty hot and humid. I remember last year's first edition had players struggling with the heat. Hope they have enough hydration stations and shaded areas for both players and spectators. Still, I'll be there with my family! 🇮🇳🏌️
Fantastic news! But one suggestion to the organizers — please make tickets affordable for the common man. ₹2000-5000 per day is a bit steep for many golf enthusiasts in Delhi. A nominal fee of ₹500 for a day pass would really help grow the sport among the masses. Still, kudos to everyone involved for raising India's profile in world golf! 👏
Love seeing this kind of investment in Asian golf. I've played at Delhi Golf Club and it's a challenging old-style course with tight tree-lined fairways —
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