McIlroy leads starry field at the DGC

The $4million event on the DGC course will see the strongest field assembled for a tournament in India

- Shantanu Srivastava

It’s hard to look past Rory McIlroy. He stares at you from the decked up sidewalks at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC), smiles back from the life-size posters, and pumps a fist just as you enter the 18th hole. A superstar golfer holding the patrons of an exclusive club in his thrall. Check. A sporting hero that elicits as much intrigue as excitement. Check. An international hero crooning about the beauty and challenges of a pristine course. Check.

‘And yet, there's something different about Rory. The affability that comes with the assurance of one’s place among the game's finest, an articulation that conveys clarity, the quiet sense of responsibility of taking the game to fresher geographies. And then of course, the eagerness to experience something uniquely Indian - from Test cricket to the Taj Mahal.

The inaugural $4million DP World Indian Championship, however, is a little more than just one player. Getting Mcllroy with Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry, Brian Harman and Luke Donald in one event is what dreams are made of, especially for Indian fans.