New Delhi: The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) on Monday announced a rejig of its domestic calendar to introduce the Road to DP World India Championship, making it the season-ending competition for Indian pros.
A set of nine tournaments will form part of the Race to DP World India Championship. They will serve to identify the top 24 players who will earn their spot in the $4million DP World India Championship, the international event to be played at the Delhi Golf Club. Additionally, the top 60 players on the PGTI Order of Merit will retain their playing rights for the 2027 season, it was announced.
The first three events of the Race – J&K Open, Coal India Open and Kolar Open – were played in the first three weeks of August. The Race will end with the inaugural ₹2 crore Kapil Dev Invitational Tour Championship which will be held at the Jaypee Greens, Greater Noida, from September 30–October 3.
The restructuring means the PGTI season will now run from November to October instead of being played through the calendar year.
“This is done to ensure the PGTI Order of Merit leader who gets to play on the DP World Tour (European Tour) doesn’t miss out on the European tournaments. Our top player tends to miss 4-5 events because our Order of Merit was only announced in December whereas the DP World Tour starts in November. So, this year because we would have crowned our (OoM) champion in October, he will get a chance to go to Europe at the start of their season,” PGTI CEO Amandeep Johl said.
PGTI has modelled the new season long, points-based rankings system on the European Tour – DP World Race to Dubai – that culminates in a two-event playoff series in the Middle East where the overall season champion is crowned.
“We want to be consistent with the DP World Tour. We also want to begin our season right after Diwali, which usually falls in October-November,” Johl added.
The second edition of DP World India Championship will again attract the cream of global golf, headlined by reigning Masters winner Rory McIlroy, current Open champion Ryan Fox, defending champion Tommy Fleetwood, European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, and Major winner Shane Lowry, among others.
Besides the top 24 PGTI players, Anirban Lahiri, Shubhankar Sharma, and Yuvraj Sandhu will be in action through invitational spots. Sharma and Sandhu are playing on the DP World Tour this season and Lahiri on the LIV Golf circuit.
“We are expecting a total of 28-29 Indians, which is roughly one-fifth or one-sixth of the field. Last year, our boys were a little intimidated by the field but I think they’ll be better equipped this time. I hope for an improved show from the Indians,” Johl said.
With the Asian Tour having broken ranks with LIV and entered into a partnership with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, PGTI hopes to attract some Asian Tour events. “It’s a good development for us. We are introducing a couple of Asian Development Tour (ADT) events in January-February next year. We are hopeful of the Asian Tour events returning to India,” he added.
