McIlroy calls Diwali Party the highlight of India trip as the return of DP World India Championship 2026 is confirmed

(From left) Haotong Li, Elvis Smylie, Guy Kinnings, Yuvraj Narayan, Daniel van Otterdijk, Tommy Fleetwood and Aaron Rai,

V Krishnaswamy in Dubai 

Dubai: The DP World India Championships will be back for 2026. The news was officially confirmed on Tuesday, as the Tour extended its long-term partnership with DP World, who brought World No. 2 Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood, the eventual winner, to India last month.

Building on its massive success and enthusiasm which brought some of the largest crowds for golf in India, the DP World India Championship makes a return with plans to become a regular fixture on the Tour calendar.

McIlroy, in whose name the Tour has instituted a new award called the ‘Rory McIlroy Award’ – to be given to the best-performing DP World Tour member across the four Major Championships – gushed about the DP World India Championship.

He said, “I enjoyed it, I had a great time in India. I don’t know if I have one lasting memory. I guess I’ll remember not hitting driver for four days. But the hospitality, the welcome, the generosity of the people there, it was absolutely amazing.

Talking of the highlight of the week, he paused and said, “I would say the Diwali party on the Friday night and being able to spend some time with Sachin Tendulkar, that was a pretty big highlight.”

Yuvraj Narayan, Group Deputy CEO & Chief Financial Officer of DP World, was clearly buoyed by the success of the DP World India Championship, which brought unprecedented crowds to the Delhi Golf Club for the $ 4 million event, which was the richest ever in India.

He said, “New events such as the recent DP World India Championship show how we are supporting the game’s growth and accessibility for the long term. Our partnership with the DP World Tour reflects how sport can connect markets and communities, just as we do through global trade. This long-term investment demonstrates our belief in the Tour’s future and our commitment to making golf more inclusive and sustainable.”

McIlroy admitted he loved travelling. “Yeah, I enjoy the travel. I enjoy playing in different parts of the world. I enjoy seeing different parts of the world,” he said.

The Grand Slam achiever, McIlroy added, “As you get older and maybe you hopefully become more well-rounded as a person, you start to appreciate these things a little bit more. It’s amazing to bring Poppy (his daughter) to some of these countries and show her different cultures and show her that not everyone in the world is the same and people live differently, and teaching her those things and teaching her how to be welcoming of different cultures and understanding of different cultures has been really important as well. It’s been great. She’s only five years old but she’s a very well-travelled little girl.”

With a view to making the game more accessible and inclusive around the world, the DP World’s ‘Second Life’ initiative and its global ‘Clubhouse programme’, it uses its smart logistics expertise to create new grassroots facilities by repurposing shipping containers into training hubs to inspire the next generation of golfers and ensuring lasting community impact.

Under the new partnership agreement, the largest in the Tour’s history, DP World will continue as Title Partner and Official Logistics Partner until 2035.

The DP World Tour, which. Is the only truly global Tour had 42 tournaments in 26 different countries this season with record prize funds and an expanding fan base, making golf more global, more inclusive and better connected than ever before.

“The first stage of our landmark Title Partner relationship has been focused on raising awareness globally of the DP World brand and building a strong pipeline of new business leads for their sector-leading services. Over the past four years, that has been a tremendous success” said Guy Kinnings, Chief Executive Officer of the DP World Tour.

The DP World will continue as Title Partner of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai until 2035 – the season-ending Rolex Series event where the Race to Dubai Champion is crowned. In addition, DP World will become an Official Partner to a further 15 tournaments each season – providing greater opportunities to engage fans and communities across key markets.