Shubhankar Sharma’s return to the Delhi Golf Club for the DP World India Championship is more than a big international tournament experience for him. That site is very special to him because he has played there as a young player and he grew up and dreamed of being the best and competing on the highest level for his country at the historic golf course, he said.
Now he is one of India’s top international players and the world-famous players and will arrive for the World Championship in the age of many champions.
The DP World India Championship will take place from October 15-18 at the Delhi Golf Club. A strong international field has attracted the US$4 million tournament which is the first time Indian golf fans will see the top players come together and compete in the field.
Sharma will have to return to the game to try and find the form that has brought him to the top on the DP World Tour, Asian Tour and the domestic circuit.
Sharma has spoken about the special connection he has with the Delhi Golf Club and the excitement of the tournament. The historic nature of the course and quality of the field has made the event an interesting talking point for players and fans.
The Indian golfer believes that the tournament has quickly established itself as one of the top events on the DP World Tour calendar. A number of top international players are expected to play in Delhi with a handful of major golfing stars turning up in the city of India and so that can be an opportunity to see such great golf stars in the country for Indian fans to watch them compete.
Rory McIlroy is once again one of the headline names. The Northern Irishman, who won the Masters in 2025 and 2026, will be one of the biggest attractions at the tournament. Aaron Rai, Ryan Fox and defending champion Tommy Fleetwood are also in the field.
Other notable names are Masters champion Patrick Reed, US Open champion Justin Rose and Open champion Shane Lowry. Their presence adds much more depth to a tournament which is still relatively young on the international calendar.
Sharma is going to have the advantage of playing on a course he knows well in the star-studded field. His familiarity with Delhi Golf Club may be very useful in front of a home crowd as he aims to play four straight rounds.
The season so far hasn’t delivered the results Sharma would have wanted. He has had a number of missed cuts and has also been adjusting to equipment changes in his clubs, which has contributed to the hardware changes for him. Such changes take a lot of time and patience for a golfer to get back to a certain degree of consistency in different parts of his game.
But there have also been signs that Sharma's best golf may not be far away. At the Omega European Masters in September, he opened the tournament with an impressive six-under-par 64. There was no bogey and a glimpse of the quality that has helped him succeed in the international circuit.
Although his form weakened over the rest of the tournament, the opening round gave encouragement. For Sharma, the challenge now is to replicate that level of performance throughout the whole tournament as opposed to in individual rounds.
The Indian golfer has also reflected on his childhood memories at Delhi Golf Club. One of those memories is to be part of a golf clinic hosted by former world No. 1 Ernie Els. And that has also added to the emotional impact of returning to the course for an event of that magnitude.
His form is not where he wants it to be at the moment, Sharma admitted, but he thinks he has made some progress with his recent performances and some of the issues that were affecting him earlier in the season have started to come to the fore.
The immediate aim is to put together four strong rounds. If Sharma can combine the ball-striking glimpses he has recently with greater consistency, the Delhi Golf Club could provide the setting for a much-needed turnaround.
And his previous performances at the venue are a source of confidence too. Sharma recalled a good round at last year’s tournament when he had a 66 and felt good ball striking in his play.
The DP World India Championship is also happening for the Indian golf game as a whole. Its international players will play with one another and the local crowd will be able to enjoy a DP World Tour event in India.
Sharma’s attention will be on his own game. He won two times on the DP World Tour at a young age so he knows what it takes to contend at this level. This season has been hard for him but his recent performances show that he is working on his confidence.
With Delhi Golf Club familiar territory and thousands of Indian fans expected to attend the tournament, Sharma will have an opportunity to turn a tough season into an important week on the field of play.
The presence of the world’s top golfers will escalate the competition but it will also be the perfect scenario for Sharma to regain the form and get back to the best of his golf.
As the DP World India Championship returns for its second edition, anticipation is building around the event. For Sharma, it is also very important to play in the tournament at a place where he has developed as a golfer.
With Diwali in the pipeline and Delhi preparing for an even larger sporting show, Sharma will indeed be hoping the lights shine on his game as well. A good performance at Delhi Golf Club might give him the confidence and momentum he has been banking on for most of the season.
