New Delhi, 13 October 2026: The DP World PGTI’s leading players will spearhead the Indian challenge at the US$4 million DP World India Championship at Delhi Golf Club this week, in a field that includes defending champion Tommy Fleetwood and Career Grand Slam winner Rory McIlroy.
The tournament is co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the DP World PGTI. The top 24 players from the Race to DP World India Championship, which is the current DP World PGTI Order of Merit, earned their places through a season-long competition based on prize money. The event is also the season finale of the 2026 DP World PGTI.
Talwar the man to catch
Saptak Talwar leads the Order of Merit with INR 99,59,684, more than INR 22 lakh ahead of Khalin Joshi. The winner of the Order of Merit, decided at the end of this week, earns full playing rights on the DP World Tour for the 2026-27 season.
The 27-year-old won the Indorama Ventures Open early in the season and has seven other top-10 finishes. He also plays regularly on the HotelPlanner Tour in Europe and represented India at the recent Asian Games.
“Being the Order of Merit leader there’s a sense of responsibility and a little bit of pressure. But I think it’s also a place of privilege. I’m excited to be in this position,” Talwar said.
“The DGC is very special to me. I’ve grown up playing on the B course here. It’s important to not get ahead of myself. It’s just a matter of staying in the present and if I take care of the stuff that’s in my control, I think I should be in a good spot. I certainly feel like I have the game to do well this week.”
Joshi’s best season
Khalin Joshi, 34, is having the best season of his career with four wins, three of them wire-to-wire. He has INR 77,32,225 and can still win the Order of Merit with a strong week. His only international title came at the DGC in 2018, on the Asian Tour.
“I have great memories of DGC as I’ve won here in the past. So, I’m looking forward to having another positive week,” Joshi said. “This season my mindset on the course has been much better. I’m a lot calmer and more confident going into a tournament now and that’s been the big change in my game.”
Ahlawat leaves the driver out
Former Order of Merit champion Veer Ahlawat is third with INR 65,97,400 and is also in the running. The 30-year-old has nine top-10 finishes this season, the most on the tour, and played the DP World Tour in 2025.
“It’s the strongest field we play against the whole year,” he said. “On this course, it’s a different kind of game that you have to play. You have to be very precise off the tee, second shots and especially chipping on the green. You can’t just hit drivers all the time. I’m not keeping my driver in the bag this week.”
Other Indian contenders
Yuvraj Sandhu, the reigning Order of Merit champion and a past winner at the DGC, finished in the top five at the Kapil Dev Invitational Tour Championship last week.
Honey Baisoya, Akshay Sharma, Rashid Khan and Om Prakash Chouhan, ranked fourth to seventh on the Order of Merit, have each won once this season. Baisoya and Rashid grew up playing at the DGC, and Rashid has won one of his two international titles at the course.
The championship runs from 15 to 18 October. Read how Shubhankar Sharma won the Kapil Dev Invitational.
