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New Delhi: The iconic Derry Golf Club (DGC) will host the $5 million DP World Tour event in October with former world number one and four-time Grand Slam winner Rory McIlroy in attendance. Making the upcoming Rolex Series event the most expensive golf tournament – in terms of prize money – ever hosted by the country.
The club has received a three-year agreement in principle from the DP World Tour and will sign a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the visit of DP World Tour Chief Event Commercial Officer Ben Cowen on January 22 ). The window of October 13-19 has been earmarked for the yet-to-be-named tournament.
“This will be a brand new event on the European calendar. This is a major success for DGC and has been made possible thanks to the efforts of our chairman Raj Khosla,” said club captain Vikram Seth.
“This is a shot in the arm for a club that has not hosted a major international event for two years. The Hero India Open is another DP World Tour event held in India with a prize purse of US$2.25 million. So, with 5 million US dollar prize money, we are looking forward to international golf celebrities coming to India. We have made a special request for Rory McIlroy to come to India and we are sure he will show up,” he added.
With no other events scheduled on the European Tour between October 13 and 19, it seems increasingly likely that top stars will participate in the DGC.
“With such a bonus, even those players who have reservations about traveling to India will be happy to come and play,” a senior club official said.
Secret talks between DP World Tour and the historic club began in October last year when DP World Tour Group Deputy CEO and Chief Financial Officer Yuvraj Narayan visited the DGC.
The club hosted the first two DGC Opens following a revamp under legendary Gary Player in 2019, but the Asian Tour co-sanctioned event has since failed to return. “The cancellation of the DGC Open, whatever the reason, is indeed unfortunate. Earlier, we lost to the India Open at the DLF Course in Gurugram, but getting a new European Tour event of this magnitude will make up for all that. These losses,” Seth said.
This development comes just three weeks before the scheduled Asia Tour and LIV Golf-sponsored $2 million India International Series, which will feature a host of LIV Tour stars, led by two-time major champion Bryson De Bryson DeChambeau leads the way. No one can say whether LIV's entry into India will have an impact on DP World Tour's latest collaboration with DGC, but sources familiar with the matter said the possibility cannot be ruled out.
DP World Tour’s strategic partnership with PGTI means India’s top golfers will have the opportunity to compete against the best in home conditions. “We will definitely get some confirmed spots for the event. When I meet with Ben later this month, I will try to secure as many spots as possible for domestic players.” PGTI CEO Amandeep Joel John assured.
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