Rory McIlroy has arrived in Delhi. Dylan explains why this week is a big deal.

Rory McIlroy is playing in a DP World Event in Delhi.

Rory Maroy is in India for the first time this week. Here’s why that’s a big deal for Global Golf and how Rory is sending a message. There’s a brand new DP World Tour event this week, the DP World India Championship. It’s being held at Delhi Golf Club and it’s headlined by Rory Mroy. But it’s not just Rory. There are a bunch of RDER Cup stars there. Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Victor Havlin, Luke Donald, even American Ben Griffin is getting in on the action. And this is a big deal for golf in India. Rory and most of these other big names are here for the first time, which means this is the biggest golf tournament in the history of the most populous country in the world. Bryson visited earlier this year and that was a big deal. But this tournament promises to be even bigger. Raj Kla, who’s the president of Delhi Golf Club, said that calling this a watershed moment for golf in India is the understatement of the year. Outside of cricket, it’s one of the country’s biggest sporting events ever. Within the golf world, it’s also a fascinating signal about the way Rory’s priorities have shifted and how he’s doing things differently going forward. Just 3 years ago, when Liv was new on the scene, Rory stepped into the unofficial role of PGA Tour spokesman. But when the Framework agreement happened the following year and the golf world went into limbo and Rory got hung out to dry, it’s hard for me to not sit up here and feel somewhat like a sacrificial lamb. Something changed. He left the tour board, started skipping signature events, and he started thinking and talking more globally. And here’s what he teased out in January 2024. Could you imagine bringing the best 70 or 80 golfers in the world to India for a tournament? That would change I think would change the game and the perception of the game in in a country like that. So, he’s chasing meaningful events on his own. He played his home Irish Open. He’ll play the DP World Tour’s biggest events this fall. and he’s added the Indian Championship and later this year the Australian Open. Look, Rory’s a businessman. He knows his value. It would be naive to say that he’s doing any of this for free. But it would also be cynical to say that he’s only doing it for the money. And it’s interesting seeing Rory shift into this role where he’s going, “Look, we don’t know what the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and Live are going to do in the next few years. So, in the meantime, I’m going to play exactly the schedule I want. These are the important tournaments. And I’ll bring my green jacket.