Rory McIlroy travelled to New Delhi for the inaugural DP World India Championship, a $4 million event intended to bring golf to a major new audience. But his appearance also prompted a blunt accusation from fellow PGA Tour member Kevin Kisner, who suggested McIlroy was there primarily for a reported $10 million appearance fee. McIlroy has now answered that criticism, defending both the financial realities of professional golf and his interest in growing the game in India.
McIlroy’s India appearance drew criticism from Kisner
McIlroy made his first appearance in India at the DP World India Championship, held at Delhi Golf Club from October 16–19, 2026. The Northern Irishman arrived among a strong field that included Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and Patrick Reed, with the event offering a reported $4 million prize fund.His participation came shortly after he signed a multi-year deal to become global golf ambassador for DP World, the UAE logistics company that became the European Tour’s title sponsor in November 2021. Announcing the partnership, McIlroy said: “That’s why I’m proud to announce I’m joining DP World as Global Golf Ambassador. Excited to push the boundaries of performance together, backed by world-leading smart end-to-end logistics.”McIlroy has spoken about taking golf into new markets, but Kisner questioned whether that was the real motivation behind the trip. Speaking on the Fore Play Podcast, the four-time PGA Tour winner, now NBC’s lead golf analyst, said McIlroy was reportedly receiving $10 million to compete.“That is such a dog s*** comment, but I guess for the right price we could all say that comment,” Kisner said. “He doesn’t want to globally expand in India; he wants to get his $10 million bucks and go play in India.”Kisner also questioned the tournament’s location and McIlroy’s decision to leave his driver out of his equipment for the week.“I know there’s a pile of guys that got paid for that event. How else would you get that event in India with eight billion people in the middle of the city?” he said. “And Rory’s not even hitting a driver this week. You think he wants to go play a tournament where he can’t use his No. 1 weapon? So give me a break.”He went further, suggesting players were expected to deliver prepared comments about expanding golf internationally.“They always seem to say the right things while they’re over there,” Kisner said. “As part of your appearance fee, ‘Here’s your script for altruism, and you need to mention these four lines in whatever interview you do throughout the week,’ which is totally fine, I’d do it too, and all of us on this podcast would.”Kisner added that he found it “very odd” that players would travel to India for a course where McIlroy could not use his driver, rather than play what he described as “the sickest course in the world”.
McIlroy says the financial and sporting reasons can coexist
McIlroy said he had not seen Kisner’s comments when reporters asked him about them in New Delhi, and questioned why his participation had prompted such a response.“I didn’t see that. I don’t know why me being in India would make Kis need to comment on that,” McIlroy said.He did not deny that players can receive appearance fees, but rejected the idea that payment necessarily undermines their wider reasons for competing.“Two things can be true at the same time,” McIlroy said. “People can get paid to come and play at a tournament, but at the same time, do it from a place of a genuine interest of trying to bring the sport to another country, a developing country, a country where the middle class in India is larger than the whole population of the United States. It’s a huge market for golf.”McIlroy has long been among golf’s most prominent international figures, competing across the United States, England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, Dubai and India during 2026. His trip to New Delhi also placed him among the headline players promoting a tournament designed to expand the sport’s reach.
A disappointing finish followed a promising start
McIlroy’s week did not produce the result he wanted. He began with an eagle and also made an impressive bunker-shot eagle on the 14th, but lost ground during the third round after several bogeys and a double bogey left him well behind the leaders.He finished tied for 42nd at four-under par after closing with a two-over 74, ending 17 strokes behind winner Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra. The Spaniard finished at 21-under, winning by two shots and moving ahead of Patrick Reed at the top of the Race to Dubai standings.McIlroy had arrived in India chasing a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title, having entered the tournament one win short of Colin Montgomerie’s record. His result leaves that pursuit on hold, with the DP World Tour playoffs beginning next month in Abu Dhabi.The inaugural championship’s prize money also placed McIlroy’s reported appearance fee in perspective, although the $10 million figure cited by Kisner was separate from the tournament’s official purse. The winner received $680,000, with $440,000 for second place and $252,000 for third.McIlroy is expected to return to action in Abu Dhabi next month as he begins the DP World Tour playoffs and continues his bid for an eighth Race to Dubai crown. The India appearance therefore formed part of a wider international schedule, even as his motives became the subject of debate.
