New Delhi, Oct. 16 -- You don't need to enter the Delhi Golf Club, or even be a golfer, to see that something big is taking place. "Looks like the PM is coming here," says my cabbie after some thought, even as scores of spectators around us disembark and make a beeline for the course on foot. In this part of the Capital even cab drivers know that golf tournaments attract crowds on weekends. But it's midday, mid-week, mid-October and all roads leading to the DGC are packed.

Never before has a pro-am of a golf event attracted such attention. He's certainly got a hero's welcome, Rory McIlroy has, on his maiden trip to India to tee it up at the DP World Tour's India Championship 2025. On Wednesday, the crowds in the galleries rival final day...