Shubhankar Sharma, Paris 2024 Olympian, will spearhead the home challenge at the Indian Open 2026 golf tournament, which will be played at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurugram from March 26 to 29.
Two-time European Tour winner Sharma will be joined by India’s top-ranked player Yuvraj Sandhu, who earned his DP World Tour card after topping last season’s Professional Golf Tour of India Order of Merit with seven titles. Veer Ahlawat, runner-up at the 2024 edition, is also in the start list.
Among the global stars, world No. 22 Akshay Bhatia will make his India debut. The Indian-origin American is in fine form, having recently won the Arnold Palmer Invitational and strung together five consecutive top-20 finishes on the PGA Tour.
Major champion and three-time Ryder Cup winner Francesco Molinari adds further depth to the field.
Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra returns as defending champion after claiming his maiden DP World Tour title in Gurugram last year.
SSP Chawrasia, who won back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017, remains the last Indian golfer to lift the trophy.
Five players from the world’s top 100, including Bhatia, will feature in the Indian Open. South Africa’s Casey Jarvis (69) and Thriston Lawrence (89), along with Australia’s Elvis Smylie (74) and Spain’s David Puig (85) will be the others.
Chacarra, currently ranked 143rd, leads a group of eight players placed between 101 and 150.
This will be the ninth edition of the Indian Open under the European Tour golf banner.
