Golf: Hero Indian Open to start on March 26
(Courtesy : Hero Indian Open)
Five players from Top -100 and a host of DP World Tour champions are part of the star-studded field.
Five players from the World’s Top-100 and another eight who are ranked between 101 and 150 are set to participate at Hero Indian Open (HIO) 2026, which will be held March 26-29 at DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurugram.
A total of 13 players in the world’s 150 makes the 2026 edition of HIO an extremely strong event on the DP World Tour calendar. Co-sanctioned by the Indian Golf Union, the event carries a record prize purse of US$ 2.55 million this year.
The world-class field will be led by Akshay Bhatia, winner of a Signature event on the PGA Tour, and Francesco Molinari, a Major winner, along with top Indian golfers.
The five players in the Top-100 are Bhatia (22), Casey Jarvis (69), a two-time winner on DPWT in 2026, Elvis Smylie (74), David Puig (85) and Thriston Lawrence (89).
Three-time winner on the PGA Tour, Bhatia is a Hero MotoCorp Brand Ambassador and recently won the star-studded Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill against the likes of World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and World No. 2 Rory McIlroy. Ryder Cup star Molinari of Italy is the 2018 winner of the Open and has been a part of the winning European Ryder Cup team three times.
The eight players between 101 and 150 includes the defending champion Eugenio Chacarra, who is currently ranked 143rd. The others are Angel Ayora, Andy Sullivan, Nacho Elvira, Dan Bradbury, Calum Hill, Martin Couvra and Julien Guerrier.
The international star cast will face tough competition from the home challenge which will be led by Shubhankar Sharma, a two-time DP World Tour winner, Yuvraj Sandhu, winner of the 2025 PGTI Order of Merit, previous PGTI OOM winners, Manu Gandas, Om Prakash Chouhan and Veer Ahlawat, who in 2024 finished runner-up at the Hero Indian Open and Rayhan Thomas.
The local contingent will also include multiple winners on the PGTI like Shaurya Bhattacharya, Sri Lankan N Thangaraja, Honey Baisoya, Khalin Joshi and Saptak Talwar, among others. The field will also see two rising stars of Indian golf – 16-year old Kartik Singh and 21-year old Shubham Jaglan, who have been given sponsor invitations for the tournament.
Rankings apart, the excellent current form of some of the players can also be seen by their recent successes. There are as many six players – Jarvis, Bradbury, Freddy Schott, Elvira and Puig, who have won in the current 2026 season. Jarvis won the Investec South African Open and the Magical Kenya Open in successive weeks.
Another seven players won in 2025 and as many as a dozen players were successful in 2024, making the current gathering as one of the most decorated fields.
Additionally, there are numerous experienced DPWT winners like Rafa Cabrera Bello, Matteo Manassero, Joost Luiten, Jorge Campillo, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Ross Fisher, Bernd Wiesberger, and others.
With the cut-off to retain a full card through the Race to Dubai rankings reduced from the Top 110 to Top 100, the fight for points and the Tour cards has become close. Hence, the tournament will see intense competition as the players battle it out for money and points.
The Hero Indian Open, which is the oldest international professional tournament in India, was started in 1964 by the Indian Golf Union and the event has been co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour since 2015.
Where and when will Hero Indian Open 2026 take place?
The 2026 edition of the golf tournament will be held at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurugram from March 26 to 29.
How many top 100 ranked players are set to participate at Hero Indian Open 2026?
A total of five players from the top-100 and a host of DP World Tour Champions will participate in the tournament.
Which big name golfers will participate at Hero Indian Open 2026?
Akshay Bhatia, Casey Jarvis, Elvis Smylie, David Puig, Thriston Lawrence and Shubhankar Sharma are some big names.
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Piyush Kant is a seasoned sports communication professional with over 20 years of experience. He leverages his expertise to craft media strategies for sports entities and personalities, while also contributing insightful articles across the sporting landscape.