Rory McIlroy first got the idea to play at the DP World India Championship after his career Grand Slam. But since The Open Championship, his reason for returning to the subcontinent has been more focused, targeting three birds with one stone.

First, he seeks his first DPWT title in India, knowing he has leverage over his competitors. He also wants a boost in his Rankings before the tour heads to the Middle East in hopes of a record-tying eighth Race to Dubai title. But third, and most importantly, as the global ambassador of UAE logistics company DP World, the title sponsor of the European Tour, he wants to win more fans. Unfortunately, Kevin Kesner has plans to keep ruining that, as he returns with a brutal explanation of his previous cash-grab comments on McIlroy.

“Was it really an evisceration, though?” Kisner asked his co-hosts on the latest episode of the Foreplay Podcast. “I feel like it’s more of every other media company in the world taking whatever could be controversial, putting their own little quotations around whatever my rant was, and then clipping it and putting it all over their social programs.

“If you actually listen to the whole rant, it’s basically like, ‘Yeah, I would go too.’ My point was just, you know, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, and Rory McIlroy don’t just suddenly show up in India on the DP World Tour. It just doesn’t happen.

“I mean, Rory doesn’t even show up to Harbour Town for 20 million bucks, pretty close to home. There’s a reason why these guys are going, and I don’t hate them for it. I just think it’s fascinating that nobody wants to be honest with the world, right? It’s like, yeah, I’m all for you growing the game too, Rory. I think it’s great that we get more people in India to play golf. But if it was zero dollars, you’re not showing up there. You didn’t show up the last 16 years. Why, suddenly, is India great?”

See, McIlroy had already mentioned that he first came to India last year after taking advice from tennis legend Roger Federer. The idea was to basically play on the courses where he had not played before because the Northern Irishman was feeling rather bored with the repetitiveness of the challenges. There came India’s name.

The Indians, of course, wholeheartedly welcomed McIlroy to the subcontinent, impressing him to the point that he returned. But this time, he had an aim.

McIlroy revealed his reason for returning to India after Kisner’s comments

Kisner did not hold back when he suggested that names like Justin Rose and McIlroy were only appearing in the DP World India Championship because of the millions of dollars they were getting to show their faces.

“That is such a dog s**t comment, but I guess for the right price, we could all say that comment [about growing the game],” Kisner said on the Foreplay podcast. “He doesn’t want to globally expand in India. He wants to get his $10 million bucks and go play in India. I know there’s a pile of guys that got paid for that event.”

But, of course, that appearance fee also comes with other commitments, including speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi. One of the biggest reasons why McIlroy was there was because he knows he could attract more attention to the sport in a country with one of the highest populations in the world. But he also had some personal agenda.

“At this stage of my career, it’s always nice to get to this part of the season and have a chance to win the Race to Dubai,” he said ahead of the event. “Eugenio jumped me last week in Spain. Patrick isn’t playing so well. So I think this is really a good opportunity this week to cut into that lead and head to the Middle East in a really good spot to try to win my eighth Race to Dubai.

McIlroy also revealed his other intentions behind coming to India after he was told about Kisner’s comments after his final round and T42 finish.

“How would he know? “Two things can be true at the same time. People can get paid to come and play at the tournament, but at the same time do it from a place of 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.”

Beyond the controversy, McIlroy’s interest in growing the game in India has been a recurring theme. In January 2025, he pointed to the crowds Bryson DeChambeau drew at the International Series India and called the country a very important market for golf. When he committed to the inaugural India Championship, he said he had long wanted to visit and saw huge potential to grow the game there.

Through it all, Kisner’s stance remains unchanged: money is part of the reason for the trip, and the golf world should be more open about it.

Golf is indeed growing in India

The prize money at golf events in India has grown rapidly. The Hero Indian Open, which dates back to 1964 and is the country’s longest-running annual international sporting event, offered $2 million in 2023, a record at the time. The purse rose to $2.25 million in 2024 and stayed there at that level in 2025.

Then, in October 2025, the DP World Tour launched the India Championship at Delhi Golf Club with a $4 million prize purse, the largest ever for a golf event in India. It was also the Tour’s first visit to the club since 2016.

Tommy Fleetwood won the inaugural edition, while McIlroy made his professional debut in India. This year’s edition retained the same overall prize purse and winner’s share. McIlroy has also continued to speak warmly about Indian golf fans.

“The golf fans in India were so welcoming, and the whole experience was truly memorable. So it’s a pleasure to be returning to Delhi in October,” he said ahead of the championship.

For his part, Kisner isn’t backing away from his comments. Appearance fees are standard in professional golf, and neither side disputes that. The disagreement is over how openly players acknowledge the financial incentive alongside their stated interest in growing the game.

McIlroy is yet to respond to their latest remarks, and whether he does remains to be seen. His next scheduled DP World Tour appearance is at the Abu Dhabi Championship, from November 5 to 8.