Rory McIlroy\u2019s priorities have shifted. At this week\u2019s DP World India Championship, the impact of those changes is materializing. <\/p>\n
When LIV Golf arrived on the scene three years ago, McIlroy took up the mantle of PGA Tour spokesperson. He was front and center defending the PGA Tour in its moment of need. He worked to try to reshape the PGA Tour with Signature Events and mandatory appearances. But when the Framework Agreement between the PGA Tour and LIV was announced, McIlroy shifted his focus. He resigned his board seat, skipped Signature Events and even ditched a FedEx Cup Playoff stop<\/a> to focus on playing a more global schedule<\/a>.<\/p>\n McIlroy hoped pro golf would come together and form a more global tour that would send the sport\u2019s stars around the world, and not just from Florida to California with the occasional stop in the U.K. But he clearly understands that the fractured world of pro golf isn\u2019t going to magically reunify any time soon, so he\u2019s taking it upon himself to go to all corners of the globe. He\u2019s focusing on national opens, from Canada to Ireland and Australia, and playing where he wants<\/a>, when he wants.<\/p>\n That brings us to this week\u2019s inaugural DP World India Championship, where McIlroy touched down in India for the first time in his career. Now, McIlroy isn\u2019t doing this for free. He understands his value and is getting an appearance fee, as are Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry, Ben Griffin and Luke Donald. But it would be unfair to assume he\u2019s doing it just for the money. McIlroy has pledged to start playing a more global schedule and is starting to back that up. He recently cited tennis superstar Roger Federer as an inspiration to start taking his talents to places that don\u2019t normally see him tee it up.<\/p>\n \u201cI think India has a wonderful culture,\u201d McIlroy said Wednesday about his first time in India. \u201cI think the people are unbelievably welcoming and hospitable and gentle. \u2026 Golf has become quite a big sport in this country, but hopefully I can help it become even bigger.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d love more people to watch golf. That would be amazing,\u201d McIlroy said later about his long-term hope for golf\u2019s growth worldwide. \u201cBut I would be more interested in getting more people to play the game, and I think when people play the game, then they learn and they can acknowledge what golf is, what it represents, and the sort of etiquette and the values that you need to adhere to when you play the game.\u201d<\/p>\n Regardless of appearance fees, the special thing about what\u2019s taking place in India this week is that this event has never happened before. The event was created out of thin air to give a golf-loving country a groundbreaking new event. The sponsorship for this event from DP World included a $4 million prize fund and a relationship that was integral to getting McIlroy and others to show up in a country starved for golf. The downstream impact of people watching Rory McIlroy hit a golf ball, Roger Federer swing a tennis racket or Steph Curry shoot a basketball is unquantifiable. <\/p>\n On Thursday, during the first round of the DP World India Championship, the crowds around McIlroy and Viktor Hovland showed the impact an event like this can have.<\/p>\n There were similar scenes at DLF Golf and Country Club when Bryson DeChambeau competed in the International Series India in January. <\/p>\n \u201cEducate, entertain, inspire are my main three principles of why I play the game of golf,\u201d DeChambeau said in January of his decision to play in India. \u201cI think this is an amazing opportunity for all of golf to come together and see what India can truly produce for the world. And it\u2019s a growing economy, it\u2019s a growing population that need golf. There\u2019s a lot more to come, so that\u2019s why I\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n