McIlroy Seeks Victory at the DP World India Championship Despite an Unstable Start
The renowned golfer Rory McIlroy demonstrated his skill at the Delhi Golf Club, despite not using his driver. He achieved six birdies, but suffered three bogeys in the first round of the DP World India Championship. McIlroy, currently number two in the world, started with a chip-in from the edge of the green on the 10th hole. However, problems arose on the 11th hole, where he made three putts, followed by consecutive bogeys. Despite not using his driver, McIlroy got birdies on the two par-5s and achieved a total of 1 under par when reaching the 9th hole. He added three more strokes in the following seven holes. He finished the round with a bogey on the 8th hole, 522 yards, and a score of 3 under par (69), five strokes behind the leader, Shane Lowry.This strategy didn’t work on the 8th hole, where his tee shot went into the trees, advancing only 15 yards and resulting in a bogey. McIlroy commented that the course was “quite difficult”, despite the limited distance from the tee.The driver was left out of the bag, probably sleeping in the locker room. I was thinking about that last night before I went to bed. Sometimes, if you’re very conservative on a par-5 today, you might have a 5-wood towards the green, but I’m never going to hit the driver. So I thought I had to use a 2-iron, 3-iron, 4-iron, and then I have a 5-wood in case I need to use it for an approach shot on a par-5.
Rory McIlroy
Shane Lowry, with eight birdies, leads the competition. He commented that the noise from Delhi’s traffic was more manageable than the atmosphere at the Ryder Cup in New York. Lowry, playing with European captain Luke Donald and Tommy Fleetwood, made five consecutive birdies on the back nine. He finished his round of 64 with a birdie on the 18th hole.You’re just trying to be as conservative as possible off the tee and then try to get birdies on the par-5s and maybe pick up a couple more.
Rory McIlroy
Fleetwood and Donald finished with 4 under par. Keita Nakajima (65) also had five consecutive birdies, starting on the 18th hole and then four in a row at the start of the first part of the course. This is a key moment for the former amateur number 1, who seeks to enter the top 10 players on the European circuit to obtain PGA Tour cards in 2026. Ben Griffin, who debuted in the Ryder Cup with the U.S. team, started with 68, along with Michael Kim, who had visa issues to arrive in India on time. Kim already won on the European circuit this year at the French Open. This is the beginning of an important stage for McIlroy, who also plans to participate in the Abu Dhabi Championship, the DP World Tour Championship and the Australian Open.We all had a great time and played pretty well, and I just managed a few more birdies than them on the back nine. We could hear the horns from the road; it wasn’t as daunting as the Bethpage crowd. There was a bit of Ryder Cup chat, but at the end of the day, we’re all professional golfers and ultimately, we all want to win, even if we’re friends.
Shane Lowry
