Rory McIlroy faces brutal reality check in India after making historic decision

Rory McIlroy learned a harsh lesson at Delhi Golf Club during the first round of the DP World India Championship, experiencing firsthand just how unforgiving this notorious course can be.

Making his Indian debut, McIlroy – who recently opened up on possibly captaining the Ryder Cup team in the future – tackled a treacherous layout famous for its dangerously tight fairways bordered by thick vegetation. A LIV Golf player recently called Delhi Golf Club one of the most “claustrophobic” courses in the world.

Ranked No. 2 globally, McIlroy prepared for the test by making an unprecedented equipment decision. The Masters champion chose to leave his driver in the locker room, despite being one of golf’s all-time greats with that club.

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He understood the critical importance of accuracy in Delhi, and largely delivered on that strategy. McIlroy posted a three-under-par 69, finishing the opening round four strokes behind early leader Keita Nakajima.

However, the Northern Irishman’s score could have been significantly better had it not been for a wayward tee shot on the par-five eighth, his second-to-last hole.

The 36-year-old opted for a long iron off the tee but pulled it left, leaving himself in an almost impossible situation.

Hemmed in by trees and undergrowth, he had minimal space as he attempted to chip back onto the fairway.

He struggled to generate the necessary power, landing in the thick rough, and ultimately scored a bogey on a hole that had offered many birdie opportunities.

McIlroy’s struggle on the eighth encapsulated the challenge of Delhi Golf Club; it’s scoreable, but accuracy off the tee is crucial.

“It’s pretty tricky,” McIlroy commented post-round. “You’re just really trying to be as conservative as possible off the tee and then trying to pick off birdies on the par-5s and maybe pick up a couple more. Yeah, it’s a tricky golf course.

“I thought some of the hole locations early on were really tricky. You play a practice round or a pro-am, the pins are all in the middle of the green, and then you get to tournament day and they start to tuck them away a little bit, and of course definitely played a little tougher than I expected it to today.”

When asked about his strategy for the remaining 54 holes, McIlroy responded: “I think it’s similar strategy to what I did today, especially off the tee.

“You just have to get the ball in the fairway. The rough is unpredictable. You get a lot of fliers like I did the last two there. Yeah, maybe being a little bit less aggressive with approach shots and getting it on the right side of the pin.

“The greens are so grainy that uphill putts are very slow, but then if you get it above the hole, the downhill putts with the downgrain get very, very quick, so leaving yourself below the hole is pretty important, as well.”

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At the end of a career-defining year, the decision of Rory McIlroy to travel to India does not, on the face of it, make a great deal of sense.

At the start of 2025 the Northern Irishman told the BBC: “Winning the Masters, winning an Olympic medal and another away Ryder Cup, they are my three goals for the rest of my career.”

As the year hurries towards a close he has achieved two of those three aims and many might expected him to take an extended break this winter.

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But, in addition to playing this week’s DP World Tour Championship at Delhi GC, McIlroy will also compete in December’s Australia Open.

It contrasts markedly with the schedule of Jon Rahm who, after a downbeat performance in last week’s Open de Espana, announced he would not be seen again on a golf course until 2026.

What are McIlroy’s motivations for taking a different route?

There are perhaps five so let’s look at them in order.

1. Regaining purpose

Winning the Masters took its toll on McIlroy.

He was not only completing a lifelong dream in triumphing at Augusta National, he was also exorcising memories of past failures there, ending a 14-year major championship drought and completing the Career Grand Slam.

At the year’s next major, the PGA Championship, he said: “I think everyone saw how hard having a north star and getting over the line is.”

So began a season-long attempt to come to terms with not only what he had achieved but also how to reset his career.

“I dreamed as a child of becoming the best player in the world and winning all the majors,” he said. “I’ve done that.”

At the RBC Canadian Open, he admitted: “Grinding on the range for three or four hours every day is maybe a little tougher than it used to be.”

And when he got to the U.S. Open he said: “You dream about the final putt going in at the Masters, but you don’t think about what comes next.”

When asked if he had a plan for the future he could only reply: “I don’t have one. I have no idea. I’m taking it tournament by tournament at this point.”

It was only when he reached the Scottish Open that he began to get to grips with his task.

“It’s amazing what two weeks of detachment can do for you, sitting there being with your own thoughts for a while,” he said. “I don’t want the Masters to be my last great moment in the game. There’s plenty more that I can do.”

So he’s been trying to come to terms with the state of his life – and that informs his decision to head to new places.

2. The Fatigue and Federer Factor

At this year’s BMW PGA Championship, McIlroy talked of his end-of-year schedule.

“You know, I don’t want to name a tournament, but when you’re going back to the same place and experiencing the same thing 15 or 20 years in a row, it can get a little bit monotonous and a little bit tedious.

“I had a chat with Roger Federer a few years ago at the end of his career. He was saying he wanted to go and play a lot of the places he could never play in his career, some of the smaller events where not a lot of people had seen him play.

“I think as time goes on and I get to this stage of my career, I get excited about doing that sort of thing.

3. Seeing the world

But why India specifically?

“I want to go and play in different places in the world, and experience things that I haven’t experienced before,” he said at Wentworth. “To travel to India for the first time, that excites me.

“At this point I want to play in the locations that I love to go to, and I want to play the majors and the Ryder Cup. That’s it. I’ll obviously do my bit to make sure I keep my membership on certain tours, but I’m going to play where I want to play.

“I feel like I burdened myself with the Career Grand Slam stuff, and now I want to enjoy the last decade or whatever of my career.”

4. Nostalgia

In September he told The Guardian: “There are times that I yearn for a little anonymity and having a quieter life.”

He also admitted that being well-known comes with the quest he has set for himself so he has to accept it.

But he also referred back to the early years of his professional career, talking of, “a simpler time in life where I was just so happy to travel the world and play golf.”

5. Appearance fee

Yes, let’s also face it: he’s won the Career Grand Slam and that gives him huge potential in terms of appearance fees.

He’ll want for nothing in India and Australia.

He’ll have a great time and he’ll leave having made a lot of money wherever he finishes on the leaderboard.

Rory McIlroy chasing record prize money as he arrives to play at tournament for first time ever

Rory McIlroy has touched down in India to tremendous excitement as the Masters champion ventures into uncharted territory and competes in the World India Championship this week. The world number two will serve as the headline act in both the DP World India Championship and December’s Australian Open at Royal Melbourne.

The Holywood golfer has discussed transforming golf into a more international sport and the DP World Tour have responded by establishing this as the most lucrative prize pot ever for an Indian tournament.

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“If everyone is talking about growing the game,” McIlroy said earlier this year, “especially if these investors are going to come into our game and they want a return on their capital, I think everyone needs to start thinking more globally around it.”

The Lodhi Course at the Delhi Golf Club plays host to this week’s competition, marking the first occasion it has featured on the DP World Tour since the 2016 Hero Indian Open. The championship boasts a total prize fund of $4 million (€3.46 million) up for grabs, whilst the victor will claim 835 Race to Dubai ranking points.

The winner will also receive the Lotus Trophy, crafted from crystal and incorporating two emblems of India – the Taj Mahal and the lotus flower – into its structure, reports Belfast Live.

“I haven’t hidden my sort of aspirations for national Opens and where I would like them to be, what their standing is in the professional game of golf,” McIlroy said. “The European Tour and DP World created a new event there. I was asked at the start of the year would I be interested in going, and I said yeah, that sounds amazing,” McIlroy recently expressed.

“The Hero Indian Open is always when we’re – it’s like March-April time. I’d love to play DLF and figure out my way around that place, but this one in Delhi in October made more sense.”

Fresh off his Ryder Cup triumphs and following his best ever season and achieving the career grand slam, McIlroy was greeted with a garland upon his arrival.

Bryson DeChambeau made his debut in India this spring and drew record crowds. McIlroy isn’t the only European Ryder Cup star in town, with Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Viktor Hovland and captain Luke Donald also participating in Delhi.