DP World India Championship: Shane Lowry grabs sole lead on opening day; McIlroy sits tied 17th

Shane Lowry’s smile did not fade through the first round and the Irishman had reason to be beaming after a bogey-free round that saw him finish with an 8-under 64 for the sole lead on the opening day of the DP World India Championship at the Delhi Golf Club on Thursday.

Lowry, one of the few overseas golfers in the fray who have actually played at the venue – albeit 15 years back – had eight birdies in his round to finish one shot ahead of Keita Nakajima. The Japanese also had eight birdies, including on the notorious par-4 ninth, the toughest hole by far on the course for the day with 43 bogeys, 58 par scores and just six birdies, but also dropped a shot on the sixth.

South Africa’s Casey Jarvis was on six-under 66 while India’s Rahil Gangjee was in a three-way tie for the fourth position with Jorge Campillo and Jannik De Bruyn on 67. World No. 2 Rory McIlroy was further back at three-under 69 for tied 17th.

“Yeah, 64 is a really nice score. It’s not that hard if you play out there but if you miss the fairways, it can get really tricky. This type of course suits me, I needed to take advantage of it today and hopefully will continue to do it through the week,” Lowry said after the round.

Rory, who also hit into the jungle off the fairway on the 16th, admitted to suffering a tough day. “It’s pretty tricky. You’re just trying to be as conservative as possible off the tee and then trying to pick off birdies on the par fives and maybe pick up a couple more,” McIlroy admitted.

Gangjee, one of the oldest Indian pros, played a safe hand and had an uneventful round with four birdies and a bogey till the 17th hole. He was three over the par score and a long way back before sinking in an eagle on the 18th to leapfrog to the top. He ended the day with 5-under. Among the other Indians, Anirban Lahiri was at 2-under 70 with a steady round and Shubhankar Sharma scored a two-over-par 74.

Published on Oct 16, 2025