Shane Lowry leads as Rory McIlroy shuns driver at India Championship

NEW DELHI — Shane Lowry ran off five straight birdies on the back nine and then got up-and-down for birdie on the 18th hole Thursday for an 8-under 64, giving him a one-shot lead over Keita Nakajima in the DP World India Championship.

Rory McIlroy decided to leave driver out of his golf bag at tight, tree-lined Delhi Golf Club. He had a collection of bogeys and birdies and settled on a 69 in the inaugural tournament.

“Dog was out of the bag, probably asleep in the locker,†McIlroy said. His bag featured a 3-wood and 5-wood, the latter in case he needed more height for longer shots into par 5s.

That didnâ€t help him on his 17th hole, the par-5 eighth, when he pulled his tee shot into the trees, advanced it only about 15 yards into the rough made a bogey.

Lowry returned from his Ryder Cup heroics at the Spanish Open last week by missing the cut. Another week into the closing stretch of the season seemed to suit him much better, particularly his iron play and putter.

Starting on the 11th, his five birdie putts were all in about the 10-foot range.

“I putted nicely today. I played nice,†Lowry said. “You know, 64 is a really nice score. Itâ€s not that hard when you are out there but when you start missing fairways it becomes quite tricky.â€

Lowry, who holed the putt that assured Europe would keep the Ryder Cup, played alongside Tommy Fleetwood and Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, who each shot 68.

There was plenty of reminiscing about their stellar performance before an unruly New York crowd at Bethpage Black. Lowry said one part of Delhi Golf Club went along the streets and they could hear the horns of the nearby cars.

“It was not as off-putting as the Bethpage crowd,†Lowry said.

Nakajima also had five straight birdies in the middle of his round, starting on No. 18 and then four straight to begin the front nine. This is an important time of the year for the former world No. 1 amateur as he tries to get into the top 10 of European tour players who would be granted PGA Tour cards for 2026.

Ben Griffin, who made his Ryder Cup debut for the U.S. team, opened with a 68 alongside another American, Michael Kim, who was late arriving in India because of visa issues. Kim already has won on the European tour this year at the French Open.

This start a big stretch run for McIlroy at the end of the year, as he also plans to play the Abu Dhabi Championship and DP World Tour Championship, along with the Australian Open.

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