After his misstep at the Open de España last week, where he missed the cut, Shane Lowry (-8) has regained the inspiration that turned him into the image of Europe‘s victory at the Ryder Cup at the end of September at Bethpage Black. The Irishman, in a display of play at the challenging Delhi Golf Club, has positioned himself as the sole leader at the DP World India Championship, the penultimate tournament of the European tour before the final series.
Shane managed to close a simply perfect Thursday with 64 strokes, including an extraordinary series of five consecutive birdies from the 11th to the 15th that shot him up the leaderboard. Before that, he had completed the first nine holes two under; and afterwards, he finished the job by gaining another stroke on the 18th, which allowed him to improve the score that Japanese Keita Nalajima (-7) had set in the Clubhouse in the morning session.
The Irishman’s production of birdies was spectacular, but even more so was his ability to avoid mistakes on a very complex course, with narrow fairways and full of traps, where precision beats power. The driver this week is little more than an ornament in the bag, so it’s necessary to be diligent with every shot, be very clear about the distances and the club to choose at each moment… and arm oneself with patience to not lose concentration due to the noise.
Just his length, @RyderCupEurope 😉@ShaneLowryGolf joins the lead in India.#DPWIC pic.twitter.com/LgHd2F5mfB
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 16, 2025
Because in this corner of India, the hellish traffic causes the continuous sound of car horns that even the expanse of a golf course cannot escape. “We could hear the horns from the road, but it wasn’t as annoying as the crowd at Bethpage,” said the Irishman with humour. “There was a bit of chatter about the Ryder Cup, but after all, we are all professional golfers and ultimately, we all want to beat each other, even if we are friends,” he added about sharing the match with Fleewood and Donald, his teammate and captain, respectively, in the Ryder.
All managed to successfully overcome this little ‘hell’ where South African Casey Jarvis (-6) completed the top three positions and where some of the ten Spaniards present in the tournament have managed to take a step forward in pursuit of their various goals for the remainder of the season in the DP World Tour. Starting with the Extremaduran Jorge Campillo (-5), fully involved in the fight for victory…
The Extremaduran was the best of the Armada, with a great 67 with seven birdies and two bogeys; while Nacho Elvira (-4) was on a similar path, with five birdies without error… until a bogey on the 18th took him out of the top 5. Both played in the morning session. Pablo Larrazábal (-3), in the afternoon, also left his mark in a round where a double bogey on the 15th hole prevented him from placing among the top ten. For the rest, lights and shadows…
Birdie-Birdie-Birdie
Ryder Cup hero @ShaneLowryGolf moves into a tie for second. #DPWIC pic.twitter.com/tfyFQ8H7rU
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 16, 2025
Rafa Cabrera Bello (-1), Eugenio López-Chacarra (-1), and Manuel Elvira (-1) completed their first 18 holes of the week in New Delhi with 71 strokes each, with one to spare regarding the cut line. Alfredo García Heredia (PAR) would also continue over the weekend. But Joel Moscatel (+1), Ángel Ayora (+2), and especially Ángel Hidalgo (+5), who had a day to forget, will need to rally if they want to complete the 72 holes of the Indian tournament.
Alfredo and Joel are the ones who most need to accelerate due to their position in the Race to Dubai, below the 150th place. Nacho, Pablo, Rafa, Hidalgo, and Manuel are immersed in the fight to be among the top 70 overall and access the first of the final playoffs. Meanwhile, for Jorge, Eugenio, and Ayora, the dream of the top 10 that grants access to PGA Tour cards is not yet ruled out, although time is running out…
Brian Harman (-4), Tommy Fleetwood (-4), Luke Donald (-4), and Rory McIlroy (-3), four of the favourites for victory, have started the tournament at a good level, while Viktor Hovland (-1) closed the day in the red numbers, but far from a Shane Lowry who has presented his candidacy for what would be his seventh triumph in the DP World Tour… first in over three years.
