🔗 Share this article

The Northern Irish golfer breaks new ground by competing in the Indian tournament this week as he makes his comeback to competition for the first time since the Ryder Cup.

As the Northern Irishman expands his golfing horizons, the DP World Tour enters the closing stage of this year's Race to Dubai. McIlroy is in pole position to secure the season-long title for the fourth season running and seventh time overall.

There are only three more events following the Indian event; the following week's Genesis Championship in South Korea - which wraps up the 'Back Nine' phase of the schedule - and then the last two competitions in the Arabian region.

These high-stakes playoff tournaments in Abu Dhabi and the emirate are exclusively available for the leading seventy and then top 50 in the season rankings.

However for players such as Fleetwood and Lowry, who are also in this tournament lineup in India, there is less pressure than one would expect.

Comfortably outside the seventieth position, at initial inspection it would seem both require high finishes from their trip to the Indian course to extend their campaigns. Yet, actually, they are already assured of their places in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

This is due to a rarely discussed but pragmatic exception whereby members of the European squad are also deemed eligible for the upcoming closing tournaments.

The English golfer, who triumphed in the American playoff series with his impressive win at August's Tour Championship in Atlanta, sits 94th in the European tour's annual rankings. The Irish champion, who made the winning stroke that retained the team trophy, is 155th.

Other squad members who can also qualify are Ludvig Aberg (72nd) and Sepp Straka (147th).

This might challenge the fairness of a play-off system, which by nature is intended to bring intense competitive jeopardy, but this situation also demonstrates realities faced by the Wentworth-based DP World Tour.

The tour is dependent on major sponsors such as the title partner, who are also the naming sponsors of this week's event in the Asian nation. They need the biggest stars at their premier tournaments to validate the financial commitment, which runs to millions of dollars.

The talented golfer has enjoyed one of his best campaigns, capped by his first win on American soil at East Lake just under two months ago.

He is one of the continent's elite players and, honestly, it would be unthinkable to host the upcoming season climax without him.

Practical considerations trumps competitive integrity, even though the world number five - a local resident - has saved his best performances for events that do not qualify on his home tour.

Fleetwood has so far played only four DP World Tour events and been unable to place in the leading twenty at any of them; the Dubai Desert Classic, Scottish Open, flagship event or Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

The majors also contribute on the season standings and his sixteenth-place finish at the Open was his sole high finish in the big four tournaments. But on the US tour he enjoyed seven placements in the top five.

The European star was also Europe's top points scorer at the New York course last month. It would be absurd for him not to be participating alongside the circuit's top performers at the end of the campaign.

Although in the previous era the PGA and European tours were deadly rivals they are now inextricably linked thanks to the cooperative partnership that underpins DP World Tour prize funds.

As Marco Penge, recent champion of the Open De Espana, has positioned himself in close pursuit as his closest rival at the summit of the Race to Dubai, much of the interest for the remaining schedule will have an US focus.

The narrative will be shaped by the competition for 10 places on the PGA Tour for those who do not already have tour cards in the US. The rising star, with three DPWT wins, is assured of what is generally considered as advancement to the American tour.

The Clitheroe-based pro, who also guaranteed invitations to the Masters and British Open with his Madrid victory, is not in the India field but will mount a final push to try to overtake the leader at the peak of the rankings.

Meanwhile the English competitor, the player Penge defeated in the Madrid play-off, is one of four other Britons in the midst of the battle for a 2026 PGA card.

Northern golfer Parry and the West Country pair of Jordan Smith and Canter also currently occupy positions that would yield a valuable opportunity for next year.

Some observers see this scenario as proof that the European circuit is now essentially a feeder for the larger circuit on the other side of the pond.

But the organization maintain it is a vital mechanism that underpins their tour calendar, a essential and attractive element that optimizes playing opportunities for its participants.

Undoubtedly this is the time of the year where the practical aspects and necessary adjustments of elite golf competition seem at their most evident.