Rory McIlroy travels to Delhi for the India Championship this week, kicking off a three-tournament stretch on the DP World Tour as he chases Colin Montgomerie’s record of eight European Tour Order of Merit titles. The Northern Irishman sits third in the Race to Dubai standings behind Patrick Reed and Eugenio Chacarra.
Rory McIlroy arrives in Delhi this week for the India Championship, beginning a tight stretch that includes three of the four remaining tournaments on the DP World Tour circuit.
The Race to Dubai standings currently place McIlroy in third position with 3,115.86 points. American Patrick Reed holds the lead, sitting 307.76 points ahead of McIlroy, while Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra occupies second place. Chacarra leapfrogged McIlroy in the rankings following a third-place finish in the French Open and a runner-up performance in the Spanish Open. Beyond this week’s stop in Delhi, McIlroy has committed to the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship and the season-ending Tour Championship in Dubai, though he has decided to skip the Genesis Championship in South Korea.
Even after the 16 hour travel and 9 hour jet lag… i loved being back in europe as the Defending Champion! My golf game wasn’t great but i enjoyed every moment of chopping my way round. There’s something about the @DPWorldTour it just hits different! Tour family.. always 💙 pic.twitter.com/Rka9i1ZgTb
Irish Players Compete Across Delhi And China
McIlroy is joined in Delhi by fellow Irish competitors Shane Lowry and Tom McKibbin. Lowry climbed two spots to 16th in the updated Race to Dubai standings following a tied-13th-place finish at the Spanish Open. Meanwhile, Leona Maguire and Lauren Walsh are competing further east at the Buick LPGA Championship in Shanghai, a tournament beginning Thursday after Maguire enjoyed a rest week and Walsh missed the cut at the Aramco Korea Championship.
In China, Galway native Liam Nolan is working toward securing a full DP World Tour card for next season. Nolan followed up a victory in Abu Dhabi on the Hotel Planner Tour with a top-five finish at the Hainan Open, climbing three spots to ninth on the order of merit. The top 15 players on the list graduate to the main tour. Nolan is competing this week in the Hangzhou Open—the penultimate event of the season before next month’s Grand Final in Mallorca. Waterford golfer Gary Hurley is also in the Hangzhou field, currently sitting 61st on the order of merit and needing a strong result to break into the top 45 players who advance to Mallorca.
Grant Forrest Secures Augusta Invite at the Spanish Open
“I’m in shock, honestly, pure shock right now . . . that’s fairytale stuff. I’ve played two Opens and to be going to Augusta, I just can’t get my head round it. You can have a great career in this game and never get to go to Augusta, so I cannot believe it.”
Grant Forrest, Spanish Open champion
