New Venues And Stellar Fields: DP World Tour Returns to Delhi While LPGA Tour Heads to Korea
In this week’s “Playing Through,” PGA Professional Brendon Elliott examines the storylines as the PGA TOUR takes a week off. The DP World Tour’s inaugural India Championship and the LPGA Tour’s BMW Ladies Championship command the spotlight with new venues, star-studded fields, and major championship implications.
DP World Tour: Historic Debut in Delhi Delivers Drama
The DP World Tour makes history this week with the inaugural DP World India Championship at Delhi Golf Club. The $4 million tournament is the largest prize fund ever offered for a DP World Tour event in India. It marks the penultimate event in the Back 9 and represents a major milestone in the Tour’s long association with the country.
McIlroy Makes First Indian Appearance
World No. 2 Rory McIlroy headlines a stellar international field as he makes the first start of his illustrious career in India. The Race to Dubai leader arrived seeking to strengthen his grip on what would be a fourth consecutive Harry Vardon Trophy and seventh overall. With two wins already this season at the Masters Tournament and Amgen Irish Open, McIlroy’s presence shows India’s growing influence as a destination for elite golf.
“I’m excited to not only tee it up in India for the first time but also visit a country that I’ve always wanted to explore,” McIlroy said ahead of the tournament. “There is tremendous potential to grow golf further in the country.”
The field features four members of Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup team: McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, and Shane Lowry, along with their captain Luke Donald. From the U.S. Ryder Cup side, Major winner Brian Harman and two-time PGA TOUR winner Ben Griffin add American firepower to the international contingent.
Return to a Storied Venue
This week marks the Tour’s return to Delhi Golf Club for the first time since 2016. Originally established in the 1930s, the Lodhi Championship Course was redesigned by Peter Thomson in 1977, with further enhancements by Gary Player Design in 2019. At just 6,912 yards, the layout presents an old-school challenge. Precision matters more than power.
The course has a rich history with Indian golf. It hosted the inaugural Indian Open in 1964 and served as the venue for three previous DP World Tour events, all won by home players. More than 20 Indian players are in the field hoping to continue that tradition, including two-time DP World Tour winner Shubhankar Sharma and 18-time global winner Anirban Lahiri.
Lowry Leads After Birdie Bonanza
Shane Lowry seized the first-round lead with a spectacular eight-under 64. He reeled off five consecutive birdies on the back nine to leapfrog early leader Keita Nakajima of Japan.
Playing alongside Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald and teammate Tommy Fleetwood, Lowry opened his birdie account at the par-three fifth before igniting on the back nine. Starting at the 11th, he made five straight birdies from 12 feet, 10 feet, similar range, eight feet, and then took advantage of the par-five 14th before rolling in from eight feet on the 15th.
“I putted nicely today. I played nice. Gave myself a lot of chances and then I birdied a few on the back nine, it was pretty nice,” Lowry said. “It was a really nice group, playing with Luke and Tommy. We all had a great time and we all played pretty good. I just rolled off a few more birdies than they did on the back nine.”
Lowry finished his round with another birdie from four feet on the 18th to take the outright lead at eight under par. Nakajima, who won the Hero Indian Open last year, sits one shot back after carding eight birdies and one dropped shot in a 65. South African Casey Jarvis posted a sparkling 66 to sit two shots off the lead.
McIlroy Finds Delhi “Tougher Than Expected”
McIlroy opened with a three-under 69, mixing six birdies with three bogeys to sit four shots behind Lowry. The four-time major champion admitted the challenge posed by Delhi Golf Club exceeded his expectations.
“It’s pretty tricky,” McIlroy said. “You’re just really 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.”
True to his word from the pre-tournament press conference, McIlroy opted against carrying his driver this week. He’s banking on a strategy that favors precision rather than power. After an opening birdie at the tenth, he made back-to-back bogeys at the 11th and 12th before steadying himself with birdies at the par-five 14th and 18th.
“The rough is unpredictable. You get a lot of fliers,” McIlroy explained. “The greens are so grainy that uphill putts are very slow, but then if you get it above the hole, the downhill putts with the downgrain get very, very quick, so leaving yourself below the hole is pretty important.”
LPGA Tour: BMW Ladies Championship Debuts at Pine Beach
The LPGA Tour continues its fall swing through Asia with the sixth edition of the BMW Ladies Championship, now at a new venue. Pine Beach Golf Links hosts the Tour for the first time. 78 of the top players in the women’s game compete for a $2.3 million purse, a $100,000 increase over last year.
Korea’s Pebble Beach Provides Fresh Test
Nicknamed Korea’s Pebble Beach, Pine Beach Golf Links is a seaside layout known for its breathtaking coastal views and challenging conditions. The course is considered one of the best in Korea and ranks among the top-50 facilities in the Asia Pacific region. It’s a worthy stage for the penultimate event before next week’s Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown.
Green Defends Amid Struggles
Australia’s Hannah Green returns to defend her title after going wire-to-wire last year for a narrow one-stroke victory over Celine Boutier. That triumph marked her sixth career win and third of the 2024 season, cementing her status as one of the game’s elite players.
This season, however, has proven considerably more difficult. Green has missed the cut in five of her last six starts. In August, she posted on Instagram, “Golf is proving to be quite difficult at the moment.” The three-week break before this event could prove crucial as she looks to recapture the form that made her nearly unbeatable in Korea last year.
Veterans Lead Opening Round
Two-decade-long LPGA Tour veterans seized control after the first round at Pine Beach Golf Links. Sei Young Kim, 32, topped the leaderboard with a 10-under 62 that featured eight birdies and an eagle. American Lindy Duncan, 34, sat two strokes behind after making birdies on three of her final five holes.
Kim joined the LPGA Tour in 2015, a year after Duncan. The significant difference? Kim has 12 career LPGA victories, while Duncan is still seeking her first. Kim moved to nine-under and the lead with a birdie on the par-3 15th hole.
Sandwiched between them was Hyo Joo Kim, who shot 63. Rio Takeda posted 65 and was in a group tied for fourth.
Canadian Brooke Henderson shot 67, while American Lucy Li had a memorable 68 that included a hole-in-one on the par-3 13th hole. She won a car in the process.
Green and Lee Start Slowly
Defending champion Green started with consecutive birdies but stalled throughout her round, finishing with a 68. Her compatriot and 2023 champion, Minjee Lee, also posted 68.
“My golf game hasn’t been quite where I would like it to be. The last few months has been kind probably the most hard time I’ve had in my career,” Green said ahead of the first round. “I was back in Australia for the last three weeks, so was able to reset.”
Record-Breaking Season for Parity
The tournament comes at a fascinating moment in LPGA Tour history. This season has produced 26 different winners, matching the record set in 1995 and equaled only in 2018 and 2022. That remarkable streak of parity ended just last week when Jeeno Thitikul captured her second title of the season at the Buick LPGA Shanghai, defeating Minami Katsu in a five-hole playoff.
Twenty players who have already won this season are in the field in Korea, each looking to join Thitikul as multiple winners in 2025. After the International Crown next week, two more LPGA events are scheduled on the five-event Asian swing, at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and in Japan. Multiple opportunities remain for players to add to their victory totals as the season draws to a close.