Rory McIlroy made the bold decision to leave his driver behind for the first round of the DP World India Championship, a choice he had already settled on before turning in the previous night.
Fresh from his triumphant leadership of Team Europe in their thrilling Ryder Cup victory over the United States at Bethpage Black, where he and his wife Erica faced appalling abuse, McIlroy returned to competitive golf. He’s currently competing in the DP World Tour event at Delhi Golf Club.
After 18 holes, McIlroy is tied-17th on three-under, while his Ryder Cup teammate and friend Shane Lowry leads the leaderboard on eight-under.
However, the Northern Irishman took the courageous step of leaving his driver behind when he set out with his bag.
The risk seemed to pay off initially, with McIlroy scoring six birdies around the tight Delhi Golf Club course.
Three late bogeys ultimately marred his opening effort, though he remained pleased with his contentious club selection.
“Dog (driver) was out of the bag, probably asleep in the locker,” McIlroy disclosed. “I was sort of thinking about it last night before I went to bed.
“Sometimes if you’re really conservative off a par-five today, you might have like a five-wood into the green, but I’m never going to hit driver. So I just thought I’ve got to two-iron, three-iron, four-iron all the way through, and then I’ve got a five-wood just in case I need to hit it for an approach shot on a par five.
“But I just don’t see any hole out there that I have to hit it more than say 260, 270 (yards) off the tee. It’s pretty tricky.
“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.”
McIlroy made an impressive start, skilfully chipping from the fringe on his first hole – the 10th.
However, the world No. 2 encountered difficulties on the next hole, where he three-putted before struggling to recover, resulting in back-to-back bogeys.
Despite this, the Masters champion managed to secure birdies on both par-fives, finishing the front nine at one-under.
He gained three additional shots over the next seven holes but lost a shot on the eighth, ending with an opening-round score of 69.
Lowry is currently leading the pack, finishing with a birdie to gain a one-shot lead over Keita Nakajima.
Lowry, who was paired with Europe captain Luke Donald and Tommy Fleetwood for the first round, posted a flawless 64 in Delhi.
The second round of the DP World India Championship is set to take place on Friday, Oct. 17.