A sensational back nine propelled Shane Lowry into a first round lead at the DP World India Championship in New Delhi.
After a tidy two-under par outward nine, Europe's Ryder Cup hero at Bethpage reeled off five birdies on the trot between the 11th and 15th holes to jump into a share of the lead with Japan's Keita Nakajima, who had set the early pace with a 65 in the morning.
Coming to the par-5 18, Lowry needed a birdie to take sole possession of the lead. His drive flirted with disaster, bouncing right of the cart path but fortunately stopping just short of the trees.
He drilled an iron approach into the valley just short of the green and expertly got up and down for birdie to post an opening round of 64.
.@ShaneLowryGolf birdies the last to take the outright lead in India. 🇮🇪#DPWIC pic.twitter.com/bNk9fkHOBF
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 16, 2025
It capped off a flawless opening round for Lowry, who didn't drop a single stroke throughout on a course which demands precision.
However, it was the hot streak early on the back nine, Lowry rolling in a series of birdie putts amid glorious approach play, that propelled him to the top of the leaderboard. His sole iffy approach shot in this stretch came at the par-5 14th, the 2019 Open champion getting up and down from the sand for birdie.
Lowry was partnered on Thursday with his Ryder Cup teammate Tommy Fleetwood and European captain Luke Donald, both of carded four-under par rounds of 68.
"It was a really nice group, playing with Luke and Tommy," said Lowry, who holed the putt to retain the Ryder Cup at Bethpage.
"We all had a great time and we all played pretty good and I just rolled off a few more birdies than they did on the back nine.
"We could hear the horns from the road – it was not as off-putting as the Bethpage crowd.
"There was a little Ryder Cup chat out there but at the end of the day we are all professional golfers and ultimately we all want to beat each other, even though we are friends."
Lowry currently leads by one stroke from Nakajima, with Casey Jarvis a shot further back on six under par.
Rory McIlroy is five strokes adrift of his compatriot in tied-20th after carding a three-under par opening round, in which he left his driver out of the bag.
Beginning on the back nine, McIlroy began with a birdie before being rocked by successive bogeys at 11 and 12.
He recovered with a birdie at the par-5 14th before a strong spell around the turn, with three birdies in four holes taking him to three-under.
A 25ft birdie putt at the par-3 seventh saw him climb to four-under, however, a wayward drive on the par-5 eight forced him to hack out of the trees and he made bogey.
Don't miss the fairways at Delhi Golf Club 🌳#DPWIC pic.twitter.com/0kiKgwkD4f
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 16, 2025
"Dog (driver) was out of the bag, probably asleep in the locker. I was sort of thinking about it last night before I went to bed," McIlroy said of his club selection in his post-round interview.
"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."
The third Irish player in the field, Conor Purcell, is languishing on three-over par with three holes remaining. The Dubliner paid the price for driving into the bushes off the tee on 13, eventually incurring a treble bogey.
