McIlroy targets Race to Dubai gains at DP World India Championship from Thursday
The DP World India Championship opens on Thursday, 15 October, with Rory McIlroy third in the Race to Dubai, 307 points behind leader Patrick Reed. Four season-ending events remain.
Race to Dubai race enters its final stretch
The DP World India Championship starts on Thursday, 15 October, in New Delhi, and Rory McIlroy arrives third in the Race to Dubai standings. He trails leader Patrick Reed by 307 points and second-placed Eugenio Chacarra by 142 points. Four events remain in the season, in India, South Korea, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and McIlroy plans to play three of them. Reed has lost momentum after a shoulder injury forced him out of the BMW PGA Championship and he missed the cut at the Open de Espana. Chacarra has moved above McIlroy with a tie for third at the French Open and a tie for second in Spain.
- Patrick Reed (leader)
- 307 points
- Eugenio Chacarra (second)
- 142 points
McIlroy's game plan at Delhi Golf Club
The Lodhi Course at Delhi Golf Club is short and tight, and McIlroy concedes it is not the best fit for his style of play. He plans to keep the driver out of the equation and rely on position rather than power. He wants to win the event and close the gap before the Middle East leg, where he hopes to chase an eighth Race to Dubai title that would equal Colin Montgomerie's record of eight Order of Merit titles. He also has the 2027 Ryder Cup on his list and wants to earn points for Europe. He put his approach plainly:
I'm here to win the tournament. I'm not here to hit drivers.
LIV 2.0 and the DP World Tour membership rule
The DP World Tour has ruled that players who sign up for the proposed LIV 2.0 relaunch cannot remain tour members. El Periodico reports that dual membership will not be possible from 2027, after Saudi Arabia's sovereign fund stopped financing LIV last August. LIV's original format has applied for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and the new project is being pursued with other investors. McIlroy backed the decision and said the tour is "well within its rights" to change its rules. He framed the ruling as ordinary membership terms, and said at the Bloomberg New Economy forum in New Delhi on Monday, 12 October, that LIV had "probably like, half of a good idea that was executed pretty poorly". He put the core point this way:
If you sign up for LIV 2.0, you won't be a member of the DP World Tour. It's simple.
Reed's position and the chase
Reed joined the DP World Tour after his contract expired in January, a move that followed the PGA Tour's year-long suspension policy. He is in contention to be only the second American to win the Race to Dubai. On Wednesday, 14 October, he said he had been accepted from day one by the tour. He said he was not looking over his shoulder and that there are too many events left to worry about what McIlroy and Chacarra are doing. Reed also declared that the race is still open. He described his position in one line:
It feels great to be in the driver's seat.
Fashion and recovery plans
McIlroy has switched to baggy golf trousers, following Tommy Fleetwood, and he calls the fit a work in progress after saying the pants sit a little low and short. He is also building a replica of the performance trailer he uses in the United States for fitness and recovery during PGA Tour events. He took the idea from Novak Djokovic and from Justin Rose, who won in Memphis last year at 45, when McIlroy was 36. McIlroy aims to have the trailer running by summer 2027, the point at which he could chase a record-equalling eighth Order of Merit title.
