Rory McIlroy made a decent start to his first tournament since Europe’s Ryder Cup victory with a three-under 69 at the DP World India Championship as Shane Lowry claimed the opening-round lead after shooting a sparkling 64.

McIlroy, after opting to leave the driver out of his bag, registered six birdies and three bogeys at Delhi Golf Club on Thursday and finds himself five shots adrift of Ryder Cup team-mate Lowry.

Lowry – whose putt at Bethpage Black last month ensured the Ryder Cup would remain in European hands – peeled off eight birdies, including five in a row between 11 and 15, on a blemish-free day and holds a one-stroke advantage over Japan’s Keita Nakajima.

Another European Ryder Cup hero, Tommy Fleetwood, signed for a four-under 68 – his highlight holing out from a bunker for eagle at 14 – with captain Luke Donald matching Fleetwood’s score on the day to join his fellow Englishman in a share of seventh place.

Lowry, Fleetwood and Donald played alongside each other and all birdied 18 – after a dog escaped onto the course and delayed their round-ending putts.

‘Conservative’ McIlroy: Course played tougher than expected

McIlroy, joint 18th after round one, played the back nine first and picked up a shot immediately with a chip-in from the fringe at 10, before successive blemishes to follow ahead of birdies at 14 and 18.

McIlroy then made back-to-back birdies at two and three prior to another gain at seven, while he then bogeyed the 522-yard eighth before closing with a par.

Speaking afterwards about opting to go without his driver, the world No 2 said: “I was thinking about it last night before I went to bed. I just don’t see any hole out there that I have to hit it more than, say 260, 270 yards off the tee.”

On his round, McIlroy added:” You’re just really trying to be as conservative as possible off the tee. You’re trying to pick off birdies on the par-fives and then maybe a couple more, but it’s a tricky golf course. It definitely played a little tougher than I expected.

“I thought some of the hole locations early on were really tricky. You play a practice round or a pro-am and the pins are all in the middle of the green. Then you get to tournament day and they start to tuck them away a little bit.”

McIlroy is playing alongside Ryder Cup colleague Viktor Hovland and Team USA’s Ben Griffin across the opening two rounds in India.

Hovland, who had to withdraw from the Sunday singles at Bethpage due to a neck injury, registered a one-under 71, with Griffin recording a four-under 68 to sit alongside Fleetwood and Donald in the top 10.

Watch the DP World India Championship live on Sky Sports. Coverage of day two begins at 7.30am on Friday on Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour and more contract-free with NOW.

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