NEW DELHI, INDIA – OCTOBER 15: Rory Mcilroy walks towards the 17th green before the DP World India Championship 2025 at Delhi Golf Club on October 15, 2025 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Prakash Singh/Getty Images) New Delhi: Go where the crowd is. And you find Rory.There was no wind, but word swirled around the DGC foliage. That McIlroy walked off the 13th green in the Pro-am complaining of the heat. Someone else heard he was way behind as the patrons gathered around Clubhouse 18 settled into yawning on a slow, languid Wednesday afternoon.And then he emerged.“Rory! Rory!” the autograph-seeking children chanted before falling silent.The main draw of the $4m DP World India Championship was in the bunker. Wedge, two heels and hugs everywhere. It was just a test and a warning.
Rory McIlroy arrives in India (Image credit: flushingitgolf/Instagram)
For someone who has been there, done that and fulfilled his Masters dreams this season, it didn’t take him long to understand the nature of the course.“I would say the next time I hit my driver will be in Abu Dhabi (in November),” the world number two said to laughter. “I just don’t feel like the risk is worth the reward. I’d rather be two or three clubs back and hit a seven iron for a par four instead of hitting a wedge where you just get it off line and the ball is gone.”The jungle book that is DGC could open up chapters of discontent. “You can build up a very big number very quickly. So being strategic and being smart off the tee, especially, is very important. I can see why SSP (Chawrasia) has done so well here. You just keep hitting it up the middle, hit it 260, 250, 260 (yards) every time, and if you do it very well, you can do it around this golf course.”So he had it figured out. Practices start already on Thursday.
Rory McIlroy faced heckling during the second day’s thrilling action at Bethpage Black (Image via Getty Images)
It was once an interview with tennis god Roger Federer that inspired him to take such a journey into the unknown. “After 20 or 18 years of your career, you don’t want to go to the same monotonous places. At the end of his career, Roger said he wanted to play where he could never play in his career.” McIlroy said last month.“India is a country I’ve wanted to travel to for a long time. Yes, it’s a very vibrant place. I’m excited to play a golf tournament in a place I’ve never played before. Still being able to do things for the first time is something that excites me. I’ve watched tournaments on this course over the years on TV and it certainly lives up to its reputation,” he told us.While the dense forest won’t hurt Rory, he was undoubtedly distressed by the barrage of abuse hurled at him and his wife Erica by rowdy American spectators at the Ryder Cup. But a fortnight’s reflection softened the hostility.McIlroy, who would one day like to wear the European captain’s hat but “not until the mid-thirties”, believed the Bethpage Black triumph should not be looked back on in anger. “I’ve been watching that kind of narrative, but unfortunately I think it takes away from what we’ve been focusing on, which is the incredible performance of the European team at the outdoor Ryder Cup. Just in the last two weeks, when I’ve been able to watch the highlights and especially the first two days, in the fours and on the four balls, how good the European team has been.”
Europe’s Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland watches his tee shot on the 12th hole during a practice round of the Ryder Cup golf tournament, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at Bethpage Black Golf Course in Farmingdale, N.Y. (AP Photo/Robert Bukaty)
“The Americans would hit it close; we hit it closer. The Americans played a putt and we played a putt to overcome it and it happened every time. The unfortunate thing is people don’t remember it and they remember that week for the wrong reason. I’d like to shift the narrative.”But with golf, generally known for its traditions and etiquette, gradually being played in a football atmosphere, can the game grow?“I definitely think it can. You don’t want your sport to be unwelcoming to newcomers. But you also don’t want newcomers coming into the game and destroying the centuries-old traditions and values of what the game stands for or what it stands for. I think there has to be a balance.“It can grow in a way where people who come into the game still respect and recognize that it’s a little bit different than maybe other sports. And I think that’s okay.”Golf doesn’t have to be the NFL, he reiterated. “I think the only great thing about golf is that it’s more of a participatory sport than other games. Basketball or football are mostly watched by people, where golf and in some ways cricket in this country are the games that are played. I’d like more people to watch golf, but I’d be more interested in more people playing the game, and I think when people play the game, then they learn and know what golf is, what it is.”
Europe’s Rory McIlroy speaks during a news conference at the Ryder Cup golf tournament Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, at Bethpage Black Golf Course in Farmingdale, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Sport can be the biggest reality show these days and it can be difficult for players to play their part, admitted the 36-year-old from Holywood, Northern Ireland. “There’s very little content on TV right now that can really do that. We don’t know the outcome. We don’t know what’s going to happen, and that’s wonderful. But it’s a big business, and the more eyeballs it can draw is ultimately a good thing if it can be used in the right way. But when it comes to gambling, and especially, they give America a big money problem.”“At its core, watching sports is still very pure and it’s still pure competition. I think athletes these days have to do a better job of blocking out the noise. So don’t go on social media, don’t try to read into yourself. It’s easier said than done, but it’s better for their performance, their mental health and their longevity in the sport.”For now, our focus is on India and this ideal of becoming a global golfer.
NEW DELHI, INDIA – OCTOBER 15: Rory Mcilroy (L) tees off on the 18th hole ahead of the DP World India Championship 2025 at Delhi Golf Club on October 15, 2025 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Prakash Singh/Getty Images)
“As time goes on, hopefully my schedule will be more international. I think I’ve enjoyed it even more in the last couple of years. I’ve enjoyed the travel. You have a choice in non-Ryder Cup years, but this event certainly fits into a nice part of the year.”Not so Hero Indian Open. “March is such a difficult time of year to make it work. We’re in the States at The Players or Bay Hill or preparing for the Masters.”But he would like to play DLF. “I think it’s become an infamous golf course around the world, just the bunker, and the 17th hole just seems like an absolute menace. If I come back next year, I might play there.”His bucket list for India would certainly include the Taj Mahal with his family. And cricket. “I’d like to go and watch the match. I’m a bit sick; I love sitting and watching Test matches. I’ll be in Australia later this year and the Ashes will be on. So that’s something I’m quite excited about, but I don’t think I’ll get to the match. I think my immediate thing I’m hoping for now is to be here.”
Vote
What aspect of golf do you think should be a priority for growth?
There were stories that the Grand Slam winner was inspired by the Bhagavad Gita before his Masters breakthrough. “Look, there’s very little I haven’t tried in my Masters campaign,” the five-time Major winner said with a smile. “If I’d heard they had good ideas on the moon, I’d probably read them too. But more than anything, I gravitate towards Stoicism and the ancient Greeks.”That’s one philosophy Rory and the others will need in the tight confines of the DGC when they step out this morning.McIlroy’s Round 1 Group and Tee: 07:15 Rory McIlroy (NIR), Viktor Hovland (NOR), Ben Griffin (USA)
