Here’s a full rundown of what Rory McIlroy did — and how he beat a brutal test that many others struggled with — at the DP World India Championship:
Context & Challenge
This was McIlroy’s first professional appearance in India, at the inaugural DP World India Championship held at the Delhi Golf Club.
The Delhi Golf Club course is narrow, tree‑lined, with treacherous rough and demanding green conditions. Many players found the layout punishing — especially off the tee, where errant drives could lead to trouble.
McIlroy admitted the course was “a little tougher than I expected.”
A particular issue: the rough was unpredictable, yielding bad lies (“fliers,” buried balls) if you missed the fairway.
The greens were also tricky — grainy, with uphill putts slow, downhill ones fast. Placement (staying below the hole) was very important.
In short: precision was at a premium. The standard, aggressive “hit it far and let it ride” approach was risky in Delhi.
What Rory Did Differently — His Strategy
McIlroy essentially neutralized the biggest threats of the course by voluntarily removing his driver from play — a rare move for a player so known for power. Here’s how:
1. He “ditched” his driver
McIlroy left his driver (“the big dog”) in the locker. He joked:
> “Dog was out of the bag, probably asleep in the locker.”
His reasoning: none of the holes required more than ~ 260–270 yards off the tee. So the extra distance the driver offered wasn’t worth the risk of landing in the rough.
Instead, he used long irons and fairway woods: 2‑iron, 3‑iron, 4‑iron, and a 5-wood when necessary (especially for par-5 approach shots).
2. Conservative off the tee, opportunistic on par-5s
With the driver out of the equation, McIlroy forced himself to be more conservative with tee shots — aiming to stay in fairways, avoid the rough, and accept shorter approach distances.
On par-5s, he still looked for chances: the 5-wood served as a backup when he needed extra yardage into the green.
3. Smart approach play & putting
Because he often was shorter into greens, he had to be precise with his iron shots, favoring safer parts of the greens (e.g. having line up putts downhill or from below the hole) rather than attacking tucked pin locations too aggressively.
He emphasized that the greens’ graininess made uphill putts slow, and downhill ones very fast, so leaving yourself below the hole was crucial.
The Result — How That Helped Him “Beat” the Test
Despite not carrying a driver, McIlroy shot a 3-under 69 in the opening round, with six birdies and three bogeys.
That score left him five shots behind the leader (Shane Lowry).
More importantly, his conservative strategy allowed him to avoid large errors that were likely to wreck one’s round on this course. In a place where many would lose multiple shots off the tee, McIlroy’s design minimized that vulnerability.
He was able to “pick off” birdies on par-5s and safer holes, rather than force risky shots that could blow up his day.
He admitted that in practice rounds or pro-ams, pin placements are simpler (middle of greens), and then tournament day they hide more pins, so his more cautious strategy gave him a margin of safety.
So, in essence:
Everyone else tempted fate by using driver, risking errant tee shots and penalty trouble.
McIlroy opted to sideline his driver, accept slightly shorter approach shots, and play a cleaner, safer game.
By doing so, he neutralized one of the biggest “tests” of the course: the punishing rough and narrow margins. That’s how he “beat” what was brutal to many.