‘Dog was out of the bag’: Rory McIlroy doubles down on unusual strategy in India

There were mumblings all week. Given the tight, tree-lined fairways at Delhi GC, players were expecting to keep their drivers in their bags for most of the 2025 DP World India Championship.

But Rory McIlroy took it one step further. In Thursday’s opening round, the five-time major champion didn’t even carry his driver.

The strategy paid off with a solid start, though not as solid as one of his European Ryder Cup teammates.

Why Rory McIlroy didn’t carry driver at India Championship

The signs were clear ahead of the tournament, when McIlroy first revealed the unusual strategy he was mulling for the week.

“I’d say that the next time I hit my driver will be in Abu Dhabi,” McIlory joked Wednesday. “I don’t think I’ll hit a driver this week. I just don’t feel like the risk is worth the reward. I’d rather leave myself two or three clubs back and hit a 7-iron into a par-4 instead of hitting a wedge where if you just get it off-line here and the ball is gone. You’re hitting it into jungle and you’re not going to be able to get it out. You can rack up a very big number very quickly.”

And he wasn’t alone. Plenty of other star pros laid out similar plans due to the tough test that is Delhi GC, which you can read all about here.

During McIlroy’s final practice round, his driver could be seen in his golf bag carried by caddie Harry Diamond.

But when McIlroy finally began his round on Thursday, his driver, along with its famed St. Bernard dog headcover, was nowhere to be seen.

After his round, McIlroy confirmed the news with a joke in his post-round chat with reporters.

“Dog was out of the bag, probably asleep in the locker,” McIlroy said.

He continued by explaining that in a final late-night strategy session, he realized that if he wasn’t going to hit his driver, he might as well leave it at home and replace it with something he could use. A 2-iron and 5-wood appeared to be his choices.

“I was sort of thinking about it last night before I went to bed,” McIlroy began. “Well, sometimes if you’re really conservative off a par-5 today, you might have like a 5-wood into the green, but I’m never going to hit driver, so I just thought I’ve got 2-iron, 3-iron, 4-iron all the way through, and then I’ve got a 5-wood just in case I need to hit it for an approach shot on a par-5. But I just don’t see any hole out there that I hit to hit it more than say 260, 270 off the tee.”

Given that he ranked second in driving distance on the PGA Tour in 2025 with a 323-yard average, his driver, often his biggest weapon, was just too much club.

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Shane Lowry, Ryder Cup players shine in Round 1 at India Championship

It’s hard to fault McIlroy’s strategy given his results in the opening round. The reigning Masters champion shot a three-under 69 on the difficult course, carding six birdies and three bogeys.

Despite the good start, McIlroy was outdone by multiple other players involved in the 2025 Ryder Cup.

None more so than European teammate Shane Lowry. Lowry, who secured one of the crucial final half points to help Europe win at Bethpage Black, fired an eight-under 64 to take a one-shot lead.

Lowry’s round came together on the back nine, where he made five-straight birdies from holes 11-15 and then birdied the last for a 30.

Another European Ryder Cup star, FedEx Cup champion Tommy Fleetwood, is one ahead of McIlroy after shooting 68 in Round 1. He finds himself tied with European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald.

They’re among a large group tied for seventh at four under that includes the sole player in the field representing the 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup team: Ben Griffin.