Niklas Nørgaard played the par-five first with a 5-iron off the tee and a 2-iron to four feet for an eagle, then added six birdies against two bogeys for a six-under 66 and the clubhouse lead on Thursday in New Delhi.
“Just a 5-iron off the tee, which is weird on the par-5, right? And then 2-iron up to four feet,” he said of the start that set the tone.
The 2024 Betfred British Masters at The Belfry was his breakthrough DP World Tour win, which lifted him from 205th to a career-high world ranking of 114th.
McIlroy grinds through a stop-start day
Rory McIlroy, chasing a record-equalling eighth Harry Vardon Trophy, carded a two-under 70 that left him four shots back and tied 13th. He went out in 34 and finished with six straight pars after the weather break.
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“I think I hit the ball pretty well for the most part. Missed a few putts early on, got it going a little bit around the middle and then maybe missed a couple of opportunities when we came back out after the delay,” he told reporters.
“So overall felt like it could have been a couple better but still a solid start.”
The Northern Irishman noted the course set-up had bite.
“No one is really getting away. The golf course is playing a little bit tougher than it did last year just with how long the rough is.”
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Lightning emptied the course for the afternoon
Play was suspended because of lightning and did not resume until 4pm local time. Twelve players did not tee off at all on Thursday and will have to finish round one on Friday.
Among those still on the course when darkness fell were Tom McKibbin, Thomas Detry and Eugenio Chacarra, each five-under at suspension. Tommy Fleetwood was alongside McIlroy on two-under.
Race to Dubai standings tighten ahead of Middle East swing
Patrick Reed sits on 3,423.6 Race to Dubai points, with Chacarra on 3,257.9 and McIlroy on 3,115.9 after the Spaniard leapfrogged the Northern Irishman with a runner-up finish in Spain. The American leader began his round two-over through four holes before play was halted.
“I have to concentrate on myself. I know a good week here, that will set me up well for the last two weeks in the Middle East.”
“My track record in the Middle East is really good, so I don’t need to be leading going into the last two weeks, but if I can just eat into that lead a little bit I feel like I’ll have a good chance going in those final two events.”
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