Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy, who were victorious as teammates in the 2025 Ryder Cup, are now competitors in the DP World India Championship. They’re chasing Tommy Fleetwood into the final round, with Lowry just one shot behind Fleetwood and McIlroy further down the leaderboard at T15.
Fleetwood, currently in second place behind Keita Nakajima, is only two shots off the lead. Despite his advantageous position, he’s not planning an aggressive strategy for Sunday’s final round.
“I just don’t think the course allows you to be that aggressive,” Fleetwood said after his round. “The pins again today were pretty tucked. I felt like the pins yesterday were a bit easier to get to.”
Drawing comparisons to Augusta National, Fleetwood emphasized that the course requires patience and precision over risk-taking.
“You can only hit the shot that the course gives you, and I feel like this is very similar,” he noted. “It just stops you from being aggressive. You have to play the right shots at the right time, and if you have a wedge in your hand you’re going to have to try and be a bit more aggressive and take it on a little bit,” Fleetwood explained.
He stressed the importance of discipline, saying, “You have to be very disciplined still and try to get the best out of the round tomorrow,”.
Meanwhile, McIlroy, who is seven shots off the lead, remains hopeful about his chances for a comeback. However, he acknowledged that he’ll need something special to catch up with Fleetwood.
“Yeah, still quite a bit back, depending on how the guys play the back nine. But I’d imagine that if I shoot a low one tomorrow I could post a score and see what happens. But I’d say I’m probably two shots too far behind to have a realistic chance. But I could go out and shoot a low one tomorrow,” McIlroy stated.
Lowry had a tough time on the back nine but was encouraged by a birdie on the final hole to stay in contention. “Yeah, I got very frustrated on the back nine today,” Lowry confessed.
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“I started to hit very loose shots, made some silly mistakes. It was disappointing… but it was nice to birdie the last. I made a couple of really silly errors, mental errors, but it is what it is. I’m still only three back,” Lowry added.
Lowry remains optimistic about his chances. “I’ll reset tonight and look at the leaderboard. I’m in a great position in this tournament. I like the golf course. I think it suits me, and I think I’ll have a low score out there. I’ve already shown that once this week. I’ll need a low one tomorrow to try and win,” he noted.
