Rory McIlroy returns to action this week at the DP World India Championship, which gets underway at Delhi Golf Club on Thursday.
McIlroy is back playing on the DP World Tour after a successful appearance for Team Europe at the Ryder Cup.
The Northern Irishman shone under captain Luke Donald as Europe defeated the USA 15-13 at Bethpage Black in New York late last month.
McIlroy has 20 DP World Tour wins to his name, and occupies top spot in the Race to Dubai rankings ahead of the DP World India Championship.
He is also in double figures for professional wins in Asia, with another now a possibility given the supposed advantage he has in India this week.
Rory McIlroy claimed to have a big advantage at the DP World India Championship
Speaking ahead of the tournament, LIV Golf star Anirban Lahiri was asked what is needed to “tame the beast” on the Delhi course.
The Indian, who is also in the field on home soil, responded: “I don’t know if you tame it, you just make friends with it.
“When you can’t beat them, you join them. That’s what I tried to do. You can’t try and overpower this golf course.
“I think that was what I tried to do when I was younger and more fearless and didn’t think… I was bulletproof, so to speak.
“No, I burned myself quite a few times, missed plenty of cuts, made a lot of big numbers, and then I went back to the drawing board and kind of realised what I needed to do to play consistently.
“I think my goal was to find a consistency on this golf course, and that eventually led to putting myself in contention and then eventually winning a number of times.
“But the whole idea for me was to try and figure out where to be aggressive, where to be conservative, and from being aggressive off the tee, to being conservative off the tee and aggressive on the second shot.
“I pulled the driver out of the bag, something you’ll find a lot of players doing this week. I’ve had a chat with some of my… some of the caddies of my colleagues who are here for the first time, and they were picking my brain, and I’d be very surprised to see too many of the stars carrying a driver. That was one of the things I did.
“But just also navigating, understanding what strategically is the best way for me to counter the challenge of DGC, which is, like I said, put myself more in play and then depending on my appetite for aggression, it will always be on the approach shot, not on the tee shot.”
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And when asked if big hitters like McIlroy have an advantage even if they don’t use their drivers, Lahiri replied: “Absolutely, yes. I mean, speed is your friend.
“Golf 20 years ago or 25 years ago when I first played my first junior event here in 1999 maybe, to hit the ball 240, 250 yards, some people were hitting driver, some people were hitting 3-wood.
“I’m just guessing here, but Rory probably gets that out of his 4-iron or 3-iron. Someone like a Bryson [DeChambeau] gets that out of his 5-iron.
“Is it easier to hit a 5-iron compared to a 3-wood? Definitely, because the nature of the course hasn’t changed.
“You still have to hit it into the same areas, and some of the stronger, faster, more athletic players of today are still going to hit it in the same area, but they’re going to use lesser club.
“So yes, it’s an advantage. Do I expect Rory to take his driver out and bomb away? I don’t think so, not after my chat with Harry yesterday. I don’t think so.”
Which tournaments has Rory McIlroy won in Asia ahead of the DP World India Championship?
McIlroy may be quietly confident of another victory this week, given the course setup and indeed his season so far.
Not only did he impress for Team Europe at the Ryder Cup, but he also claimed three PGA Tour titles earlier this year, notably winning The Masters at Augusta National.
He will also be in high spirits ahead of a DP World Tour debut in India, while his record in Asia speaks for itself.
Intriguingly for fans, McIlroy has been paired with his Ryder Cup teammate Viktor Hovland and his opponent Ben Griffin for rounds one and two in New Delhi.
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