Rory McIlroy didn’t have the Saturday round he needed to bring himself firmly in contention at the DP World India Championship.
He shot a 68, his best round of the tournament so far, but on a day where scores were low all around, he finds himself seven shots back of the leading Keita Nakajima.
It’s hard to make a charge around this narrow golf course in India. McIlroy said he wouldn’t get too aggressive after his second round, as there is too much risk in hitting his driver at Delhi Golf Club.
While there are birdie opportunities around the course, McIlroy’s iron play has been inconsistent. The 2025 Masters winner has struggled to find greens in regulation at times.
Despite that, he said what he has to do on Sunday’s round to get in contention for the victory.
Rory McIlroy says what he needs to do to win India Championship
Players are getting used to this unique course, and scores are gradually coming down. While McIlroy shot his best round of the tournament so far, Nakajima made seven birdies to create some separation between him and the rest of the field.
That means McIlroy needs a red-hot start to Sunday, and he’ll go from there. He said whether he thinks a win is still possible.
“Still quite a bit back, depending on how the guys play the back nine,” he said. “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’s biggest priority on Sunday has to be keeping the ball on the fairway, then trusting his iron play in the hopes that he can get some longer putts to drop.
If he does that, anything is possible, but he needs to hone his approach play.
Rory McIlroy says what he could have done better so far at the India Championship
McIlroy had five birdies and a bogey to make for a four-under round on Saturday. It was a solid effort, but realistically, it’s birdies, not pars, that are going to win the tournament this weekend.
While McIlroy was satisfied with that performance, he recognised that he left a better score on the table.
He said, “The course played pretty similar to the first two days. Not that there was much wind the first two days, but there’s even less today.
“I think the scoring is pretty good. I think people are getting used to the golf course, taking advantage of the holes that they should.
“I played okay today. I felt like I could have been a lot better. I missed a lot of putts, missed a lot of chances. You put the ball in play, you’re going to have a lot of chances at birdies.”
If he makes some big putts early, a Rory roar could echo around the jungle of Delhi.
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