🔗 Share this article

Rory McIlroy breaks new ground by playing in the Indian tournament this week as he makes his comeback to competition for the first time since the prestigious team event.

As the golf superstar expands his golfing horizons, the European golf circuit begins the final phase of this year's season-long championship. The world-class golfer is in the leading spot to claim the season-long title for the fourth consecutive year and seventh time overall.

There are only three more events after the Indian event; the subsequent week's Genesis Championship in South Korea - which wraps up the second half of the tour calendar - and then the last two competitions in the Middle East.

These high-stakes playoff tournaments in the UAE capital and Dubai are reserved for the top 70 and then top 50 in the standings.

But for players such as Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry, who are also in this week's field in the subcontinent, there is less pressure than you might imagine.

Sitting below the top 70, at initial inspection it would seem both require strong performances from their trip to the Indian course to extend their seasons. Yet, in fact, they are guaranteed in advance of their positions in Abu Dhabi and the final event.

This is due to a rarely discussed but practical loophole whereby members of the European squad are also deemed qualified for the upcoming season finale events.

Fleetwood, who won the American playoff series with his stirring win at the season-ending event in Atlanta, lies 94th in the continental circuit's season-long table. Lowry, who sank the putt that retained the Ryder Cup, is one hundred fifty-fifth.

Additional squad members who can also qualify are Ludvig Aberg (seventy-second) and Straka (147th).

This could question the integrity of a playoff structure, which by definition is supposed to bring intense high-stakes drama, but this situation also illustrates realities faced by the headquartered European circuit.

The tour is reliant on major sponsors such as the title partner, who are also the naming sponsors of this week's event in the Asian nation. They need the top players at their premier tournaments to justify the investment, which runs to substantial funding.

Fleetwood has experienced one of his most successful campaigns, highlighted by his first win on American soil at East Lake just under two months ago.

He is one of the continent's superstars and, honestly, it would be unthinkable to stage the 2025 season finale without him.

Practical considerations overrides competitive integrity, even though the world number five - a Dubai resident - has saved his best performances for tournaments that do not count on his home tour.

Fleetwood has to date played only four DP World Tour events and failed to place in the top 20 at any tournament; the Dubai Desert Classic, UK tournament, BMW PGA Championship or Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Major championships also contribute on the season standings and his sixteenth-place finish at the Open was his sole high finish in the big four tournaments. But on the American-based circuit he achieved seven placements in the top five.

Fleetwood was also the team's highest contributor at the New York course last month. It would be ridiculous for him not to be taking his place with the circuit's top performers at the end of the campaign.

While in the previous era the American and European circuits were deadly rivals they are now inextricably linked thanks to the strategic alliance that supports European tour prize funds.

While Marco Penge, last week's winner of the Spanish Open, has moved into close pursuit as his nearest challenger at the top of the season championship, much of the interest for the rest of the season will have an American bias.

The narrative will be shaped by the scramble for ten spots on the American circuit for those who do not already have tour cards in the US. Penge, with three DPWT wins, is guaranteed of what is widely regarded as advancement to the US circuit.

The Clitheroe-based pro, who also secured invites to the Masters and British Open with his Madrid victory, is not in the India field but will mount a last effort to try to overhaul McIlroy at the top of the rankings.

And the English competitor, the player Penge defeated in the Spanish playoff, is one of four other Britons in the thick of the competition for a 2026 PGA card.

Northern golfer John Parry and the West Country pair of Jordan Smith and Laurie Canter also presently hold positions that would yield a valuable opportunity for the coming season.

Certain analysts view this development as evidence that the DP World Tour is now nothing more than a feeder for the larger circuit on the other side of the pond.

But the organization argue it is a crucial system that supports their tour calendar, a essential and attractive element that optimizes playing opportunities for its members.

Certainly this is the season period where the realities and compromises of elite golf competition seem at their most evident.