<p>New Delhi: A little more than two weeks ago, Shane Lowry's clutch putt gave Europe a thrilling Ryder Cup win over the USA that elevated him to superhuman status. </p>.<p>On Thursday, the 38-year-old Irishman's eight-under 64 on the opening day of the DP World India Championship, forced the Delhi Golf Club to bow out of respect towards the golfer. </p>.<p>Calling Lowry's first-round heroics impressive is reducing his resilience on the intimidating course, even if it came with preferred lies (a rule that allows a player to improve the lie of their ball without penalty). Taking up the challenge head-on, the 2019 Open Championship winner returned a card filled with eight birdies and 10 pars. </p>.<p>"I feel like this type of golf course suits me," said Lowry after an eventful day here. "I spend half the year moaning about golf courses that are too wide, so when I get to somewhere like here, I need to take advantage of it." </p>.<p>The 6-feet-1-inch player from Dublin was grouped with his Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald and mate Tommy Fleetwood (both scored 4-under 68). After having gone through everything they had together, Lowry credited the two Englishmen for his blemish-free round on a pleasant Thursday afternoon. </p>.<p>"It's because of a really nice group. We all had a great time. We could hear the horns from the road. It was not as off-putting as the Bethpage crowd," quipped Lowry. </p>.<p>Japan's Keita Nakajima, who doesn't shy away from expressing his love for India, shot a seven-under 65 to sit one behind Lowry at second spot. </p>.<p>Nakajima, the 2024 Hero Indian Open winner and runner-up at the 2025 edition of the event, was locked in from the word go and found his first birdie on the 14th hole (teed off from 10th). After a birdie on the 18th, the 25-year-old Japanese made the turn and holed four birdies in a row from the first to the fourth. Despite a bogey on the sixth, Nakajima closed it out by gaining a shot each on the 17th and the 18th. </p>.<p>Meanwhile the player with the largest crowd tailing him, Rory McIlroy, gave the fans something to cheer about right away. A morning tee off from the 10th, the reigning Masters Champion sank a putt from the fringe for a birdie. Two bogeys followed but the 36-year-old world No. 2 recovered well to end his day at three-under 69 to lie tied-17th.</p>.<p><strong>Gangjee on a roll</strong></p>.<p>Holing a monster of a putt from 60-plus feet, seasoned golfer Rahil Gangjee made a final hole eagle on the 18th for a five-under 67 to be tied-fourth and turn out as the best Indian after the first day. </p>.<p>Dhruv Sheoran carded four-under 68 to be tied-seventh while his more fancied countrymen Anirban Lahiri struggled but put together a two-under 70 (tied-28) even as Shubhankar Sharma fumbled to a two-over 74 (tied-99). </p>.<p class="ListBody"><strong>Scores (after 18 holes): 64:</strong> Shane Lowry (Ire); <strong>65:</strong> Keita Nakajima (Jpn); <strong>66:</strong> Casey Jarvis (SA); <strong>67:</strong> Jorge Campilo (Esp), Jannik De Bruyn (Ger), Rahil Gangjee (Ind). </p>
<p>New Delhi: A little more than two weeks ago, Shane Lowry's clutch putt gave Europe a thrilling Ryder Cup win over the USA that elevated him to superhuman status. </p>.<p>On Thursday, the 38-year-old Irishman's eight-under 64 on the opening day of the DP World India Championship, forced the Delhi Golf Club to bow out of respect towards the golfer. </p>.<p>Calling Lowry's first-round heroics impressive is reducing his resilience on the intimidating course, even if it came with preferred lies (a rule that allows a player to improve the lie of their ball without penalty). Taking up the challenge head-on, the 2019 Open Championship winner returned a card filled with eight birdies and 10 pars. </p>.<p>"I feel like this type of golf course suits me," said Lowry after an eventful day here. "I spend half the year moaning about golf courses that are too wide, so when I get to somewhere like here, I need to take advantage of it." </p>.<p>The 6-feet-1-inch player from Dublin was grouped with his Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald and mate Tommy Fleetwood (both scored 4-under 68). After having gone through everything they had together, Lowry credited the two Englishmen for his blemish-free round on a pleasant Thursday afternoon. </p>.<p>"It's because of a really nice group. We all had a great time. We could hear the horns from the road. It was not as off-putting as the Bethpage crowd," quipped Lowry. </p>.<p>Japan's Keita Nakajima, who doesn't shy away from expressing his love for India, shot a seven-under 65 to sit one behind Lowry at second spot. </p>.<p>Nakajima, the 2024 Hero Indian Open winner and runner-up at the 2025 edition of the event, was locked in from the word go and found his first birdie on the 14th hole (teed off from 10th). After a birdie on the 18th, the 25-year-old Japanese made the turn and holed four birdies in a row from the first to the fourth. Despite a bogey on the sixth, Nakajima closed it out by gaining a shot each on the 17th and the 18th. </p>.<p>Meanwhile the player with the largest crowd tailing him, Rory McIlroy, gave the fans something to cheer about right away. A morning tee off from the 10th, the reigning Masters Champion sank a putt from the fringe for a birdie. Two bogeys followed but the 36-year-old world No. 2 recovered well to end his day at three-under 69 to lie tied-17th.</p>.<p><strong>Gangjee on a roll</strong></p>.<p>Holing a monster of a putt from 60-plus feet, seasoned golfer Rahil Gangjee made a final hole eagle on the 18th for a five-under 67 to be tied-fourth and turn out as the best Indian after the first day. </p>.<p>Dhruv Sheoran carded four-under 68 to be tied-seventh while his more fancied countrymen Anirban Lahiri struggled but put together a two-under 70 (tied-28) even as Shubhankar Sharma fumbled to a two-over 74 (tied-99). </p>.<p class="ListBody"><strong>Scores (after 18 holes): 64:</strong> Shane Lowry (Ire); <strong>65:</strong> Keita Nakajima (Jpn); <strong>66:</strong> Casey Jarvis (SA); <strong>67:</strong> Jorge Campilo (Esp), Jannik De Bruyn (Ger), Rahil Gangjee (Ind). </p>