Watch out for the dog on the green.
That’s what Shane Lowry had to do on the closing par-5 18th hole Thursday at Delhi Golf Club, when a pup ran on the green at the DP World India Championship to assist players in lining up their putts. Good for Lowry, as the Irishman buried the birdie look to take the outright lead after the opening round.
Lowry, who birdied five straight holes on the back nine in the opening round, signed for 8-under 64 on Thursday, good for a one-shot advantage over Japan’s Keita Nakajima. Ben Griffin is in a group at 5 under. Tommy Fleetwood, Brian Harman, Luke Donald and Michael Kim are all sitting at 4 under while Rory McIlroy, in his first trip to India, is at 3 under following Thursday’s action.
Live scenes from the 18th green 🐶#DPWICpic.twitter.com/6QaoaW49Cz
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 16, 2025
“I putted nicely today,” Lowry said. “I played nice. Gave myself a lot of chances and then I birdied a few on the back nine, it was pretty nice.
“It was a really nice group, playing with Luke and Tommy. We all had a great time and we all played pretty good. I just rolled off a few more birdies than they did on the back nine.”
Lowry and Fleetwood played for Donald only three weeks ago in the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, helping the Euros win on foreign soil for the first time in more than a decade. Lowry earned two points that week, going 1-0-2 for Europe.
And at Delhi Golf Club, which is one of the narrowest golf courses used for a professional tournament, he’s finding success early and not just on the greens.
“I feel like this type of golf course suits me,” Lowry said. “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 that, and I did that today and hopefully I can keep doing that for the rest of the week.”
Lowry hit only 57.1 percent of his fairways but found all but one green during his round, a recipe for success if he can keep it up as the week continues in the second largest city in the world.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: DP World India Championship: Shane Lowry lead after opening round
