Main Photo Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images

Dog Steals Spotlight as Lowry Leads; McIlroy Stays Driver-Free

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports | By Ajayi Segun | Last updated Oct 16, 2025 3:58 PM ET

Shane Lowry hit five straight birdies on the back nine before firing an opening eight-under 64 to give him a one-shot lead over Keita Nakajima in the DP World India Championship. A friendly dog stole the show when it wandered across the fairway just before Lowry made a birdie on the 18th. Meanwhile, World No. 2 Rory McIlroy trails five shots back after leaving his driver out of the bag and carding a three-under 69.

Lowry In Impressive Start to Opening Round

A dog appeared during the opening round, just as Lowry was lining up his approach shot. The dog trotted confidently across the grass, wagging its tail as security quickly guided it away, Fresh from holing the decisive putt that sealed Europe’s Ryder Cup triumph at Bethpage Black last month and missing the cut at last week’s Open de España, Shane Lowry delivered a superb opening round packed with eight birdies. He hit five of the birdies in a row from the 11th to the 15th, to finish flawless and one stroke clear of Japan’s Keita Nakajima.

Shane Lowry made birdie on 18 at the India Championship to take the solo lead after round 1… but not before a dog interrupted play on 18 green

pic.twitter.com/0Kj4TEq4gs

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) October 16, 2025

“We could hear the horns from the road – it was not as off-putting as the Bethpage crowd !” Lowry said in his post match media round. ‘It was a really nice group, playing with Luke Donald and Tommy Fleetwood. We had a great time. We all played pretty good and I just rolled off a few more birdies than they did on the back nine. There was a little Ryder Cup chat but we are all professional golfers and ultimately we all want to beat each other, even though we are friends.”

McIlroy Finds Delhi Golf Club Tricky

Rory McIlroy opted to leave his driver out of his golf bag at the Delhi Golf Club. The 36-year-old chipped in from the fringe on the 10th — his opening hole — before slipping to back-to-back bogeys. He then picked up shots on the par-fives 14th and 18th and gained three more shots on his back nine before a bogey six at the eighth, as he settled on a 69 in the inaugural tournament.

The Northern Irishman will be hoping to bounce back on Friday. Despite going for a safer approach off the tee, the World No. 2 still found Delhi Golf Club trickier than he anticipated. McIlroy is playing alongside fellow European Ryder Cup star Viktor Hovland and Team USA’s Ben Griffin across the opening two rounds in India.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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