India Championship R1: Lowry jokes about Ryder Cup abuse after taking early lead
Shane Lowry admitted noise from traffic during the opening round of the DP World India Championship was not nearly as off-putting than unruly US Ryder Cup fans.
Pos | Player | Total score |
1 | Shane Lowry | -8 |
2 | Keita Nakajima | -7 |
3 | Casey Jarvis | -6 |
4 | Rahil Gangjee | -5 |
4 | Jannik De Bruyn | -5 |
4 | Jorge Campillo | -5 |
7 | Brian Harman | -4 |
7 | Tommy Fleetwood | -4 |
7 | Luke Donald | -4 |
7 | Zander Lombard | -4 |
7 | Joost Luiten | -4 |
7 | Ben Griffin | -4 |
7 | Ignacio Elvira | -4 |
7 | Marcel Schneider | -4 |
7 | Michael Kim | -4 |
7 | Dhruv Sheoran | -4 |
17 | Julien Guerrier | -3 |
17 | Brandon Robinson-Thompson | -3 |
17 | Pablo Larrazabal | -3 |
17 | Alex Fitzpatrick | -3 |
17 | Thriston Lawrence | -3 |
17 | Daniel Hillier | -3 |
17 | Andy Sullivan | -3 |
17 | Rory McIlroy | -3 |
Shane Lowry joked noise from traffic during the opening round of the DP World India Championship was not as off-putting as unruly US Ryder Cup fans after taking the 18-hole lead in Delhi.
Lowry, the 2019 Open champion who holed the putt that ensured Europe retained the Ryder Cup last month at Bethpage Black in New York, fired an opening 64 to lead by one shot from Japan's Keita Nakajima.
The 38-year-old, who missed the cut at last week's Open de Espana, birdied six of his last eight holes to reach 8-under.
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Masters champion Rory McIlroy, who played the opening round without his driver, is among a group of eight players on 3-under. Tommy Fleetwood and Luke Donald both shot 68.
Viktor Hovland, who finally spoke about the injury that forced him to miss the final day of the Ryder Cup, carded a 71.
Lowry told reporters there was "a little bit" of Ryder Cup chat in his group that included Donald and Fleetwood.
"We could hear the horns from the road, it was not as off-putting as the Bethpage [Black] crowd," Lowry said with a wry smile to Sky Sports.
The European team were heavily targeted by some spectators at Bethpage Black. McIlroy was the principal target of the hostile support. His wife Erica was also struck by a beer thrown from the crowd.
McIlroy has received a belated, official apology from the PGA of America - the governing body that runs the US arm of the Ryder Cup - but the fallout has continued.
The Northern Irishman told reporters in his pre-tournament news conference that he wants to switch the narrative and instead focus on the stunning performance of the European team.
No side had won on away soil since 2012.
McIlroy also outlined his desire to captain the European team one day, but not before at least 2035.
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