Sir Nick Faldo teases Rory McIlroy over new look: "What gives?!"

Rory McIlroy joked his baggy trousers are "a work in progress" after Sir Nick Faldo chastised the Northern Irishman ahead of the DP World India Championship. 

McIlroy, 37, arrived in Delhi on Monday ahead of the penultimate event of the DP World Tour's 'Back 9'. 

He is hoping to cut into Patrick Reed's lead in the Race to Dubai but but rather than focusing solely on his bid to overhaul the American and match Colin Montgomerie's record of eight order of merit titles, the Masters champion has found himself defending his wardrobe. 

Several players were spotted teasing McIlroy ahead of his practice round. 

"What gives?" asked Faldo during a preview show streamed live on the DP World Tour's official YouTube channel.

"I'm actually glad the desk is hiding them," McIlroy said, adding that he has been inspired to experiment by his Ryder Cup teammate Tommy Fleetwood. 

"I wear, you know, in my everyday life, when I don't have to wear what is my golf uniform, I wear a lot of sort of wide leg or straight leg pants. It's sort of, it is the in thing, the fashionable thing.

"But these are, I was saying to [host] Anna [Jackson] before we came on, they hit a little low, they're maybe a little short. 

"They're not, I think as well what's hard is when you have like a synthetic technical fabric like this, they're a little bit harder to tailor.

"I understand that they're maybe not as well fitting as they need to be, but it's a work in progress."

McIlroy said he didn't bring any other pair. 

Faldo said he was concerned that they may affect his golf swing.

"Well, that's okay," replied McIlroy. "We need air flow this week. It's hot and humid."

He added: "I understand that they're maybe not as well fitting as they need to be, but it's a work in progress."

Faldo joked: "My mum was a dressmaker and she said: 'What did they cut [those with] a knife and fork?'"

"Probably," came the reply. 

No driver for Rory McIlroy

McIlroy, who will play the first two rounds of the $4m tournament alongside the aforementioned Fleetwood and Scotland's Robert MacIntyre, also confirmed that he will not be using a driver this week. 

He told the broadcast that it will likely stay in the hotel and not even make it to the locker room. 

"5-wood might be necessary for maybe a couple of second shots into par -5s, or there's a couple of dog legs on the front nine that you can maybe get a bit of height with a 5-wood and hit it over corners," he said. 

"I'll probably go 5-wood and 2-iron, which go about the same distance, they're just different trajectories, and then 3-iron through everything."

McIlroy would allow LIV players back to PGA Tour

McIlroy spoke to Bloomberg ahead of this week's tournament. 

During the interview, McIlroy said he would vote to have LIV Golf defectors back on the PGA Tour.

McIlroy, who was once on of LIV Golf's harshest critics, said the circuit could have done "better things" with its vast resources than already enrich tour pros who already had a lot of money.

"LIV had probably half of a good idea that was executed pretty poorly," world number two McIlroy told Bloomberg.

"They had a lot of capital but I think a lot of that capital was wasted in some ways. I think they could have used that money a lot more strategically and they could have partnered with some of the governing bodies of the game.

"They certainly could have done better things with it, instead of just enriching tour pros who were already making a lot of money."

Asked if he would vote in favour of LIV players returning, McIlroy said: "I think a rising tide lifts all boats. 

"And I think having some of these players back is beneficial for the business of the tours, absolutely."