McIlroy makes flying start as he chases leaders in New Delhi

Rory McIlroy opened his second round with a spectacular eagle three as he bid to reel in clubhouse leaders Angel Hidalgo, Joost Luiten and Adrian Meronk in the weather-delayed DP World India Championship.

Rory McIlroy opened his second round with a spectacular eagle three as he bid to reel in clubhouse leaders Angel Hidalgo, Joost Luiten and Adrian Meronk in the weather-delayed DP World India Championship.

The world number two, who wants to close that gap on Patrick Reed and Eugenio Chacarra in his quest for a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title, rifled a 282-yard approach to eight feet at Delhi Golf Club’s opening hole and brushed in the putt.

He added three pars before play was suspended due to darkness and shared 17th on four under, just four shots behind the pace setters as the field played catch up following Thursday’s storm delays.

Luiten played 34 holes in six under par to post a brace of 68s as Polish star Meronk shot 67 and 69 and the Spaniard a couple of 68s.

Belgian Thomas Detry birdied three of his first six holes in round two to sit alongside the leaders, a shot clear of English pair Todd Clements and Eddie Pepperell, while Chacarra was also at seven under through five holes.

Tom McKibbin played seven holes in level par to share 13th on five under, but Shane Lowry, who opened with a 75, was 98th on three over through six holes of round two.

McKibbin has yet to announce his intentions on LIV 2.0, but the fact that both he and Laurie Canter are playing in India with no LIV branding on their bags suggests they will join Jon Rahm, David Puig and Abraham Ancer in leaving the breakaway tour.

Sports Business Journal reported that Charles Howell III is poised to leave Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers and join Sergio Garcia, Thomas Pieters and Meronk on the list of players heading for the exit.

As DeChambeau weighs up his decision, Howell III is reportedly hoping to compete on the DP World Tour in 2027.

With many LIV players now without DP World Tour status, the European circuit may invite high-profile LIV players in 2027, provided they do not sign up for LIV 2.0.

A spokesperson for the DP World Tour told Today’s Golfer: “Given the high volume of inbound interest and enquiries we have received in recent weeks, we are exploring the terms on which we are willing to accommodate players provided they are free from third-party contractual restrictions and are willing to abide by our membership regulations.

“Our Tournament Committee has approved the process we intend to follow and we expect further enquiries in the days ahead.”

At the Buick LPGA Shanghai, Leona Maguire overcame windy conditions at Sheshan Golf Club to move into the top 10 at halfway.

The Solheim Cup star carded a one-over-par 73 but still moved up nine spots to joint 10th place on level par on a day when just five players broke par,

She’s just six strokes behind Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi, who shot 74 to lead by two shots on six-under from Major champions Grace Kim and Amy Yang.

Lauren Walsh struggled to an 82 to lie 56th on 10-over in the no-cut event.

At the HotelPlanner Tour’s Hangzhou Open in China, Liam Nolan missed the cut, but Gary Hurley kept his hopes alive of qualifying for the season-ending Grand Final.

Nolan, who is ninth in the Road to Mallorca rankings and on course to win one of 15 DP World Tour cards, shot a two-under 70 but missed the weekend by three strokes on level par.

He was projected to remain ninth in the standings but Hurley, who shot a second successive 70 to share 42nd on four-under, was forecast to fall one spot to 61st in the rankings race to make the top 45 who contest the Grand Final in Mallorca in two weeks.

At the top of the leaderboard, the Netherlands’ Lars van der Vight is on course for back-to-back wins after firing a course-record 10-under 62 to take a one-stroke lead into the weekend.

At the Hulencourt Alps Tour Grand Final in Belgium, Robert Moran’s hopes of winning one of five HotelPlanner Tour cards via the Order of Merit suffered a massive blow.

Ranked sixth in the standings heading into the final event, he shot a one-over 73 to share 41st in the 48-man field with Hugh Foley, who shot 75.

Portumna’s Sam Murphy lies 16th in the season-long race, but while he cannot win promotion, even with a win, he goes into the final round just four shots behind leader Archie Smith

A 71 left Murphy, who won the first event of the campaign, tied for fourth place on six-under.