[Photo: Getty images]
The Delhi Golf Club, the site of this week’s DP World India Championship features such a narrow layout that nearly 50 per cent of the players this week left a driver out of their bag. That’s remarkable in this era.
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But even iron shots aren’t always the safe play from barreling into the jungle, and Tommy Fleetwood saw his approach to the green at the 18th on day three take a hard left into a green wall. Only to get one of the great breaks of the tournament—all the more memorable if the Englishman goes on to win.
As was seen on the broadcast, Fleetwood was going for the green on his second shot with an iron on the par-5 finisher, and he leans hard to the right after hitting the ball. It looks to go deep into the trees, but a “thwack” is heard and, suddenly, there’s the ball, bouncing onto the fairway and settling just in front of the green.
Astoundingly good luck, of course. And from there, the reigning FedEx Cup champion got up and down for birdie to shoot 69 and get to 15-under-par. The only player Fleetwood trails is Japan’s Keita Nakajima at 17-under, who charged with a 65 on day three, matching the best round of the week. Irishman Shane Lowry (69) is three shots back.
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“Focus on that really good stuff and know that if I play like that, I’ve got a really good chance of scoring and shooting a good round,” Fleetwood said of how he could reel in Nakajima. “Two behind is kind of close enough where I’m still in control of it a little bit. Keita is not far enough ahead where he’s completely in control.”
Fleetwood is trying to extend one of the hottest streaks in golf this year. He ended the PGA Tour season with three consecutive top-5 finishes in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, including making the Tour Championship his first tour victory. Then came Europe’s victory over the Americans in the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. A win in India would be Fleetwood’s eighth on the DP World Tour.
Nakajima, 25, is trying to win his second title on the European circuit—with his first also having come in India in 2024. A former World Amateur No. 1 who held that position for a record 87 weeks, Nakajima won his first pro title while he was still an amateur, in the 2021 Panasonic Open on the Japan Golf Tour.
World No.2 Rory McIlroy is tied for 15th at 10-under.
