NORGAARD LEADS DELHI AFTER WEATHER HALTS PLAY

Niklas Norgaard topped the leaderboard after the opening round of the DP World India Championship at Delhi Golf Club, finishing six under par with an eagle and six birdies in his round of 66. Tom McKibbin sat one shot off the lead on five under, level with Eugenio Chacarra and Thomas Detry, after a round that included six birdies and a single bogey. Play was suspended shortly after 06:30 BST because of lightning and did not resume for five hours, leaving much of the field unable to complete 18 holes and preventing others from starting. Rory McIlroy finished on two under par, four shots behind Norgaard, after a bogey at his opening hole was offset by birdies at four others before he dropped a further shot. Scott Jamieson, Robert MacIntyre and Ewen Ferguson, representing Scotland, sat three under alongside India's Om Prakash Chouhan and England's Marcus Armitage.

McKibbin, starting his round at the 10th hole, picked up shots at four consecutive holes from the 12th to the 15th before a bogey at the 16th, then added birdies at the 18th and third to briefly share top spot before Norgaard's late surge of five birdies and an eagle over his final seven holes moved him ahead. McKibbin's only DP World Tour win came at the European Open in Germany in 2023, and he has competed on the LIV Golf tour since January 2025. He has recorded top-six finishes at the British Masters and Irish Open on the DP World Tour this season. McIlroy, who has won the Masters in consecutive years, finished level with England's Tommy Fleetwood on two under par.

Shane Lowry of Ireland sat on three over par, while Englishmen Justin Rose and Luke Donald were both level par. McIlroy sat third in the Race to Dubai standings before the tournament, according to the report. The weather disruption left a number of players still to complete or begin their opening rounds in New Delhi. Further play is scheduled to continue at the Delhi Golf Club as the tournament progresses.