The Rory McIlroy Show began much before he teed off for the first time in India at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) on Thursday morning. It lingered long after the Northern Irishman hit a three-under par 69 to be tied 17th in the first round of the DP World India Championship, five strokes behind leader Ireland’s Shane Lowry, his Ryder Cup teammate.

It started with the marketing push for the biggest golf tournament ever to be held in India, which singularly depended on his face, from pop-up ads on mobile screens to giant posters around the venue. And by the time World No.5 Tommy Fleetwood set himself for a birdie putt, misplaced chants of ‘Come on, Rory’ could still be heard a full three hours after the latter had finished his round and made his way back to his hotel. Rory-fever is contagious.

See Full Page