Rory McIlroy didn’t just keep the headcover on his driver on Thursday at Delhi Golf Club, he left the big stick out of the bag altogether.

“Dog was out of the bag, probably asleep in the locker,” McIlroy said after opening the DP World India Championship in 3-under 69.

“I was sort of thinking about it last night before I went to bed,” said McIlroy, who carried just one wood, a 5-wood. “Well, sometimes if you’re really conservative off a par-5 today, you might have like a 5-wood into the green, but I’m never going to hit driver, so I just thought I’ve got to 2-iron, 3-iron, 4-iron all the way through, and then I’ve got a 5-wood just in case I need to hit it for an approach shot on a par-5. But I just don’t see any hole out there that I hit to hit it more than say 260, 270 off the tee.”

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