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Rory McIlroy breaks new ground by playing in the Indian tournament this week as he makes his comeback to competition for the initial occasion since the Ryder Cup.

While the Northern Irishman widens his competitive experience, the DP World Tour begins the final phase of this year's Race to Dubai. The world-class golfer is in pole position to claim the season-long title for the fourth consecutive year and seventh time overall.

This includes only three additional tournaments after the India Championship; the following week's Genesis tournament in South Korea - which concludes the 'Back Nine' phase of the tour calendar - and then the last two competitions in the Arabian region.

These high-stakes playoff tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Dubai are exclusively available for the leading seventy and then top 50 in the standings.

However for players such as Tommy Fleetwood and Lowry, who are also in this week's field in the subcontinent, there is less pressure than you might imagine.

Sitting outside the top 70, at first glance it would seem both require high finishes from their visit to the Delhi Golf Club to extend their seasons. Yet, actually, they are guaranteed in advance of their places in the UAE and Dubai.

This results from a rarely discussed but practical exception whereby members of the European squad are also deemed eligible for the upcoming season finale events.

The English golfer, who triumphed in the PGA Tour's play-offs with his impressive victory at the season-ending event in Georgia, sits 94th in the continental circuit's season-long table. The Irish champion, who sank the putt that retained the Ryder Cup, is 155th.

Additional European team-mates who can also qualify are Ludvig Aberg (seventy-second) and Sepp Straka (147th).

This might question the fairness of a play-off system, which by definition is supposed to bring cut-throat high-stakes drama, but this situation also illustrates realities faced by the Wentworth-based DP World Tour.

They are dependent on big backers such as DP World, who are also the naming sponsors of this current tournament in the Asian nation. The tour requires the top players at their premier tournaments to justify the investment, which amounts to substantial funding.

Fleetwood has experienced one of his most successful campaigns, capped by his maiden victory on US territory at the Atlanta course just under two months ago.

Fleetwood represents one of European golf's elite players and, honestly, it would be unthinkable to host the 2025 season finale without him.

Practical considerations overrides pure competition, even though the top-ranked player - a Dubai resident - has saved his best performances for tournaments that do not qualify on his domestic circuit.

Fleetwood has to date played only four DP World Tour events and been unable to finish in the top 20 at any of them; the Middle Eastern event, Scottish Open, flagship event or Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

The majors also contribute on the season standings and his sixteenth-place finish at the British Open was his only top 20 in the major events. But on the American-based circuit he enjoyed seven placements in the top five.

The European star was also the team's highest contributor at the New York course last month. It would be ridiculous for him not to be participating alongside the tour's leading stars at the conclusion of the campaign.

While in the past the American and European circuits were deadly rivals they are now inextricably linked thanks to the strategic alliance that underpins European tour prize funds.

As Marco Penge, recent champion of the Open De Espana, has positioned himself in close pursuit as his closest rival at the top of the Race to Dubai, much of the attention for the remaining schedule will have an US focus.

The storyline will be shaped by the competition for 10 places on the American circuit for those who do not currently possess playing rights in the US. The rising star, with three DPWT wins, is assured of what is widely regarded as 'promotion' to the US circuit.

The Lancashire golfer, who also guaranteed invitations to the Augusta National and Open with his Spanish success, is not in the tournament lineup but will launch a last effort to try to overtake the leader at the top of the standings.

And Dan Brown, the man Penge beat in the Spanish playoff, is one of several British golfers in the thick of the competition for a future US tour card.

Northern golfer Parry and the West Country pair of Smith and Laurie Canter also presently hold spots that would yield a golden ticket for the coming season.

Certain analysts view this scenario as proof that the European circuit is now nothing more than a development tour for big brother on the American continent.

However the organization maintain it is a vital mechanism that underpins their schedule, a essential and attractive element that optimizes competitive chances for its members.

Certainly this is the season period where the practical aspects and necessary adjustments of elite golf competition seem at their most evident.