Rory McIlroy Leaves Driver in Hotel Room for India Championship

Rory McIlroy starts the DP World India Championship this week with his biggest club possibly left behind at the hotel. Delhi Golf Club is so tight that McIlroy said his driver may not even reach the course, and he will lean on a 2-iron and a 5-wood instead.

The tournament is the search story in golf right now. McIlroy tees off in the first round at 9:45 p.m. ET on Wednesday night, United States time, in a group with Tommy Fleetwood and Robert MacIntyre. Delhi Golf Club hosts the event for the second straight year.

Why the driver stays in the bag

McIlroy was second in Strokes Gained off the tee on the PGA Tour this season and is one of the longest hitters in the game. Delhi takes that weapon away. The course is a narrow, tree-lined layout of 6,912 yards, and McIlroy told the DP World Tour site it is just as tight as he remembers from last year. "It's definitely a different golf course than what we're used to playing," he said. "It doesn't offer you a lot of room off the tee. A lot of irons and strategic play with your tee shots." He did the same thing last season, playing the week without a driver.

This year the rough is longer and thicker than it was last year, which raises the price of a miss. McIlroy's answer is to take the risk out of his own hands. "I'm here to win the tournament. I'm not here to hit drivers," he said. "I think the best chance will be by keeping the driver in the bag or in the hotel room so I'm not even attempting to hit it."

A decade more, and a trailer to prove it

At 37, McIlroy said this week he wants to play at the top for another ten years. He pointed to Justin Rose, still winning on the PGA Tour at 46 and ranked 18th in the world, and to Novak Djokovic, still playing Grand Slams at 39. Both use a performance truck for training and recovery, and McIlroy has now signed as a global ambassador for DP World, which will take a personal trailer from event to event for him on both tours. The trailer carries strength and cardio gear, an infrared sauna, a cold plunge and a recovery station.

He explained the idea in detail to the DP World Tour. The plan started when Rose won in Memphis last year at 45. McIlroy, then 36, decided he needed the same setup if he wanted a full decade more at the top. He spent six to nine months configuring a trailer with a Dutch company, Expandable, and used it at his last three US events, in Memphis, St. Louis and Atlanta. The DP World deal is about coverage outside the United States: a second trailer for Europe, the Middle East and his international events, which he hopes will be ready by the Irish Open, his first event back in Europe next year.

The Race to Dubai picture

McIlroy is chasing a record-matching eighth Race to Dubai title, and a first DP World Tour win in India would help. He starts the week third in the rankings. Patrick Reed leads, Eugenio Chacarra moved past McIlroy last week by tying for second at the Open de Espana, and Casey Jarvis is also in range. Any of the four could lead by Sunday, with only three events left after this one. A fifth straight year-long title would match Colin Montgomerie's record haul, a mark McIlroy said has been his main focus since The Open. His last start was the BMW PGA Championship, where he tied for second, two shots behind J.J. Spaun.