In 1968, when the mania surrounding their worldwide fame had exhausted them – breaking America included – the Beatles headed to India.
Fifty-seven years later, having also broken the United States amid giddy and tiring scenes, Europe’s Ryder Cup Fab Four travelled east for the inaugural DP World India Championship at Delhi GC.
Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and Viktor Hovland did not make their way to an ashram the Himalayan foothills to play the sitar or engage in Transcendental Meditation (at least, as far as we know).
But, in fully engaging with the host nation’s culture – whether wearing Sherwani or Achkan coats to a Diwali party, taking tuk tuk drives through the centre of the city, or asking questions about the many ruined temples and tombs that dot the Delhi course – the week became a celebration of what taking the game around the world can achieve.
Moreover, given his popularity and occasional spikiness, McIlroy could be said to resemble John Lennon, Fleetwood’s ever-cheerful nature is all Paul McCartney, and Hovland’s happy-go-lucky nature is a neat fit for Ringo Starr.
The glaring exception is Lowry and the hippy-happy George Harrison. When the Irishman emerged from a courtesy car bowing with his hands together for a traditional Namaste, however, the sense of déjá vu was very nearly complete.
For all the fun and games off the course, there was a tournament to be won and, by the end of the week, it was Fleetwood who had composed the winning score. His 22-under 266 total left him two shots ahead of Japan’s Keita Nakajima and four clear of Lowry, Alex Fitzpatrick and Thriston Lawrence who shared third.
Earlier in the week, Fleetwood had ruefully cast his mind back to his only previous visit to the venue, for the 2016 Indian Open. He had opened with a 68 to sit inside the top 10, but weekend rounds of 77-75 saw him tumble down the leaderboard to T67 and such performances were then all-too-typical.
“I was struggling,” he admitted of a period of 17 months in which he went without even one top five finish anywhere in the world. He added that yoga and meditation had been among the tools he used to not just rediscover his game but take it to another level.
A wholesome week in India had also concluded with a wholesome moment for the Fleetwood family after the winner revealed that his son Frankie, who was in India all week, had recently noted that he’d never been present at one of his dad’s wins. “I’ve never been able to run on to the 18th green,” the 7-year-old said.
All week the tree-lined tightness of the Delhi test had been the focus of attention. McIlroy (who ended the week T26) played without a driver in his bag and the threat in the jungle went beyond shots lost to the card, with the club website warning: “Torn shirts, bruised arms, and battered egos are what one gets for straying into Cobra country.”
Fleetwood carded a Friday 64 to grab the halfway lead but he was passed by Nakajima, whose second 65 of the week on Saturday earned him a two-shot 54-hole lead.
The pair were the likeliest winners throughout the final round. True, the New Zealander Daniel Hillier hit the top when he made seven birdies in his first 10 holes, but he then played the final five holes in 4-over to crash down the leaderboard.
Nakajima likes Delhi. He won the 2024 Indian Open in the city at the DLF Club and was second there on defence in March. Alas, he could only repeat the latter result after a final round that included no bogeys but just the three birdies on a day when the course was there for the taking.
Fleetwood thrashed eight par breakers against just the one dropped shot to land his eighth DP World Tour title and second individual win in as many starts after his triumph in August’s Tour Championship on the PGA Tour.
“I’ve had those words written down all week,” his dad revealed. “And all today, I had it in my mind: Could I put myself in a position where I can actually make that moment happen?”
He could, and after little Frankie’s run into his arms, the champion said: “It was really cool.”
Matt Cooper