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

As the Northern Irishman widens his golfing horizons, the DP World Tour enters the closing stage of this year's season-long championship. The world-class golfer is in the leading spot to secure the season-long title for the fourth consecutive year and seventh occasion in total.

This includes only three more events following the India Championship; the subsequent week's Genesis Championship in Korean venue - which concludes the 'Back Nine' phase of the tour calendar - and then the final two tournaments in the Arabian region.

These big money playoff tournaments in Abu Dhabi and the emirate are exclusively available for the leading seventy and then top 50 in the season rankings.

However for players such as Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry, who are also in this week's field in the subcontinent, there is less pressure than one would expect.

Comfortably below the seventieth position, at initial inspection it would seem both require strong performances from their visit to the Delhi Golf Club to extend their seasons. Yet, in fact, they are already assured of their positions in the UAE and the final event.

This is due to a little publicised but pragmatic exception whereby participants of the European squad are also deemed eligible for next month's closing tournaments.

The English golfer, who won the PGA Tour's play-offs with his stirring win at the season-ending event in Atlanta, lies ninety-fourth in the European tour's season-long table. The Irish champion, who made the winning stroke that secured the Ryder Cup, is one hundred fifty-fifth.

Additional European team-mates who can potentially benefit are Ludvig Aberg (seventy-second) and Straka (one hundred forty-seventh).

This might question the fairness of a play-off system, which by definition is intended to bring intense competitive jeopardy, but this scenario also illustrates practical considerations faced by the Wentworth-based DP World Tour.

They are reliant on big backers such as DP World, who are also the title sponsors of this week's event in the Asian nation. The tour requires the top players at their biggest events to justify the investment, which runs to millions of dollars.

The talented golfer has experienced one of his most successful seasons, highlighted by his maiden victory on US territory at the Atlanta course just under eight weeks past.

Fleetwood represents one of European golf's superstars and, honestly, it would be inconceivable to host the upcoming season climax without him.

Common sense trumps competitive integrity, even though the top-ranked player - a local resident - has saved his strongest showings for events that do not count on his domestic circuit.

The Englishman has to date played only four DP World Tour events and failed to finish in the top 20 at any tournament; the Middle Eastern event, UK tournament, BMW PGA Championship or Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

The majors also contribute on the Race to Dubai and his share of 16th at the British Open was his sole high finish in the major events. However on the American-based circuit he enjoyed seven placements in the top five.

Fleetwood was also Europe's top points scorer at the New York course last month. It seems absurd for him not to be taking his place alongside the tour's leading stars at the end of the campaign.

While in the past the PGA and European tours were deadly rivals they are now inextricably linked thanks to the cooperative partnership that underpins European tour financial rewards.

While Marco Penge, last week's winner of the Spanish Open, has positioned himself in close pursuit as his nearest challenger at the top of the season championship, much of the interest for the remaining schedule will have an US focus.

The narrative will be shaped by the competition for 10 places on the American circuit for those who do not already have playing rights in the US. Penge, with three DPWT wins, is guaranteed of what is generally considered as 'promotion' to the American tour.

The Lancashire golfer, who also secured invites to the Masters and British Open with his Spanish success, is not in the tournament lineup but will launch a final push to try to overhaul McIlroy at the top of the rankings.

Meanwhile the English competitor, the player Penge defeated in the Spanish playoff, is one of several British golfers in the midst of the battle for a 2026 PGA card.

Northern golfer John Parry and the Bath duo of Smith and Canter also presently hold spots that would yield a golden ticket for next year.

Some observers see this development as proof that the European circuit is now nothing more than a feeder for the larger circuit on the American continent.

But the DP World Tour maintain it is a vital mechanism that underpins their tour calendar, a essential and attractive feature that optimizes playing opportunities for its members.

Certainly this is the time of the year where the practical aspects and necessary adjustments of men's professional golf seem at their clearest display.