Tom McKibbin one shot of leader Niklas Norgaard in joint second at India Championship

Rory McIlroy stayed focused on the bigger picture after an opening round of 70 for two-under-par had him four shots adrift of clubhouse leader Niklas Norgaard in a weather-interrupted DP World India Championship at Delhi Golf Club.

A five-hour delay due to thunder, lightning and heavy rain meant the majority of the field failed to complete their rounds.

The 37-year-old Northern Irishman made use of staying in the hotel on-site to spend time having lunch and utilising some swing practice aids in his room during the pause in play. “Okay. (It was) a solid start, with a lot of golf left to play,” he said after his opening round.

With his three remaining events on the DP World Tour – the India Championship, followed by the Abu Dhabi Championship in two weeks, and the season-ending Tour Championship in Dubai – McIlroy is aiming for yet another top-place finish on the order of merit for an eighth time, drawing alongside Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie. McIlroy is currently third in the Race to Dubai behind American Patrick Reed and Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra.

Of his record-equalling pursuit, he said it’s important “not to force it too much”, adding: “I have to concentrate on myself. I know a good week here, that’ll set me up well for the last two weeks in the Middle East and my track record in the Middle East is really good.

“I don’t need to be leading going into the last two weeks, but if I can just eat into that lead a little bit, I feel like I’ll have a really good chance in those final two events.”

McIlroy had four birdies and two bogeys in his first round, of which he said: “Overall, I felt like it could have been a couple better, but still a solid start. No one’s really getting away. The golf course is playing a little bit tougher than it did last year, just with how long the rough is.”

Norgaard managed an eagle, six birdies and two bogeys in his opening round of 66, earning him the clubhouse lead ahead of Tom McKibbin, Thomas Detry and Chacarra in joint second.

“A goal of mine is to win the Race to Dubai,” said Chacarra. “I will try to make a push the last four events to win it. Rory and Patrick are world class players so I will need my A-game to do it.”

McKibbin, currently 89th in the Race to Dubai having only dipped into the European Tour from his LIV commitments, made a great start in New Delhi with a 67 that featured a sequence of four birdies from the 12th to the 15th on what was his front stretch, having started on the 10th.

“I’m very happy with the way I played,” he said. “The course is very challenging strategically and you have to execute the shots. The course is very tight and the rough is very penal, so happy with today’s work.

“My game has been a little bit off recently, so to have that stretch (of birdies) was nice, especially on a course like this, and it brings a lot of confidence as well.”

A winner of the Hong Kong Open on the Asian circuit last year, McKibbin’s late-year focus on the DP World Tour will see him play the India Championship and next week’s Genesis Championship in South Korea in his bid to move up the standings and secure a place in the Tour Championship, which is confined to the leading 50 players on the order of merit. The top-70 earn a place at the Abu Dhabi Championship.

“They’re events I’ve played the last couple of years and I’ll definitely be giving it my best the next couple of days to try and sneak into at least one of those,” said McKibbin.

Shane Lowry, meanwhile, had a disappointing three-over-par 75 on his opening round.

And at the Buick LPGA Shanghai Championship, South Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi shot an eight-under 64 to take a three-stroke lead over Spain’s Carlota Ciganda, while Lauren Walsh made a solid start with an opening 70 for a share of 12th.

Leona Maguire, kick-starting her Asian swing of events, opened with a 71.