Shane Lowry: Delhi car horns not as off-putting as Ryder Cup crowd in New York

Shane Lowry admits the constant noise of Delhi traffic is much easier to handle than an abusive New York Ryder Cup crowd as he rattled off eight birdies to take the lead on the opening day of DP World India Championship.

The Irishman, playing with European captain Luke Donald and team-mate Tommy Fleetwood, hit a hot streak with five successive birdies on the back nine against the background noise of the honks and horns of the capital’s incessant road network.

His bogey-free eight-under 64 saw him overtake long-time clubhouse leader Keita Nakajima by a stroke.

“It was a really nice group, playing with Luke and Tommy,” said Lowry, who holed the putt to retain the Ryder Cup at Bethpage.

“We all had a great time and we all played pretty good and I just rolled off a few more birdies than they did on the back nine.

“We could hear the horns from the road – it was not as off-putting as the Bethpage crowd.

“There was a little Ryder Cup chat out there but at the end of the day we are all professional golfers and ultimately we all want to beat each other, even though we are friends.”

Fleetwood and Donald both finished four under, while their fellow Ryder Cup team-mate Rory McIlroy sits five shots back.

The world number two and Masters champion opted to leave the driver in his locker due to the tight nature of the course but it did not affect his ability to score as he carded six birdies only to be let down by three bogeys.

McIlroy got off to an ideal start by chipping in from the fringe at his first hole, the 10th, but his difficulties began at the next where he three-putted and then failed to get up and down for back-to-back bogeys.

Despite the absence of the longest club in his bag, McIlroy had no problems birdieing the two par fives to turn in one under and he picked up three more shots over the next seven holes.

However, he bogeyed the 522-yard eighth to finish with a three-under 69.

“Dog (driver) was out of the bag, probably asleep in the locker,” McIlroy said of his club selection.

“Sometimes if you’re really conservative off a par-five today, you might like a five-wood into the green, but I’m never going to hit driver. I just don’t see any hole out there that I hit it more than say 260, 270 off the tee.

“You’re just really trying to be as conservative as possible off the tee and then trying to pick off birdies on the par fives and maybe pick up a couple more.”