
Shane Lowry is the first leader of the DP World Tour golf tournament in India after shooting an 8-under 64 at the end of the first round, which saw Spaniard Jorge Campillo finish fourth.
After a poor showing at the Spanish Open last week, the Irishman, one of the stars of Europe's Ryder Cup victory over the United States, started with a notable performance at the Delhi Golf Club, with eight birdies.
DP World Tour, results
In second place is Japan's Keita Nakajima at 7-under, while in third is South Africa's Casey Jarvis (6-under).
Campillo is tied at 5-under with Germany's Jannik de Bruyn and India's Rahil Gangjee.
The main star of the tournament at the Delhi Golf Club is Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, world number two and leader of the European Tour.
In his first appearance in the Asian country's competition, which features a prize fund of $4 million (3.4 million), McIlroy shot a 69 (-3).
"It was more difficult than I expected," commented the Northern Irishman at the end of the round, in which he made six birdies and three bogeys.
The same result as McIlroy was achieved by Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, winner of the PGA Tour's FedExCup and another member of the European team that recently won the Ryder Cup, along with Norway's Viktor Hovland, who finished at -1.
Another attraction of the tournament is Briton Luke Donald, the captain of the European Ryder Cup team, making his comeback after the competition played at Bethpage Black (New York) in late September.
Donald was another of those who shot a 68 (-4) over the first 18 holes.
Among the Spaniards, Nacho Elvira (-4) and Pablo Larrazbal (-2) also had a strong start, while Rafa Cabrera Bello, Manuel Elvira, and Eugenio Lpez-Chacarra finished at -1.
It was a disastrous day for ngel Ayora and, especially, Mlaga native ngel Hidalgo, who finished at +2 and +5, respectively, so they will have to react to avoid missing the cut after the second round.
Ayora, 21, is vying for a PGA Tour card for next year, the American circuit, and to do so, he needs to finish among the top ten on the DP World Tour who don't already have one.
The tournament in India is the penultimate round on the European tour's regular calendar and precedes the final rounds to be held in November in Abu Dhabi (6-9) and Dubai (13-16), where the DP World Tour champion will be crowned.