Japan’s Keita Nakajima in action at the DP World India Championship golf tournament at the Delhi Golf Club in New Delhi on Saturday, October 18, 2025.
| Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Playing a bogey-free round clearly is the ticket to the top spot at the Delhi Golf Course. On Saturday, Keita Nakajima did it to card a 65 for a three-day total of 199 at the inaugural $4 million DP World India Championship, 17 under par for the course at the end of Day Three and two shots clear of overnight leader Tommy Fleetwood.
Day One leader Shane Lowry was a further shot behind on 202, the common factor between the three being a bogey-free round on their best day. With the weekend rounds reduced to two-ball groups, Nakajima and Lowry were together, while Fleetwood was paired with Brian Harman.
The 25-year old Nakajima, who won the Indian Open last year and was runner-up this year, Fleetwood and Lowry are the only three golfers in action here to stay steady among the top-five in the competition over the first three days.
England’s Tommy Fleetwood plays a shot at the DP World India Championship golf tournament at the Delhi Golf Club in New Delhi on Saturday, October 18, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Nakajima started the day two shots behind Fleetwood, but his round had seven birdies. It included an impressive 10-foot birdie on the very first hole, and he bettered it with a 13-feet one on the fifth before holing a monster 40-feet birdie putt on the par-three 12th.
Fleetwood dropped his only shot of the day on the 17th and made up for it on the final hole, but his three birdies till then to seven by Nakajima made all the difference. The two will be paired for the final round on Sunday, battling to grab the title.
Rory McIlroy, five-way tied 15th on 206, finally appeared to be understanding the course with just one bogey for the round, on the par-4 11th — a hole he has struggled with, having dropped shots on all three days — but while his birdie count remained steady the errors were minimised for a 4-under 68.
Dhruv Sheoran recovered from a disappointing Day Two outing for his best card of the week with a 5-under 67 to be the best-placed Indian at tied 25th, four of his six birdies coming on the back nine. Shiv Kapur and Shubhankar Sharma were further back at tied 42 three shots behind
Top leaderboard: 199: Keita Nakajima (Jpn, 65-69-65); 201: Tommy Fleetwood (Eng, 68-64-69); 202: Shane Lowry (Ire, 64-69-69); 203: Jens Dantorp (Swe, 71-67-65), Alex Fitzpatrick (Eng, 69-67-67), Daniel Hillier (Nzl, 69-67-67), Brian Harman (USA, 68-65-70).
Published – October 18, 2025 07:10 pm IST
