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Rory McIlroy ventures into new territory by playing in India this week as he makes his comeback to competition for the first time since the Ryder Cup.

While the golf superstar expands his golfing horizons, the European golf circuit enters the closing stage of this year's Race to Dubai. McIlroy is in the leading spot to secure the season-long title for the fourth season running and seventh occasion in total.

There are only three more events after the India Championship; the following week's Genesis Championship in Korean venue - which concludes the 'Back Nine' phase of the schedule - and then the last two competitions in the Middle East.

These particular big money 'play-off' events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai are exclusively available for the leading seventy and then leading fifty in the standings.

But for the likes of Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry, who are also in this tournament lineup in the subcontinent, there is less pressure than one would expect.

Comfortably outside the seventieth position, at initial inspection it would seem both require high finishes from their trip to the Indian course to extend their campaigns. Yet, actually, they are guaranteed in advance of their positions in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

This results from a rarely discussed but pragmatic exception whereby members of Europe's Ryder Cup team are also considered eligible for the upcoming closing tournaments.

Fleetwood, who triumphed in the PGA Tour's play-offs with his stirring win at the season-ending event in Atlanta, lies ninety-fourth in the continental circuit's season-long table. The Irish champion, who sank the winning stroke that secured the Ryder Cup, is 155th.

Other European team-mates who can potentially benefit are Aberg (seventy-second) and Sepp Straka (147th).

This could question the integrity of a play-off system, which by definition is supposed to bring cut-throat competitive jeopardy, but this scenario also demonstrates practical considerations faced by the Wentworth-based European circuit.

The tour is reliant on major sponsors such as DP World, who are also the title sponsors of this current tournament in the Asian nation. The tour requires the top players at their premier tournaments to justify the financial commitment, which amounts to substantial funding.

Fleetwood has enjoyed one of his best seasons, highlighted by his first win on American soil at East Lake just under eight weeks past.

Fleetwood represents one of the continent's superstars and, frankly, it would be unthinkable to host the 2025 season finale without him.

Common sense overrides pure competition, even though the top-ranked player - a local resident - has saved his strongest showings for events that do not qualify on his domestic circuit.

The Englishman has to date played only four European tournaments and been unable to finish in the top 20 at any of them; the Dubai Desert Classic, Scottish Open, flagship event or pro-am competition.

The majors also count on the season standings and his sixteenth-place finish at the British Open was his only top 20 in the big four tournaments. However on the US tour he achieved seven top-five finishes.

Fleetwood was also the team's highest contributor at Bethpage last month. It would be ridiculous for him not to be taking his place alongside the tour's leading stars at the conclusion of the campaign.

Although in the past the PGA and European tours were fierce competitors they are now inextricably linked thanks to the strategic alliance that supports European tour financial rewards.

While Marco Penge, last week's winner of the Open De Espana, has moved into McIlroy's wing mirrors as his nearest challenger at the summit of the season championship, much of the interest for the rest of the season will have an US focus.

The narrative will be shaped by the competition for 10 places on the PGA Tour for those who do not currently possess tour cards in the US. Penge, with three European victories, is assured of what is generally considered as 'promotion' to the American tour.

The Clitheroe-based pro, who also guaranteed invitations to the Augusta National and British Open with his Madrid victory, is not in the tournament lineup but will mount a last effort to try to overtake McIlroy at the top of the rankings.

Meanwhile the English competitor, the player Penge beat in the Spanish playoff, is one of four other Britons in the thick of the competition for a 2026 PGA card.

Yorkshireman Parry and the West Country pair of Jordan Smith and Canter also presently hold positions that would provide a golden ticket for the coming season.

Certain analysts see this development as evidence that the DP World Tour is now essentially a development tour for the larger circuit on the other side of the pond.

However the organization argue it is a vital mechanism that supports their schedule, a necessary and enticing element that maximises competitive chances for its members.

Certainly this is the time of the year where the realities and compromises of elite golf competition seem at their most evident.