Niall Lyons picks out four selections at this week's India Championship at Delhi GC.
India Championship
The DP World Tour comes into it's own late Summer and Autumn with many big names now taking part in multiple events following the end of the PGA Tour and LIV seasons.
Bar Dubai however the latter events in the year have often struggled by hope springs eternal now that McIlroy has decided to play here and in Australia.
With his addition many more make the trip and the National Opens (many now with entry to the Masters for the winners) are quite rightly getting better fields and more attention.
Maybe a world tour is not such a pipe dream anymore.
The Hero Indian Open last played host to this Delhi GC back in 2016 but plenty of other events have been held here since with the Panasonic Open being another as well as Indian Tour events.
There is a host of form to go on but not a whole pile of stats and any stats that are available can be taken somewhat with a pinch of salt.
The course is extremely narrow off the tee and those spraying the ball will struggle to score well here with a high penalty for wayward drives.
Lahiri has a great record here and he indeed plodded his way around here when he was winning at this venue numerous times more than a decade ago.
India Championship Tips
- 3pts each-way A.Lahiri 35/1 (1/5 6) Betfred
- 3pts each-way S.Lowry 25/1 (1/5 5) AK Bets
- 1pt each-way T.Lawrence 55/1 (1/5 6) Paddypower
- 0.75pt each-way S.Sharma 250/1 (1/5 6) General
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Anirban Lahiri at 35/1 (Six Places)
It's the course specialist that I can't turn down here this week and Anirban Lahiri gets my vote as one of the best bets in the field. I can understand why he is this price given the strength of the favourites but there is reason to believe they are vulnerable.
Rarely do we see Rory McIlroy at a venue that will have him hamstrung off the tee with length off the tee not going to be a big asset here.
Fleetwood, Griffin and Hovland may have similar problems and although they hold all the aces in a field such as this I can't help but feel this course will be somewhat of a leveller.
Two runner ups and four victories here across multiple events gives Lahiri such a big advantage on the rest of the field and it seems foolish not to include him in the staking plan.
He can consider himself a little unlucky not to have won in Virginia in June when he was outdone by a late birdie run by Joaquin Niemann.
Runner up at Valderrama last year is another sign of how his credentials lend themselves to this type of test.
I didn't know what price to expect here given the course form and the strength of the field above him, however I am pleasantly surprised to see 33/1-35/1 and I rate it as one of the best bets in a while.
Shane Lowry at 25/1 (Five Places)
Recent winners on this tour include McIlroy, Noren, Kim, MacIntyre and Penge who will all be playing PGA Tour golf next year.
Quality tells on this tour time and time again and whilst a few at the top of the market look totally unbackable, Shane Lowry doesn't and I'll go in to bat once again for the Irishman.
Last week was painful as I had a pretty big stake on him and an awful first day saw that money go up in smoke.
Friday was a different story though shooting a 68 and coming within a whisker of making the cut. For my money Fleetwood, and in particular Hovland look very short in the market and I don't see a reason why the gap to Lowry is as big as what it is.
We saw the Rome heroes go on to win plenty after the Ryder Cup in 2023 and with MacIntyre having already obliged it shouldn't be a long time before we see one of the Bethpage 12 win again.
This is Lowry's first look at Delhi but it should be perfect given his love affair with tree lined tracks.
Thriston Lawrence at 55/1 (Six Places)
Keita Nakajima finished 40th last week in Japan but closed with a final round 66 and should be well suited to Delhi GC on his first look.
Accuracy should be highly important here over the four days and he is certainly one of the best in the field in that department and no slouch in terms of distance either.
His sole victory on the tour thus far came in this country with a hugely impressive effort at DFL and he should be licking his lips at the prospect of another here this week.
Runner up at DLF at the second time of asking this year, 4th at the Brabazon and a top 20 at Crans tell us all we need to know about where best his abilities lie. Delhi should provide him with a great chance to put his best foot forward.
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At slightly bigger odds though I prefer Thriston Lawrence who won't be afraid of the big names at the top of the leaderboard having mixed with them numerous times.
Runner ups at Muthaiga and Wentworth as well as two victories at Crans suggest this type of course is where the South African excels and having ranked 1st in approach play last week in Spain any improvement with the putter could see him go really close here.
Shubhankar Sharma at 250/1 (Six Places)
Jayden Schaper managed a place for us last week at 70/1 but now we see 33/1 with the addition of McIlroy and co and although I think this course will really suit the South African, the price makes investing in him impossible.
Similar applies to John Parry who should relish this test this week.
One outsider I can't ignore is Shubhankar Sharma who around 250/1 looks worthy of a small bet.
Sharma has endured a really rough season missing sixteen cuts on the spin before finishing 61st in the Dunhill Links with not cut made with the event reduced to 54 holes.
He wasn't disgraced though in that field, and neither was he last week in Spain where he finished 47th finishing with a final round of 68 and ranking 4th in approach play for the week.
Now back in his home country on a course that he knows and will suit we can possibly expect better. Following his play with the irons last week it looks a no brainer to invest at these odds.
