Tom McKibbin sat one shot off the lead, with fellow Northern Ireland player Rory McIlroy a further three shots back, after a severely weather-disrupted opening day of the DP World India Championship in New Delhi.
Denmark’s Niklas Norgaard topped the leaderboard on day one with a six-under-par 66, featuring an eagle, six birdies and two bogeys at the Delhi Golf Club.
McKibbin, along with Eugenio Chacarra of Spain and Thomas Detry of Belgium, finished at five under par, placing him in contention.
Play was suspended due to lightning shortly after 06:30 BST and did not resume for five hours, leaving many players unable to complete their opening round and others yet to start.
Starting from the 10th hole, McKibbin collected birdies at four consecutive holes between the 12th and 15th, before dropping a shot at the par-four 16th. He added further birdies at the 18th and the third hole to briefly move to joint top spot, before Norgaard’s late surge saw him reclaim the lead with an eagle and five birdies in his final seven holes.
McKibbin, who captured his sole DP World Tour victory at the European Open in Germany in 2023, has been part of the LIV Golf tour since January 2025.
Despite his abbreviated opening round, the 23-year-old has secured top-six finishes at the British Masters and Irish Open on the DP World Tour this season.
A trio of Scots – Scott Jamieson, Robert MacIntyre and Ewen Ferguson – sat at three under, alongside India’s Om Prakash Chouhan and Marcus Armitage of England.
Rory McIlroy, the back-to-back Masters champion, carded a two-under 68 after bogeying the 10th hole but responding with birdies at the 13th, 15th and 18th, before conceding a shot to par on the third hole. He finished level with Tommy Fleetwood.
McIlroy had been third in the Race to Dubai standings prior to the tournament, behind Patrick Reed and Eugenio Chacarra.