‘The rough has made it that little bit more penal’: Fleetwood assesses Delhi GC challenge ahead of title defence

New Delhi, Oct 14 (SocialNews.XYZ) Defending champion Tommy Fleetwood expects a tougher test at the India Championship as thicker rough at Delhi Golf Club places a greater premium on accuracy ahead of the tournament, which begins on Thursday. Returning to the venue where he lifted the trophy in 2025, the Englishman is drawing confidence from last year’s success while preparing for the added challenge of keeping his shots on the fairway.

Fleetwood, who enjoyed one of the strongest periods of his career during last year’s victory, said the course’s revised rough could significantly influence how players approach their rounds.

“Yeah, for sure. I mean, the biggest difference is the rough, how thickly they’ve grown it and penal they’ve made it,” Fleetwood said during a press conference on Wednesday.

The Englishman explained that missing the fairway had previously offered players some room to recover, but his early practice rounds this week suggested that escaping the rough would be a more difficult proposition.

“I think, you know, without question the golf course, you have to be playing the golf courses from the fairway. It was like that before. But last year I felt like if you did miss fairways, as uncontrollable as the rough was and the way that bermuda plays, like you could hit it towards the green and you could have the option of trying to figure out where do I want to miss it?

“I’m unlikely to hit the green, but I’ll get it up there close and figure it out; whereas, so far I’ve played nine hole yesterday in the morning, very early morning when it was wet, and then today, I mean, you hit it in the rough and you’re just hacking it out, you know, back into play. I think that’s definitely an added layer to the golf course.

“The general gist of the course stays the same. You have to hit fairways to be able to control your golf ball and be able to shoot a good score, but the rough has just made it made it that little bit more penal as well. So, yeah, a lot of great roots here and feelings and it’s really nice to come back,” he added.

While course conditions will demand adjustments, Fleetwood returns to Delhi with positive memories of his previous campaign. The 2025 triumph remains particularly special for the golfer, who recalled the reception he received from Indian fans and the moment he shared with his son Frankie on the 18th green.

“Yeah, it’s lovely coming back. It’s always really nice coming back when you’ve had a great tournament the year before at that venue. Yeah winning a tournament with so many beautiful memories, that is lovely. I think this tournament last year came at a time when I was playing, yeah, playing amazing golf. Probably some of the best of my career.

“I think when I do look back, when I come here I think I’m always going to be grateful for the moments that I got with Frankie there on the 18th green. I came back to India after a few years, and just the way the crowds were and the people were and the support that we got, just all the uniqueness that went with this tournament,” he stated.

The defending champion also acknowledged that returning as the title-holder brings its own psychological demands. Rather than feeling burdened by the tag, Fleetwood identified managing expectations as the key challenge, particularly when memories of a successful performance shape what a player expects to achieve again.

“Yeah, I would say your expectations being heightened is the biggest thing to battle. You played great the year before and you know you’ve won the tournament, so it’s just managing how you feel and what you expect of yourself because you remember how well you played. You’ll probably be seeing shots. It’s great to see good shots, but you’ve got to accept the poor ones.

“But, yeah, it’s much better coming to a place where you have great feelings and great memories of some great golf shots and have that to go in your positive affirmations’. That’s really nice. And I think for every golfer when you stand on the first tee and get announced as the defending champion or the 2025 champion, I think that’s really, really nice feeling. I’ll look forward to that tomorrow and hopefully we can have another run at it,” Fleetwood mentioned.

Fleetwood began his title defence on Wednesday at Delhi Golf Club. With the familiarity of a winning venue and the challenge of altered course conditions, the Englishman will aim to turn last year’s success into another strong showing at the India Championship.

Source: IANS