Delhi Golf Club:<\/b> 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\u2019s success while preparing for the added challenge of keeping his shots on the fairway.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Fleetwood, who enjoyed one of the strongest periods of his career during last year\u2019s victory, said the course\u2019s revised rough could significantly influence how players approach their rounds.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cYeah, for sure. I mean, the biggest difference is the rough, how thickly they\u2019ve grown it and penal they\u2019ve made it,\u201d Fleetwood said during a press conference on Wednesday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI 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? <\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI\u2019m unlikely to hit the green, but I\u2019ll get it up there close and figure it out; whereas, so far I\u2019ve 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\u2019re just hacking it out, you know, back into play. I think that\u2019s definitely an added layer to the golf course. <\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThe 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\u2019s really nice to come back,\u201d he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cYeah, it\u2019s lovely coming back. It\u2019s always really nice coming back when you\u2019ve 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. <\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI think when I do look back, when I come here I think I\u2019m 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,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cYeah, I would say your expectations being heightened is the biggest thing to battle. You played great the year before and you know you\u2019ve won the tournament, so it\u2019s just managing how you feel and what you expect of yourself because you remember how well you played. You\u2019ll probably be seeing shots. It\u2019s great to see good shots, but you\u2019ve got to accept the poor ones. <\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cBut, yeah, it\u2019s 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\u2019. That\u2019s 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\u2019s really, really nice feeling. I\u2019ll look forward to that tomorrow and hopefully we can have another run at it,\u201d Fleetwood mentioned.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cYeah, I would say your expectations being heightened is the biggest thing to battle. You played great the year before and you know you\u2019ve won the tournament, so it\u2019s just managing how you feel and what you expect of yourself because you remember how well you played. You\u2019ll probably be seeing shots. It\u2019s great to see good shots, but you\u2019ve got to accept the poor ones. <\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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