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Rory McIlroy breaks new ground by competing in India this week as he makes his comeback to action for the first time since the prestigious team event.

As the golf superstar expands his golfing horizons, the European golf circuit enters the final phase of this year's season-long championship. McIlroy is in the leading spot to secure the season-long title for the fourth season running and seventh occasion in total.

This includes only three more events after the Indian event; the following week's Genesis Championship in South Korea - which wraps up the 'Back Nine' phase of the tour calendar - and then the final two tournaments in the Middle East.

These particular high-stakes 'play-off' events in the UAE capital and the emirate are exclusively available for the leading seventy and then leading fifty in the season rankings.

But for the likes of Fleetwood and Lowry, who are also in this week's field in India, there is less pressure than one would expect.

Comfortably below the top 70, at first glance it would appear both require strong performances from their trip to the Indian course to extend their seasons. But, in fact, they are already assured of their places in the UAE and Dubai.

This results from a little publicised but pragmatic exception whereby participants of the European squad are also considered eligible for the upcoming season finale events.

The English golfer, who won the PGA Tour's play-offs with his impressive win at the season-ending event in Georgia, sits ninety-fourth in the continental circuit's annual rankings. The Irish champion, who sank the putt that secured the team trophy, is one hundred fifty-fifth.

Other European team-mates who can potentially benefit are Aberg (seventy-second) and Straka (one hundred forty-seventh).

This could question the fairness of a play-off system, which by nature is supposed to bring intense high-stakes drama, but this scenario also illustrates realities faced by the Wentworth-based European circuit.

They are dependent on major sponsors such as the title partner, who are also the naming sponsors of this week's event in the Asian nation. They need the top players at their biggest events to validate the financial commitment, which runs to millions of dollars.

Fleetwood has enjoyed one of his most successful campaigns, highlighted by his first win on US territory at the Atlanta course just under two months ago.

Fleetwood represents one of the continent's superstars and, frankly, it would be inconceivable to stage the upcoming season climax without him.

Practical considerations trumps pure competition, even though the world number five - a local resident - has reserved his strongest showings for events that do not qualify on his home tour.

Fleetwood has to date played only four European tournaments and failed to place in the top 20 at any tournament; the Middle Eastern event, Scottish Open, BMW PGA Championship or Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

The majors also contribute on the season standings and his sixteenth-place finish at the Open was his sole high finish in the major events. However on the US tour he achieved seven top-five finishes.

The European star was also the team's highest contributor at Bethpage last month. It would be ridiculous for him not to be taking his place with the tour's leading stars at the end of the campaign.

Although in the previous era the American and European circuits were deadly rivals they are now closely connected thanks to the cooperative partnership that underpins DP World Tour prize funds.

While the English golfer, recent champion of the Spanish Open, has positioned himself in close pursuit as his closest rival at the top of the season championship, much of the attention for the remaining schedule will have an US focus.

The narrative will be shaped by the scramble for ten spots on the PGA Tour for those who do not currently possess playing rights in the United States. The rising star, with three European victories, is assured of what is widely regarded as 'promotion' to the American tour.

The Clitheroe-based pro, who also guaranteed invites to the Masters and British Open with his Spanish success, is not in the tournament lineup but will mount a last effort to try to overhaul McIlroy at the peak of the rankings.

And Dan Brown, the man the champion defeated in the Madrid play-off, is one of four other Britons in the thick of the competition for a 2026 PGA card.

Northern golfer John Parry and the West Country pair of Jordan Smith and Canter also presently hold spots that would yield a valuable opportunity for the coming season.

Some observers view this development as evidence that the European circuit is now nothing more than a feeder for the larger circuit on the other side of the pond.

But the DP World Tour argue it is a crucial system that underpins their schedule, a necessary and enticing element that optimizes playing opportunities for its members.

Undoubtedly this is the time of the year where the practical aspects and compromises of elite golf competition seem at their most evident.