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The Northern Irish golfer breaks new ground by playing in India this week as he makes his comeback to competition for the initial occasion since the prestigious team event.

As the golf superstar expands his golfing horizons, the DP World Tour enters the final phase of this year's season-long championship. McIlroy is in the leading spot to claim the annual championship for the fourth consecutive year and seventh time overall.

This includes only three more events following the Indian event; the following week's Genesis tournament in Korean venue - which wraps up the 'Back Nine' phase of the schedule - and then the last two competitions in the Arabian region.

These high-stakes playoff tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Dubai are reserved for the leading seventy and then leading fifty in the standings.

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

Sitting outside the top 70, at first glance it would seem both need high finishes from their visit to the Indian course to keep alive their campaigns. But, in fact, they are already assured of their positions in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

This results from a little publicised but pragmatic loophole whereby members of Europe's Ryder Cup team are also deemed eligible for the upcoming closing tournaments.

The English golfer, who triumphed in the PGA Tour's play-offs with his impressive victory at the season-ending event in Georgia, sits 94th in the continental circuit's annual rankings. Lowry, who sank the winning stroke that retained the team trophy, is 155th.

Other European team-mates who can also qualify are Aberg (seventy-second) and Sepp Straka (147th).

This could question the integrity of a play-off system, which by nature is intended to bring intense high-stakes drama, but this situation also illustrates realities faced by the headquartered DP World Tour.

They are reliant on big backers such as the title partner, who are also the naming sponsors of this current tournament in the Asian nation. The tour requires the biggest stars at their premier tournaments to validate the financial commitment, which runs to millions of dollars.

Fleetwood has enjoyed one of his best campaigns, capped by his maiden victory on American soil at the Atlanta course just under eight weeks past.

Fleetwood represents one of European golf's elite players and, frankly, it would be unthinkable to stage the 2025 season finale without him.

Practical considerations overrides competitive integrity, even though the world number five - a Dubai resident - has saved his strongest showings for tournaments that do not count on his home tour.

The Englishman has to date played only four DP World Tour events and failed to place in the top 20 at any of them; the Dubai Desert Classic, Scottish Open, flagship event or Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

The majors also count on the Race to Dubai and his share of 16th at the Open was his sole high finish in the big four tournaments. However on the US tour he enjoyed seven placements in the top five.

The European star was also Europe's top points scorer at the New York course last month. It would be absurd for him not to be participating alongside the circuit's top performers at the conclusion of the season.

While in the previous era the American and European circuits were fierce competitors they are now closely connected thanks to the cooperative partnership that supports DP World Tour financial rewards.

While the English golfer, last week's winner of the Open De Espana, has positioned himself in McIlroy's wing mirrors as his closest rival at the top of the season championship, much of the interest for the rest of the season will have an US focus.

The narrative will be shaped by the competition for 10 places on the PGA Tour for those who do not already have tour cards in the US. Penge, with three European victories, is guaranteed of what is widely regarded as advancement to the American tour.

The Clitheroe-based pro, who also guaranteed invitations to the Augusta National and British Open with his Madrid victory, is not in the India field but will mount a final push to try to overtake McIlroy at the peak of the rankings.

And the English competitor, the man Penge beat in the Madrid play-off, is one of four other Britons in the midst of the competition for a future US tour card.

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

Some observers see this scenario as evidence that the European circuit is now essentially a development tour for the larger circuit on the other side of the pond.

However the organization argue it is a vital mechanism that underpins their schedule, a necessary and enticing element that maximises competitive chances for its members.

Undoubtedly this is the season period where the practical aspects and necessary adjustments of men's professional golf seem at their clearest display.