Japan’s Keita Nakajima produced a brilliant display of composure and consistency to seize a two-stroke lead heading into the final round of the 2025 DP World India Championship at Delhi Golf Club on Saturday.
The 25-year-old, who has already enjoyed success in India with a win at the 2024 Hero Indian Open and a runner-up finish at the same event earlier this year, looked completely at home once again. A flawless round of seven birdies and no bogeys saw him post a seven-under-par 65, moving him to 17-under overall two clear of Tommy Fleetwood and three ahead of Shane Lowry.
Starting the day two shots behind Fleetwood, Nakajima wasted no time making up ground. A ten-foot birdie on the opening hole set the tone, followed by another from 13 feet on the fifth. Further gains on the sixth and eighth saw him turn in 32. His back nine was highlighted by a sensational 40-foot birdie putt on the par-three 12th, which drew roars from the gallery and earned him a share of the lead. He followed it up with back-to-back birdies on the 13th and 14th, pulling clear at the top of the leaderboard.
“It was a great day,” Nakajima said. “I played with Shane Lowry and really admired his swing tempo and rhythm, I tried to copy that all day. I’ve had good tournaments in India, so I came in confident. The back nine is tough, but luckily I made three birdies and stayed bogey-free. I’m very happy with that.”
Fleetwood, the reigning FedExCup Champion, led for most of the day after making three birdies on the front nine to turn in 33. But momentum slowed on the back stretch, with seven consecutive pars followed by his first bogey of the day on the 17th. A fortunate bounce off a tree on the 18th helped him recover with a closing birdie, keeping him within touching distance at 15-under.
“I felt really in control through the front nine,” Fleetwood said. “This is what we play for chances to win and those feelings walking off the 18th green when you’ve done it. I’m really enjoying the week here. The fans have been incredible, and I feel blessed to have this connection with them.”
Lowry, meanwhile, remains a strong contender at 14-under, while Jens Dantorp, Alex Fitzpatrick, Daniel Hillier, and Brian Harman share fourth on 13-under. Viktor Hovland and Brandon Robinson Thompson follow closely at 12-under.
As the penultimate day concluded under the golden Delhi sun, Nakajima stood calm and confident aware that another strong round could seal a memorable victory on a course that continues to bring out his best.
The final round of the DP World India Championship begins Sunday morning, with Nakajima, Fleetwood, and Lowry forming a star-studded final group.
About DP World
DP World is reshaping the future of global trade to improve lives everywhere. Operating across six continents with a team of over 100,000 employees, we combine global infrastructure and local expertise to deliver seamless supply chain solutions. From Ports and Terminals to Marine Services, Logistics and Technology, we leverage innovation to create better ways to trade, minimizing disruptions from the factory floor to the customer’s door.
Our global sports partnerships in Golf, Cricket, Formula 1 and Sailing showcase our leadership in supply chain transformation. From delivering SailGP to supporting the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup and The Ryder Cup, DP World simplifies logistics, drives performance and changes what’s possible.
About the DP World Tour
The DP World Tour is the main men’s professional golf tour of the European Tour group.
As golf’s global tour, we showcase global talent in global destinations and use our platform to build, entertain and connect our global community.
GLOBAL TALENT: We provide pathways and a platform for the leading international talent, bringing together golfing icons, national heroes and emerging stars from around the world.
GLOBAL DESTINATIONS: We stage tournaments in iconic cities and locations around the world and each week we celebrate and showcase the rich diversity of the courses, cities and cultures we visit.
GLOBAL COMMUNITY: We build, entertain and connect communities through our commitment to innovation, creative content and having a positive social and environmental impact.
Our 2025 Global Schedule features 42 tournaments in 26 different countries and comprises three distinct phases: five ‘Global Swings’, the ‘Back 9’ and the ‘DP World Tour Play-Offs’. It features five Rolex Series events – the premium category of events on the DP World Tour – and four Major Championships, all of which count towards the Race to Dubai Rankings, the Tour’s season-long competition which concludes at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
DP World, the leading provider of global smart end-to-end supply chain and logistics solutions, has been the title partner of the DP World Tour since the start of the 2022 season, the Tour’s 50th season following its formation in 1972.
We also enjoy the support of many of the world’s leading business brands with DP World, Rolex, Aldar, BMW, Buffalo Trace Distillery, Emirates, Fortinet and Vestas as Official Partners.
About the European Tour group
The European Tour group administers the DP World Tour, the HotelPlanner Tour, the Legends Tour and the G4D Tour and, as the Managing Partner of Ryder Cup Europe LLP, stages golf’s greatest team contest, the Ryder Cup, in partnership with the PGA of America.
The European Tour group has Strategic Partnerships with the PGA TOUR, the Sunshine Tour, the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, the China Golf Association (CGA), the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO), the Korea Professional Golfers’ Association (KPGA), and the TATA Steel Professional Golf Tour of India. These partnerships provide global pathways for players from across the world to compete internationally on the DP World Tour, the main men’s professional golf Tour of the European Tour group which was established in 1972, as well as the HotelPlanner Tour.
