Keita Nakajima will take the lead into the final round of the 2025 DP World India Championship at Delhi Golf Club.
The 25-year-old from Japan fired a 7-under 65 during Saturday’s third round to enter the clubhouse at 17 under par, two shots clear of the field. Nakajima says he tried to soak it all up as he played alongside major champion and European Ryder Cup stalwart Shane Lowry, who sits solo third at 14 under after turning in another 3-under 69 Saturday.
“It was a great day,” Nakajima said. “I played with Shane Lowry. I love his swing tempo and his golf style, so I learned from Shane a lot … I copied his swing tempo every shot.”
Nakajima entered the week at No. 21 in the Race to Dubai, which is the DP World Tour’s season-long competition similar to the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup. The top 10 finishers in the Race to Dubai standings at the end of the season earn their PGA Tour card for 2026.
With just three more events on the schedule, Nakajima has that card in his crosshairs, and a win in India on Sunday would go a long way in securing it.
“That is my goal this year,” Nakajima said. “My best friend, Kensei Hirata, he played the Korn Ferry Tour this year and he got his Tour card last week. I want to catch up with him and we want to go to the PGA Tour together.”
As for Lowry, he wasn’t happy with his performance Saturday, which yielded his second straight 69 after a blistering 64 in Thursday’s opening round.
“I got very frustrated on the back nine today,” Lowry said. “I started to hit very loose shots, made some silly mistakes. It was disappointing on the back nine. I played great on the front nine. I was really in control of my game and with how things were going. Made a great par save on 9 and then I just missed a short putt on 10 and then it kind of snowballed from there. I did my best to get it back on track, and it was nice to birdie the last, but I made a couple of really silly errors, mental errors, but it is what it is.”
Still, the 2019 British Open Champion remains firmly in contention as he seeks his seventh win on the DP World Tour.
“I’m still only three back. Keita [Nakajima] played great today, so he’ll be hard to beat tomorrow, but there will be a few of us not far behind him, hopefully giving him a run.”
The man sandwiched in between Nakajima and Lowry is none other than 2025 FedEx Cup Champion Tommy Fleetwood, who continues his run as one of the hottest players in the world. After finally breaking through with his first win on American soil at the 2025 Tour Championship, Fleetwood played a major role in leading Europe to a Ryder Cup victory.
Now, the 34-year-old Englishman enters the final round in India with a chance to nab his eighth win on the DP World Tour. Fleetwood expressed frustration with his performance on the greens Saturday but still managed to fire a 4-under 68. He enters the final round at 15 under, two behind Nakajima.
“[I will] focus on that really good stuff and know that if I play like that, I’ve got a really good chance of scoring and shooting a good round. Two behind is kind of close enough where I’m still in control of it a little bit. Keita is not far enough ahead where he’s completely in control,” Fleetwood said.
“Just go into tomorrow, enjoy it. Final group is always great. You’ve got to enjoy those moments. You don’t know when they’re going to come again. Looking forward to that. It’s been a great tournament.”
A few other notables will have an outside chance at victory in India on Sunday, including American Brian Harman — who will start the final round in a four-way tie for fourth at 13 under — and Viktor Hovland, who is tied for eighth at 12 under while Rory McIlroy is T-15 and seven shots off the lead.
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