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Rory McIlroy ventures into new territory by competing in India this week as he makes his comeback to competition for the first time since the prestigious team event.

As the golf superstar widens his competitive experience, the DP World Tour enters the closing stage of this year's Race to Dubai. The world-class golfer is in the leading spot to claim the annual championship for the fourth season running and seventh occasion in total.

There are only three more events following the Indian event; the subsequent week's Genesis tournament in South Korea - which concludes the second half of the tour calendar - and then the last two competitions in the Middle East.

These particular big money 'play-off' events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai are exclusively available for the top 70 and then top 50 in the season rankings.

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

Comfortably below the seventieth position, at initial inspection it would seem both require high finishes from their visit to the Indian course to keep alive their campaigns. But, in fact, they are guaranteed in advance of their positions in Abu Dhabi and the final event.

This results from a little publicised but practical exception whereby participants of the European squad are also deemed qualified for next month's season finale events.

The English golfer, who won the PGA Tour's play-offs with his stirring victory at August's Tour Championship in Atlanta, lies 94th in the continental circuit's annual rankings. The Irish champion, who made the putt that retained the Ryder Cup, is one hundred fifty-fifth.

Additional squad members who can potentially benefit are Ludvig Aberg (72nd) and Straka (one hundred forty-seventh).

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

The tour is 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 investment, which amounts to substantial funding.

The talented golfer has enjoyed one of his most successful campaigns, highlighted by his first win on American soil at the Atlanta course just under two months ago.

He is one of the continent's elite players and, frankly, it would be unthinkable to host the upcoming season climax without him.

Common sense overrides pure competition, even though the top-ranked player - a Dubai resident - has saved his best performances for events that do not qualify on his domestic circuit.

Fleetwood has so far played only four DP World Tour events and been unable to finish in the top 20 at any of them; the Middle Eastern event, Scottish Open, BMW PGA Championship or Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

The majors also count on the Race to Dubai 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 placements in the top five.

Fleetwood was also the team's highest contributor at the New York course last month. It seems absurd for him not to be taking his place with the tour's leading stars at the end of the campaign.

While in the past the PGA and European tours were fierce competitors they are now closely connected thanks to the strategic alliance that supports European tour prize funds.

As the English golfer, last week's winner of the Open De Espana, has positioned himself in close pursuit as his nearest challenger at the top of the Race to Dubai, much of the interest for the remaining schedule will have an American bias.

The storyline will be driven by the scramble for ten spots on the PGA Tour for those who do not currently possess tour cards in the US. The rising star, with three European victories, is assured of what is generally considered as advancement to the US circuit.

The Clitheroe-based pro, who also secured invites to the Masters and Open with his Madrid victory, is not in the India field but will mount a final push to try to overtake McIlroy at the top of the rankings.

And the English competitor, the player the champion beat in the Spanish playoff, is one of four other Britons in the midst of the competition for a future US tour card.

Yorkshireman Parry and the West Country pair of Smith and Laurie Canter also currently occupy spots that would provide a golden ticket for next year.

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

However the DP World Tour maintain it is a crucial system that underpins their tour calendar, a necessary and attractive element that maximises competitive chances for its participants.

Undoubtedly this is the time of the year where the realities and compromises of men's professional golf seem at their most evident.