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

While the Northern Irishman widens his competitive experience, the European golf circuit enters the closing stage of this year's Race to Dubai. McIlroy is in pole position to secure the annual championship for the fourth consecutive year and seventh occasion in total.

There are only three additional tournaments after the Indian event; the following week's Genesis tournament in South Korea - which concludes the second half of the tour calendar - and then the last two competitions in the Arabian region.

These big money 'play-off' events in the UAE capital and Dubai are exclusively available for the leading seventy and then leading fifty in the season rankings.

However for players such as Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry, who are also in this tournament lineup in India, there is reduced stress than you might imagine.

Sitting outside the seventieth position, at initial inspection it would seem both require strong performances from their visit to the Indian course to keep alive their seasons. Yet, in fact, they are guaranteed in advance of their places in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

This is due to a rarely discussed but pragmatic exception whereby members of the European squad are also deemed qualified for next month's closing tournaments.

Fleetwood, who won the PGA Tour's play-offs with his stirring victory at the season-ending event in Atlanta, sits ninety-fourth in the continental circuit's annual rankings. The Irish champion, who made the winning stroke that secured the team trophy, is 155th.

Other squad members who can potentially benefit are Aberg (72nd) and Straka (147th).

This could question the integrity of a play-off system, which by nature is intended to bring cut-throat competitive jeopardy, but this scenario also illustrates realities faced by the headquartered European circuit.

The tour is reliant on big backers such as the title partner, who are also the naming sponsors of this current tournament in India. They need the top players at their premier tournaments to justify the financial commitment, which amounts to substantial funding.

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

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

Practical considerations overrides pure competition, even though the top-ranked player - a local resident - has reserved his best performances for events that do not qualify on his domestic circuit.

The Englishman has to date played only four DP World Tour events and failed to place in the top 20 at any tournament; the Middle Eastern event, UK tournament, BMW PGA Championship or Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

The majors also count on the Race to Dubai and his share of 16th at the Open was his only top 20 in the big four tournaments. But on the American-based circuit he achieved seven top-five finishes.

The European star 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 conclusion of the campaign.

While in the past the PGA and European tours were fierce competitors they are now inextricably linked thanks to the cooperative partnership that supports European tour financial rewards.

As Marco Penge, recent champion of the Open De Espana, has moved into McIlroy's wing mirrors as his nearest challenger at the top of the Race to Dubai, much of the attention for the rest of the season will have an US focus.

The narrative will be driven by the competition for 10 places on the PGA Tour for those who do not currently possess tour cards in the US. Penge, with three European victories, is assured of what is generally considered as 'promotion' to the US circuit.

The Lancashire golfer, who also guaranteed invites to the Augusta National and Open with his Madrid victory, is not in the India field but will launch a last effort to try to overtake McIlroy at the peak of the rankings.

And Dan Brown, the player the champion beat in the Madrid play-off, is one of four other Britons in the thick of the competition for a future US tour card.

Northern golfer John Parry and the West Country pair of Smith and Canter also presently hold spots that would yield a golden ticket for next year.

Some observers view this development as proof that the DP World Tour is now essentially a development tour for the larger circuit on the American continent.

However the DP World Tour maintain it is a vital mechanism that underpins their schedule, a essential and attractive element that maximises competitive chances for its members.

Undoubtedly this is the time of the year where the practical aspects and necessary adjustments of men's professional golf seem at their most evident.