Parathas and Qormas, Taj Mahal and Temples on wishlist of world's top golfers

New Delhi: For any travelling westerner, India offers enigma and they try to unravel it through its monuments, food and culture.

The world-class visiting golfers, who are here to tee off at the DP World India Championship, India’s biggest golf tournament ever – one which offers $4 million in prize money, are no different.

They are here for a short stint and will try to gather as much of India as possible.

“For Rory McIlroy, it is the Taj Mahal although he won’t be able to vi it's a very vibrant place. I haven't had a chance to see a lot of the country or a lot of the city, but the welcome has been incredible and everyone that I've met has been wonderful and welcoming. So I really appreciate that. sit. But he says he will return,” said Rory McIlroy, the 2025 Masters champion.

“Obviously the Taj Mahal, love to come back at some time in years to come, bring back the family and experience that together. It's obviously a very, very big country and a lot to see. We're just around Delhi but you head south, and you head to a lot of other wonderful places. I hear down on the sort of southwest coast is beautiful. There's so much to see. It's such a big country.”

McIlroy says he is a fan of Test cricket. “I'd love to go and see a cricket game [in India]. I'd love to go watch a cricket match."

Norway’s Viktor Hovland, a seven-time winner on PGA Tour and who also finished tied 3rd in US Open is also keen to delve deep into India’s history. 

“Yeah, just from my own sake, I love just traveling the world and seeing different places and playing different golf courses, playing in front of different fans. I'm a very big fan of the Indian culture. I think it's just so vast and a lot of old history. I love seeing old ruins and temples, and yeah, I think it's really, really cool,” said Hovland.

“Even though I don't know enough about it, it definitely piques my interest, and just being here and seeing a little glimpse of it is really interesting.”

American golfer Ben Griffin, who has two wins on PGA Tour and was among the top 10 in PGA Championship and US Open, is also fond of food.

“I eat a lot of Indian food in America. I was pretty excited to come here and experience Indian food in India. That's the biggest thing in my mind,” he says.

“In America, I eat definitely a lot of different curries, a lot of different Thai food, as well. But what comes to mind the most is probably eat a lot of qorma dishes in America, a lot of masala dishes, paratha. So it's fun to come over here and get to experience the true Indian food.”

British golfer Tommy Fleetwood once took to yoga to get a calm mind. 

“I haven't done yoga for a while, actually. I need to get back into that. I remember when I had a huge phase… I was really struggling with my game and I was in a bad place, having the worst period of golf that I had had… I feel like meditation was a huge part of that. Because I had to sort of really re-wire my confidence and things like that. I still do that to this day. I might be a bit sporadic with it, but I really feel like it's a powerful tool and I feel like it's very, very important.”

Tags : DP World India Championship, Rory McIlroy, Ben Griffin, Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood, Delhi Golf Club, Taj Mahal