DP WORLD INDIA CHAMPIONSHIP

October 15, 2025

Brian Harman

Ben Griffin

CLARE BODEL: Next in the Media Centre, we have Brian Harman and Ben Griffin. Delighted to say they both are playing in India for the first time.

We'll ask you for your first impressions.

BRIAN HARMAN: Golf course is pretty challenging, especially off the tee. Very narrow. I think it will be a great challenge for the week. Happy to be here.

BEN GRIFFIN: Yeah, similar to Brian. Just very tight -- inaudible.

BRIAN HARMAN: I enjoy getting out and seeing the world in January to August. Hopefully get off to a good start next year.

Q. As one of the players that went on the Korn Ferry Tour and went on to the PGA TOUR, and recently the Korn Ferry Tour changed the entry it from 30 to 20. What do you think of that?

BEN GRIFFIN: Yeah, it's interesting the policy changes that happened. What we'll see is better access from those 20 players on the Korn Ferry Tour and on the PGA TOUR on next year's season. They will have more playing opportunities especially early in the season because the guys that finished 101 to 125 are now going to be behind them on the commitment sheet.

The Korn Ferry players that are in the top 20 are going to have a much better opportunity than maybe the past few seasons to play well and keep their PGA TOUR cards. Now, as for going from 30 to 20, that's 10 less guys that would have had a chance to play in a PGA TOUR event.

So in a way you're limiting the amount of players that are now going to be on the PGA TOUR, the new and up-and-coming players maybe but at the same time, there's 20 players who are playing a little bit better than the guys that are 21 to 30 are now going to have a way better chance of playing in not only more events but playing against the best players in the world, and having a chance to showcase their games from that standpoint.

So I can't really speak on whether I think 20 or 30 is write or wrong. I think the ultimate goal this season was to make sure those guys off the Korn Ferry Tour are going to play in a lot more events.

Q. Something a lot of golfers will relate to but you've been very vocal about your perfectionist tendencies and dealing with anxiety. What have you done to mitigate that and keep yourself from spiraling? If you could just talk a little bit about that?

BEN GRIFFIN: I don't think I've necessarily battled any anxiety or anything like that. I'm a pretty positive guy and have a lot of the fun on the golf course.

But yeah, life's short. It's important to take a step back from time to time, especially some recent big events that I've played in, just soak it all in and embrace it and make sure I'm having fun. That's what I did as a kid, and same thing I do now, even though it's my profession.

Q. What is a similarity between hunting and golf?

BRIAN HARMAN: I think both require you to have really good control over your nerves. Being able to settle yourself down. Being able to stay in the moment. Those are kind of the similarities that I draw.

Q. I know the tournament weeks are not the best way to experience a country, a new country you are going to. But before coming over here, is there something that you wanted to experience in India, given traditions and history that we have had?

BRIAN HARMAN: Holding a great big trophy is an experience I'd like to have in India.

BEN GRIFFIN: 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.

Q. What's your favourite dish?

BEN GRIFFIN: Well, 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 korma 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.

Q. And if you can just both tell me about how this golf course fits in, and Brian, you've always said that your iron play and other things are very, should I say, the key to your game. But can you just tell me on a golf course where you probably won't hit as many drivers, how does it fit into both your games?

BRIAN HARMAN: Yeah, it's certainly a different challenge than what we're accustomed to but not totally dissimilar from playing links golf from time to time. Links golf, especially when the ball starts running, a lot of irons off the tee. I take a lot of correlation from here to there and I just try to plot my way around that way.

BEN GRIFFIN: Yeah, it's much different golf than what we typically play on the PGA TOUR especially nowadays in modern golf where we are playing bigger golf courses, longer golf courses. This is a more difficult challenge that we don't see that often on the PGA TOUR and we don't play too many courses where you're not hitting very many drivers. I think Brian said he hit maybe three or four or five today. Other players in the field are hitting as little as zero.

It's a unique challenge, and it challenges your irons more than anything. I think for my specific game, I feel like this year, I've done a really good job with my driver. And this week I'm not necessarily going to be hitting it very much, if at all. And it's going to be challenging trying to flight irons down and trying to keep it in play a little bit more and keep it in the fairway and the greens.

It's not the longest golf course but there's going to be maybe even more mid-irons or long irons than we hit in a typical PGA TOUR which is a longer course because guys are going to be hitting drivers and having short irons in. Now we're hitting 1-irons but we'll still have mid-irons into the green. It's a unique challenge.

Actually I like courses like this a lot more because you just hit a variety of different clubs more often, whereas in America we're so used to hitting maybe drivers and wedges a lot more. It's going to be interesting. It's something I haven't competed on in quite a while to be frankly honest with you. Excited for it.

Q. Brian, you have won two championships, including The Open. Do you prefer courses all four days where you feel like you hold on longer than most, as opposed to some of the birdie-fests that we see?

BRIAN HARMAN: Yeah, I think any of those factors of the golf course, whether it be weather or just challenges, every time one of those factors comes up, I feel like the field gets smaller and smaller.

So the more of those factors that can play into the week, the better chance I feel like I have. If it's windy, that's going to eliminate a portion of the field. If it's super narrow, that's going to eliminate another portion. So just stick to what I'm doing and see what happens.

Q. Your journey in golf, I imagine a fair few Indian golfers are on the cusp of giving up. What lesson can you share?

BEN GRIFFIN: It's important to always chase your dreams but it's also really healthy to take a break sometimes during those dreams and just take a step back and look at it holistically in a way and be able to learn from what your adjourn has been.

For me, I did quit the game fully. I was working a job for a few months there and it was a great time for me to honestly get my mind completely off of golf. I had no intentions of coming back to golf. And it's crazy that it's worked out the way it has. It's been quite the journey, and you know, I'm just trying to soak it all in and also at the same time just continue to work hard and let things happen as they come.

It's a very difficult challenge making it to the top in this sport. There's a lot of different pathways and a lot of it is playing golf in tournaments and places all across the world starting out and not making very much money, and then just kind of trusting the process.

I'm lucky that I had so much support from not only my family and friends but sponsors to give back to golf, and it gave me an opportunity to play not only for myself but felt like I needed to play for them and work hard and make sure I was doing the right things off the golf course to make sure I was doing my best. It was a lot of sacrifices and change in lifestyle, but it's ultimately, definitely paid off, and it's been, yeah, quite the journey.

CLARE BODEL: Thank you, everyone. Thank you, Ben and Brian. Good luck this week.