Viktor Hovland said he will be prioritising iron-play around the narrow and challenging Delhi GC as he returns to action at the DP World India Championship for the first time since his neck injury at the Ryder Cup.
Joining fellow Ryder Cup winning teammates Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood, Hovland will make his first professional start in India this week.
He makes his return after taking a short break from golf to rest the injury he aggravated on Saturday morning at Bethpage Black (diagnosed as a bulging disc), which forced him to withdraw from the Sunday Singles at the biennial contest. The long-standing Envelope Agreement meant Hovland was awarded a half-point against Harris English in the overall match between Europe and the U.S. Team, which Europe went on to win 15-13.
Reflecting on what happened, Hovland spoke out for the first time about the situation, before he addressed the current status of his injury following a period of rest.
"The whole situation was pretty upsetting," Hovland told media on Tuesday at the DP World Tour India Championship.
"Just the fact that I didn't get to play, and I felt really bad for Harris, who also didn't get to play a match, even though there was nothing wrong with him," he told media on Tuesday at the DP World Tour India Championship.
"He just didn't get to play, and he was upset about that, and I feel very bad for not being able to compete.
"[I] took about a week and a half off after the Ryder Cup and didn't really touch a club, and then was kind of running out of time a little bit to make a decision if I wanted to come here or not.
"I played two 18-hole rounds in a row back-to-back, and my neck felt okay, so I decided to fly over here and give it a chance."
With the key challenge of the 6,912 yard Delhi GC being its narrow fairways and difficult shot-making opportunities around the greens, Hovland admitted that he planned to hit a lot of irons as his biggest issue with current pain management remains with his driver.
Somewhat fortunately for Hovland, that plays into one of his strengths of the current season, where he ranks second in Strokes Gained Approach to the Green on the PGA TOUR.
"I think one of the big things, you don't have to hit driver out here, very much at least," he said. "That definitely helps my neck because it's definitely the driver, I think, that gives me the biggest amount of pain. Hopefully we'll stick to the 3-iron, and the neck will be fine.
"I've been struggling with my driver, especially off the tee. I've been not hitting it very well this year. But my iron game has been very solid. So for me to kind of take the driver out of the bag where everyone has to hit irons, I think that definitely plays into my game, and hopefully I can hit a lot of greens and won't have to chip that much.
"I only got to play five holes. I've never seen the golf course before. I got in last night. But I've got 18 holes tomorrow in the pro-am, so I'll get to see the whole course. But from what it sounds like, I probably won't hit any drivers out there. I think there's a couple holes, maybe 10 and 14 and 18 is what I've heard potentially you can hit driver, but I think I'll just kind of stick to the 3-iron or maybe 3-wood a couple places here and there. There will be a lot of irons this week."
While he will hope to manage any pain that arises, there was an added underlying level of excitement from the Norwegian about his return, referencing his love of traveling the world and Indian culture ahead of the landmark $4million tournament.
"I love just traveling the world and seeing different places and playing different golf courses, playing in front of different fans," he said. "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. Even though I don't know enough about it, I definitely pique my interest, and just being here and seeing a little glimpse of it is really interesting."
As for his first impressions and expectations this week at Dehli GC, Hovland was complimentary but indicated there was a strong demand for a brilliant short game.
The course, which returns to the DP World Tour schedule for the first time since 2016, was originally established in the 1930s and redesigned by Peter Thomson in 1977, with further enhancements by Gary Player Design in 2019.
"I kind of like the grass type," he said. "It's very sandy around the greens, so I think some places where you have to get the lob wedge out and chip it, it's going to be very challenging for a lot of players because if you just hit slightly behind it, it doesn't really come out. The club just digs instead. I think you'll be seeing a lot of putters around the greens if you're in the fairway.
"Then from the rough, it's quite tricky. It's thick Bermuda but the ball sits down every time and it's very firm underneath. It's kind of tough to gauge how the ball is going to come out. Sometimes you have to hit it like a bunker shot or you can hit it just normal and it comes out nice.
"I think I'll be spending some time here the next couple of days getting used to it, but at the end of the day, I think my short game is definitely good enough, and I feel comfortable with these shots around here. If I can just hit my irons well and make some putts, I don't think the short game will be what's holding me back."
He will get his first round under way from the tenth tee at 7.25am local time alongside McIlroy and two-time PGA TOUR winner Ben Griffin, who was a Rookie for the U.S. Team at last month's Ryder Cup.
