Asian Games gold medallist Pranavi Urs meets Rory McIlroy at Delhi Golf Club

Asian Games gold medallist Pranavi Urs met her idol Rory McIlroy at the Delhi Golf Club in New Delhi on Wednesday, exchanging notes about competing at the highest level.

The 23-year-old said the encounter was a dream come true and spoke about her long-standing admiration for McIlroy. “Rory has been my idol for as long as I can remember. I grew up watching him more than I watched Tiger (Woods). I like Tiger as well, but Rory is my ultimate hero,” Pranavi told The Hindu.

The pair spent time together on the putting green and walked a couple of holes while discussing the mental and practical demands of elite golf. “I told him about what I felt when I made the triple bogey in the final round, and he told me about what happened to him at one of the Tour Championships. We spoke about how he felt playing his first Masters. It was quite motivating,” Pranavi said.

McIlroy, a six-time Major champion, praised Pranavi’s resilience in securing gold at the Asian Games in Japan and described the meeting positively. “It is an amazing achievement to win the Asian Games. The resilience and character she showed to go and win after having that early triple bogey… it was a delight to meet her. She is a wonderful young woman. She said she was nervous, but it didn’t seem like she was. It was great to spend some time with her,” McIlroy said.

Published - October 14, 2026 06:49 pm IST. Photo Credit: INSTAGRAM@pranavi_urs.