|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT SCOTTISH OPENJuly 12, 2014Craig LeeABERDEEN, SCOTLAND Q. What do you make of that, proud of yourself? CRAIG LEE: Definitely, played really nicely today.  Hit a lot of good shots and I probably left a few putts out there, as well. But I made a few nice ones, as well, so it kind of evened itself out to quite a good score.  I managed to get a few birdies where you would expect to get the birdies, par 5s downwind where you can reach in two, no problem, and then I made a nice birdie on the way back in and managed not to drop any shots. Q. Are you as calm and composed as you appear, or do you churn inside, knowing it's the National Open? CRAIG LEE: On a Saturday, I'm still relatively calm. It was a nice feeling coming down the home stretch playing the way I was. I knew some of the tees were forward and so didn't have to rely on too many real good drives. Could get away with sort of chipping irons and getting yourself into position, so I was quite happy. Q. Time will tell, but on a Sunday? CRAIG LEE: Different kettle of fish, really. I'm sure the little heart will be pounding but hopefully on the outside I'll still look relatively calm. Q. Have you had a lock at the board? CRAIG LEE: I had a quick peak coming off the last there and as you would expect, the leaders are still on the way out. They are kind of moving away. But who knows, on the back nine they might come back but two very experienced players out there so I wouldn't expect they will come back too much. Q. How is the support at your National Open? CRAIG LEE: No question, the Scottish crowds are renowned out there for being very supportive of any player of any nationality. But when you know a few more of them, it's been very encouraging. Q. And you know a few of them? CRAIG LEE: Yeah, I've said hello to quite a few people out there actually. Some of them I don't know their names but I certainly recognise a lot of faces. Q. Have you played here before? CRAIG LEE: I have, yes, a few times. Played Scottish Boys' up and around about here and we played a lot of Tartan Tour events around here, Pro‑Ams. So I have played here quite a lot. Q. You seem to like having Phil Mickelson in the field, brings out the best in you. The last time you were in contention‑‑ CRAIG LEE: I was in contention and he definitely got the better of me that day, so not the best memory to bring back. Q. I just meant in the field‑‑ (laughter). CRAIG LEE: There's a lot of good players in the field this week. So it's always nice to be in amongst them. Q. Compared to the rest of the year, how has this week been? Is this the best stuff that you've produced? CRAIG LEE: No, obviously Abu Dhabi, I played some real good golf in Abu Dhabi at the beginning of the season. And I've had sort of spurts where I've played maybe 12 holes of real good stuff, and then obviously not managed to put 18 holes together. And then on top of that, trying to putt 72 holes together.  So there's been a lot of real good stuff in there but there's just been too much rubbish. The short game has been a lot tidier this week and as I say, I've managed to move the ball into positions where it's a little bit easier to get up‑and‑down. So the course has been pretty kind to me, as well. Q. Where is the rubbish, short game? CRAIG LEE: Everywhere. It can change from week‑to‑week unfortunately. It's just not been consistent enough and that's been the down fall. One day it might be the driver, the next day is might be the chipping and the next day might be putting. That's just the nature of the game to get all together, and one round is hard enough but to do it in four rounds is even harder. Q. Having yourself and Marc in the last couple of groups is going to make a big difference to the atmosphere tomorrow. CRAIG LEE: Yeah, is it but you can definitely see that a lot of people have come here to see Mickelson and what‑have‑you. It's the joke with my caddie on the first tee, it's quite good to take a before and after when Mickelson is on the tee, and take a picture of the crowd and then when he leaves, take a picture of my crowd. It sort of dwindles a little bit (laughter). There's a lot of support from the locals here and as I say, there's been a lot of people come up from Stirling to watch me, as well, so it does make a big difference. Q. Do you always think back to Switzerland, that experience there? CRAIG LEE: Yeah, definitely. That was the best experience I've had, to be in that position and to go out and play the way I have done at Switzerland, there was a lot of confidence I took from that. I've been sort of up in contention a few times and maybe not capitalised on it and fell away, but Switzerland was one where I actually played really well on Sunday, as well. So I'll take that into tomorrow. Q. Is it definitely a case of the mentality and the pressure is different Sunday, final day, in the position you're? CRAIG LEE: Oh, there's no question. Although you've still got 18 holes and one golf ball, it's still‑‑ it should still be the same golf course. But it just plays a lot different. Everybody sort of responds differently to pressure and it takes a bit of getting used to. It's just like everything else; the more you're doing it, the more you know how your body is going to behave and how it's going to react. We've been in position a few times now that hopefully I've got it sussed. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|