VOLVO PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 21, 2003

Anders Hansen

GORDON SIMPSON: Anders, it's hard to believe a year has passed since the Volvo PGA. Exactly what has it meant to you to be the champion for these last 12 months.

ANDERS HANSEN: It's been incredible. Just a lot of attention at tournament, better draws; a lot more attention.

GORDON SIMPSON: What about in Denmark itself? Has your win really popularised the game?

ANDERS HANSEN: I think so. It was already getting there because Thomas has been doing so well for so long. So my win didn't really change a whole lot for golf in Denmark.

GORDON SIMPSON: You had a fantastic experience and I seem to remember you coming in here on Sunday night.

ANDERS HANSEN: Strange to think it's been one year in some sense but again, it just feels so long ago.

GORDON SIMPSON: What about your game coming into this year's championship?

ANDERS HANSEN: Well, the last year I was in fairly good form coming into this event and was playing very, very good. So this year, I haven't played as well as last year. I didn't -- I do feel my game is coming around, but to say I will win the tournament, to be fair, we'll have to see.

Q. Did you just get in a zone?

ANDERS HANSEN: Last year? I was playing well going into the event. I was playing so confident, I never could see it go wrong. I was never afraid it was going to go bad. I was playing so good. It was great.

So being strong -- I was strong for a long time, maybe; I don't know.

Q. You played so well that you scared Harrington away. He said that your score was the best ever on the European Tour and he just cannot ever see himself playing that well on this course and that's one of the reasons why is he's not here.

ANDERS HANSEN: Well, that's very nice of him to say. Especially coming from him; he shoots that low score every week. It's good. I was thinking in the practice round, we came out and it was really bad yesterday, it was really blowing hard. It didn't blow this hard last year, I didn't seem to remember that.

Obviously, I was playing so well.

Q. Do you think your victory last year seemed to take the edge off of your game for quite a while; how long do you feel?

ANDERS HANSEN: It took me a while to get back. It was sort of like you get to a point in your life where you reach all of your goals, or you reach a goal which has been so high and you're always trying to achieve the taste of victory and all of a sudden, you've done it and then what's going to happen next? You don't know where it's going to go. That seems to have been very, very hard for me to set some goals and actually live by them.

Q. In the process of trying to rediscover your form, how much have you remembered back to here and basically said to yourself, "Well, what was I doing there that made it work for me in that week?"

ANDERS HANSEN: Obviously, I've been thinking, what did I do that week, why did I play so well? You know, after a period of playing bad, you're thinking, what can I do, and try to find my way back. I also find that you can't just find a way that you were playing. You have to go from where you are. Because if you start looking back and trying to find whatever you had, your searching is very, very hard. I think you should always go from where you are to try to get better. Trying to find something, that you've already been there, I don't think that's possible.

Q. Was there a feeling of expectation, winning this big championship, that you should win other big championships?

ANDERS HANSEN: Well, there were. I thought it was going to be easier to win, but obviously it hasn't been. I've come close a couple of times. I was in a playoff in South Africa. I finished third last year in another event. I've had some chances to win; didn't do it.

But right after winning, you think it's so much easier to win, but it's actually not. It's still the same.

Q. Did you start to get some of those feelings today out there that you had last year?

ANDERS HANSEN: Get those feelings from last year? No. It's great being back. I always liked it here. I played well the two previous years. Last year, I played really, really well. So it's not like a big -- it's nice coming back. I love it here. I love the golf course. I like the British people being so fantastic about golf, which is great.

Q. Anything about the course that really suits your game?

ANDERS HANSEN: I was asked that question before, and I can't really point to it other than I just like it.

GORDON SIMPSON: Well, enjoy the fans this week. Play well. Thank you very much.

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