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CIMB CLASSICOctober 30, 2014Rikard KarlbergKUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA THE MODERATOR: Thanks for joining us. You had a very nice round of 65 today with two birdies on the closing two holes. Just talk us through your round today. Great round from you. RIKARD KARLBERG: Yeah. I was just going out there and trying to be as relaxed as I could and just have fun. It's not every day that I play in this kind of big tournament, and I love this track, so I know‑‑ and it fits my game very good. So I was just trying to have a good time out there, and I came out a good start, even if I missed a little bit, I saved shots, and also when I missed the fairway on the par‑5 and needed to lay up, made a good wedge shot, made birdie. And the putting was great, so after a hot start, and then it was a little bit so‑so, missed‑‑ did a really important par there on 14, I think it is, or 13, the par‑4, uphill. So seems like 15 good putt there. And kept my round going, so even if I missed a few, actually on 14 and 16, I kept it going and it was nice to finish with those two extra ones at the end. Q. What is it about this golf course that you like? RIKARD KARLBERG: It fits my eye, as normally I could struggle a little bit from the tee with my driver and so on, but here I feel really comfortable and can just smash the driver. And I mean the flight's pretty long for me, so I can carry a few of the hazards here and there, and that makes it a little bit better for me. Q. You started your round early. It seems the early guys, the scores have pretty well stood up. RIKARD KARLBERG: I just talked with my caddy about that. I actually felt when we made the turn somewhere, I said when we turned it felt even better than the morning, because in the morning it was so humid, so my glasses just get foggy from‑‑ it's getting so hot on the forehead and when the cap and the wind gets in. I think the greens could be a bit of a difference. I went first out, the greens were so smooth, and after the turn, it almost looked like they have grown a bit. But I think it's just like for people that walked on them. So I think it could be a little green thing that could be there, the difference. Q. This event is probably the second or third biggest event on the Asian tour. What was your expectations coming into this week, and did that help in any way? RIKARD KARLBERG: You know, I had‑‑ it's been a busy schedule coming into this week, so there's been some pressure, and I just stopped almost enjoying the game. I was a little bit frustrated before the two last tournaments coming into this week. So coming into this week and I realized that before, that just enjoy it and have fun out there made a big difference for me. I have better body language, even if I miss a shot and so on. And so I haven't really thought about it as a big event. I just enjoy that we play on great golf course, and yeah, enjoy it. Q. We spoke out here, and I think he was teasing some of the media. Is that your nature, just having fun and just having a bit of light‑hearted fun out there to ease the pressure of competing in such high‑level golf? RIKARD KARLBERG: Yeah, definitely. Enjoy doing those. Unfortunately was a way now, but definitely, because it's just‑‑ golf is a long walk with a few shots here and there, and you have to have fun between those walks, and when you're inside of the course as well, so I think me, just enjoy it and just don't over do those four seconds of concentration. The rest is to chat a bit, have fun and enjoy the walk. Q. Any more videos planned? RIKARD KARLBERG: There is not, but I mean my wedding is coming up. I'll see if I do something funny for my wife. I don't know. Q. When is the big day? RIKARD KARLBERG: The week of the black mountain event actually, in February. The third week of February. Q. You talk a bit about being frustrated the last two events. Any reason? Is it because of your health concern as well? RIKARD KARLBERG: Yeah, I mean it's definitely that. There has been a lot of things going on. Trying to combine both European Tour and Asian tour flying back and forward, getting sick because of the virus infection I suffered from the whole year more or less, and get the flu symptoms. So I mean it was just several weeks ago I had to pull out from a ways. And it gets you a little bit stressed out, and I realized that, as well, that, okay, I can't really do anything about it, try to eat as good as I can, at least that's what the doctors say. So it just doesn't help when you get frustrated, and especially out on the golf course it doesn't. Q. There's been talk about this week the gap that may have existed in the past between the top‑level PGA pros on the Asian tour and European Tour has closed a little bit. You being on top of the leaderboard, do you think there's more evidence of that? RIKARD KARLBERG: Yeah, definitely. I think you see it, as you say, on all different tours. The top guys‑‑ the only difference between the tour, I think, is maybe the depth of the fields we have. Maybe PGA TOUR is 125 guys, has a better average than the top 110 guys on the European Tour and also the top 110 guys here on the Asian tour. But I think if you take the top 20 guys from any tour, I think everyone will have the same fight. And I think we saw that this year when we had the Asian Cup, Europe against Asia, and they actually tied the game. So definitely, everyone, especially this part of the world, they get to learn more about the game still a few because it's quite an expensive sport from where I come from Sweden. It's not a quite normal sport to do, but this sport is so expensive to be a member and so on, but that's starting to change to make more juniors come in and come play the game so everybody can play. And that's why I think we're starting to see a difference in that they are more the same kind of level. Q. Come across as being fun. Is this his normal soothing? RIKARD KARLBERG: I don't know. It's always different, but I think we would like to be quite ironic in Sweden, and we don't mind to, you know, show our personality. You have a few guys out there, and I don't know, I think what is the great thing with the Swedes is like we always stick together and everybody is looking out and everybody has fun together. So maybe it is something in that that everybody is quite funny and enjoy the ironic and the things like that. Q. Can you talk about the state of your game? If so, what is it? RIKARD KARLBERG: I mean when you come to the top and you play this big event, I think it's definitely my mental coach who does the difference, and I think he may for every player coming out, almost everyone has a mental coach, because everybody could stand and hit the ball on the range pretty great, put putters, good from everywhere. But it comes in when you put the pressure on yourself. So that is the difference for, I would say for me and also for a lot of other players. Q. Can you spell out your mental coach's name? RIKARD KARLBERG: Anders Haglund. It's spelled Anders first name is A‑N‑D‑E‑R‑S, H‑A‑G‑‑ oh, sorry. Anders was first and then second name was Haglund is H‑A‑G‑L‑U‑N‑D. Q. Is it crazy or the game is good enough to have concentration without the mental coaching? Is that crazy what you're doing, you love what you're doing. Why do you need a mental coach? RIKARD KARLBERG: You know, it's‑‑ everybody wants to win so bad when you get out here, and every shots count, and you think a lot about what you need to do with the ball. I don't think there's any other sport in the world that, you know, you have‑‑ you think so much before you do that slow action. So that's why so many thoughts go through it and you just want to put it at the places you want, and you know if you start to think about the misses and so on, it's really hard to just be relaxed as you maybe are just playing football, maybe you're trying to be quicker or in ice hockey, trying to tackle harder or get through the defense somehow. Here like offense doesn't work, defense doesn't work. You have to be natural, kind of, or have the same level all the time, and that's the tough part of it, trying to‑‑ even if it heats up, you know, and you really want to win, you still have to stop. You can't go back and do defense like you can do in football. You can't go and do offense. That usually doesn't work when you get nervous or something like that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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