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DUBAI OPENDecember 20, 2014Shiv KapurDUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Q. Shiv, not the best of starts but you fought back really well. SHIV KAPUR: Yeah, it was a nightmare of a start. I didn't really hit any poor shots and made a couple of bogeys to start with, and then actually holed about a 15‑footer for par on the fourth hole to sort of keep the round sort of going. You know, sometimes those par putts keep the momentum of the round going, and give you that belief that, okay, now it's time for a wake‑up call. Nothing really happened for me on the front nine. But standing on the 10th tee, I just turned to Neeraj and said, "I need a back nine like the front nine I did at Muirfield. Let's go out and play with that sort of attitude." I came up one short of doing that and I had eagle putt on the last, agonisingly close. Happy with the way I fought back. There was a time where I could completely thrown myself you out of the tournament, so I'm tied for the lead, not too bad. Q. Such a bunched leader board tomorrow. Will there be a lot of leaderboard watching or just focusing on your own game? SHIV KAPUR: I think if you start watching leaderboards, you get away from what you're trying to do, especially when the leaderboard is bunched the way it is. I haven't looked but I'm going to guess there's more than ten guys within a shot or two shots of the lead. You've got to just go out there and play your own game. I'll probably look at the leaderboard around 15 or 16 and see where I am and if I need to take a few more chances or not. But first, front nine at least, it's going to be all about just making as many birdies as you can and trying to separate yourself from a crowded leaderboard. Q. Do you take confidence having won here in The Challenge Tour? SHIV KAPUR: Absolutely. I think any time you've won, you can draw on those experience. You know what it takes, and I think what I've learned in the past is it's not necessarily you have to play your best golf to win. You just have to be patient sometimes. Like today was a classic example of, I was far from my best the front nine and I was completely out of the tournament, but you're never really actually out of it. That's one thing I learned is that you can have your B Game and still be in contention, but you have to make the putts and the birdies when it really matters. I think I will definitely draw on past experiences. Q. But Dubai conditions in particular? SHIV KAPUR: Yeah, I think desert golf has got its own set of challenges. I've played enough in the desert now to know what it takes, enough Desert Classics and in Abu Dhabi and Qatar and all of that. I'm comfortable playing in this setting and temperature. The wind has been one direction all these days, so you sort of know what clubs to hit in and how the ball is reacting on the greens. I think all those things will really help come tomorrow. Q. Can you think of one hole or one shot on the back nine, that, hey, let's get the birdies. SHIV KAPUR: Well, I birdied 11. That was my first birdie of the day, so kind of gives you a little bit of a kick start saying, okay, here we go. And then birdied 12 right after that. And then I said: Okay, I'm back to even par for the day. Tournament starts now and let's see how many birdies we can make coming in and made three more birdies coming in. My target actually was to get to around 9‑under and I got to ten, so I'm pretty pleased. Q. Will you do anything different tomorrow? SHIV KAPUR: Hopefully have a better start. I don't think preparation‑wise anything different. Attitude‑wise, I think it's just a question of doing the same basics right here, fairways and greens, and hoping the putter gets hot at the right time. Q. Does it make a difference that you live in Dubai you and know Dubai well and you know the conditions well; you've played on a course not many have played. SHIV KAPUR: There is obviously your comfort zone. When you play at home, there's a comfort zone factor. I feel at home in Dubai completely. When I play in India, when I play here, it's a similar sort of feeling. So whenever you're in a comfort zone, it's a lot easier to go out and play. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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