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SENIOR BRITISH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 23, 2004

Mark McNulty

PORTRUSH, NORTHERN IRELAND

SCOTT CROCKETT: Mark, thanks for coming in, as always. I suppose a little disappointing the finish, but you must be pleased with that performance and where you are in the tournament at halfway.

MARK McNULTY: I think for obvious reasons, if you take the whole picture of the day, a 69, if somebody said to me while I was playing the first hole, you could see the showers coming in, that you WERE going to shoot 69, I would obviously be delighted.

As us golfers are all in the same league, we all bitch and moan about things. I was obviously disappointed to finish with three 5s, but that's golf.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Let's start with the good bits. What happened at the first two?

MARK McNULTY: Well, you know, it was obviously playing downwind and it made things a lot easier. I think the first day, I hit driver and a 5 iron at 1, and yet today, I hit a sand wedge to, what, eight feet.

The par 5, I hit a 4 iron to six feet and unfortunately missed that, but made a birdie, so I was on good footing. And then I proceeded to have a couple of chances and a couple of saves, and finished off at No. 9 by holing a nice 30 footer for birdie. So 3 under the first nine, I was obviously delighted.

And kicked off with a really nice 2 at 11 by holing I hit an 8 iron to 12 feet.

And the course, the wind, it changed holes that were playing downwind yesterday to playing across. Ones that were a crosswind yesterday were downwind. So it was for all intents and purposes a completely different wind. And from what I can gather from the locals, this is the normal prevailing summer wind. I played with three local guys in the Pro Am and they were telling me about that wind, so trying to program it in the brain.

15, I thought I hit a terrific tee shot. And it just sort of hung up right and got caught up in that downhill rough section there. I hit a good wedge out, a little punch wedge shot to 25 feet and obviously made a good putt.

I think I got caught up, my thinking went a little astray on my second shot at 16. I was obviously guarding too much against going into the right hand bunker next to the green because you're definitely dead, and I just pulled it a little bit. I was on the left edge of the fairway, and it was it felt like it was straight into me, but if anything was just a hair across to my left. So it accentuated my pull shot and didn't get it up and down.

The last hole was just, once again, I think my second shot, my caddie and I came up with the wrong club. That was the main reason why I dropped a shot. I hit 6 iron.

SCOTT CROCKETT: And it should have been 5?

MARK McNULTY: I should have been bumping a 5 iron a little bit, but you just don't know what it's going to do downwind.

Q. You're in a very strong position halfway; do you take confidence that?

MARK McNULTY: Oh, it is. I think at this stage, if you happen to have fluked a couple of 63s, that's a really strong position, but that's never going to happen with the wind around here. So whether you're three shots ahead or three shots behind, or one or two, whatever it might be ahead or behind, with 36 holes to go; and the likelihood that it's going to be a little windy, maybe a little sunnier than it has been today, we are still in for wind which is always going to make it interesting around Portrush.

Q. Do you enjoy playing in these conditions, do you enjoy the challenge of playing in the wind?

MARK McNULTY: I don't know what it is. I've always been a relatively good links golf player. My record in the British Open was always pretty good, and I just love it. You know, it was very unfortunate, I had sort of the can't play Troon, but with us having the sort of four majors in a row, so I decided to not do that.

But I do like the wind. Why? I suppose if anything, I'm more of a I've always been more of a flat ball player than a high trajectory player, so that's obviously lends me to the wind. And with links golf as well, I'm more of a I get a little bit of run on the ball, so, it helps me. So I take it nicely.

Q. Inaudible?

MARK McNULTY: Well, I don't think one has to be too smart to work it out. It's pretty easy. I didn't make that decision lightly, and all intents and purposes, I have played the bulk of my golfing career representing Zimbabwe in World Cups. But, without getting too much on the political side here, we were only Nick and I were only able to play, I'm telling you, able to play World Cup from, when was it, '93 in Zimbabwe for however long it was, 13, 14 years, but because we had we played in South Africa at times. It was only when Mandela came out and it was a change that the Zimbabweans would allow us to play World Cup. Where I'm going here is delicate. For all intents and purposes now, if you have not got the brethren skin color, you live where I live, it doesn't work. I should have done what I did 25 years ago. But I didn't, and I really don't want to go too far down the line, but let me try to sort of on the record, obviously, I'm delighted that I'm playing here. My grandmother's side of the family came from Bellamine (ph), very close, and have friends and family who know their family and have done a lot of research for my immediate family.

I've always enjoyed playing in Ireland and I've had it many a time back when we used to play at Port Monarch in the early 80s, even, people, Irish people used to say to me, "With a name like McNulty, are you Irish." Yes, of course I am, and I should have pursued it then and I didn't.

Q. Is your family from northern Ireland?

MARK McNULTY: That's something which I can't get into because I don't know yet. I would say Irish, they ask, where are you from, whether you're from the south or the north, as far as an Irishman is concerned, a true Irishman, which is technically speaking the south, whether you are born in the north, you are still Irish.

So, Irish is Irish. So I'm not going to go too far down that political line.

Q. Inaudible?

MARK McNULTY: Apart from that, which I've just been talking about, I've always enjoyed playing in Ireland irrespective of feedback of the Irish connection or feedback because they know you as a player. I think Irish crowds have always been very knowledgeable and I've always enjoyed playing the K Club and I've always enjoyed playing the Irish Open.

End of FastScripts.

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