|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
DUBAI DUTY FREE IRISH OPEN HOSTED BY THE RORY FOUNDATIONMay 31, 2015Soren KjeldsenNEWCASTLE, NORTHERN IRELAND NEIL AHERN: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, it's my great pleasure to welcome the 2015 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation Champion, Søren Kjeldsen. How does that title sound to you? SØREN KJELDSEN:  It sounds amazing. You know, I felt good before coming into the tournament. I played well the last two tournaments, but not with any chance of winning them. So to have the chance today was exciting; and nerve‑wracking at the same time, because I haven't played great for a long time, and I think you can see down the stretch that my confidence is maybe not where it was a few years ago. But today will certainly help. NEIL AHERN: You had two crucial putts that crept in the back door. It was a roller coaster of emotions, wasn't it. SØREN KJELDSEN:  Yeah, it was, the whole way around. I couldn't believe really that I still had a chance, because I was really leaking on the back nine, and, well, on the front nine, as well. But it was encouraging to see that I wasn't the only one and just tried to stay with‑‑ I felt like I was swinging the club well actually. Just hitting decent shots but kept missing greens and couldn't get up and couldn't make any putts. I felt it was my tournament to lose, so it was a difficult situation. I think if you're one or two behind, and you go for shots and you make birdies, it's a different mind‑set. But I felt like I was in the driving seat pretty much the whole day and it was very difficult to get over the line. NEIL AHERN: So you were nervous, you didn't show it on the playoff hole. Can you talk us through it? SØREN KJELDSEN:  On the 72nd hole, I hit a fantastic drive. I only had 195 front, so I didn't hit it quite as well in the playoff but still hit a good tee shot. Had 221 front which is a good number for me with my 3‑wood. Absolutely nailed it and I was pretty happy to hear that cheer. So I had an idea it was on the green and next part was trying to 2‑putt from there which wasn't easy. Q. You mentioned on TV about the new caddie three weeks ago. Can you just tell us, his full name, and also why you made the change and what he's done for you since you got together? SØREN KJELDSEN:  His name is Alistair Matheson. He used to work for Ogilvy for 12 years. It was just by coincidence, really. I had Simon, who normally works for Marcus Fraser. He worked for me in Morocco. I wasn't sort of settled with any caddie, so Simon worked as my caddie. He said that Alistair was looking for work. I didn't know Alistair that well, but we just hit it off, and I was trying to convince Alistair to stay with me for a while. And Alistair was sort of reluctant to commit, but I think he was going back to America. I said, if I shoot a lot of rounds in the 60s, you might want to stay. He didn't comment on that. From day one, he was so encouraging. He was like, "You know, Søren, you should be doing better than what you are doing. You need to climb back up on that World Ranking." Just to have somebody next to you that really believes in you and every day, he's like, "You know, Søren, you can really play, you've got to go and do this." And when we are out there making decisions, he's just a rock. I'll ask him a question, he'll take about six, seven, eight seconds to answer them. But when he says something, I listen, and I trust what he says. And on top of that, he's got a great sense of humour and a couple of times today and yesterday, where I ended up going against his advice and his good shots, he kept telling me that I would be an excellent caddie if I wanted to change jobs. He's a really, really special guy, and I think within these last three weeks, we've really connected, which I didn't think would happen so quickly. Q. (Inaudible.) SØREN KJELDSEN:  It was very slow today, but to be fair, we waited a lot. So it wasn't like we were behind. But I don't know‑‑ well, I do know; it was very difficult. But no, we went slow. Q. Probably still sinking in but this is going to open up so many doors with exemptions and the WGC and a slot in The Open. Wondering your thoughts about that? SØREN KJELDSEN:  Those tournaments, they have been a long way away from me for a while. You know, I played all the majors and World Golf Championships back in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and not much happened. You reach 40 and you start wondering, you know, am I never going back to Augusta; am I never going to play the Open again. But I kept waking early; I kept on the range; I kept hitting chip shots and bunker shots and putts. I wanted to show that I've still got a lot to give and I still absolutely love what I do. So it's easy for me to spend time practicing and traveling. I've been very fortunate doing what I do, and to play the big events, it's pretty special, because obviously it's more fun playing with the biggest guys. Q. Three Danes have now won The Irish Open in the last 14 years. What is it about the Danish doing so well in this event? And did you hear from Thomas or Søren the last few hours? SØREN KJELDSEN:  I haven't checked my phone yet. But this weather that we get here, is what I am brought in. Alistair said this morning, he said, "Is it really that windy where you're from"? I said, "It really is."   I love playing in the wind, and as you can probably see, as well, with my game, I shape shots, I hit it low, and I rely a lot on my short game, as well, which I really needed today. So I think this type of golf certainly suits my game better than maybe playing in the desert or something. So I think that's probably the main reason why Danes have done well in this tournament; and the fact that Danes have generally done really well over the years. We've done well in a lot of tournaments. Q. Can you talk us through the mental process on the chip on 18 in regular play, and your thought on that last putt to win The Open? SØREN KJELDSEN:  In regular play, every time apart from the one on 15, when I've had to bump it into the hill, I've been too cute. I was too cute on the first today. Made a stupid bogey. On 8, I made double where it's a difficult chip but I was too cute with the chip. Didn't get up, so it rolled all the way down. I was pretty set on actually getting the ball up to the hole. And obviously dropping away from the hole after that, I played it a bit too hard, but it's a tough chip shot, because it wasn't like it was off the fairway. I was in the rough, as well. It came out a little hot and to be honest with you, I made a great up‑and‑down from the other side there to get in the playoff. And that little putt had a few thoughts, as well, before deciding to go in. Yeah, difficult chip shots, and with the pressure, it certainly doesn't make it any easier. Q. You mentioned the double you made at 8 and you made a few bogeys before that, obviously, starting at the first. You steadied your round with level par after that; how did you manage to do that and was your caddie an influence on that? SØREN KJELDSEN:  After the two bogeys‑‑ I think I played really solid. I was fortunate on 4 that I got a good lie. I had a pretty easy up‑and‑down. But apart from that, I hit quality shots, which I've done really all week. Had a few sort of outside birdie chances but I hit really, really good shots and actually on 8, as well, I hit a great drive just in the semi‑rough. Hit a beautiful 8‑iron. Just flew a little bit and then you're in a tough spot. You know, even being 4‑over par after eight holes, I didn't feel like I was playing poorly. It's just very, very difficult. So steadying the ship, yeah; but I played well, like I played all week. Q. Did you ever think for a moment that you had let things slip at that stage? SØREN KJELDSEN:  Absolutely. But I decided that I wasn't going to look at any leaderboards. But then when things were really slipping, I looked on 11 and I saw my name still on top of it. And I couldn't believe that I managed to make my only birdie on 12 after that. But I was really decided not to look, but then when things really were slipping, it was sort of encouraging for me to look at the board and see I was still in it; and therefore, disappointed as I was walking off the 72nd hole, I felt like, you know, I can't believe I've still got a chance to win this, because I certainly had not done what I felt I needed to do. So it was a bonus to still have the chance. Q. What was your experience of playing Royal County Down before this week? Did you have a friend from Northern Ireland that you played with? SØREN KJELDSEN:  I have a friends from Belfast that I met when I lived in London. We became really good friends. He organized a boys trip where we came up and played here. I think it was 2010 or something like that. We played here, Portrush and Portstewart. Stayed down the road at‑‑ is it called Bushmills? As you can imagine, I'm struggling to remember that name. But we certainly had a great time. And I think‑‑ I walked this course on Monday and played it on Tuesday. But I still feel that having played it before helped me, because there's so much to learn about this golf course. I mean, even though our yardage books are incredibly detailed and very good; it's impossible to put everything down on paper what you need to know to play this course well.  So I was really pleased that I had been here before, and I can't wait to come back. NEIL AHERN: Thank you very much and congratulations again, Søren. 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
|