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January 30, 2016

Branden Grace

Doha, Qatar

NEIL AHERN: Thank you very much for joining us, many congratulations. Your very first successful title defence, seventh European Tour victory. How does it feel?

BRANDEN GRACE: It's great. I'm pretty much at a loss for words. It's a big thing to come to a week defending. You've got a lot more pressure and a lot more things going on that week.

But to get the first proper defence under the belt is something great, and you know, something I've been dreaming of. You know, there's no better place to do it than Qatar. This is really one of my biggest wins to date last year, and I think this is just going to push it up even higher.

NEIL AHERN: It looked today like it was kind of a strategy going perfectly to plan, but was it a little bit more difficult than that, not quite so straightforward?

BRANDEN GRACE: You know, I just told myself, if I playing the same type of golf that I played yesterday, I should be there or thereabouts. It's brutal conditions out there. You can't really force things to happen. You just need to stay patient and let it happen. I did that really well yesterday and it worked to my advantage and did the same today.

I think maybe it went my way a little bit, as well. If ThorbjÃ¸rn made birdie on 16, then it's a different story again. And then you're going down the last with a one-shot lead, and you know anything can happen on 18, especially with that pin position; you get the guy going for it, make eagle. It's happened before with Chris Wood. It's one of those holes where you can't really just get too comfortable that you've done it. But I thought I gave myself a good chance when I hit the green in two, and I knew pretty much, this is done for.

NEIL AHERN: With the form you had coming into this week, you must have felt like this was on the horizon pretty close.

BRANDEN GRACE: Yeah, it was. I've played some really good golf. Everything has just happened. The patience wasn't there the last couple of weeks. I really started pushing, like I wanted to win the SA Open, which maybe wasn't the best of ideas coming off of a holiday. I really didn't do anything over the break and it was a big ask to have won the SA Open.

But I felt things last week came into -- you know, progressed well in the right direction, and I thought I had a good chance, and pushed a little bit too hard, went after a couple of shots I shouldn't have and those things cost me two bogeys on the back nine on Sunday.

This week, I think it played a little bit into my hands with the weather. I enjoy tough conditions. I'm a grinder, and you know, the patience was a big key. I really had to grind it out and let it happen, and when I had the opportunity of making a birdie, I had to take it. That was the big key today.

Q. This tournament has a great list of champions but you're the first one to appear on it twice that row. How does that make you feel?
BRANDEN GRACE: Oh, it's great. I'll say this, I'm definitely coming back.

No, it's awesome. Like you said, there's some great names, there's a lot of big names on the trophy. I feel privileged to be able to get my name on there in a row twice, and that's great. Great feeling, my first defence that I've done properly. I've had a couple of tournaments but none of them's worked out. This is special. It's definitely getting myself over another hurdle.

It's all a big learning curve as your career goes on. I've learned a lot this week for myself, learned patience, and I've learned what it takes now to defend a title. And not just that; to win a title again. It happened two years ago, or last year, but it feels long gone. So it's great to be in the winner's circle again.

Q. What's been the toughest part, winning it for the first time here or defending?
BRANDEN GRACE: You know, both were so different. The first one was obviously, I was never really there. I fell behind early on on the day last year on Saturday, and the guys, Marc Warren and the guys, made some birdies and I was behind and chasing the pack. And then I just had that miraculous finish, eagle, par, birdie, and the rest was history.

Today was a grind. Weather conditions like these, it's just tough. It's tough mentally. It's tough physically. And even though -- the thing is when you start going after things, that's when it backfires, and I think that's why this one was almost more special than last year.

You really had to stick to your guns, stick to the game plan. I had the game plan. I just wanted to play the same type of golf that I played yesterday and it worked out and it was enough at the end.

Q. A lot of players this time of year talk about having rust in their game but you seem to make a habit of winning early in the season. What does it do for your sort of season going forward in terms of your confidence and your game when you have things like the Cadillac coming up and also Augusta?
BRANDEN GRACE: Yeah, it's awesome. I think I take time off in the holiday period over December, but this year was a little bit different. Normally I play quite a bit around with friends and family and things like that, and so you know, you're taking a break but you're still keeping your golf sharp.

This year was completely different. It was a big, long hectic season, 2015. So I really felt I needed the break, just step away for a couple of weeks from the game and just reload those batteries.

Like I said, it wasn't probably the best idea for SA Open. SA Open is one of those tournaments that we all want to win, being a South African.

But I don't know, sometimes it's just worked where my form strikes in the beginning of the season and I've made the most out of it. This sets me up to hopefully be a great 2016. It's already a great 2016, whatever happens for the remainder of the year. But hopefully I can carry on on pretty much a similar route to 2015 and hopefully with a major win.

Q. Can you talk through the last hole, if you knew how things stood with Rafa and what the numbers were on the second shot?
BRANDEN GRACE: Well, 16 I thought was a key hole. I knew ThorbjÃ¸rn, he was playing well. He was hitting some great shots. He also didn't miss a lot of shots the whole day. It's a really tough grind out there. 16, he hit a great tee shot. When he said -- I think he said "get close," and that was pretty much a little dÃ©jÃ vu there when he said it, me saying it last year.

When he said that, I thought he had a good chance. Obviously we can't see much and you just rely on what the people do at the back. I thought he was over, with no applause, and I knew anything long was a tough up-and-down. Tried to give myself a chance and I didn't. And when he missed that putt, then I knew, okay, now it's just trying to hold on and have a decent finish.

17 is not one of those holes where you can really attack the pin. It's so tucked left. The wind howling off the left, it's really hard to actually hit it close. I actually hit a great shot into there, which I thought I made a birdie actually. I hit a great putt which didn't go in and.

Then yeah, then I knew, I'm two ahead with one hole to play but it's not done. I knew there was quite a bit of guys. Rafa was up there. He's a long hitter. He can definitely reach that 18th in two. I thought he would definitely, if he get the opportunity go for it, and same as ThorbjÃ¸rn.

You know, just fortunate for me that the birdie was enough. It was pretty much one of those decisions where I'm either going to have to go for it or lay it up. I think it would have been a lot easier if ThorbjÃ¸rn maybe hit first then it gives me the advantage of seeing what he's done and things like that. I didn't really hear a big crowd for Rafa, so I thought he just made birdie or par.

You know, so that was it. So I had to take it on, and I pretty much -- I would pull that down as the best swing of the week. A 3-iron is not the easiest club in the bag to hit, and I just flushed it straight at the middle of the green and that took care of the rest.

Q. Nick Dougherty touched on this when he interviewed after the round, but what's your thoughts now of moving inside the Top-10 in the World Rankings for the first time?
BRANDEN GRACE: Yeah, well, I know for a fact I'm not going to get there after this win --

Q. You're knocking on the door though, aren't you?
BRANDEN GRACE: I'm knocking. I'm very close. You know what, that comes with it. Golf works in a way if you can take care of tournaments and try and compete and try to win or finish at the top, you'll move up in the World Rankings eventually.

Top-10 has been a long-time goal for me. So you know, if I can get in there, then that's great. I believe it's going to happen, whether it's maybe after this week or after the next tournament I play.

I've given myself the chance of getting that, and I feel that the type of golf that I'm playing at the moment, that it's not far off. I'm excited to head over to the States and hopefully can do it over there.

Q. And you know, we've been talking about the top three, and we've included Rickie now as top four after his win last year. I think you're younger than Jason and just a little bit older than Rory; should we be start talking about you among the top five?
BRANDEN GRACE: I'll let you guys decide that.

Q. Is that a thought?
BRANDEN GRACE: You know what, whatever you guys write is obviously what it's going to be. You know, I don't see myself being far off behind those guys. I think I'm knocking.

I think last year was a big year getting me in that right direction, being a young gun, putting myself in there in the major and things like that. A lot of people say, you know, you haven't really achieved a lot until the day you win a major. I know that. I know that's what it's taken Jason. He's always been a great players. He's always been one of the nicest guys. He's always been one of the best ball-strikers out there. Nobody's really took him serious until he's won the PGA last year.

So if that's what it that takes, then I'm just going to have to grind harder and hopefully get my hands on a major somewhere down the line. But you know, I feel that at the moment, I don't have to stand back for any of those guys. I feel that I've played well with them in the field. I've played well without them in the field. Even weeks like this where it's tough defending; defending, it's always tough. I've got over a big hurdle this week. You never know what the future has got in store.

Q. I just would like to know if you have the same caddie than this year to work?
BRANDEN GRACE: Yes, I do, actually. Zach and I, going back at the end of 2014, we started working together again. It's been great ever since. You know, it's not a relationship that's going to be broken pretty soon, I can tell you that much.

Q. Just going back to your last point about the major, how confident are you ahead of -- after today, ahead of Augusta?
BRANDEN GRACE: You know, majors are obviously a big goal for any golfer, any guy that gets in there, it's a chance to win a major.

I feel with the things that I've learned in the previous couple, I had some good finishes, and I feel my game is in good shape that I can get there. The majors, pretty much the same as this week. You need a bit -- there's a bit of luck involved. You need to get the luck that goes your way with the draw, etc. There's one or two putts that's clutch with makes it, or one or two swings which can turn everything around. That was the case at the U.S. Open for me on the 16th, but I've learned from that. You know, hopefully, if I get into that position again next time around, that I've learned enough to know that I should do maybe that one thing different.

NEIL AHERN: Thank you very much, Branden. Congratulations.

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