	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

BMW INTERNATIONAL OPEN

June 24, 2016

Henrik Stenson

Cologne, Germany

Q. Well played, you made that look very easy. Is that how it felt for you?
HENRIK STENSON: Well, it was definitely a very solid round. Even though there's a little bit more to and from a few of the mid-iron shots, I was never really in trouble today. I hit most of the fairways, and most of the greens. Could have been closer on a couple of them, but greed is a terrible thing.

And then I just made some good putts. I was rolling it nicely yesterday and did the same today. Good pace and never really left myself too many testers. Greens are obviously a bit smoother in the morning than in the afternoon and made some good ones out there today.

Q. The key to this course to me seems to be hitting the fairways and that 3-wood you've got is like gold dust, is it?
HENRIK STENSON: Yeah, it's been waking up, as well. I feel like I'm hitting it another ten, 15, beginning of the week. So I'm striking it quite nicely and absolutely. I mean, 250 metres down the middle on quite a few of these par 4s is a nice place to be. I'm just going to try and do plenty more of the same over the weekend.

Q. What is your game on plan the weekend; to be aggressive or just be patient and wait for the scores?
HENRIK STENSON: I feel like I tried to push when it was the right times, and this course can certainly bite back. On a few of the holes, you've got water and some steep banks going down to the water. So on a few of them you'd rather be on the safe side than the wrong side.

When you have got good numbers, you can definitely be aggressive. There's a few to stay away from and if these soft conditions continue, which I think they will, then you can certainly go for the pin when the numbers are right.

Q. There have been a few high-profile withdrawals from the rye he Olympics, what are your plans?
HENRIK STENSON: I'm still going. I'll be there.

Q. Great to hear.
HENRIK STENSON: Absolutely. I'm looking forward to it.

Q. What do you make of a lovely score?
HENRIK STENSON: I played solid yesterday and did the same today. I possibly made a few more putts today and it was plenty more of the same. I hit a lot of fairways.

I think I only missed one or two maybe yesterday and the same today, so that's the key to this golf course as we play it now, because the rough is really, really thick. So you want to keep it in the short stuff. I've done that well.

Rolling it nicely on the greens. Made a couple of nice putts out there and I was never really in much trouble; despite I might have liked to hit a couple of my short irons a little bit closer at times. They were still on the green and some stress-free pars, and we moved along until we made a putt or hit it close. So all in all, a very good day.

Q. Is the course any different playing in the morning after a stormy night?
HENRIK STENSON: It was less wind than we had yesterday afternoon. I guess we thought, it was roughly about a club when we teed off. And if anything, we thought it was going to calm down a little bit yesterday and it didn't and kind of picked up in the afternoon, so it wasn't that easy.

But today it was definitely calmer when we started. Giving ourselves the greens, it's definitely be better out in the morning. Could get a little bumpy in the afternoon but in the morning they are good, and I made a couple of nice putts on them.

Q. With the wind picking up as it is as the moment, you couldn't have a better position on the leaderboard, could you?
HENRIK STENSON: I come here to really try to put myself in contention and so far, so good; I've done that. There's been a few tournaments in this late spring, early summer, where I feel like maybe I've been showing up feeling like I'm working on my game and not been 100 per cent there to compete.

Now we don't have too many tournaments before The Open Championship, the PGA and the Olympics, so it's time to put that tournament focus back on and then go out and do a good job. I've done that for two days and I'm going to try to push myself to do it another two.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297