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ITALIAN OPEN

October 13, 2017

Eddie Pepperell

Parco Reale di Monza, Italy

Q. You're in a rich vein of form at the moment, played a lot of good rounds of golf. How good was that one?
EDDIE PEPPERELL: It was good. 7-under, last two rounds, 14-under, that's good scoring. My scoring's been good. That's probably a product of just nothing being bad in my game. I don't know if that comes across on TV, if I've even been on TV.

Yeah, game feels just solid, you know.

Q. Two thirds, a fifth and a seventh in your last five start suggests it's better than solid. Was that built on the confidence you built at the U.S. Open, because you played so well there.
EDDIE PEPPERELL: I don't know. I guess so. That was a top-five performance, how it felt. It was a big one, no doubt. But my game is better, as well.

I'm probably putting a little bit better now than I was back in June even though I'm not putting fantastically well, I'm putting a bit better and that's making the difference. Hitting a lot of good iron shots, giving myself lots of chances.

Yeah, that was a big one, as you say, Tim, but yeah, golf's -- confidence is a funny thing, isn't it. I'm not going to try to explain it here live on SKY; be here all night.

Q. Obviously last year you were in a position where you were backing to retain your playing rights, and a lot of guys here this week are doing that, as well. Compare the pressures that you've been facing recently in contention to that pressure that you faced last year.
EDDIE PEPPERELL: Yeah, very different. Obviously there is still pressure here, being in contention, but it's the kind of pressure we love, and ultimately you've got to go out on the golf course and get over that and know that the only thing that's going to stop me at the moment is myself.

I'm playing good enough golf, where that wasn't the case a year ago. It was like I could have mentally been as strong as anyone, and the game just wasn't there.

I'm glad I'm not there. I'm not playing next week. I'm not going to miss not being at the final event of the year that counts towards the final standings. Yeah, it's a sour place to be obviously, and I'm glad I'm not there this year. Never know what the future holds.

Q. 7-under 64 to open. How good was that?
EDDIE PEPPERELL: 64 good, I guess. The conditions are there, no wind, perfect temperature. Ideal golf conditions, put it that way.

It felt a little more relaxed, and we had fun, as well, playing with Nicolas and Matthieu, and we all kind of got each other going I think in the early part of the round. Just stemmed from there, and carried on my own vein of form. Probably putted a little bit better today than I have the last few events.

So that was really nice to not be missing too many short putts and holing them instead. It was a nice change. Even though I've been playing well lately, I've been missing some putts, so it was a very solid round of golf.

Q. What's pleased you other than the putting in your recent form over the last month or so?
EDDIE PEPPERELL: I think just probably the consistency throughout my game in terms of the shot patterns. I've hit very few shots where I've looked up and been surprised by the start line, and I'm a big start-line kind of guy. If I'm starting the ball on-line, I feel like I can go and play really good golf. When I'm not, I'm struggling.

Generally speaking, particularly with my irons, I'm starting the ball in quite a specific window, and I look up and that gives me a lot of confidence.

Yeah, just the sheer consistency throughout the game, really.

Q. How high is the confidence at the moment?
EDDIE PEPPERELL: It's high. But you never know. I don't think too much about it. I'm one of these guys that doesn't -- I don't know how much I play off confidence. I don't think I play much off confidence if I'm honest with you. I'm really quite a reactive guy.

Every day I'm thinking a lot about the game and my swing and just trying to focus hard. I don't really think about just going out there and letting it happen. I still have to think; be non-complacent.

So therefore, I think confidence is very high but I'm not thinking about the confidence very much, again, if that makes any sense.

Q. How close are you to getting one over the line?
EDDIE PEPPERELL: Well, I don't know. I think Portugal was probably the closest I came but I would have had to have shot 8-under par the final day. The last few results have been good. They have been kind of sneaky, backdoor top-fives. They have been nice obviously, but not like I've been right up there in contention and leading going into a Sunday and not made it happen.

Hopefully I can do that this week. Listen, I feel like there's nothing stopping me going and shooting 66 every day I play this golf course the next few days. If I do that, surely I'm going to have a chance. It's just up to me to do it. There's nothing really in my way. The game's pretty solid. Just knuckle down and keep doing that.

Q. Momentum, how key is that to get off to a quick start?
EDDIE PEPPERELL: Well, I don't know, because last week I didn't. Well, I kind of did and I didn't, and I kind of ended up finishing well. I played in front of Victor Dubuisson last week and on the first day looked like he was ready to go home and Sunday he was on third place.

This game is funny. You can get on spells and hot streaks, and you just don't know when it's going to happen. I'm getting under par on the golf course generally early in my rounds, and that always helps. It settles you down and there's no surprises.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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