	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

ABU DHABI HSBC CHAMPIONSHIP

January 17, 2018

Matt Kuchar

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

STEVE TODD: Matt, many thanks for joining us. Your first appearance here in Abu Dhabi and you've just played the Pro-Am. Give us your thoughts on this week and being here.

MATT KUCHAR: Yeah, this is my first week to the Middle East. A place I've always seen on TV, always kind of admired and wanted to see for myself. My wife and I love travelling, love seeing new places, and this is one that certainly was on my list.

Timing's always a tricky thing with the US PGA TOUR and trying to fit it into the schedule. But decided to take advantage and come over this year, and it's an amazing place, just on our first day and a half, we've had a wonderful experience. We're heading to the Louvre this afternoon, so looking forward to taking in some of the sites and being a tourist for a little bit. It's been a great start.

STEVE TODD: You mentioned travelling, AND you've played a number of tournaments around the world over the last however many years, 15, 20; Hong Kong, France, Scotland spring to mind. How much do you enjoy playing a global schedule and playing over here on The European Tour?

MATT KUCHAR: Certainly love seeing new places. There's so many places still to check off on my list of places to see and do. This Christmas, we made it to Patagonia on a family trip just to holiday and go see a place that I had always wanted to. We certainly enjoy the travel. Love being able to show my family bits and pieces of the world.

It's always neat to pick up different things that you just don't get from TV, to actually put your hands on things and to see a different culture and see a different place and be hands on, I've been such a fan of. Golf has fortunately taken me to a lot of amazing places and we've loved taking advantage of that, certainly on a global scale.

I've enjoyed seeing, whether it's going to Paris and being part of The French Open, going to Scotland for The Scottish Open, going to Hong Kong, I certainly enjoy the travel. This year, made it to Japan for the Bridgestone Open. It's been a bit of a passion of mine to explore and to see the world, and the beauty about it is golf has allowed me to do a lot of that, and now to play The European Tour as an Affiliate Member now, I'll be joining the Tour as an Affiliate Member and excited to take advantage of playing these events.

STEVE TODD: Welcome, Matt, we're very happy to have you.

Q. Some of the American players have come here and played well straightaway, Rickie in particular, Dustin, Tiger before him. Are there characteristics of this course that remind you of any place back home?
MATT KUCHAR: Tough to say from an exactly out. Certainly characteristic of desert courses back home, just with fairways and then waste areas. But the exact strategic layout of the golf course, with only 27 holes under my belt, I'm having a hard time saying it reminds me of TPC Summerlin or any course like that. It's got the bermudagrass greens which certainly makes me feel at home being a southerner. We see a lot of that in Florida and Georgia.

I find that the test of golf, you really have to drive the ball well. I've always watched on TV and then talked to a number of the guys about the course coming over here, and they they had I would really enjoy it; you have to drive it well. Rough is penalising, fairways are pretty tight, and so I've enjoyed trying to figure the course out from kind of the strategy of where to hit drivers, what lines to take, how much to challenge some of the bunkers.

Q. Was it a course that suited your eye when you first saw it? Wondered, as well, what you made of the clubhouse?
MATT KUCHAR: Clubhouse is spectacular. Never seen one quite like it before. The course, it's a challenging driving golf course. I think trying to figure out the lines. There's so many different doglegs and carries and different bunkers to try to challenge or not challenge that I still feel like I may be learning exactly what lines to take and how much to try to bite off on some of the dogleg holes.

Q. After coming so close to winning a major last year, how much will that drive you going into the major campaign this season?
MATT KUCHAR: Every year, I think it's got to be, No. 1 on everybody's list that is a professional golfer, is the desire to win a major.

Sometimes getting so close is difficult. But you're right, I think once you've tasted a bit of it, you want it more. You have more of a desire, and it's hard for me to say there's more of a desire than this was last year but certainly that desire is strong. I came so close at the British Open and it was a bit heartbreaking not to win the championship.

But sure, I'll be gunning for the Masters, for U.S. Open, for British Open. I certainly am very much looking forward to every one of the majors this year.

Q. You've used The Scottish Open well the last couple years to prepare for The Open and you came close to winning The Scottish Open at Gullane. Will you be back there this summer?
MATT KUCHAR: Sure. I plan on being back. Part of becoming an Affiliate Member, the ability to travel, but Scottish Open is an event I've really come to enjoy. I think it's a great lead-in to the British Open. I actually went when I was an amateur, played Loch Lomond a number of years. I love Loch Lomond. I didn't think it was a great tune-up, but loved the golf course and the hospitality there. I think what they have done with moving it to links courses has been a very smart move.

Q. And Gullane in particular? That seemed to suit your eye?
MATT KUCHAR: Yeah, I finished second a couple years ago to Rickie. That was a great week, and certainly look forward to going back.

I remember playing Gullane as an amateur just in a fun round of golf, enjoying the golf course. I think it's a nice warmup. It doesn't beat you up but it provides enough challenges. It provides enough of the pot bunkers that you need to avoid. It provides certainly the wind and exposure to the wind and the elements and the fescue greens to get used to, so it is definitely a good warmup.

Q. I was just wondering when was the last time you ever got angry on or off the golf course.
MATT KUCHAR: (Laughs) definitely, the game of golf, if you're a player, can make you mad. I cut guys slack that don't behave as we all think they should. Certainly I get upset at myself hitting poor shots. I probably give myself a longer leash than most. I probably understand that you're not going to hit every shot perfectly; even though I'm a professional golfer, I do this for a living and my expectations are high. I also understand I'm not going to hit every shot perfectly. But sure, I mumble some words I probably shouldn't under my breath. It's hard not to. The game of golf kind of can make anyone crazy for a moment.

I can't tell you the instance, but probably not been more than a few days before I've been upset on a golf course. I do a good job of not showing it, but I certainly couldn't have gone more than a few days without mumbling some negative sentiment to myself.

Q. Do you think that composure of yours is perhaps one of the greatest strengths of your golf?
MATT KUCHAR: Certainly a help. I think I'm definitely blessed with a good mentality for the game of golf. It's a hard game. You know, if anybody plays, understands how hard the game of golf is. Sometimes as pros, we get it where it feels easy and you think it should be easy all the time, but the game of golf is a challenging game. I think my mentality has been a great mental makeup to have me play well on a regular basis and kind of on a long-term basis.

Q. Given that it is a new venue for you, what are your expectations this week, and how have you coped with new venues before?
MATT KUCHAR: Being the first event of the year, hard to have a whole lot of expectations. I don't really set great expectations any week. You go in, always expecting and hoping to play well, but certainly, first week of the year, and I had a nice break. I put the clubs away for a good 15, 16 days where we travelled through Patagonia. Came back and the weather back home wasn't all that conducive to doing a lot of practise.

However, I'm pleased with the state of my game at the moment, but a few days working at home before I came here and a couple days here has been nice hitting. Just you never quite know, once you tee off on the first hole Thursday morning.

So I don't come in with expectations. Certainly my game has proven over the long run that a lot of good golf gets played. Be a bit disappointed if I didn't play well but the expectation thing is a tricky thing in the game of golf and one, for first week in the year, I have hopes but not expectations.

Q. And your history on playing venues for the first time, new courses for the first time, what's that been like?
MATT KUCHAR: I think I'm pretty good at charting a golf course. I think my golf education and golf knowledge is fairly high, fairly high golf IQ and trying to figure out how to plot my way around a golf course.

Certainly it helps to have some knowledge. I'm sure there will be a few missed shots that I probably didn't understand quite the severity of how bad that miss may end up. Take Gullane a couple years ago at The Scottish Open was a first, first real run for me at Gullane and finished second.

I think course knowledge is one thing, and I think executing is another thing. You know, if I execute well, I think I'll have a good week.

Q. A lot of the European guys had a bit of a tune-up for The Ryder Cup last week. Wondered if that featured on your radar, and when you start thinking Ryder Cup.
MATT KUCHAR: What happened last week?

Q. The EurAsia Cup, so the European guys beat Asia, similar sort of thing to Presidents Cup. Answers my first question. Obviously it didn't feature on the radar in the States. I just wonder when Ryder Cup becomes a focus for you guys.
MATT KUCHAR: I'm a guy that tries to take care of what's in front of me and let the big picture things take care of themselves.

So in that, if I play well this week and then see it up again at the Phoenix Open and play well at Phoenix and continue to perform well, then The Ryder Cup will be a part of my schedule. You know, it definitely is something I have huge aspirations to qualify for to be part of.

But I think you can put too much focus on something that you don't really have control of. You know, I have control of trying to play well this week and I'll focus on playing well this week, and when I tee it up in Phoenix, try to play well at Phoenix and hope that by taking care of those small details, that Ryder Cup becomes part of that picture.

Q. A lot's been made of this American Team being young, hungry and talented, the one that's going to come to France. How important is it to balance that with a bit of experience, especially when the Americans haven't won on European soil since I guess 1993?
MATT KUCHAR: Yeah, I think any and every American is itching to correct that, itching to try to reverse that trend and get a win on European soil.

What we did at Presidents Cup was just amazing. I don't know if, you know, that can be matched again. We had so many players on such good form. I think that was just an amazing team to be part of.

Now that we've seen so many young guys playing well, anybody and everybody, the young, the veterans, we all want to be part of that team in France, knowing that, gosh, if these guys are on any sort of form like we were at Presidents Cup, we've got a great chance of finally winning again on European soil.

So I think everybody is gunning to make the team.

STEVE TODD: Matt, we'll let you go and explore a bit more of Abu Dhabi. Thanks for joining us.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297