	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 19, 2018

Thomas Pieters

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Q. 65 today, moves you to 12-under par. What's been the secret to your performance today?
THOMAS PIETERS: I think ball-striking. I hit 16 greens today. Holed out once. That helps. Off the tee was decent and rolled in a couple putts which was nice.

Q. And when you can follow a round with no bogeys, yesterday there was a mistake out there, but what does it mean to a player when you go bogey-free? How much of an importance is it when you have a card with no errors on it?
THOMAS PIETERS: I made a good 8-footer on 4 for par, which is probably the best putt I hit all day. But yeah, the conditions are perfect, no wind. It's nice out there. So you need to take advantage of the conditions.

Q. Is there a sense, as well, seeing this golf course, it's a long golf course, but because there's so many birdies, when you look at the leaderboard, do you have to change the strategy and how aggressive you are?
THOMAS PIETERS: Not really. We have a decent game plan. I've done well here in the past and it suits me. We hit driver wherever we can and the rest of it, you know, it's good ball-striking and going at a couple flags with wedges when you have them that you need to do that.

Q. This afternoon, will there be any practise? 12-under par, does it need it?
THOMAS PIETERS: Yes, Nick.

Q. That was another excellent day, bogey-free and a brilliant finish?
THOMAS PIETERS: Yeah, it was nice to hole one on the last after two terrible shots. But the rest of it was decent today. Ball-striking was good.

Yeah, I mean, hit most of the middle of the greens. If I had a wedge, I went at the flag and I think I got up-and-down or made birdie with a wedge in my hand three or four times. It wasn't really that fancy today but a very good round.

Q. And a little bit quieter of late. What's been the key to these sort of opening 36 holes.
THOMAS PIETERS: In a positive mind-set, keeping calm.

Q. Is that something that you consciously sought to acquire, to sort of reset, in a sense, mentally?
THOMAS PIETERS: Yeah, definitely. Yeah, exactly. I can't put it any better than that.

Q. Not often people say that to me. What have you done to get yourself into that state?
THOMAS PIETERS: There's little things I do, I tell myself. I'm not going to share, but just, yeah, like to keep a positive mind-set and then to forget if I hit a bad shot. On the last, prime example. Two terrible shots and I finished with a good one.

Q. Great position heading into the weekend. What do you do now to make the most of that?
THOMAS PIETERS: Eat and practise. That's it.

Q. How many times have you played here, roughly?
THOMAS PIETERS: Three times -- four times.

Q. Is the rough less than previous years?
THOMAS PIETERS: Yes. I think you need to get really unlucky if you get a really thick lie.

Q. 67 people under par yesterday in a 126-man field wouldn't strike you as unusual?
THOMAS PIETERS: The greens are perfect, as well. The weather's perfect. If you haven't done any practise, maybe you're not going to finish under par.

Q. How was last week for you in terms of sort of competitive golf, did that help coming in here?
THOMAS PIETERS: Yeah, a lot, just to get a bit of rust off and get a bit of nerves going on that Sunday. Yeah, I think it definitely helped. You can tell the guys that are on top are the guys that played last week. Must have did something right.

Q. Is it one of those days where everything seemed to go in?
THOMAS PIETERS: Yeah, I'd say. So the last could have been a bogey, could have been a par, and I escaped with a birdie. But hit the ball pretty solid today. A lot of middle of the green.

If I had a wedge, I would take a flag on and got up-and-down or made a birdie three or four times. Nothing really fancy. I mean, I didn't play the par 5s particularly well but the rest of it I did pretty good.

Q. Does it help when you have someone like Ross playing well alongside you to pull each other along?
THOMAS PIETERS: Yeah, Ross and Robert were making a lot of birdies. Robert made a lot of bogeys, as well, but it helps when the guys are firing at flags and making putts from everywhere.

Q. Always nice to finish birdie, birdie. Talk us through the ninth hole, your 18th.
THOMAS PIETERS: Hit a terrible slice with my driver and then I hit it quick hook with my 6-iron and I made it. That's it.

Q. What's the plan now heading into the weekend, obviously in a great position.
THOMAS PIETERS: Going to eat, practise, make sure I don't hit quick hook anymore and slices and we'll be ready.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297