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SMURFIT EUROPEAN OPEN

July 1, 2005

Thomas Bjorn

STRAFFAN, IRELAND

GORDON SIMPSON: Thomas, you said the first few holes today you had to hold it together, and hold it together you did and you put yourself out in contention.

THOMAS BJORN: I think yesterday I was 2 over after three and hitting it awful, and then I kind of got the round going and today it took a few more holes. The first five holes today was, I mean, I was 2 over par, 1 over par after five holes and I should have been you know, it could have been anything. It was awful. You know, I spoke to Jos before I went out this morning and he just said: You know, go and play, go and play with what you've got and keep your head on your shoulders and try to battle it out. It's tough for everybody on this golf course. Just try and make the most of it.

I kept it level headed all the way around and then I birdied 17, 18, my eighth and ninth, and I was back to level par. You stand there on the 18th green, you play like four or five over, then to be level par; and I just got into a pretty good flow on that back nine there and started hitting some decent shots at the right times. You know, it's not been it's not been pretty these two days, but it's a hell of a score for the golf I played.

GORDON SIMPSON: You said one of the best scores in the 60s that you've had, actually.

THOMAS BJORN: Yeah, when I look at it, I don't think I've played like that and shot in the 60s in a long, long time. It was really special. We had a situation there in the middle of the round where we were chipping in and holing putts and doing things and it was just we were pretty much just standing there and laughing at each other because it was quite hilarious. But you know what, that's what you've got to do sometimes and that's what keeps your confidence. Even when you're playing you only have to play 80 percent to win golf tournaments, but even when you're playing 50 percent, 60 percent you can still contend in golf tournaments and that can give you some confidence.

I think it's more of a question of being in a situation now where you know what's going to happen in two weeks' time, so you're trying to get your game together for the Open. So you just keep going and keep going and keep going, because you know that it's a long process to get it completed out for the Open.

There's some good stuff in there yesterday and there was some good stuff in there today, but it was certainly more with will and heart than anything.

Q. How far away are you from getting your form?

THOMAS BJORN: I'm hit something really good stuff as well. I felt like I swung the club really well and hit a lot of very good shots there, didn't get it together, struggled on the greens for the week and so it can't be far away.

It's just a question of being rusty. I took all of last week off. I felt like I played a hectic schedule early in the year, and when you play as much golf as I have and you take a week completely off, then it feels like a month off when you come back out, and that's the way it really feels at the moment. I just feel like I just feel a bit rusty and just trying to get the worst stuff out of there and we'll go from there. I know what I have to work on and I know what I have to do. I'm not far away at all, and the scores will suggest that there has to be some good stuff in there on this golf course to be 5 under after two rounds.

Q. Can you talk about what difference a year makes?

THOMAS BJORN: I tried to forget that golf course, but yeah, in a year there's a got of guys that go through stuff like that. You can deal with it in different ways. You can try to stand on the driving range and battle your way through it, or you can go home and get a bit of perspective on things. I chose the second one and I think that was the best thing I ever did. I was going through a rough spot. I couldn't really see my way through it. I went home and just said, oh, let's get back to what I'm good at, and it didn't take long it start playing well. I put it behind me. I don't really think about it. I look at it as an experience more than anything.

I think the one thing that I've got to take from it is that most good players will bounce back from situations like that. You know, I played with Michael Campbell at the Heineken Classic, and I think Michael will be the first one to say that that was not pretty. I honestly thought that he had a big problem there. Didn't look like he had many problems a couple of weeks ago, you know. So it changes quickly, and good players do that. It's just a question of eventually deciding that, "I am going to do this." When you've had a long career, sometimes lose your way and that's the way it is.

Q. Is there a word for it; fortitude, courage?

THOMAS BJORN: I think it's desire more than in this case. If you look at I always looked at Michael and I as very similar type of guys. We go up and down in our golf. We don't always perform as well as we should do, and then all of a sudden we will go and perform very, very well. I think it's a question of the desire and do the work, then we'll be fine. I think sometimes we play well and then we think, well, everything is great now and all of a sudden we lose it. We are the type of guys who lose our games very quickly, and then when we start playing poorly, we can't understand why the confidence doesn't come from great performances.

So you've got to we're all different and you've got to learn from it. I think, I mean, he learned from it. I know what I have to do and I know that I have to work harder, and I also know that when I'm tired, you know, go on, spend some time at home because those are the times when I put myself in a hole, when I play when I'm tired.

Q. Inaudible?

THOMAS BJORN: I'm a stronger person. I mean, how good a player you can determine when your career is over. You can't determine it midway.

Q. Some people might have come through what you said last year and said, "Well, I never would admit in public." You admitted exactly what you were going through and very honest about it. Do you think after getting away, sitting it out and starting again was the difference?

THOMAS BJORN: Well, as you guys know, I've always been honest with myself. I don't try and hide anything. You know, if you don't say what you feel like and what's going on, then people always are going to second guess you and they are going to come up with things that they think are wrong. So you might as well sit down and say, this is what I feel and this is what I'm going through. Sometimes you've just got to spit it out. That's the best way, for me. Some guys will keep it in, but for me that's the best way to deal with it.

Q. Would you say just how far away are you thinking about desire the week after?

THOMAS BJORN: Well, I'm in a situation where I need to start thinking about tomorrow. I've got a lot of things to play for besides what happens in two weeks' time. That's the first thing we have to deal with is tomorrow and Sunday, and then we'll start looking at next week.

I've done well on all these three golf courses we're playing the next three weeks, so I need to look at that. You know, the Open is the Open and I just want to be in a position where I can go into the Open, and what happens at the Open we'll deal with there. But I want to have some game and be in control of my game when I get there; so I don't have to sit there three days playing practice rounds before the golf tournaments starts and tiring myself out. I want to come knowing my game is in shape to play links golf and play in the British Open.

Q. When you think about last year, will you do anything special inaudible?

THOMAS BJORN: No, I don't. Last year was on a different golf course, and thank God you don't see it too many times when you're out there. But it's no, I don't even think about it. I put it behind me and I don't really want to think about it too much. You know, it's over with and I'm happy that I've come through it, and I've had a decent year so far and I'm playing some good stuff at the right times. And I just need to do it a little bit better all the time, but I think all players do. We all look to do it better than we do, and that doesn't matter how good you are.

Q. Did you take a fair ribbing from the players, the rest of the guys, were they trying to inaudible last year?

THOMAS BJORN: I think what happens on this Tour and when people are doing well, I think the players realize what goes on out here and we're always saying, you know, when people go through a rough spell, we like to see them play well. You know, you look at players, and we've seen it so many times, it's not like it's a one off. It humbles you at times. Some of the best players in the world all of a sudden lose their game and some players lose it a lot worse than I did. But maybe they didn't deal with it the right way and maybe they just lost it and lost the desire.

Q. Do you think Michael Campbell's win, was that good for golf?

THOMAS BJORN: I think it was a great experience for everybody in golf except for Tiger Woods to be honest. I think it was great to see a guy that you that everybody gets on with, that everybody likes, that is one of the very, very good guys on this tour to go out and win a major championship, and probably the toughest major championship. You've got to be honest, it's probably the toughest golf you have to play when you play the U.S. Open.

So I think everybody was very, very pleased to see Michael win that. And I think everybody that hasn't won a major championship and everybody that, you know, in the same group of players as Michael, will see that as an encouragement to try and do more and try and do better.

Q. The Heineken Classic you're referring to, was that this year?

THOMAS BJORN: This year.

Q. And what particularly did you notice with Michael that aligned with your problems?

THOMAS BJORN: It was not a comparison between me and Michael. I just saw a guy that was really struggling with his game and was working hard. It looked like he was having a hard time with his golf, and then all of a sudden, I mean, I could not if somebody had said to me at the Heineken Classic that Michael Campbell is going to win the U.S. Open this year, I would have looked at them and said, I don't think so.

Q. You're probably aware that Michael is the only Callaway male to have won an Open. Would you like to have a similar thing between you?

THOMAS BJORN: Callaway has got some great players on staff, and they have for a long time, and that's, you know, it's one of those things that you look at and everybody says, this is a big thing. I'm sure that people at Callaway are quite happy that they got rid of that one, but we're all trying to find things. And when Mickelson had not won a major, we were looking at Mickelson and he was one of the greatest players, maybe one of greatest players of all time not to win a major, and we are all looking at stories around that; and how many times have Callaway come close to winning with Monty.

So those are things that happens and eventually they will win more and more major championships. Annika has won plenty of major championships playing Callaway golf clubs. It's not that the golf clubs don't suit major championships. It's just a coincidence and that's the way it's been.

Q. Mentally and your game was totally off, you're obviously there mentally right now, your game is there; do you think in those two weeks you can put that little bit right?

THOMAS BJORN: I'd like to think so. I've been in this situation plenty of times. I've come into this tournament worked hard and not felt comfortable and gone into an Open and played well. I have a great stretch of tournaments, this week and next week and the Open, and I've been successful doing it. I've got four Top 10 finishes in British Opens and I've got close to winning, once, I'd like to say twice at Muirfield as well. But it's the Open Championship. It's going to be 156 players that all want to be right for that week. And there's going to be some people coming in great form, and if you're not in great form, you're just not going to be there, it's as simple as that. So find some form, get on that driving range and work it out and then go with that.

Q. Is this year any more special?

THOMAS BJORN: Yeah, it's obviously a special Open. I went to the British Open 2000 and I had never played St. Andrews before which is actually an amazing thing for someone that has been on The European Tour for, that was my fifth season; and I played amateur golf and I had never played St. Andrews. There were a couple of people that said to me going up there, "If you've never played St. Andrews before, you'll not know where to go and you'll never do well there"; and I finished second.

I have some great memories from there. I think it's a very small place in the world that you stand on the first tee and you just think, "Wow, this is all about golf." This is just the place to be. You give just a little bit more of yourself when you play St. Andrews. I think the Dunhill Links proves that more than any other golf tournament, because when you play the Old Course in the Dunhill Links, you might just stay with it a little bit longer than you do any of the other golf courses because it's where golf is supposed to be played.

GORDON SIMPSON: Thank you very much.

End of FastScripts.

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