home jobs contact us
Our Clients:
Browse by Sport
Find us on ASAP sports on Facebook ASAP sports on Twitter
ASAP Sports RSS Subscribe to RSS
Click to go to
Asaptext.com
ASAPtext.com
ASAP Sports e-Brochure View our
e-Brochure

WGC AMERICAN EXPRESS CHAMPIONSHIP


September 30, 2004


Thomas Bjorn


KILKENNY, IRELAND

JAMES CRAMER: We have Thomas Bjorn with us this afternoon with a 4-under par 68. Thomas, maybe you can get us started with just a general comment about how you played today before we go into questions.

THOMAS BJORN: In all honesty, it was the best all year. Tee to green, it was very, very good. I hit 16 greens today. I hit actually only one loose shot on 14. The last is playing difficult, and I got it up-and-down from the bunker there. It's been a long time. Playing like this, this is the first week in a long, long time I feel comfortable about my golf swing.

I know that one round doesn't change everything, but it certainly shows me that I'm doing the right things, and I'm very happy with today. My first round in the 60s since Loch Lomond, which in itself is a long time, but it was nice to -- I hit some good shots coming down the last few holes, as well, and that's probably where I've been missing out a little bit, is not feeling comfortable with the golf swing, but I certainly felt comfortable with everything today.

From 1st tee to 18th green, there was never any doubts in my mind. I missed a couple of short putts, short putts on 9 and 10 and 12 to get the round really going, but I still kept myself in it, and that was the most important thing, but I hit a lot of good golf shots.

It's just nice to come out of it like this because it's been a long time.

JAMES CRAMER: Why don't we quickly go over your card, your birdies and bogeys.

THOMAS BJORN: I birdied 4, hit a 7-iron to about 12 feet.

I birdied 8, hit a driver and 3-wood just left of the green and chipped it up to about six feet.

9, driver, 5-iron to 35 feet and three-putted it.

10, hit a driver and a 3-wood to about ten feet and missed it for eagle.

11, I hit a 7-iron to inches.

17, I hit a driver and a 5-wood just over the green and chipped it to inches.

Q. A lot of hard work, obviously, but also a bit inspired by watching Oakland Hills?

THOMAS BJORN: After Oakland Hills, the way they played, I don't know if it was an inspiration or you start worrying about they're going to beat you. I knew I was on the right track with my golf swing. I was sitting on a buggy watching them and thought, "I've got a long way to go."

Certainly today shows a bit of difference. I'm not getting ahead of myself. But the inspiration comes from being a part of that team, being part of going through all the things that went on there with them, but it was very difficult for me at that particular moment in time to see how I was going to beat them in the near future because that was spectacular, the way they played, all of them.

Yeah, you draw inspiration from it because it gives you some good memories. It gives you a lot of fun with golf. I haven't had fun with golf in the way of -- I've not been sick of it, but I've just not had fun because it's been such hard work for me. Any time I step on the golf course I work hard with my game and I haven't really found the solutions.

It was nice to be at a golf tournament where I had a lot of fun with all of them and everybody did a good job, and there was no doubt that those 12 players were brilliant, all of them, but it also could have -- getting everybody around them into the team. The girls that were there, the forecaptains that were there helping them, all 12 of them got us all into the team. It didn't matter. It wasn't about individuals; it was about every single person we brought over on that flight, and that was -- I think that's why everybody felt so good about that Ryder Cup and I think that's why they played so well.

Q. Bernhard inviting you to join the team, is that probably one of the most important things that's ever happened to you?

THOMAS BJORN: You never know. I've certainly seen golf from the other side, which was one thing I didn't think I was going to do for a while, but I've seen it from the other side, and that's been an experience. I now understand why you write some of the things you write once in a while (laughter).

It's been an experience to see golf from the other side. It's been good fun, as well, but it certainly puts a lot of things into perspective. Yeah, it was a good experience and it was nice of him to ask, but there's still a long way to go for me to be at my absolute best, but this was a very, very good start.

Q. Who is it you are working with again?

THOMAS BJORN: Pete Cowen.

Q. How long has that been the case?

THOMAS BJORN: I worked with Pete, started with Pete in 2000, and then we had a break in the middle of last year, but I said that those are the important things for me. I found out that that was the best coach for me. I also got my old caddie Ken Comboy back on the bag at the start of this week, and we had four great years together, and I've just gone back to having the people around me that I know I can get -- that I know can get my golf to the level where I want to be at. I played my best golf with Ken on the bag, with Pete as my coach, and sometimes you start looking for things that might not exist. You try and think that there's something better out there, and for me there isn't anybody better or anything better out there, and this is what I'm going to stick with.

I'm very happy that this is our first day working together and we've come off the golf course with a good score.

Q. Are you a natural watcher of sport? Do you watch football, for instance, or does it come difficult to you?

THOMAS BJORN: No, I watch a lot of sports, but I don't watch golf. That was probably one of the first times I've actually -- the first time I've gone to a golf tournament without golf clubs, that's for sure. I watch sports. I get very involved in sports, but I don't watch golf. I think that's just a little bit too close to home.

Q. You said it put things into perspective. What sort of things?

THOMAS BJORN: Well, I mean, we get very hard on ourselves. We all strive to be the best we can be, but sometimes it doesn't take perfect golf to be the best you can be. I mean, when you sit and watch from the outside and you know what the players go through, I mean, I could almost tell at the Ryder Cup who was going to hit a good shot and who wasn't before they hit the shot. I was very careful in looking at players throughout the whole week, looking at how they went through their routines and what they were doing. You could tell very easily if they were nervous and if they weren't and if they were trusting themselves. That was very obvious to me when the week was over, that I had actually -- could almost spot where the good shots came from and where the bad shots came from and I could see before they hit them.

That was one thing that I took with me from there, that it's very important to do the things that you do best, go through your routines and do the right things, and it puts things into perspective. The way people react to everything that was going on. I mean, heads dropping and heads up high, but, I mean, as I said before, our guys never had a reason to drop their heads, and that was the key. They had momentum from -- they won through the whole thing. They never dropped their heads. There was a couple of matches when they were losing and you always get a bit down on yourself when you're losing a match, but it was easy to tell through the 24 players who was going to hit good shots and who wasn't going to hit good shots.

Q. What things would you emphasize with the work we do (laughter)?

THOMAS BJORN: I don't think I'm going to get into any more about what you do.

End of FastScripts.

About ASAP SportsFastScripts ArchiveRecent InterviewsCaptioningUpcoming EventsContact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297