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OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSICJanuary 24, 2019Matthieu PavonDubai, United Arab Emirates Q. A fantastic round of 6-under par, doing a lot of the damage on the back nine, as well. How happy are you with this opening round of play? MATTHIEU PAVON: Very happy because this morning it was pretty humid and cold, so the ball wasn't flying that much. The rough is pretty thick by the fairways, so the main key this week is hitting a lot of them, and I felt comfortable from the tee box today and holed some great putts on the back nine. Q. That's an interesting point you made there about it being a bit colder and it flying differently. When you're going through your practice rounds before the tournament, how aware are you that things can change because of course during the day the ball goes a lot further, we looked at it, thought it was flat calm, perfect conditions. How different was it for you in terms of distance out there this morning? MATTHIEU PAVON: Yeah, I mean, it's a good 5 per cent at least. It's maybe 10 yards less almost every time, so it's hard to believe sometimes you have to hit one more club. But then it's getting warmer and warmer, and then you start having the proper distances. That's why maybe it was easier for me on the back nine to find some good pins. Q. You've already had a nice start to the season, a second-place finish in Mauritius. How important is it for a campaign during a year to get off to that flying start? What does it do for you confidence-wise? MATTHIEU PAVON: Yeah, it's really importance for the confidence having some point when you start the year, so then your mind is a bit free, and yeah, I mean, it just frees your mind and gives you a good start, and you just try to do the same and keep going on. Q. Tell us how the day went for you. MATTHIEU PAVON: Very nice. I mean, the key this week for me was to hit a lot of fairways because the rough is pretty thick. So just try to do it, and I felt comfortable from the tee box today. I started slowly, hit a lot of fairways and greens, and then find some few good putts on the back nine and dropped some birdies. Q. I think since this course opened in '89 it hasn't evolved a whole lot. Whilst the buildings have grown, the course has stayed the same. Have you noticed any subtle changes like the rough has grown bigger? MATTHIEU PAVON: Yeah, I mean, the rough is bigger for me, I think, this year. The greens are smaller, also. Last year the greens were already smaller, but we had some fairway path just around them. This year is different because you have rough, so it makes it a little bit harder, but for me, as I said, the key part of the course is hitting a lot of fairways because the rough is really thick. Q. Obviously a clean card today, but how do you capitalise on today's performance? Do you have the ability to coast a little bit and maybe not chase the leaders up front? MATTHIEU PAVON: I mean, I played solid, didn't make any mistakes. I just tried to stay quiet and give my chance, some opportunities, and this is how I played today and how I'm going to try to play for the last three days. Q. Lastly, because it was so cool this morning, and I think it's going to heat up and maybe get a bit breezier, does that mean the guys are maybe going to have a tougher time this afternoon? MATTHIEU PAVON: I don't know, depends how you think. I think it's pretty hard in the morning. You don't have any wind, but it's humid and cold, so the ball is not flying at all. I can barely say -- on No. 2, I wasn't able to go in two for the green, the par-5, and this afternoon I think it's going to be different. So it's a bit different how it played, and yeah, this is the main difference. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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