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BETFRED BRITISH MASTERS

May 12, 2019

Tommy Fleetwood

Hillside, Southport, England

Q. What are your thoughts on the week and your first time hosting an event?
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I think it's been great. You know, my own performance wasn't good particularly, from start to finish, I didn't hit it great. But you know, could have hit them better on the last few holes, of course I could have. Things maybe caught up with me in the end. I was disappointing the way I played.

Couldn't have asked for more from the event. First event I ever had a part in hosting and brought it to Southport, and you never know how it's going to go. It's been amazing.

Q. I think it's shown to the world what you know as a local lad that, that the sites are here, the appetite here for quality golf, it's insatiable, isn't it?
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: We all know it, and The Open comes around every nine, ten years, and the area is starved of this kind of golf at tour level. I just think Southport -- by no means the northwest, the courses and the crowds that we get in Britain as a whole, me being a little bit biased because I come from here, we know this is a little bit of a hidden gem and how good it could be, and this week's proved that.

I couldn't have asked for anything more from everybody that's turned out, or just watching or working the event and volunteering and made it such a great event and very memorable for me.

Q. Being the host, has it taken the edge off your competitiveness?
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yes and no. Not in terms of like -- I think it, maybe hindered my competitiveness towards the end now. I think I got a little bit tired.

No, I was there and I wanted to win the event. I would have loved to have done that. You know, you don't practice as much as you do as a normal event, or you maybe prepare a little bit different. You know, I'd have love to have done it.

Q. Would you say yes if you get asked again?
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I'll say yeah if I get asked again for sure. This week, I didn't know how it was going to go. It's all come around quick, really, from when we had our first meeting about it. It's all come around very quick and it's a lot goes on but no, I would love to have the opportunity to bring it back.

Q. Different game all together next week?
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: It's different for sure, yeah, next week. I'm not hosting that one.

Q. In Abu Dhabi, you spoke well about Robert there. Today was pretty impressive.
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: He did great today, didn't he, especially on the last few holes. I think like rough start on the second and when you're competing, you don't sort of -- I wouldn't have known what score he was on. He played the second hole bad but apart from that, he's done great, and I think, yeah, you know, he hit some cracking shots. I didn't even see his second shot into 17 but I'm sure it was a corker from where it ended up.

The way he played 18 was brilliant, really and I think having the -- even the golf shots are great but speaking down the fairway, he knows his game really, really well, and I think whatever happens today, I think that 18th hole, knowing -- that he knew exactly what to do when he was there and he knew how to play the hole and he knew his game, that will stand him in really good stead.

Q. Will hosting this week make it difficult for you next week at Bethpage?
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I don't think so. I'll be there tonight. I'll start practising Monday. So I've got Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. I've got plenty of time to prepare and get ready. I've got my coaches out there. By the time we tee it up on Thursday, I'll be very ready.

Q. Chalk and cheese as regards the courses.
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I'm sure, yeah. I haven't played competitively before a major for a while, so this will be interesting going into next week and seeing how that goes. And yeah, the courses are very different, but Bethpage I'm looking forward to and I like golf in America, so I'll enjoy.

Q. How important was it, continuing the legacy of hosting the tournament this week?
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, it was a great chance to start that. I know I was the face of the event and the academy, our academy, but none of that is -- none of it's about me. You know, this was all about bringing a tournament to everybody in the northwest that I see all the time when I go home and everything.

And the academy are the same. You know, I want kids to have a chance to enjoy the game and I want them to learn and play. Yeah, nothing that happened this week was about me in any way. I was the face of the event and I had the opportunity to do something special and bring it here, but it's about everyone else and everyone else did a great job.

Q. Are you looking forward to being a bit more anonymous next week?
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I hope I'm not anonymous after it. But yeah, it will be different preparation and head down. It will be just more time sort of practising and hitting golf shots I guess. But I've really enjoyed this week. It's just been a different challenge.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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