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BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

September 20, 2019

Danny Willett

Surrey, England

Q. 11-under par total. But what about that start? Could you ever imagine starting like that at Wentworth?
DANNY WILLETT: No, you've obviously got a couple of tricky holes out there starting off of the blocks at 1 and 3, they are no gimmies.

One of those days, really. We hit a lot of good shots. Holed some nice kind of mid-range putts and I think with the wind picking up it's probably better that you don't expect that coming in. You just try and hit some good golf shots and see what it gives you, and fortunately today it gave us a pretty quick start.

Q. You spent most of the year in the United States playing the PGA Tour and back here comfortable at a golf course you know well. How much did that have to do with your round yesterday and today?
DANNY WILLETT: Yeah, a little bit. I think it's my 10th straight year here. I've had a couple nice finishes, and the game is in good shape. It has been for a while and it's just nice to come back.

The crowds have been amazing for two days, good weather and the golf course is in great condition. This weekend you're going to have a real good leaderboard and we've put ourselves in a position to be right up there.

Q. Sean Foley, your coach, is here. How much does his presence have to do with your performance?
DANNY WILLETT: We spoke most days when I'm at home and working pretty hard in the off-weeks, and we are doing the same thing we've been doing for a while. Keep trying to make the move better and get more comfortable with certain ball flights in the wind, and really trying to make sure that when we get on the golf course, we try and just make them moves and not try to think about too much other stuff.

Yeah, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but I guess that's golf.

Q. Can you describe your opening effort?
DANNY WILLETT: I don't think I've ever had a chance to shoot 29 around here the front nine. It's a pretty tricky nine. The wind was swirling. A lot of them nice 10-, 12-footers that we rolled in, didn't really do anything stupid.

The back nine, a few of them holes playing pretty quickly and didn't quite take advantage of them last couple of holes. But overall a really good day.

Q. Your 10th year playing here. How does it feel different with the new date?
DANNY WILLETT: It is a better date. Obviously for Britain, our summers are kind of going later on in the year and our winters are moving to January, February, March. To try and get this golf course in great condition in May has always been a pretty tough task for the guys. They have done a great job of it, but this year with that few extra months gives time for the sun to come out, the heat to come through and the growth to be more even. That's why you'll see some good scoring.

You'll see maybe a little bit more clumped up scoring this year instead of one guy playing well and jumping out because conditions are so good. We are not getting too many of them iffy lies out there and the greens are rolling really well.

For me, I think you ask anyone out here, it's the best condition I've seen it in the ten years I've been here. It's all set up for a really good weekend.

Q. A lot of players coming in were shocked you're at 11-under par considering how difficult this golf course is. What is your plan for next two rounds?
DANNY WILLETT: Just try and do more of the same. The winning score was 17-under last year and I didn't think that would get beat this year. It still might not.

You know, it just goes to show that I think the strength of field this year more than anything, I don't know how many guys in the Top-10 are here, but there's a good number of them.

Yeah, like I said, because of the condition of the course, the greens are running better. The guys who come over, it's obviously a better field, better golf course condition and you are going to see some of those scores. Weather has been kind to us so far, and hopefully we get a breeze over the next couple days, so the course could show more of the teeth that we know it for.

Q. Looks like you're having a lot of fun out there. Two good pals alongside you and playing some great golf?
DANNY WILLETT: Yeah, it's a great week. Really look forward to this week all year. With the weather like this, the crowds are fantastic. Yeah, helps playing with Thomas and Wobs on his bag, and Helen and Lee, as well. A good two days.

Q. Do you feel you're back to your best?
DANNY WILLETT: No, probably not back to my best. Still working on the moves and there's still shots in there that I don't like.

As a whole, the body is night and day to where it was, and the movements are good; the ability to travel around the world and play golf now is back there, and just in a much better place with everything, really. So it's good fun to be back here, back in contention with a few of these big tournaments and get them juices flowing and see how you can finish.

Q. Lots of support, great crowds again, great conditions. Wind picked up a little bit. What's it going to take over the weekend to be right up there?
DANNY WILLETT: I don't really know. The wind is a massive factor. We've had pretty good conditions for the last three, four days, even in practice. I think because when the practice -- when the wind is down and in practice, the guys see it easier, and I don't know if that helps for Thursday and Friday to come around -- there was a couple winds flickering on the back nine, made it a little bit tricky, but the scoring is still going to be good.

Like I said before, you've got a really strong field this year, probably one of the strongest they have ever had. That just shows, when you have a golf course in good condition, you get great players, regardless of how tough this golf course is, you're going to get some great scores. I don't know about a number, but just keep trying to hit some good shots and try to hole a few putts and hope that things go your way.

Q. You know this place really well. It's such a special event for the homegrown players. What are your sort of memories and what does coming back to Wentworth rekindle for you?
DANNY WILLETT: Yeah, it is, it's amazing. It's my 10th straight year, and playing with Westy, I think it's his 26th. It's one of them places where you get to, you love coming back. The crowds are amazing. They always are. I've had a couple nice finishes around here and the crowds help you along and really get behind you, and it's a fantastic spectacle for golf.

This is our Tour's main tournament, our biggest tournament of the year, and it's always nice to come back; it's even nicer to come back playing quite well and being up there. Yeah, hopefully an exciting weekend to come.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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