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THE HONDA CLASSICFebruary 28, 2020Luke DonaldPalm Beach Gardens, Florida Q. Luke, let's talk about quite a turnaround, plus 3 your first five and then eight birdies the last 13. That's pretty impressive at this place. LUKE DONALD: Yeah, with three 2s thrown in there. These are not easy par-3s, as well, so that helped. But yeah, I felt very comfortable out there. I felt like I played nicely yesterday. Maybe had a couple putts that could have gone in. You know, the start wasn't ideal, but I wasn't hitting really terrible shots, just a little bit off with my approach shots, and it can bite you pretty quickly, this place. But I stayed patient. I felt like I was swinging well. Fortunately managed to reel off a bunch of birdies, and yeah, I felt like I'm swinging really nicely. Q. One birdie yesterday, eight today. I mean, did the conditions change that much? LUKE DONALD: You know, I think Thursday you're kind of feeling out the course, the wind and the conditions a little bit, and again, I still felt like I played pretty solid. I had some opportunities for more birdies yesterday, just didn't really take them. My short game was sharp yesterday. When I did miss greens I was chipping it close and taking the pressure off the putter. But again, I feel like I've been swinging a lot better the last year or two, and it's nice to see that pay off today. Q. You and the family live here in this area, so you're used to these conditions, these kind of greens. This is your game, right? LUKE DONALD: We're not used to 46 degrees at 7:00 in the morning. It's usually a little bit warmer. But certainly, yeah, I practice a lot on Bermuda and am very accustomed to this type of grass, this course, and I've had decent finishes around this place before. It sets up well for me. If I can get it in play off the tee and minimize those big numbers, which are obviously out there -- you're given a lot of short to midlines, which is a good strength of mine. Q. Lee Westwood, Tom Wilson, yourself are at the top of the leaderboard. Those English flags are up there. I know it's early, but that has to give you some sense of pride and it's kind of neat. LUKE DONALD: Yeah, obviously we play all around the world, and Lee has obviously proven that age is just a number. He's been playing great lately, a win in Abu Dhabi not so long ago, and seems to be very consistent week in and week out. Just seeing guys like that, obviously I've had a little bit of a lean period the last couple years, but just seeing those guys continue to grind and continue to fight and do well, you know, it's nice to see, and certainly it motivates me. Q. Excellent round; if we can get some comments on your day. LUKE DONALD: Yeah, obviously a very slow start, 3-over through 5. Didn't really hit too many bad shots, just a couple poor approaches led to a couple bogeys early on. But just told myself to stay patient because I felt like I was swinging well. I made a 2 on 15 and a 2 on 17, which was nice, and made six birdies on the front nine, my back nine. Yeah, I just stayed very patient, hit a lot of great shots, great irons, great approaches. Gave myself some real good looks at birdie, and was able to capitalize. Q. Do you like this style of golf? LUKE DONALD: I like it when conditions are tough. That's when I play my best, especially with this northwesterly wind, the course tends to play a little bit tougher this way. You've got to be very patient, got to pick your spots to attack, and yeah, I've had some decent history around this course. I had a chance to win once or twice. It's a course I enjoy and it kind of fits my eye. There's some tough shots out there, and you've got to play smart and aggressive when you get the chance. Q. How important is it that you've learned that over the years? Experience seems like it does matter. LUKE DONALD: We'll see what the afternoon guys do, but at the weekend -- a similar forecast. It's warming up a little bit, but similar direction wind. The winning score is usually less than you think it is. I just need to remind myself of that and stay patient. It's a very demanding, tough course, but just keep plugging away and pick up some birdies when you can. Obviously I managed to make eight today, which was great, and that's good for the mental side, just to know there are opportunities out there. Q. How nice is it at this point to be near the lead when you show up tomorrow? How nice is it at this point in the game to be -- LUKE DONALD: Yeah, it's always good to be -- it's nice to be back in contention. It's been a little bit of a while since I've played decent. I played decent at the Dunhill in October, but before that it was probably Canada where I was up near the lead. It's probably been a little bit of a lean stretch, but yeah, I feel like I've been making progress in the last four months with my swing and feeling more comfortable on the golf course. Q. What's been the biggest challenge with what the back injury did, and how did that affect you? LUKE DONALD: You know, a back injury at 40 years old, you can lose a bit of momentum. You know, just not being out there, getting the reps in with the competitive feelings, it takes some time to get that back. Obviously confidence breeds confidence, and you need to keep kind of plugging away and getting yourself into position to really help for future times you're in position. Again, it's going to be nice to be up there this weekend, and hopefully we'll play well. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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