DUBAI DUTY FREE IRISH OPEN

July 1, 2021

Tommy Fleetwood

Mount Juliet Estate

Quick Quotes

Q. A round which started with a bogey and ended in 5-under 67. How well do you feel you played today?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I played all right. There's things that I would like to tidy up. There was plenty of positives in there. I putted great and sort of definitely on back nine started to have my eye in and I rolled it really well.

I would like to bring the right side of the golf course in a bit more but at the same time I was hitting a lot of shots with not a lot of shape. I just, you know, I was just blocking it out there a bit. Some of them are very, very tight fairways, as well. So it's not easy, but I scored -- after the first, I hit a bit of a clumsy pitch and that happens, but after that, I played solid and definitely didn't make any mistakes. And you know, if I do that every day, I'll be very happy but I think I would like to just tidy some things up but really happy with the day.

Q. Multiple people shooting 67s and 68s this morning, was it a little bit tricky?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: It was a bit windier. Of course the greens being pretty receptive, you know, some putts held the line as well. The wind was up a little bit and swirls a little bit. I think what you get in the afternoon is par 5s in general play a bit shorter and the course plays a bit shorter with it warming up and getting a bit firmer on the fairways. Like I said, it wasn't easy, and you know, there's obviously loads of different aspects of the game. Today like my scoring and my putting were my really good side of the game. For the week, I would like my long game to just come in a little bit. But I feel really good about the things I'm doing and definitely had some really good shots down 16, 17, 18, played those holes. Tee shots like 18, that's a positive strike with a 3-wood. It's close.

Q. Are you happy with your day's work?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Like a lovely first day really. A bit of a clumsy shot after a good tee shot on 1 but overall I scored really, really well. Didn't make any mistakes. I can hit it better, like I think I can bring the right side of the golf course in a little bit. But overall my misses were all one way, which is a nice sort of comfortable feeling, and I feel like my swing is getting closer and closer. So it's nice to have like a positive start to a tournament and a positive round where you get the right side of the golf course and gain some momentum like towards the end of the round. So, I'm happy.

Q. After the several art, you said the conditions were absolutely ideal in the morning. What was it like in the afternoon?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Obviously it was a little bit tricky but it was still scorable. You know, what you get in the afternoon is it's a bit warmer. The course plays shorter and firms out a bit. For me, I have my eye on the green, but with the greens being receptive and a bit softer, anything starting to die pace, they can easily lose their line in the afternoon. I was one of the guys that had my eye in today and shot a good score. But yeah, conditions are ideal in the morning. I hope I can keep it going.