THE 150TH OPEN

July 15, 2022

David Law

Mixed Zone

Q. Being here is one thing. Playing well and being here for the weekend is another. Hopefully job done.

DAVID LAW: Yeah, it was really good. I played good the front nine really. Nothing was really happening putt-wise. But it was probably the two most patient rounds of golf I've ever played.

I think this week suits me because the flags are all tucked away. You can't really make too many mistakes, and I've been pretty good at that this year. I've managed to keep bogeys off the card for a lot of the good tournaments I've had anyway.

So it was just about remaining patient, and luckily we got the break on 13 and holed a big putt for birdie there. That really got me going.

Q. (Indiscernible) birdie at the last?

DAVID LAW: No, I think the cut will be 1 at the very most, maybe even level. The pins are so tricky.

Q. How much support have you felt from the stands going round? Obviously they're desperate for some home success.

DAVID LAW: Yeah, it's been brilliant. It's been really fun. I've never played a tournament of this magnitude before, so it hear everyone shouting my name when I get on a tee and walking on the green. It's pretty surreal, to be honest.

Yeah, I was nervous yesterday playing the first couple of holes and settled into it reasonably well. Today was more about just going out there and having a good round of golf.

Q. You talked about being patient. What does that mean for you? Is that just being very calm and calculated, and just playing slightly conservative golf to make sure that you're safe?

DAVID LAW: Yeah, I think so. The way the pin positions are out there, you can -- I putted one off the green yesterday, and yeah, I've done the same again today. I putted one off the green on 12.

So you need to have your wits about you. You need to miss them in the right spot. You need to -- I suppose that's what major golf is about. I don't really know because this is my first time.

But just watching on TV, a lot of the time it's the guy that makes the least mistakes that does well.

Q. When we're scrolling down the leaderboard, you're only a page off the top one. What's the plan for the weekend?

DAVID LAW: More of the same. I think I've proved that I can compete at this level. Yeah, I think we've got a good game plan. We'll continue with that.

My coach, he was here this morning. So we'd done some good work before we teed off, and that helped because we weren't quite there yesterday, you know, tee to green. So that was a good help this morning to do a bit of work with him, and we'll do some work this afternoon. Yeah, just build on the two days that we've had.

Q. You've been a pro a long time, David. Sometimes (indiscernible) a major now. Did you ever think in the back of your mind that you might have a bit of an opportunity like this?

DAVID LAW: I mean, in the last two or three years, not really. But prior to that, obviously you hoped to play one. I've always been pretty -- I've stuck to my guns in terms of I've never done Open qualifying. I've always tried to -- Ireland, for example, I've seen my best chances qualifying via one of the three spots we had that week rather than going to the 36-hole qualifying on Tuesday and sacrifice playing well that week.

So I mean, I've always been pretty disciplined, in the way we've gone about trying to get into them. (Indiscernible) paid off this week, and here I am.

Q. How has the buildup been to this? It's not a regular tournament. It's completely different.

DAVID LAW: No, it's not a regular tournament. We've tried to make it as normal as we can. Pitched up on Monday afternoon, didn't do much. Played 18 holes on Tuesday, and that was it. I didn't play holes on Wednesday.

I think three or four years ago, I would have pitched up and probably played Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and been burnt out by the time I played the tournament.

I suppose a little bit of maturity there. You know, I'm not just here to soak it all in. We're enjoying it. We're all enjoying it.

Q. Is that the key to enjoy it? I know you've got a serious side and you've got to play good golf. But can you enjoy it without the golf, just the experience of being here?

DAVID LAW: Yeah, I think you can. I think you'd be -- yeah, you wouldn't be a huge golf lover like we all are if you didn't enjoy this.

But it's difficult to enjoy it because obviously the pressure's intense. It's not -- you're playing in front of a lot of people, but it's the pressure you put on yourself to compete in one of these big tournaments. So, yeah, we are enjoying it. I'll say that.

Q. What was the best thing that Paul told you about dealing with this?

DAVID LAW: Just that it's just another tournament. In terms of your preparation, don't pitch up and play, you know, if you play three rounds before every tournament, fine, go and do that. If you play nine holes or 18 holes before a tournament, go and do that. As tough as it is, you need to try and treat it like any other week.

Q. FIrst tee (indiscernible)?

DAVID LAW: It's different, yeah, but you can't do anything about that. You need to try and embrace it and stick to your routine as much as you can.

I kind of got it going forward off the 1st tee, and I completely thinned my 9-iron over the back of the green. So we all sort of suffer from 1st-tee nerves and stuff like that. This week was probably more so than I've had for a long, long time.

Q. Are you going to watch golf this afternoon and see where you are on the board?

DAVID LAW: I don't think I'll have a chance. I'll get handed the two kids and we'll be -- I'll do a little practise this afternoon, and then we'll just go back. We'll probably go to the park and maybe take Penelope and Josh down to the beach.

Q. Is your family all here this week?

DAVID LAW: Everyone but my mom and dad and my sister. They went on holiday.

Q. They'll be watching.

DAVID LAW: They'll be watching, yeah. I think my dad will be spitting feathers he's not here (laughter).

Q. Was it an 85, David, the Links Trophy (indiscernible)?

DAVID LAW: Yeah, 2009 or '10. Could have been 2009. 85, yeah.

Q. (Indiscernible)?

DAVID LAW: A little bit.

Q. Here we are.

DAVID LAW: A little bit. It wasn't one of my most memorable rounds of golf. Well, it was memorable, but for the wrong reasons.

Q. Well played today. Enjoy the weekend.

DAVID LAW: Thanks, guys.