HERO CUP

January 12, 2023

Alex Noren

Abu Dhabi Golf Club

Continental Europe

Quick Quotes

Q. Welcome back to competitive golf. Happy new year as well. Very different way to start off the calendar year with the Hero Cup this week. How much are you looking forward to this challenge?

ALEX NOREN: Yeah, good. It's an unusual start for us. I did this back in 2018, the EurAsia Cup, and it was great. We practice over the break, of course, but we need to get into competition, and this is right into competition. It's even more sort of like you want to do well, more than maybe even a normal week.

Q. You're a man with lots of match-play experience under his belt. Is it a format that you actually enjoy playing?

ALEX NOREN: Yeah, I love it. I used to love it also back in amateur golf, then when you play against other countries, and it was like then it was for real. You really wanted to beat them.

Now you know the players more, which it's very nice of course but it's maybe not the same, like I wouldn't say hate, is a strong word. But you know when you play amateur golf, it's different. You just wanted to beat the other countries.

Now you want to play well and you know the whole circuit, like how you just need to play well and after the game, you're friends. So it's a little different.

Q. Obviously with that knowledge, and one of the experiences in your dressing room, are you acting as a mentor this week for some of the younger guys?

ALEX NOREN: No, I'm not. Me and my coach were saying, "You're probably the oldest guy here, Alex." Yeah, probably I am.

Golf is so individual, and they have their coaches. I have mine. I've got my problems; they have got their problems. You know, and you know what you need to do. Also other sports, you have more strategies, maybe. I know there are some strategies here but I wouldn't say I'm a mentor of any kind, no.

Q. When we spoke in Dubai end of last year, you said that the Ryder Cup was a huge goal coming into this season. How much is this an opportunity for you showcase your talents once more at the match-play stage?

ALEX NOREN: It's just a little different when you sort of come off, whatever, a seven-week off stretch. I've been trying to improve a few things and maybe kind of gone backwards in a few.

So I'm taking it also like really a getting-into-the-season week and seeing what actually works under pressure, because when you play seven weeks with no pressure, it's different.

I'm looking forward to understanding where I am. What's important is probably how you act and maybe not every shot has to be perfect for them to see who you are, and then you've got to play well this season so get into Ryder Cup, and you've got to play good at The Ryder Cup.

So this is a great tournament, but I don't think they look, you know, for everything how we do here to compare us how we're going for The Ryder Cup.

Q. And just finally, obviously a unique event because a lot of people in the opposite dressing room will be friends that you've played with over the years. How different are those dynamics and relationships, and might they change this week?

ALEX NOREN: A little bit maybe. Because you want the points, at least pride for yourself and pride for your teammates. It is kind of like going out the last round of a tournament, and if you have the lead or just by the lead, you want -- it's kind of the first time when you actually want other players to miss a putt. Because you need them to miss a putt, maybe to get ahead of them.

So it's like when you play the first two rounds of a tournament, you're like, everybody is kind of like playing their games and obviously you want to do well but you don't really hope for them to do anything bad.

But like match play, you've got 18 holes, if they don't screw up, you'd better do better than them. So it's a lot more, yeah, like a football match or something, yeah.