HERO DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC

January 26, 2023

Daniel Gavins

Majlis Course at Emirates Golf Club

Press Conference

Q. Strange way to start the tournament, six-hour delay, lots of wind, lots of rain, and of course the challenge of light. Got through the 18 holes at 4-under. How are you feeling?

DANIEL GAVINS: I feel pretty good. Struggled quite a lot off the tee today which is a bit frustrating, but my kind of putting kind of held me. I holed quite a lot of nice putts to keep me going. Disappointed with the tee shots but I'll sort that.

Q. I know there were some water hazards that weren't there 24 hours on the course. How was the course playing on the hole?

DANIEL GAVINS: The course was pretty good. It was dry for the most part. I went into one of the water hazards on the 10th which was not meant to be there but apart from that, there's a few places where it didn't really come into play, but yeah, it's pretty dry.

Q. T-55 here last year with 70 your lowest round of the week. How are you feeling so far?

DANIEL GAVINS: Yeah, last year was obviously my first time here, so it was kind of just a learning curve of getting used to the course. I think the greens are a lot nicer this year. They are a little bit softer and they have kind of bedded in nicely. So I'm looking forward to getting going tomorrow.

Q. These Rolex Series weeks are massive. How important is it to you, especially at this point in the season, to start the season well?

DANIEL GAVINS: Last week, I was feeling it was a bit of a waste kind of missing the cut but if you think it's just the start of the year, I've got another 30-odd events if I want them, so I'm not trying to think, yeah, it's massive points. I'm just trying to play week-in, week-out and see where we are.