HORIZON IRISH OPEN

September 7, 2023

Thomas Bjorn

The K Club, Ryder Course

Quick Quotes

Q. 66, fabulous round of 66 which included seven birdies. What was the secret to success today?

THOMAS BJØRN: I'm fortunate, I've played this golf course so many times. It's a long time ago; we played here every year, but it's always been the same fairways and greens.

I drove it very well today. I drove it in the middle of the fairway. I think I missed one fairway in this round of golf, and then this golf course becomes a lot easier to deal with.

But yeah, so that was the main key, just hit it in the fairways and just keep hitting greens. It wasn't really spectacular but nowhere near any trouble. I hit it under the tree on the 9th, my last home, and that was the first time I had to hit some kind of shot. It was one of those days. It's quite a remarkable game sometimes.

Q. You have been out injured for ten weeks. Were there any signs you were going to start hot?

THOMAS BJØRN: No. I said to Chris this morning when we walked to the first tee, I said, let's try to see if we can break 90, and if I shoot 56 on the back nine to break 90, that would be all right. It was that kind of day.

I came here, I've got no feelings for the game, and it just shows how silly this game can be. You can work hard for weeks and go out and shoot bad scores. Expectations sometimes gets in the way of professional golf, as I've own, and then you just go out and enjoy yourself, you're just happy to be on the golf course after so long.

It's just one of those things. No expectations tomorrow and then try and see if we can just go out and put a decent number together and start building from here.

Q. How are you able to get things around in 66?

THOMAS BJØRN: I hit every fairway out there. I think I missed maybe one or two in the first cut. That's the big key to this golf course, and obviously played here many times in the '90s and early 2000s, and you come into a golf course that you know well and you know what to do with it and that hasn't changed. You do have to hit the fairways. It presents itself with a lot of opportunities, but if you're not in the fairways, it becomes a very difficult golf course.

Q. How much did that past history on this golf course give you an advantage?

THOMAS BJØRN: It's nice to come into a golf course you know well. You kind of know the lines and you know where to go and how to deal with them. That's always a good thing. Experiences on golf courses here, that's not something that you can buy. That's something that you have to earn. I played for a long time now, so most of the courses are we go to, I've seen a few more times than others, so I know how they present themselves to the players, and today I just took advantage of a good driver.