HERO DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC

January 18, 2024

Andy Sullivan

Majlis Course at Emirates Golf Club

Press Conference

Q. Give us a measure of the satisfaction of the 5-under par opening round in the afternoon today.

ANDY SULLIVAN: Yeah, obviously first event of the year for me. So you're always a bit anxious. You never know quite how you've done in practise. Could be playing brilliantly, and then you never know until you put it into tournament rounds.

I felt like I grew into the round well. I didn't feel like I started great, but then sort of got around the turn and felt like I was swinging it a lot better and felt like I could go at a few more flags and putter got hot. Massively satisfied.

Q. Every person who plays this game, when they take even a week off thinks, what if I've lost it. Does that happen for you guys as well when you have a break?

ANDY SULLIVAN: All the time, not just in golf. Everything. It's weird because you do, especially when you're playing well, I played well at the back end of the year in South Africa, and you feel like you're on a high. And then obviously four weeks off and you come back and you're like, am I still playing as good; am I not.

But I've gone back with working with Jamie Gough and just got back to hitting my little fades and being good at what I'm doing. I'm never going to be a bomber, so it's about control for me and try and do that again.

Q. We know the rough is pretty thick here. Conventional wisdom suggests that when the rough is thick, one must find the fairway. U.S. Open sort of specialty. How about for you around this place? Is it important to be in the fairway?

ANDY SULLIVAN: For me, I think if you want to shoot a score, you've got to be in the fairway. You can be as far up as you want but you're still losing control. The greens are firm enough, and the pins are tucked, where you're struggling to get out if you're not in the fairway.

So it's got -- I won't say it's as tough as a major but it has got that feel to it, the golf course, where you have to be very diligent into the greens and putting it on the right side. So congrats to the setup.

Q. Just finally, prior to Christmas we witnessed some history of your ability to break 80 with just one club. Is golf just easier now?

ANDY SULLIVAN: I wouldn't say it's easier. I mean, literally, that day was just a complete blur. I don't know how it actually happened. Then when I wanted to hit 7-iron, the guy is like, you're going to need 5-iron, you ain't reaching. I'm like, oh, my God. It is an amazing thing, and to break 80 is class to be fair. So just buzzing. I think from my last round at The Belfry, British Masters, think I beat him 14 in the last round that week.