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HSBC WORLD MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

September 14, 2006

Luke Donald

VIRGINIA WATERS, ENGLAND

GORDON SIMPSON: Well, Luke, it looked as if for a while it was going to be a fairly comfortable win, but Tim made it difficult at the end and you had to pull out all the stops to finish.

LUKE DONALD: He did he made it very difficult for me. To be honest even when I was 4 up, I didn't feel that comfortable. I've played too many practise rounds with Tim, Tim is a good friend of mine, to know that when he gets on a run like he did, he can be very dangerous. He holed a lot of putts on me at the end and made some great birdies and squared the match.

So I missed some chances obviously for birdies, but you know, he played great and got himself right back there. But obviously glad to birdie the last couple and close it out.

GORDON SIMPSON: I know it's premature to talk about USA vs. Europe, but you won, Paul Casey won, Colin Montgomerie won, Robert Karlsson won, not a bad day all around, is it.

LUKE DONALD: I'm sure if Woosie is watching, he'll be happy. I'm not sure if that's a good omen or a bad omen for the Europeans. Obviously both Tiger and Furyk lost today and so they will obviously get to rest a bit more and may be fresher than some of us. At the same time, we're going to have more practise, some of our team members. I think in the overall view of everything, it's probably good for the Europeans.

GORDON SIMPSON: There's nothing like winning, really.

LUKE DONALD: Yeah, you know, you win matches and that gives you a lot of confidence. That can only be a benefactor for the Europeans.

Q. With Tiger and Furyk and Ernie all going out, this really is wide open for everyone now, isn't it?

LUKE DONALD: Well, it was always whoever wins this week is going to have to play great golf no matter who they play. Obviously today, a lot of the top seeds were knocked out. That opens it up a little bit, but there's so many great players here. You're still going to have to play great golf. You know, I think whether I'm playing Shaun Micheel or Paul Casey or Tiger, you know, over 36 holes, you're going to have to play great golf no matter who it is.

So it makes it a little bit more inviting, I guess, for the people who won today, but still going to have to play very good golf.

Q. You said you felt uncomfortable out here, was that because of Tim or just some aspects of your game?

LUKE DONALD: I just said when I was 4 up, I wasn't totally comfortable. I still knew that Tim would never give up. He was going to fight to the end. I've played a lot of golf with him in practise rounds, and he gets a lot out of his game. He tries until the very end, and you could see that. He was making some putts. Sometimes when he makes a few putts, he really gains in confidence, and that's what happened out there. He made four birdies in I think six holes and squared the match.

Luckily I had that cushion and I was able to hold on at the end.

Q. If this is going to have any sort of psychological effect on the Americans, is it more likely to have them on the players on the team other than Tiger and Jim Furyk, maybe the rookies will look and think, both our boys got wasted in the first round and Europeans are knocking everyone else over?

LUKE DONALD: It might. I can't really speak for what they are going to be thinking. As you mentioned, you know, there's nothing quite like winning and getting wins under your belt. I think it gives you confidence. I'm not sure if come Friday or Saturday or Sunday of next week that Tiger, I'm sure he won't be thinking about his loss here. But at the same time, the more European players that advance in this week, I think it will bring confidence to them.

Q. Equally to go to the weekend, if you were to find yourself here in the finals on Sunday, 36 holes every day, would you think you could have a negative effect going into next week as well?

LUKE DONALD: Definitely crossed my mind. You know, there's two ways of looking at it. If you do get to Sunday, it's going to be a little bit tiring. But it's great practise and great preparation for the Ryder Cup and the fact that you're playing so much match play, you're getting in that mode of playing.

But it's going to be a little bit tiring. I think the Ryder Cup as a whole is a tiring event, and to play one before that's quite tiring, it's a little bit risky. But it's only going to be my second week. I had a nice, relaxing week last week. I'm sure if I get to Sunday and play the final, then Monday is just a travel day for the Ryder Cup and then Tuesday, I'm sure I'll take it pretty easy.

I got to play K Club last week. It's reasonably in front of you. It's pretty straightforward. I'm sure it will be playing very similar to how it was last week. I don't feel like I'll probably take Tuesday pretty easy, too.

GORDON SIMPSON: Tomorrow you play Shaun Micheel. He showed at Medinah he's a very tough, durable competitor, isn't he?

LUKE DONALD: Shaun, he's won majors he's won a major. He's a major winner. He finished second at the PGA, and he just beat Tiger Woods, so he's going to be on a high. He's going to be ready for the challenge, looking forward to, you know, I'm just a meager No. 10 in the world. He just beat No. 10. Should be a piece of cake for him, right?

Q. Congratulations. I just wondered, obviously you play a lot of golf in America, is it good to be back in the U.K. for a while?

LUKE DONALD: Yeah, I've looked forward to this stretch. Obviously I was in Germany two weeks ago, I had a week here in London last week, and the next two weeks I'll be around. It's good to see my family and spend time with them and catch up with some old friends. I it's always nice to be back. I enjoy it.

Q. Going back to your days as an amateur as well, you excelled in the match play format, you don't play much during the rest of the year, do you feel very comfortable going straight back into that style of golf and the different challenges it poses?

LUKE DONALD: Well, I enjoy match play. We play a lot of stroke play at individual tournaments and it's nice to mix up the year with a few different events. I have got a pretty didn't record at amateur level in match play. I did well in the Walker Cup. We played quite a lot growing up in the amateur ranks, county golf, England golf, all that sort of stuff. We don't get to play it too often now, but when I do get back into it, I do enjoy it and look forward to it, something different. It's a little bit different strategy. You know, it's nice to separate the year with certain different events.

GORDON SIMPSON: Luke, well done today and good luck tomorrow against Shaun.

End of FastScripts.

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