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HSBC WORLD MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

September 14, 2006

Robert Karlsson

VIRGINIA WATERS, ENGLAND

SCOTT CROCKETT: Robert, many thanks for coming in and joining us and many congratulations, a fantastic victory, 4 & 3 over Jim Furyk, you must be delighted. Give us your thoughts.

ROBERT KARLSSON: Yeah, it was a great round in the morning, played really, really good, and holed out extremely well, both when I was under pressure and also a few long ones without any pressure. I had a big lead, but it's not always that easy. Especially I didn't play very well from the first, six, seven holes in the afternoon, but I managed to lose one to him and then I started to play a little bit better and tired him out.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Momentum is big in match play, and you had it early, kept it all day, really.

ROBERT KARLSSON: Yeah, I did. Just tried to focus as much as I could on my game, and so I mean, it went pretty well. If you let it go and start to worry about what he's doing, things can go wrong very quickly.

Q. Extraordinary run on the par 3s, have you ever done that before, four par 3s and you got four 2s? Then you've got the next one, you had five in a row, this afternoon you birdied the second hole?

ROBERT KARLSSON: Yeah, I birdied the second hole. I didn't birdie No. 12 no, I did. I chipped in on 14, that's right. I wasn't actually aware. When I got off the course, the BBC guy said: "You made nine birdies today," and I was like, "I did?" It was more like just trying to take one shot at a time and you don't really count the score when you're playing match play. It's more like taking each putt and taking each shot by itself.

So that was it. I wasn't aware. I haven't got the slightest idea I birdied all four.

Q. How much do you treat this as sort of a dress rehearsal for next week, and how much of a confidence boost do you take from this, beating such a good player, and an American player as well?

ROBERT KARLSSON: It is one of the biggest tournaments that I've ever played in, so it's definitely not a rehearsal, but it is also a fantastic opportunity to practise some match play for next week. And it's an even extra bonus that I get more than 36 holes, so looking forward to tomorrow. This is definitely a separate tournament, but it is a bonus and it couldn't be any better, playing a bit of match play as well.

Q. A couple of things. Can you tell us when did the Ryder Cup first come in your mind on the course today or did it ever leave your mind? Did you think about Ryder Cup at all?

ROBERT KARLSSON: There's been too many journalists around to not think about it.

Q. Was it there all the time?

ROBERT KARLSSON: Last couple of weeks, it has really started to come into my mind. When I was back, I had a week off, and there was probably like ten interviews, both TV and newspapers in Sweden. Obviously it has been on my mind.

But today when I was playing, it was very important for me to just stay focused on what I can do on the golf course and what I can do on the golf course. I just tried to talk other things with my caddie between holes, like when is his parents coming over and stuff like that, but nothing else. I was never out there to try to beat a potential Ryder Cup opponent or anything else.

Q. How much match play experience do you have?

ROBERT KARLSSON: Well, the last few years, it hasn't been hardly any. I played two Seve Trophy's and the Accenture Match Play that's pretty much what I have as a professional over the last 15 years, so you can't say it's very much recent practise. But as a junior I played in the European Cups and European Championships and those sort of things, British Amateurs, as well.

Q. You played here in May without your driver, how much more aggressive were you able to be today?

ROBERT KARLSSON: Yeah, the course is different now. It's softer. And it's also totally different format of playing. So it's a little bit different, but it's at the same time, it's pretty much the same clubs. I just feel on a few putts, if you need to hole it, you don't have to worry about the next putt. So you get a bit different frame of mind on the putting.

Apart from that, it's pretty much the same I think. I didn't play very much differently because the course now, the weather is so good, and the weather, that's why the tees are so lengthened. You can hit driver pretty much now most of the places.

Q. You played pretty well in Boston a couple of weeks ago; your confidence must be sky high?

ROBERT KARLSSON: I must say I played really well for a couple of rounds ins about ton. Messed it up a little bit over the weekend, but I just try to keep it simple for myself and not worry too much about the results. I wasn't really worried too much about happening there.

Maybe it was perfect for a European guy to play in Boston because the weather was pretty miserable the first couple of days and it was quite windy. I didn't feel like I was playing extremely well but when I looked, I was ninth, seventh, or 10th after a couple of days. I didn't really put it together over the weekend. But any time you're up there with the best players in the world and playing well, it feels like you're growing as a player and as a person.

Q. Have you talked to anyone about what to expect next week and all that sort of thing?

ROBERT KARLSSON: No, I think it's probably better not to. (Laughter) A little bit, very briefly. The only actually the last two Ryder Cups, I haven't seen one shot because I was in Monaco and I was at motor cross in France and I didn't see shots. The time before that, I didn't see very much either. So I haven't really seen anything since Brookline, I saw quite a bit from that.

Q. Could you talk about the psychological value of beating such a key member of next week's American team?

ROBERT KARLSSON: Well, next week is going to be a new week with different setup around and there's going to be a team experience. I mean, it would be great if people around me thinks that it helps a little bit for the team, but for me it was two rounds of golf that I'm very happy with. Yeah, I mean, that's pretty much it.

Q. How surprised are you that so many of what was supposedly the outsiders this week have come through and it looks like it was something like 6 2?

ROBERT KARLSSON: The lower ranked players?

Q. Exactly. No outsiders at all.

ROBERT KARLSSON: Lower ranked players. Well, that's match play. I think as well when you're in there as sort of the favourite, if you put it that way, maybe you feel a little bit more pressure and expectations on yourself. I don't know, I mean, also match play, it's definitely a freer kind of game. You just can take one shot at a time and if you mess up, it doesn't matter if you make 12. You can play maybe more aggressive and let yourself go a little bit more and that probably helps a little bit if you're a lower ranked player. I think over a season, maybe the biggest difference between a lower ranked player and a higher ranked player is probably the amount of bogeys and double bogeys.

Q. Do you think Woosie, you're one of the players perhaps doesn't know as well as some of the others, do you think he looked at nine birdies and thought perhaps opening four balls?

ROBERT KARLSSON: I played with him third round in Deutsche Bank and I made six birdies in the first seven, so I think he was aware of that before. Firsthand experience. (Laughter).

I haven't got a clue. I haven't got a clue what he's thinking.

Q. Do you think it's more likely four ball and foursome?

ROBERT KARLSSON: Probably. Depends, if Darren plays well in Madrid, I think it will be quite important for the team for him, at least he's there playing and that's great. Then it's going to be up to pretty much the form on the day. I think pretty much everyone on the team is playing good, which is very positive for the whole team. Henrik had a little bit of a tough summer, but won the other week. I think there's many possible partnerships out there and I think Woosie has got a good problem in his hands.

Q. Woosie make any comments when you had those six out of seven?

ROBERT KARLSSON: No, he didn't. His caddie did, though. (Laughter).

SCOTT CROCKETT: Robert, well done.

End of FastScripts.

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