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NISSAN IRISH OPEN


May 20, 2006


Thomas Bjorn


MAYNOOTH, IRELAND

SCOTT CROCKETT: Thomas, many thanks for coming in and joining us as always. A fantastic finish and a good day overall.

THOMAS BJORN: Just give us your thoughts on the your place in the tournament well, you know, I said yesterday that that's the way I wanted to play golf yesterday. That's what we work hard for is to have days like yesterday, and today was a bit more of the same. So when it starts coming together two days in a row, then you at least know the track you're going down is the right one. And I've said that for a while, that I've changed my golf swing, and that I'm trying to do a few things, and now it's just slowly starting to come together.

Today was even better than yesterday to be honest. It was very, very good. Yesterday I holed a lot of good putts. Today I holed one putt and that was on the last which kind of leaves me in a very good position for tomorrow.

But today was really, really special for me I have to say.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Before we take some questions, just the business of your round, your two birdies on the outward half what did you do at 2.

THOMAS BJORN: I hit a driver and a sand iron to a foot.

3, I hit a 3 iron to two feet.

My birdie on 15, I hit driver, 3 wood and chipped to two feet.

18, driver and a 3 wood to 40 feet.

Q. Looking forward to playing with Darren in the final group tomorrow?

THOMAS BJORN: Yeah, it's nice to see him play well today. He needs good things to happen to him at the moment and he needs it on the golf course. As I said yesterday, our friendship goes way beyond golf, and you know, he takes a big interest in my golf and I take a big interest in his. But we also take a big interest in what goes on in our personal lives. It's always nice to see him play well.

The best thing about this game and the level we play at is that sometimes you're going to go head to head and you're going to enjoy that. Over the years, I've enjoyed playing golf with Darren and also the likes of Westwood and Harrington; we've had head to heads and you walk away from there a winner or loser, you feel good for the other guy but obviously disappointed if you don't win yourself.

Tomorrow is a working day for both of us, and that's what we have to go out and do and play some good golf. I'm quite sure that, you know, the way we've been playing last couple of days, it will be some good stuff tomorrow.

Q. You said yesterday you'd rather beat Darren more than anyone. When it comes down to it, is that tough, given his circumstances?

THOMAS BJORN: I said the good thing about being great friends is that you also really want to beat each other. I don't think I'd say I would want to beat Darren than anybody is pretty harsh, but you like to beat your friends, and in the game of golf is in a friendly round or in a tournament round. You go up against your friends and it becomes just a little bit more fun and a little bit more interesting for everybody involved.

You know, I'm going to go about my business tomorrow as a working day like any other, and be it Darren Clarke or anybody else stands across from me, I'm going to try and play the best I can. There's a whole lot of other people on this leaderboard that are very, very capable at the moment.

Q. Yesterday you paid tribute to the work your two guys are doing with you, Jos and Jamil; are you two different characters that you need two different psychologists?

THOMAS BJORN: No, not really. As I said yesterday, it's all about one is about golf and one is about other things. I've realized over the years that the way I am off the golf course is probably the way I should be more on the golf course, and I'm trying to transfer those things; be better off the golf course and be better on it.

I just found that one guy is really good at one thing and the other guy is really good at the other. I've been needing both things. So it's not really a question of anything but I just figured out the way I want to do it, and at the moment it's working very well for me.

Q. Can you explain to us the difference, how you are off the golf course and how you'd like to be on it?

THOMAS BJORN: I'm much more relaxed off the golf course than I am on it. I've always put a lot of pride on my golf and I've always stressed myself out over my golf. I've been a person that never takes my golf home with me. If you ask my wife, that's the first thing she will say; I probably don't discuss my golf enough at home. I could probably get rid of some things if I did.

The way I am at home and the way I am off the golf course is very relaxed, and I enjoy times with friends and family, and I could probably do with enjoying being on the golf course a little bit more.

Q. Jamil, when did he start with you, was it at the PGA?

THOMAS BJÖRN: He started with me just around the Open time last year.

Q. Is there anything specific that you did at the PGA?

THOMAS BJORN: It was good golf. I've worked hard on what I want to do, and, you know, when you work hard, you're going to get something happening and going your way. And that was the case there. You know, I worked hard leading into it, and things clicked. I started, you know, playing the golf I wanted to play and playing golf like I'm playing right now.

Q. You and Darren are alike off the course and maybe a little bit too��?

THOMAS BJORN: Maybe a little bit too intense is what you want to say on it.

I also think that the way we we take our golf very seriously and that's probably why we are where we are and a lot of people would say we should probably achieve more than we do. But we've achieved a lot of things and we've played at the top of the game for a long time. And, yeah, we are very similar in a lot of ways, but, you know, that's probably why we mix very well, as well. We've enjoyed a lot of good times together, golf and non golf.

Q. Did you have a wager with him yesterday during your round?

THOMAS BJORN: No.

End of FastScripts.
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