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SMURFIT KAPPA EUROPEAN OPEN

July 7, 2006

Bradley Dredge

STRAFFAN, IRELAND

GORDON SIMPSON: Well played again. You're leading the tournament at halfway and as you say, it's you and Doddy in the last group tomorrow. It's World Cup revisited, isn't it?

BRADLEY DREDGE: Yeah, Stephen saw me before just when I was coming out and he said: "Oh, make sure you have a good day and we'll have tomorrow together." You know, it's nice, had a good day and we'll have some fun out there tomorrow.

GORDON SIMPSON: Is that still the highlight of last season, the two of you winning the World Cup in Portugal?

BRADLEY DREDGE: Oh, we both had a good season last year. To win that, it was a massive bonus for both of us. When you're playing the World Cup, you're playing for your country. It was great for that and for golf in general in Wales. It's fantastic for us because we won it and that was a big thing for us.

GORDON SIMPSON: And no truth in the rumour that you wanted it to rain for two days so you can win (as happened in the last day of the World Cup)?

BRADLEY DREDGE: I didn't want to say that. (Laughter).

Q. Club at the last?

BRADLEY DREDGE: 9 iron in there, 152 yards to two feet or so. There was a bit of breeze. I found it the winds was a lot stronger today. The short iron shots, that's when you're looking to make birdies and I had trouble judging the wind because the flags were tucked away in some nasty places. And also the greens firmed up as the days go on, so it just means your approach play has to be that much better. And the shots I thought were good ended up sort of missing greens and 50, 60 feet away. Wasn't easy to get a ball close to the hole.

For example, the second hole today, the par 3, if you missed the flag on the left or the right side, I missed on the left side. You haven't got much of a shot, so you're almost forced to actually go at flags whatever club you've got because there's no real bail out over there. Just got to hit a good shot.

Q. If the flags are tucked away, isn't it harder to go for the flag?

BRADLEY DREDGE: I know, even with the wind over there, I'm just trying to play a bit more aggressive and just trying to make birdies. I mean, it's quite funny so far, I haven't made a bogey yet. I hate to sort of tempt fate. I haven't played fantastic from tee to green the last few days, but I've scrambled really well and I've holed some good putts when I needed them and knocked some shots close at the right sort of time.

Q. You've played with Doddy since the World Cup?

BRADLEY DREDGE: Many times. Gleneagles the first two days.

Q. A win would be big for your career?

BRADLEY DREDGE: I'm looking to finishing well. It's only the halfway stage of the tournament, and all you can do is try to get yourself in with a chance for the weekend, I've done that again. You draw a line under that and you start again, two rounds to go and a lot can happen. Hopefully I can have a better weekend.

GORDON SIMPSON: You've put yourself in this position quite a few times in the last 12 months or so.

BRADLEY DREDGE: Last year I had a good run this time of year as well and I didn't win. I try not to make a thing of it. I just want to go out there and just try to play a bit more aggressive and see what happens and change the strategy a bit.

Q. Are you happy with the state of your game?

BRADLEY DREDGE: I think you always sort of work on things. You try to improve slightly. You're always trying to improve slightly with regard to the golf swing, and you can you can never be good enough around the greens so you just continuously practising and trying to find areas to actually get better. Look how good Woods has been; he's always trying to get better. I wish I could compare myself to that, by the way. (Laughing).

Q. Did you hope or expect to kick on this year?

BRADLEY DREDGE: Expected. Because when I do have time off over the winter, I don't sort of sit around the house. I do actually work quite hard on my game. I felt as though this year I'm swinging the club better even though beginning of the year I wasn't quite firing on all cylinders. Claude has been here recently and just sort of ironed out you know, just sort of ironed out a few things, make sure it's in my mind what I'm trying to do and get on with it then. I know that technically I've improved from last year, so it was just a matter of using what you've got now.

Q. But Stephen seems to have been treading water?

BRADLEY DREDGE: It's a funny game, it really is. I can't speak for what Stephen. I know he practises a lot when he's home. The difference between shooting 68 and 72, when you're out on the course, it doesn't really seem a lot. It's really funny sometimes. But obviously four shots is a massive difference.

Q. Stephen says he hasn't thought about The Ryder Cup for a second?

BRADLEY DREDGE: I think he's that sort of guy, isn't he. I'm different from him. You know how laid back he is, whereas I think I'm a bit different from him.

GORDON SIMPSON: So you do think about it now and again?

BRADLEY DREDGE: Oh, yeah, I've set it as a goal, it's one of my goals. I like to aim high. I think you've got to. No good aiming to keep your card.

Q. So you don't look at the list?

BRADLEY DREDGE: I don't look very often, but it's a goal. If I was close, perhaps I'd look a bit more but I'm not really that close. I might look after this tournament. (Laughing).

Q. How far do you live from Stephen?

BRADLEY DREDGE: About 25, 30 minutes, far enough away.

Q. Do you play together?

BRADLEY DREDGE: Every so often. Try and take some money off him.

Q. Do you?

BRADLEY DREDGE: I think we played in Cardiff a bit over the winter end of last year. Doddy sort of he practises a bit down there so pop in there now and again.

Would have been a few years ago, it was at Whitchurch, I can't remember the year or anything. We were both professional. I think I would have just turned professional. I think he had been professional awhile longer than me.

Q. Did you get much media attention after your World Cup win?

BRADLEY DREDGE: Not really. No.

GORDON SIMPSON: Not like the Irish when they won? That was crazy.

BRADLEY DREDGE: Obviously do the interviews and the odd thing with radio or TV but that was pretty much it.

Q. You didn't win Welsh team of the year over the rugby team?

I actually had to attend the Welsh sports personality awards

GORDON SIMPSON: Were you nominated?

BRADLEY DREDGE: I don't think we were, I was told we won it too late so it had already been decided.

GORDON SIMPSON: Thanks very much and well played again.

End of FastScripts.

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