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WGC BARBADOS WORLD CUPDecember 5, 2006Luke DonaldDavid HowellST. JAMES, BARBADOS: Pre-Round GORDON SIMPSON: We've got with us the England Team, Luke Donald and David Howell. David of course has just come from South Africa, and guys, do you feel you've got a bit of unfinished business this year, not quite managed it last year with the rainout on Sunday? LUKE DONALD: Yeah, it was obviously unfortunate to only play 54 holes last year. I think David and I were playing very well together. And all credit to Wales, you know, they played great. But we would have loved to have a crack at it on Sunday. It didn't work out, so you know, hopefully the weather will be better this year. I've heard it's not going to be great, but hopefully we've gone to two places where there's not supposed to have too much rain and it's raining, so we hope it stays off this week. GORDON SIMPSON: David, do you have the same sense of frustration from a year ago? DAVID HOWELL: Obviously yeah, it was foursomes last day, anything could have happened, Wales went on and one, but we certainly fancy that we played well. Yeah, very frustrating. In fact, we were sort of in control of the tournament right there from the word go, even from the first day and obviously we just got pipped after sort of 53 or 54 holes there and that was it, done and finished. It's very frustrating, but obviously it's nice to be back this year and have another crack at it, and hopefully we play as well as did he with last year.
Q. You have experience winning this; do you enjoy this particular format where you're representing your country and playing foursomes and four balls? LUKE DONALD: Yeah, it's a little bit different format. I think, you know, we play so much individual stroke play, it's nice to have team events now and again. You know, fortunate to win a couple of years ago with Paul, and I think having foursomes on last day makes it quite interesting. And if the wind keeps blowing like it is, it's not an easy golf course by any means. Especially in foursomes, you have to play some good golf to get it around here. It's an interesting format, and if the wind stays like this, you're going to have to play good golf. Q. Did the fact that you were so close last year, did that make it easier to choose David this time around to have another go since you still have a choice of partner? LUKE DONALD: Yeah, it's tricky when the lowest ranked player gets to choose rather that be just choosing the two lowest ranked players. I just went with the philosophy of choosing whoever was lowest, and at the point when I had to choose, David was lowest. So you know, nothing against Paul, I'm sure Paul and I would have made a good team as well. No, I'm stuck with David unfortunately.
Q. I gather you were getting quite good at making these nasty calls, telling people that, you know, you're sorry you have to pick somebody else above them; it's the second time you've had to do it, isn't it? LUKE DONALD: Well, yeah, both times obviously, I called Paul just out of consideration to him. Obviously felt like he was playing very well at the time, and just I had to pick it just before the World Match Play. I think obviously he went on to win that week at Wentworth. You know, I don't know if that put him ahead in the World Rankings or not, but it's a close call. DAVID HOWELL: No. (Laughter). LUKE DONALD: No. DAVID HOWELL: I think he is now. (Laughter). LUKE DONALD: It's never easy. As you said, it's a tricky situation, someone having to choose, you'd almost prefer to make it the two lowest players.
Q. Can you talk about your affinity for team events, your Ryder Cup success, your success in this event, even going back to Walker Cup? LUKE DONALD: Well, I've been very fortunate in my career to have a lot of success in team events. I've been on two winning Walker Cup teams, two winning Ryder Cup teams, and I played with Paul in Seville we won. They have been very kind to me. I don't know why I've done so well, just I enjoy it, I kind of relish it and I've been lucky to have good partners every time. Q. Do you guys feel you're the favourites this year? The bookies have you, with the rankings the way you are, 9th and 16th, that you're going to be the favourites? DAVID HOWELL: Well, bookies, you know, obviously they have to make a decision as to who is there, but there's numerous very strong teams here. Obviously we feel like we're one of those, but, you know, a week fresh, you never know what's going to happen and if we don't play well, then we won't win. We need to play it as good we can and we'll hopefully we'll have a chance and obviously that's what everybody is here to do. It's interesting, if the wind blows, I don't think it's anywhere near as easy a course as last year's. It will be interesting to see how things pan out. We're obviously fortunate to shoot 13 under the first day last year, and certainly playing today, you don't get the impression that that's going to be particularly possible around this course. Slightly different challenge. Q. You played 18 holes earlier on; what were your impressions of the course? How did you find the greens, general conditions? DAVID HOWELL: The condition of the course is great. The greens are very grainy, and the rough is very thick. There are plenty of birdie chances out there as well. Don't get me wrong, it's not the world's hardest golf course, but it's like the British Open, a mix of a few easy holes tee to green obviously if you can hit it straight, and then a few tough ones, as well. So it's no cinch. It's an interesting sort of layout, as well, with a couple of par 5s backing each other up on the back nine and then two par 3s to finish. It's a slightly unusual format and formation. With the par 3 to finish, could be some excitement I guess as well. Today was playing probably 3 under the back, so no easy holes to finish. Q. Do you feel the credibility of the tournament is damaged somewhat by the fact that the American Team has to go all the way down to 25th in the World Rankings before they get their first player? DAVID HOWELL: (Turning to Luke.) LUKE DONALD: Give me the hard one. (Laughter) Well, USA have very strong players. They have the Top 3 players in the world, is that correct? Yeah. You know, they have various other great players to round out the Top 10. There are many good players in the Top 50, as well. So it's a shame that they have to go down that low to find their first player. You know, it's obviously it would be nice to see the U.S. have a little bit of a stronger team. It is, after all, a world event and when you have a nation that has such strong players, and nothing against Stewart Cink or J.J. Henry, they are very strong players, but to have to go down that far on the list, it weakens the overall I guess just the overall feel of the tournament, just a little bit, because they could potentially feel that they are a much stronger team.
Q. Do you think if the Americans had rectified this situation years ago that the tournament itself might be stronger and that it would be here to stay, because it's going to disappear after next year? LUKE DONALD: I'm not sure what's happening next year. It's going to China. Is it still going to be the World Cup? Q. They are going to change the format. It probably won't be like it is now. DAVID HOWELL: The format has changed over the course of the years anyway, hasn't it? It used to be combined four balls, foursomes, so it has changed its formation over the years anyway. If it's still going to be called the World Cup Q. I don't think it's going to be a team event anymore, is it, Gordon? I think it's just going to be an individual thing. GORDON SIMPSON: It's got two years to run in China before we know what's happening after that. Q. Would you like to see it stay as it is? I think there's a place for it. DAVID HOWELL: Yeah, it's something different. Certainly Luke and I feel the same way, when you do get the opportunity to represent your country, you really try and we feel obviously that you really want to take that opportunity. You know, there's such an abundance of fantastic events for us to play in. We're so lucky as golfers; you can't play in them all. Obviously Tiger and Jim and Phil are in demand all over the world all the time and just can't play every week. The tournament is still a great tournament and hopefully the next couple of years will be exciting, good television and good for everybody here and it will continue to be an event. LUKE DONALD: I don't think you can just single out the U.S. Team for not fielding their strongest team. I'm sure already other teams this week that could potentially field stronger teams, too. It's hard to just point your finger at the U.S. alone.
Q. That is a fair point, but I think that also in the sense, the competition, if you look at LUKE DONALD: Obviously, you know, Tiger and Phil and Jim, if those guys do turn up and people know that they are going to turn up ahead of time, you know, maybe that sends out a message to the other players that we should be playing here as well. It can create a stronger field that way. But, you know, who knows. Q. Do you feel the need because there's so many good English players now that there is real kudos playing for the English team; Casey would like to be here, Lee Westwood, and does that? DAVID HOWELL: I would say so. I don't know the history of the picks and how the qualifications run every year. Certainly recent years, everybody who has been asked to play or qualified seems to be very keen to. It's a big event; it's a big money event; it's in Barbados; why wouldn't we want to be here? Certainly for me, I was in the position of having to be picked again, and it's a privilege to come and for Luke to make that decision. And as you say, there's a list of people that would really be keen to be here in my position. So I'm happy that it's me and obviously here to do the best for our country this year, which we don't get to say very often.
Q. The usual standard question, David; how is the health and also how about the trip back from South Africa, any problem? DAVID HOWELL: The health is great, been really good the last few weeks, thanks. Absolutely no excuses whatsoever and trip from South Africa was a breeze, really. Slept all the way the first flight and got here yesterday had dinner with my partner last night and feeling really good, so that's great.
Q. Is that a bit of a surprise that the health has been about? Obviously Valderrama was touch and go whether you were even going to start and you seemed to get through it. DAVID HOWELL: It's really strange how I can go from feeling great just before well, during the US PGA, no problems and in pieces days later, and sort of six weeks of troubles culminating at the American Express, and then four or five weeks later, only had two weeks of rest playing golf tournaments and I'm feeling as good as I was six, seven months ago. So I've obviously got a bit of a strange body and that's just the way it is, so you never know what's going to happen. But obviously I'm always happy to be feeling good. Q. Is it just that much more frustrating that there doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason behind it; that it can just come and go? DAVID HOWELL: Yeah, a bit frustrating to have a sudden collapse and have problems but I'm getting used to it.
GORDON SIMPSON: Enjoy the first round and see what happens. Thank you.
End of FastScripts. |
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