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JOHNNIE WALKER CLASSICMarch 2, 2007Retief GoosenPHUKET, THAILAND Q. Tell us about your good day? RETIEF GOOSEN: Off to a slow start, bogeyed the first and made a good up and down on the second. From there it was kind of a struggle. Made a bad five on number nine (par five), had an eight iron to the green and made five which felt like a double drop. On the back nine, I was just trying to hold on and managed to have a nice finish. Made birdies on 16 and 18. Q. And only two off the pace now? RETIEF GOOSEN: At one stage, I was seven or eight behind. When I turned at nine 11 under was leading and I thought 12 could be leading at the end of the day. I was only at that stage five under so to walk off 18 and being only two behind is a bonus. Q. How difficult are the conditions? RETIEF GOOSEN: The front nine is very tricky, more on the trees and with the winds which swirls around. Quite hard to judge the wind. When I played here at the Tiger Skins in 2005, the tees were forward and the course played a bit shorter. There was no wind then. Some holes are playing difficult. The third, you can hit it on the fairway and get stuck behind a tree. Hit a good drive and a seven iron in today. Q. You've played in a lot of hot places but how does this compare with the others? RETIEF GOOSEN: It is hot, feels like I'm getting a bit of cold too. My wife is down with the cold but at least I will sweat it out the next couple of days. Q. Given your experience in winning events, are you confident of going out there and doing it? RETIEF GOOSEN: I have to play my game and get in a good round in tomorrow. I always thought 16 under could be the winning score and four 68s would be great. But we'll have to wait and see what the weather is like and see what the others are playing. Ernie is not out of it yet, if he shoots a low one tomorrow he'll be up there. Q. Thoughts on Anton Haig? RETIEF GOOSEN: Funnily enough, I played a practise round with him, Ernie and David Frost on Tuesday afternoon, played nine holes. He's a very long hitter, a strong player. I think David gave him a tip during the practice round, he hit two good shots up the ninth which was our last hole and obviously it's helped. Q. Anton said you're an idol of his growing up, are you going to offer tips and all that now? RETIEF GOOSEN: I'm getting to that sort of age where I start idling and he starts motoring. It's great to see him get two good rounds in. He's got a good swing and is very strong. He's probably 20 or 30 yards ahead of me. It's good to see him playing well and hopefully on Sunday we'll be there together chasing the title. Q. Do you see a big future for Anton? RETIEF GOOSEN: Yeah, I think so. It's all about length these days and he's got plenty of that. Once he learns to control that, he'll be good. He's a very nice guy, good mannerism, friendly and a positive guy, all good for the game. Q. Encouraging for South African golf? RETIEF GOOSEN: There are quite a few guys who are playing well, obviously him, Richard Sterne, me and ernie are sort of there. Nice to see somebody else coming through now. Charl Schwartzel is another guy who is playing well. End of FastScripts |
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