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THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 15, 2005

Trevor Immelman

ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND

STEWART McDOUGALL: Ladies and gentlemen, Trevor Immelman, a total of 138, 6 under par, and joint leader The Open Championship.

How does that position feel today?

TREVOR IMMELMAN: It sounds great, although half the field has still got to go out there. But, yeah, I'm very pleased with the way I played and I thoroughly enjoyed my two days with Phil and Ian, and all three of us played pretty well. And I'm looking forward to the weekend.

Q. If you had to sum up your two days and what you've done, what would you say?

TREVOR IMMELMAN: I think even though I had a few 3 putts today, they were kind of from the 50 foot range, which is always a 50/50 chance. I'd say I've putted pretty well over the last two days. I've kept the ball in play and hit some nice shots, but I've holed some really good putts to keep things going and make some birdies. That's probably the difference between what I haven't been doing earlier in the season.

Q. Is there a hole that you can give us an example of where you did that, where you came back for birdie on either of the days?

TREVOR IMMELMAN: Well, I think after the second hole today when I hit a poor second shot, really down the right side and 3 putted that. And the next hole I came back and hit two pretty good shots and holed a 12 footer, that was pretty nice and gave me confidence.

Q. On 13 and 14?

TREVOR IMMELMAN: That was on the third hole.

Q. But moving on to 13 and 14, it looks as though you did the same thing again?

TREVOR IMMELMAN: Yes, and at that point it was getting quite tricky, because we played the front nine into the breeze or the majority of the front nine into the breeze. Then when we got to the 13th hole the wind actually switched, and we played the remainder of the hole into the breeze, as well.

By the time we got to the par 5 I killed a driver and 3 wood just over Hell Bunker and then had to hit a wedge on and holed a nice putt. That was nice to get some momentum back and give yourself some credit, there, before the finish.

Q. Given the setting, St. Andrews and Jack's farewell and Tiger's leading, do you get a sense that there's something special about the whole occasion, about this whole week? I know any major is, but is there something extra special about this?

TREVOR IMMELMAN: Without a doubt. To come and play The Open Championship at the home of golf is spectacular in itself. With it being Mr. Nicklaus's final Open or maybe even final competitive tournament, that's extremely special. And obviously we've got a guy in Tiger who is chasing Jack's record. So there's so many different scenarios going on here.

And just looking further down the field, I had Tony Jacklin playing behind me, and he's obviously come here to play this week. So there's a lot of unbelievable stories unfolding this week. And as you said, it's a very special tournament.

Q. What sort of impact does that have on you as a player?

TREVOR IMMELMAN: Well, that's a very good question because for a guy like me who's been playing golf for over 20 years, since I was five, and I've grown up playing the game and loving the game and know a lot about the history of the game, it means a lot to me.

But I can't really spend too much time thinking about it, because you could get caught up in so many different scenarios going through your mind. You really just need to stay focused once you're on the golf course.

Q. You played with Mickelson and Poulter, Poulter being a show off here. Do you prefer that, being the anonymous figure in the group, or would you like to be the one that everybody comes to watch?

TREVOR IMMELMAN: Well, I mean in most groups I'm pretty much the anonymous person. I've been hanging around the top 50 in the world. I'm not going to be a star in many groups they put together. But I enjoyed it. To have the opportunity to play with Phil, who has been in the top 10 or maybe even top 5 in the world for over ten years now, he's been one of the game's best for over a decade. And as you say, Ian, he's got his flamboyance in the way he dresses and the way he plays. He came back fantastically on the back nine and made some great birdies to get himself back in the tournament. I enjoyed it. They're both great guys and we had a really good time out there.

Q. It says in your bio that your father is a commissioner of the Sunshine Tour. Is that similar to the Challenge or Nationwide Tours? And also what influence did he have on you in your formative years?

TREVOR IMMELMAN: What was the first part of your question?

Q. The Sunshine Tour, is that the equivalent like the Challenge or Nationwide Tours, or what is that, exactly?

TREVOR IMMELMAN: Well, I don't want to put any Tour down, so I don't know how to answer the question. But it is part of the five groups that make up the World Golf federations. So whereas the Challange Tour and the Nationwide is a secondary Tour to the main Tour, this isn't a secondary Tour, if that answers your question. We are going to have at least three cosanctioned events with the European Tour in this season coming up. And so the Tour is getting stronger. Obviously if you look down the World Rankings, we've got two players in the top five. It's a strong golfing nation.

To answer the second part of your question, it doesn't really affect me too much at all from that point of view. I try to go down and play in South Africa whenever I can. I enjoy going down to play there. It's a fantastic place. So it doesn't really affect me too much at all, other than the fact that my father might give me a fine if I throw a club playing down there (laughter).

Q. What influence did he have when you were a kid growing up, as far as golf is concerned?

TREVOR IMMELMAN: Well, a massive influence. I think my whole family had a massive influence. I've got an older brother and an older sister. And we were all very involved in the golf. It started with my brother. We would all go and watch him play in tournaments. And then I started playing and everybody would come and watch me play. So our family's always been very involved in it. They've always been there for the support.

STEWART McDOUGALL: Thank you very much.

End of FastScripts.

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