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THE EUROPEAN OPEN

July 4, 2008

Ross Fisher

ASH, KENT, ENGLAND

RODDY WILLIAMS: Very well played, never easy to pull off a low round but you've still got a one-shot lead. You must be pretty pleased with the day's play.
ROSS FISHER: Yeah, definitely. After a 63, you just want to go out there and obviously you want to repeat it. You kind of want to show people that it wasn't a fluke and that you're playing nicely so just try to go out there and do the same things as I did yesterday, which I felt like I did pretty well.
Didn't feel entirely comfortable with my game, but just almost felt like to be fair, almost sounds funny but I felt like I was in the zone a little bit, just walking around with a tremendous amount of calmness and peacefulness in myself.
Obviously it showed for a good sort of 13 holes really. Didn't make a mistake. Holed some good putts. Gave myself chances. Unfortunately didn't hole all of them it, but yeah, just kind of over the last few holes, tiredness kicked in a little bit but birdieing the 18th which is a demanding 18th hole, is very, very pleasing.

Q. Such a phenomenal round yesterday --
ROSS FISHER: Yeah, little bit. Obviously it's going to give you a tremendous boost going around shooting 63. Although unfortunately I had a bogey on the front side, it wasn't quite perfect, but it was pretty close.
Tried to have the same feelings as I did yesterday. I don't know why but my game didn't feel quite as sharp as it did yesterday. Missed a few fairways today. Probably didn't hole as many putts as I did yesterday.
But then, you know, to be fair, you can't hole everything; whereas yesterday, I felt like I holed, you know, the world for 23 putts. I had a bunker shot and I had a putt from off the green, so it was always going to be difficult.
To go around and shoot a decent score, 68, anything in the 60s I would have taken after such a great start and I'm pretty pleased with 68.

Q. 18 was a tough finishing hole, so tell us about the birdie.
ROSS FISHER: Yeah, it was a little bit frustrating but it seemed like it was quite a long round. I don't know if the guys in front were having trouble but we always seemed to be waiting a lit bit. It was just quite difficult to get into a rhythm. You go up to the tee, you're ready to hit your shot but you're waiting.
So obviously to get on a tee like 18 and have to wait there after hitting a drive on 14 and 16, a little bit right-to-left, obviously thinking, right, come on, just focus now and hit it at the TV tower and just rip it, and fortunately I hit a really, really solid drive and went out there quite a fair distance and fortunately had a really good number for a nice, solid 7-iron and by the crowd's reaction, I knew it was pretty good.
But to get up there and see it four, five feet when it was -- I thought to myself, oh, come on, you don't miss those, that's a gimmie, so just put a good stroke on it and you're going to hole it.
Fortunately went in the hole to re-take the lead.

Q. Do you have a sense of excitement leading going into the weekend, does that increase looking at the magnitude of the players?
ROSS FISHER: Yeah, obviously it's a tremendously strong field this week. You've got loads of big superstars playing this week. Yeah, it gives you a tremendous amount of confidence knowing that your game is in good shape, and obviously beating so many of the top boys gives you a tremendous boost.
At the moment, I'm in good position but just have to take a step back and go, hold on a minute, I've played 36 holes but I've still got 36 to do and there's some really, really good players. Graeme is in a good run of form and he's had his first win and playing some great golf but just behind you have the likes of Monty, Poulter and I don't know who else is behind, but there's some really good players, and obviously Garcia shot 64; fortunately he didn't snatch the course record off me.
Yeah, there's some great names, it's just pleasing for myself to see my name up at the top, so two more good days and we'll see what happens come Sunday.

Q. You said you never set eyes on the course -- did it look familiar or did you look at it and think, how the hell did I shoot 63 yesterday?
ROSS FISHER: Yeah, a few people said, oh, did you play another golf course and I said, oh, nine holes, just joking. A few people couldn't believe I went around in that score and then to hear that obviously it was the first time I saw the course, and they were like, you did play a practise round didn't you and I said, no, it's the first time I saw it. Comes to the mind-set that practise rounds are very overrated sort of thing.
Yeah, I think I was reasonably familiar with most of the holes. With the wind the lines off tees changed a little bit. But as I say, I didn't play as solid as I did yesterday but to be fair, to not feel happy -- entirely happy with your game, what was I, 4-under through 13, cruising unfortunately a few slip-ups but just to finish on a high note, obviously puts me in good stead come the weekend. So two more good rounds and hopefully I'll familiarize myself a little bit more tomorrow and then I'll really get snuck in on Sunday.

Q. What happened with the two bogeys at the end?
ROSS FISHER: The bogeys, hit driver left into the thick stuff and chopped it out with a lob-wedge and was in the rough. Had about 70 yards, pitched it to maybe eight or ten feet and left it short. And then the 16th, I hit a driver just in the left rough, hit a pitching wedge to -- just got a bit of a flyer and went through the green and sort of belly-wedged a wedge about six or eight feet past and just missed that.

End of FastScripts

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