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THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPJuly 15, 2008Sergio GarciaSOUTHPORT, ENGLAND MARTIN PARK: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to welcome Sergio Garcia into the interview room. It's been a great year for you this year already and certainly for Spain in the Wimbledon and the football. Hoping to make it a trio of big championships. SERGIO GARCIA: Definitely. It would be great. Obviously the year has been solid so far, and then, as you said, with the Spanish football team winning the Euro Cup and Nadal winning Roland Garros and Wimbledon, just trying to keep up with my fellow countrymen. Q. How much will you take from that last round at the European Open, the way you played in those awful conditions? If it had been anybody else, you would have overtaken them. SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, obviously Ross played extremely well that week, all week long. And like you said, that Sunday at the European Open, it was a really good day. It was very difficult conditions with a lot of wind and a lot of rain. It's always uncomfortable. But you know, I was happy to play well, to finish up there, finish second and get some good confidence coming into this week and also get some nice Ryder Cup points, too, to make sure that I get myself into that team. It was a good, solid week for me. Q. The number of greens that you single putted on that day, I mean, was terrific. SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, it was really the only way of shooting a good round that day because hitting good shots you were going to miss greens, and I think I hit woods into two par-4s. Any day you have a 350-yard par-4 and you're hitting driver, 6-iron, you know it's playing tough. Q. You played in the last group at Hoylake, a playoff last year. Do you feel like this is your best major, the major you play best in? And if so, why? SERGIO GARCIA: Probably so, mainly because I love this event. I love this major. Everything about it, it's great. Obviously it's the only one we play in Europe, so it always makes it even more exciting for a European. Also, I love the golf courses. We don't get to play on these kind of courses too often, and we try to enjoy the moment as much as possible. And then the crowds and the history of the tournament, it's just unbelievable. I think crowds are definitely the best crowds we get all year with the knowledge and the respect they have not only for the game but for the players and everything around it. Q. How does it feel to be the betting favourite? SERGIO GARCIA: It doesn't feel any different. At the end of the day, I know that I've got to be favourite myself, in me. It doesn't matter what anybody else says. I have to go out there and do what I know how to do, believe in my ability to do it and then give myself a chance at winning. Obviously it's nice to be that, but it doesn't mean that it's going to help me, like my chances are going to be better because of that. I still have to go out there and perform and give myself a shot at winning the trophy. Q. I wonder if you could run through for us what you did last week at home with your father. SERGIO GARCIA: Well, pretty much Monday I did a little interview for Spanish Channel, Canal+, and then we went back home and pretty much practised, practised all week, putted a lot, chipped a lot, went around the course and tried to hit different shots, played a couple games and stuff. So just pretty much normal routine and just trying to get into a good rhythm coming into this week. Q. This week, the player who wins this week, obviously will have won the British Open, will have won be it their first major, second major, third major, but through history there will always be people that look back and say that was the major that Tiger didn't play in. SERGIO GARCIA: It doesn't matter. With all due respect, the Open is bigger than any of us, even Tiger Woods. And if I happen to never play golf again or Tiger happens to never play golf again, the Open will still be played, and that's the most important thing. Nobody is bigger than the tournament itself, and it can be a great player, but it doesn't matter. You know, if I manage to win this week, I'm not going to go, oh, I won the British Open but Tiger wasn't there. I still have the Claret Jug, which is the most important thing. Q. Could you talk about the way you've developed as a course designer? It strikes me as it's an activity that involves people from the latter end of their player careers. Could you explain what you do? I understand you're developing one of the courses that will stage the Race to Dubai? SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, we're working on that. Obviously I'm focused more on my golfing career. I'm doing maybe one or two projects every two or three years, so I'm slowly getting into it. I was fortunate enough to partner with a couple really good golf course designers, obviously with Jack early on, and then now with Greg Norman. So that's obviously helping me see what they do and kind of know what I have to do. The most important thing for me at the moment is playing golf and trying to play well and get as many wins as I can. So that's where I'm focused at the moment. Q. Everyone likes to be liked, but I'm wondering how much the affection of the galleries at the Open plays a part in bringing out the best in you in this particular major? SERGIO GARCIA: Well, like I said before, but not only because the way they treat me. I mean, I've been fortunate enough to be treated very, very well by the British crowds. But not only myself. I think the whole respect they have for everybody in the field and how they cheer you on and how they know when to kind of cheer and when -- you might hit a shot that goes 20 feet and it might not look like a great shot. They know if it's a good shot or not. I mean, that shows a lot to us. Obviously they've been very good to me, and that always helps, definitely. Q. And as far as links golf is concerned, can you remember the first time you came to the UK as a teenager, where it was and why you liked it? SERGIO GARCIA: I think I was like 12 or 13. I'm not quite sure where it was. I want to say -- I'm not sure it's a total links course, Fairhaven. I think we played a match, England against Spain. Obviously some of the British boys -- I think when I was 14, I think I started playing the British boys, and we played some beautiful courses around the country. Yeah, I've been fortunate enough to play a lot of links courses, a lot of links golf, and I love it. It's different, and it brings so many different parts of your game that they have to be on and with a lot of imagination, which is always good when you get challenged on the course. Q. When you went so close last year to winning the Open, did you fear afterwards in any way that you might suffer psychological damage having gotten that close and being denied? SERGIO GARCIA: No, it's really not that big a deal, you know? There's a lot worse things than losing an Open in a playoff out there. Like I said, like I've been saying since you guys asked me about that, there were a lot more positives coming out of that week than negatives. So any week you have so many positives coming out, and a couple negatives, of course, because you didn't win. But it's always a good week. Q. You've always talked and players always talk about how there would be no point in coming unless they felt they could win, and you have been as true to that as everybody else. Can I get you to say that this is more your time now, in July 2008, that this is more your time now than you've ever felt in the past? SERGIO GARCIA: I hope so. I obviously feel good with my game. I feel good with myself. I feel like I'm getting better as a player every tournament I go around. I'm learning more things about myself, and I hope so. Obviously I'm not the only one playing out there, so that makes it tougher. There's a lot of great players that are going to have a chance at winning here this week. I've just got to make sure that I keep doing the right things, that I keep believing in myself and I have a chance. That's the most important thing for me, to give myself a chance on Sunday. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't, but at least be out there and feel like you have a chance at winning. Q. And do you feel complete? SERGIO GARCIA: You complete me (laughter). Q. Do you feel as complete as you've ever felt, that everything is in place? SERGIO GARCIA: I feel like my game is probably as good as it's ever been, yeah. I don't feel complete, or completed, but I feel like I'm getting closer. Q. Did winning THE PLAYERS feel close to winning a major? SERGIO GARCIA: Definitely. I said it there. Mainly because there were some things that felt like -- the strength of the field, the difficulty of the course, the conditions, it really felt like a major. The winning score was like a major. So it did, it did feel like it. And for us, you all know that it feels like the fifth major. We all know it's not, but it's one of the biggest tournaments we play all year, and it's always nice to be able to win that one. Q. Was that any kind of hump for you in your mind, to get over that? SERGIO GARCIA: It obviously gives you a lot of confidence, and I've been pretty good after that. It's obviously nice, but it's not the end. You've got to keep moving forward. Q. I wonder if you could talk a little bit about, more specifically, what Birkdale will demand of the winner this week and which parts of your game will be tested. SERGIO GARCIA: I've heard about it. Unfortunately I haven't seen it yet. I'm going out as soon as I get done with you boys. But I heard it looks very good. I heard it looks very green. Obviously the greener it is, the better you're going to have to drive the ball because the thicker that high grass is going to get and then the more difficult it's going to be to advance the ball from there. Obviously like any major, any British Open, driving the ball well is going to be important. Around the greens it's always tricky. So just mainly the same things as pretty much every major, just keep it in play and try to hit a lot of greens, and the least amount of mistakes possible. Q. The emphasis on driving the ball well, does that play to one of your strengths particularly? SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, usually when I'm on, usually my driving skills are pretty good. The good thing about it is I feel like on these kind of courses you don't have to just get there and just bang it. You have to hit different shots off the tee, and I always enjoy that. Hopefully it'll work for me. Q. For the first two days, Thursday and Friday, do you have any impression of the players you are grouped with, and have you ever played with them before? SERGIO GARCIA: I have, Ryuji and -- Q. Sean O'Hair. SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, I have played with both of them. Obviously both good players, they've both won in the U.S. this year. Yeah, youngsters, too, which is nice to see. And good guys. Yeah, I'm very happy with the pairing I have, and hopefully we can all three get it going. Q. Could you please run us through your work with Stan Utley, how much it's helped, what you've learned, how often you guys get together? SERGIO GARCIA: Who (laughter)? Well, as you guys all know, we started at the Match Play in Arizona, in Tucson, early in the year. And we just worked on obviously getting confidence in my stroke, getting confidence in my ability to putt and a little bit on the chipping, too. But mainly putting. And it's just trying to get back to the way I used to putt, just make sure that I can move the club nicely back and forth, releasing it, just to make sure that we give it a good roll so the ball has a chance of going in. Then it depends on other things, getting a good read, and hopefully the ball doesn't do anything weird. But at least hit the putt and feel like the ball has a chance of going in, and then whatever happens, happens. But if you at least do that, you know, you have a lot won. Q. I talked to Padraig Harrington a couple weeks ago, and he said when it got to a playoff, he never at any point in that playoff doubted he was going to win. He was certain he was going to win. I assume you went into the playoff with the same feeling. He said, it would be a huge shock after having that certainty you lose. How long after that shock do you recover from it? Does it take hours or days or weeks? SERGIO GARCIA: No, like I said, obviously Sunday night and Monday were a little bit tough. Other than that, like I said before, you think about the week, you think about everything you did, and you realise that you did the best you could. I mean, I felt like I hit a great putt in regulation to win the Open. Unfortunately it didn't go in. And then in the playoff I hit some really good shots. I hit some really good putts, and unfortunately they didn't drop. There's nothing else you can do. Q. Just as a follow-up, when you saw Padraig on the bridge that time and you smiled at him and said hello, did you think you had the Open then? SERGIO GARCIA: No. Q. What were you thinking? SERGIO GARCIA: What was I thinking? I was thinking, come on, let's get playing well, let's make par here and hopefully make par on the last and see if that's good enough. No, you don't want to get ahead of yourself, so that's what I was trying to do, and I almost managed to do it. Q. Like you said, you felt like you hit a great putt on the 72nd hole. How much different would your life have been the last 12 months if that quarter inch goes in your favour? SERGIO GARCIA: I don't know. I will never know. Q. How different do you think it would have been? SERGIO GARCIA: I don't know. It's all speculation, so I really don't know. I'll tell you next time I hit it, I'll hit it a little bit farther right. Q. You and others have spoken well that the Open is bigger than any one player, whether it's Tiger, Nicklaus or whoever. Some players have said that given his record at the majors, him not being here, there's one less thing to worry about. Is there any truth to that? SERGIO GARCIA: Definitely. When you don't have the No. 1 player in the world playing here, and obviously we know how good he is and how well he's done in majors, obviously it gives you a little bit more of a chance. But it doesn't mean that it's yours to win. I mean, like I said before, there's a lot of players here. Pretty much everybody is here. It's not going to be easy to win this championship. I'm just going to go out there and hopefully perform the way I know how to do it, and that will be enough. Q. There are many, many quality links courses in this part of the world. In fact, Southport sees itself as England's golfing capital now. What do you think of this area? SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, obviously it's got some good courses around here. I think Birkdale is one of the best links courses in the whole of England, so it's definitely nice. Obviously good weather helps, so we'll see if we get some of that. But we're looking forward to it, and I'm sure it's going to be a very exciting week like it always is at the Open. Q. How much does it excite you to see the young European players like Ross Fisher and Wilson and McDowell coming through, A, for the European challenge here this week, and B, for the Ryder Cup? SERGIO GARCIA: It's great. Obviously we know what the future of the game is, it's in those youngsters coming up. And to see guys that are in their 20s and doing well like the ones you mentioned, it's good to see. Anytime you can see good young players coming out, it's always healthy for the game. And for the Ryder Cup, I had the chance of playing with Graeme at the London Club at the European Open, and he played nicely the first two rounds, so I think he's going to be a big asset for the European team, so we look forward to having him there. Q. Given the number of your rivals who use psychologists, why would you choose never to use one? SERGIO GARCIA: I think you have to believe in that. I feel like I really -- I don't need it, at least at the moment. I feel like I know what I want to say to myself and things like that. You know, there's been other great sportsmen that haven't used psychologists, like Nadal doesn't use a psychologist, and Pete Sampras never used a psychologist. I guess it depends how you are. I don't feel like I need it. Q. You talk about the young players in Europe. What about Anthony Kim? Have you seen him at all? SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, obviously he's been playing -- we know how talented he is. He's been playing nicely this year, obviously, already two wins and on two good golf courses. He's a very young, talented player. And like I said before, the same thing; it's exciting to see young guys coming out and doing well and winning tournaments and playing the game of golf the way it should be played. You know, anytime someone like that comes around, we always welcome him. Q. You talked about your putting stroke. Is this the happiest you've been with it coming into an Open Championship for a long time, and what kind of difference does that make to your overall attitude coming in? SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah. I mean, it feels good. Obviously I worked hard on it. I worked really hard for the past six months or so. So it's good. I still need to get a little bit more consistency, but obviously I'm starting to see that some of the rounds, even when I don't make too many putts, those rounds, I'm still hitting good putts, which is the goal. Sometimes you make some, sometimes you don't, you miss some. But at least if you feel like you stroke it well and it has a chance of going in, you have a lot won there if you manage to do that, and it's starting to get that way, which is good. Q. With Spain seeming to be winning everything this year, do you believe in fate? SERGIO GARCIA: I hope so. Yeah, like I said before, it would be great. But I know what I have to do, and hopefully I'll be good enough. And if I manage to win here, it'll be something. It'll be a very good summer for Spain. But it's not going to be easy. Q. If you were to win here, which would be the biggest victory for Spain? You, Nadal or the football? SERGIO GARCIA: Without a question, the football. Q. 44 years? SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, and it's football. In Spain, football is the biggest. Q. So you or Nadal then? Who comes in second? SERGIO GARCIA: Me (laughter). End of FastScripts |
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