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THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 17, 2008

Robert Allenby

SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND

MALCOLM BOOTH: Robert, thanks for being here. You shot 69 today, leading the Open Championship.
ROBERT ALLENBY: Oh, am I?
MALCOLM BOOTH: You are indeed. Great back nine. Do you mind just taking us through it, please?
ROBERT ALLENBY: I bogeyed the 1st, I bogeyed the 6th, I bogeyed 7. I birdied -- this is going to be really quick. What would you like to know about?
MALCOLM BOOTH: What club did you hit on 12, please?
ROBERT ALLENBY: 12 -- what about 10? I made birdie there.
MALCOLM BOOTH: 10 would be good.
ROBERT ALLENBY: I hit a 5-iron into 10 to about 15 feet, hit a good putt there.
And then I hit a 5-iron into 12 to about ten feet.
And then 17 I hit a 4-iron to like ten feet and just missed the eagle putt.
And then a sand iron to about 20 feet at the last and managed to make that one.
MALCOLM BOOTH: Difficult conditions out there. How did you manage to stay on top of those?
ROBERT ALLENBY: Obviously it was pretty tough. I mean, I got up this morning and I saw what was going on out there and checked it out. That's the beauty of this tournament is it comes on at like 9:00 o'clock in the morning and you can watch for like two or three hours before your tee-off time and just keep a close eye on the conditions and see what people are doing on certain holes.
You know, it's a neat thing to have when you're in the afternoon. It's definitely an added bonus.
But then again, you still have to go out there and do it yourself.
I played solid. I mean, I hit a lot of good shots. I just didn't make a lot of putts on the front nine. I had a three-putt in there from not very far, and I had a couple of chances for birdie that I didn't make. But I knew that if I kept hitting the ball well that there was definitely some opportunities to make some birdies.
I hit a great shot into 10 and managed to make that one from, whatever it was, 10, 15 feet, and it sort of got me going.
I actually hit another great shot into 11 with a 5-iron to about 12 feet straight up the hill and just rammed it past.
All I wanted to do was just control the ball, keep it in play and try and limit -- try and keep my mistakes to a minimum. And that's what I did very, very well today. You know, if I was ever in trouble, I played safe and just got it back out in play and just did what I had to do to try and make par.
I knew it was going to be a tough day and I knew that anywhere -- 1- or 2-over or 3-over even was a good score today. I was obviously fortunate enough on the last couple of holes to make a couple of birdies. That was nice, good way to finish off.

Q. The Australians have a great record at Birkdale, Peter Thomson has five wins and Ian Baker-Finch. Do you believe in omens or fate or history?
ROBERT ALLENBY: I'll let you know on Sunday. I was very fortunate to qualify as an amateur back in '91, and Ian Baker-Finch was very kind then to allow me to play two practise rounds with him. And then he obviously went on to win that year.
I played here in '98, as well. I know the golf course very well, and I've played quite a few practise rounds this week. I really wanted to know the golf course. I wanted to know where everything was and where all the humps and bumps, and I think my preparation this week was probably better than any other year I've ever been here.
At the same time, I'm hitting the ball better than I've ever hit the ball, as well. Obviously that helps a lot, especially on days like today when it's so windy.
You know, I got a lot of knowledge from Finchy about his win. The golf course has definitely changed a bit. I saw him yesterday afternoon when I was coming down 17. He walked the last couple of holes with me, and we had a little chat just about the golf course and just the way that -- the way it was playing. Obviously it was playing different -- it's playing so much longer than ever before. I mean, this golf course is a brute now. But you've just got to control the ball, keep it under the wind and play smart shots when you need to.

Q. A question on your game. You said you're hitting the ball better than ever and have had some good results lately. Have you changed anything? Is there anything that happened or kicked in that has led to this?
ROBERT ALLENBY: No, not really. I mean, I'm just -- really just picking shots and hitting them. I'm not judging my swing or anything like that. I know my swing is good and I know it works.
You know, today was a good example of I'm just really hitting shots at about 70 per cent, and that's what you have to do in these conditions. You can't hit any shot 100 per cent because you'll obviously balloon it or get it riding on the wind or whatever.
That's all I've been doing pretty much all year. I've just been trying to play within myself and just play intelligent golf, just really trying to play golf with a lot of freedom. That's why I'm hitting a lot of good shots. I'm not jumping outside myself.
I've been working on a lot of things to try and get myself to this point and just try and give myself a chance to win a major, whereas in the past I just -- I've probably been a little bit too uptight and a little bit -- probably put too much pressure on myself instead of really just going out there and just having a good time and just playing golf and playing the way I know how I can play.
I think that's what you saw today, and that's what I've been doing all year. I've had a couple of close calls this year, and recent, too. Memphis wasn't that far away, that far ago, and I had a third just a couple of weeks ago. So it's there. It's a matter of allowing myself to just go out there and just play golf, really, at the end of the day.

Q. I know you've carried a few injuries over the last few years. How do you feel today now? Have you put most of that behind you? And what sort of expectations did you have sort of at the start of this week?
ROBERT ALLENBY: You know, I've had a few injuries over the years and stuff. As you get older, that's just what happens. I turned 37 a few days ago. You know, I'm just pushing 40 now, so I'm an old bugger.
The elbow isn't an issue at the moment, just got severe tennis elbow. You can't see it because it's underneath the thing, but I've got a little strap on there. You know, it is what it is. It's just the nature of the beast.
I've played professionally for the last 17 years now, and it's just -- I've hit so many balls and pulled so many suitcases around the world that you're going to get some sort of injuries.
But you know, right now it feels fine. I'm ignoring it, and it is what it is, and I'll just move on and -- maybe in the past I might have let it get to me, but I'm not letting it get to me.
MALCOLM BOOTH: Robert, thank you very much for joining us.

End of FastScripts

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