July 31, 2008
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO
FULLAUDIOINTERVIEW
Q. Where did you feel like you played your best, what part of
the game?
JUAN QUIROS: I think all my game I played very well, putting well. I think all my game I hit well. There were a few things with the irons not so good, from the start, but after the third hole, I concentrated all day, and I think all of my play was good.
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Q. Did the birdie putts you made, were they long distance?
Did you hit the ball close?
JUAN QUIROS: Well, I start with a birdie on the 10th hole. This is my first hole where the putt was made eight meters, something like that.
The second birdie was the 17th hole. I hit a very long driver
with a 9-iron, second shot, and the putt was maybe nine meters, two
great putts.
The third birdie is in No. 2 hole, second hole. It was my 11
hole. I hit the long drive. I put birdie near the green,
seven meters short of the green, I putted, two-putted, made third
birdie.
My fourth birdie, coming to the hole, par 5, No. 4. I hit the
long drive, 5-iron missed to the right. I chipped in ground,
ball was maybe half meter.
And my other birdie was the ninth hole. I hit the driver not so
good, like it was in the rough left, but I hit the 5-iron 253 yards,
bunkered the green, chipped the bunker by not one meter. That
was my birdie.
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Q. Your exemption to the Senior Open came on your Senior PGA
European ranking. Did you have the date of the Senior Open
circled? Were you looking forward to it?
JUAN QUIROS: No. I played in the Senior Tour in Europe the first of last year. I win one tournament last year. That's how I was exempt to coming here.
No. I didn't have it circled. I like to come here because
I played in Calcutta and I'm going to play in the PGR. I'm very
happy to come here, you know. Yeah, I think about coming
here. I buy the ticket two months ago. But I was lucky.
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Q. Is that the first time you had been to the Broadmoor?
JUAN QUIROS: Yeah. It was my first time here.
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Q. How were the conditions this afternoon, because there seemed
to be more wind. Did that affect anything?
JUAN QUIROS: Well, sometime the wind is coming -- sometimes it's so windy. Yeah, it was a more difficult thing for the shot, but no, the wind was not a problem all day.
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Q. What's the difference getting the birdie on the last hole
being 3-under, one shot out, does it help you sleep better tonight?
JUAN QUIROS: I sleep better tonight anyway. I have a friend here, Javier, from Spain, he's my colleague, he's my friend, my driver. He helped me all day, yeah. I promise he'll help me. He sees the lines beautiful.
The club is normal. Everything is okay. The club shots
with me, he helped me very, very much.
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Q. How did you find the greens this afternoon? Quick, firm?
JUAN QUIROS: No. It was normal like the other day in practice round.
My impression was, I never saw that before, a couple times they
stopped for a few minutes to put the water in the green. I never
saw that before. I said to Javier, I never see that before, but
I think it's a good idea, because the people play in the morning, the
green is different condition than when you play this afternoon.
I know. I play tomorrow in the morning. You know, the draw
changes, but I think the tomorrow is the same. For everybody,
you play the green all the same.
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Q. That's the intention, to try to make the golf course play the
same the entire time, whether it's morning or afternoon or whether
it's Thursday or Sunday.
JUAN QUIROS: Yeah. I think it's a good idea for the
marshalls and the referees. I think it's good, 100 percent
agreement.
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Q. If we would have told you last night that you would be
standing here one stroke off the lead at the Senior Open when you were
finished with your round, what would your impression be?
JUAN QUIROS: Well, I said this morning to Javier, I said, I am very happy to be here. I am a lucky man to come and play in the big tournament, and now I play -- when I play, normally I play my friends in practice round. I wouldn't try this. I said, that's good. That's great. I'm not thinking nothing more.
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Q. Have you been playing well coming into this event?
JUAN QUIROS: Well, I played well last week. I won the tournament this year in Ireland with the conditions. It was a lot of rain and wind. I won the tournament there. I still played well. It's my third year playing the Senior Open. I play well. I'm happy, no?
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