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THE CELTIC MANOR WALES OPEN

June 3, 2009

Bradley Dredge

NEWPORT, WALES

GORDON SIMPSON: Bradley, thanks very much for joining us for the 2009 Celtic Manor Wales Open. You've come very close to winning this title. The question is: Can someone from this country finally make a breakthrough, either yourself, Jamie Donaldson, Doddy, who could it be?
BRADLEY DREDGE: Well, I think the best chance at the moment going on form is obviously Stephen Dodd. He's played really well the last few weeks and he's finished fifth last week and fourth the week before.
So at the moment, I played with him the first two days last week, and he struggled a bit actually but you know, you can still see his game is in good shape and obviously he had a really good weekend and he had a really good chance of winning.
GORDON SIMPSON: And how about yourself? It's not been too great recently, a few missed cuts before last week.
BRADLEY DREDGE: Yeah, it hasn't been what I'm sort of after this year. But the thing is, you don't have to do an awful lot wrong to sort of miss cuts on this tour now. But you know, I'm just not scoring. Hitting probably a couple too many bad shots, and just not quite sharp on my form around the greens.
But the good thing in this game, like in most sports, it changes day-to-day and week-to-week. I'm just looking for a form sort of turnaround and obviously this would be a good week to do it.
GORDON SIMPSON: Do you play this course outside of tournament weeks?
BRADLEY DREDGE: No, I haven't played it since last year now, since the Tour was here last year. I'm spending winters away now in Spain. I'd like to have come down sort of Monday after Wentworth, but unfortunately the course had been closed the last few weeks, so wasn't able to come down and get an extra practice round.

Q. Is it a matter of getting the breaks or not getting the breaks?
BRADLEY DREDGE: I think obviously to win any tournament or to do well you always need to get some good bounces or some things go your way.
But I do like to think that at the end of the year, you're always going to have some good luck and some bad luck. At the end of the year, I would like to think I come out on top. Even when you're playing poorly, you have good bounce. It's never down to luck. Ideally you play well at the end of the day.

Q. In this particular tournament, you've had an opportunity, you've been there, do you blame yourself for losing it or not winning it?
BRADLEY DREDGE: Unfortunately there was no one else holding the club. It was just me. At the time I thought I needed par to win and Sterne birdied the last but at the end of the day you are still trying to make par on the last. Unfortunately, took five. It's nobody else's fault but my own.
GORDON SIMPSON: It must have been quite a buzz to be in front of your own fans with a chance to win.
BRADLEY DREDGE: It would have been better if I knocked the putt in and then won the playoff. But a lot of people ask, is it more pressure this week, but it's actually nice. It's actually really nice to play in front of family and friends, people that are actually supporting you a lot more, so it's actually more enjoyable.

Q. Doddy was just in saying about how he turned his back on the game last year for four or five months. You're obviously a mate of his. Did you wonder where he was at the time?
BRADLEY DREDGE: We speak now and then. We are friends and Stephen is his own person, as everybody else is, you know, and I think you've always got to respect what somebody else does.
You know, he's always done it his own way, and over the years, it's served him well. I think he's gone back to doing what he was doing when he was successful, and certainly one of the things I try and do. You always try and look back, what was I doing when I was playing well, what was I doing differently, and perhaps he's found some things that he was doing differently then.

Q. Can it be a little bit of an inspiration for you, you were saying that you've had a few struggles this year; seeing him come back from where he's been, is that an inspiration as well to get back?
BRADLEY DREDGE: I wouldn't call him an inspiration -- (laughter).

Q. From where he has been, lying 136th in the world.
BRADLEY DREDGE: The good thing is in any sport not just golf, things can happen and change quickly one way or the other. While I still think that for me, you've got to putt the work in, and get the practice done and do the right things on and off the golf course and you get rewarded. But sometimes it takes longer than others.

Q. Who is your coach now Bradley?
BRADLEY DREDGE: Gary Nichol.

Q. Are you spending a lot of time with him?
BRADLEY DREDGE: Oohh. (Laughing).
GORDON SIMPSON: Was that quite recent?
BRADLEY DREDGE: No, I've seen Gary a bit over the years. I started back up with him last year, around middle of the year last year.

Q. Is it that you know you're capable of winning another big one or you can win another 20 big ones?
BRADLEY DREDGE: Well, I'm only 35, so I have a few years left. Certainly a case of I feel as though I've got a good ten years ahead of me in terms of certainly being physically fit enough to be able to play because I want to play. I try to look after myself and give myself an opportunity, and at the moment, it's just not playing great and it down to me. I'm the one hitting the ball and I've got to try to do something to play better and get the ball in the hole in fewer shots.

Q. As you say, things can change very quickly, but what are you looking for? Are you looking for like a click change, suddenly it's all there, or do you think it's got to be much more gradual?
BRADLEY DREDGE: I do think that you can always have a good week. You have a good week on the greens and you putt well and you might be up there in contention, and you have a chance to win. But to actually have a good season, from now on, I've been working hard on short game area, trying to work on the technical a bit more to eradicate the bad shots, really; so it does take time, as you say.
It isn't just a case of, I'm going to turn up next week and I'm sure everything is going to be all right. You can keep thinking that way but after a while it doesn't really happen. You've got to take steps then to try to improve on what you're doing.

Q. It's not the strongest field this week; is your first thought, good for me, or bad for the tournament?
BRADLEY DREDGE: I think it's both really. You've got to see it both ways. Unfortunately a couple of the guys pulled out. I haven't had a good look at who is entered and who is not. It would have been nice to see a few more of the bigger guys playing this week. It's always good to play against them. It's always good to win a tournament against the best players. But it is what it is.

Q. Two years ago you were sort of being grilled about not playing any major qualifiers, I see you're at Sunningdale on Monday; change in policy?
BRADLEY DREDGE: Yeah, because I'm so far away from Top-50 World Rankings, I was actually going to play U.S. Open qualifier, but my Order of Merit position is so poor, I have to really focus on The European Tour points at the moment. .
So if you go and play the U.S. Open, BMW in Munich is the week after, so it's a tough ask to go to the States and come back and go and prepare for that one and play well. I know that BMW do offer a private jet for the guys who make the cut on Sunday and will fly you in, and it makes it easy on travelling. But for me I need to focus on European Tour events. It's a tough one to go there and expect to play well in.
I'll be at Sunningdale Monday. Like I said previously, I've tried to do it through the exemption, top 50 in the World Rankings, I'm so far away I have to look at other options.

Q. Externally -- internally, frustration?
BRADLEY DREDGE: Harsh words John. (Laughter) it's frustrating, you get angry with yourself a little bit, but I understand that like in anything, there's up-and-downs. Throughout the year there's going to be good points and there's going to be bad points.
My winter has not been a great sort of first half of the year but I have another 14, 15 left and I'm going to play more this year. I'm looking for, as we were chatting about now, I've been working hard on my game and looking for a bit more consistency and a return to form.

Q. What did you make of the course today?
BRADLEY DREDGE: Well, it's nice actually compared to last year just in terms of the weather so we'll see the course playing as it should now.
Unfortunately we had such a downpour last year on the Pro-Am day and we could not really play the course as it's sort of properly setup. But today, there's a new tee, as well, I think on 14, which made it an absolute beast. That was a beast of a hole. It will be interesting to see if we do actually use it for the tournament. I don't know. I haven't spoke to the officials yet.
But yeah the course is playing quite strong. I was surprised last year the winning score was 25. I really can't see that happening again, because I'm not seeing 25-under out there.

Q. Any thoughts about The Ryder Cup next year, any ambitions about making the team?
BRADLEY DREDGE: Obviously it would be great to have one of the Welsh guys in, two, three, whatever. We'll see. I was looking to be much higher up in the World Rankings and Order of Merit this time of the year. So I'm looking at end of the year, Top-50 in the World Ranking to play majors and WGC events because then it's easier, or you have an access to more World Ranking points and more points for The Ryder Cup.
So at the moment I'm outside the top 200 in the World Rankings, so I've got to get my game sharp, much sharper than it is now, for me to actually stand a chance of making The Ryder Cup. But as we said, things can change.

Q. Could you work harder to give yourself a chance?
BRADLEY DREDGE: I feel as though I'm putting in the time, putting in the effort. Some things don't get rewarded straightaway. Sometimes it will happen this week and sometimes it will happen in a month's time. I would like to think that I will stop playing bad or start scoring better and I would like to think that I give myself a chance of getting on The Ryder Cup Team.
GORDON SIMPSON: Bradley, thanks for coming in.

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