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ABU DHABI GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPJanuary 21, 2010Alvaro QuirosABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES SCOTT CROCKETT: Thank you for coming down and joining us, and many congratulations on a fantastic first round in the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship. Give us your thoughts on your play today. It was obviously pretty good. ALVARO QUIROS: Yeah, I'm very happy because the score is good. I made some change in the wintertime. Looks like they are working. SCOTT CROCKETT: And a good finish, you birdied the last three holes 7, 8 and 9. Talk about those. ALVARO QUIROS: Normally these three holes, they are not easy but with the wind up, they are a little more reachable, in the case of the 8, the par 5. On 7, I hit a good 8-iron, finishing about two metres off the hole and a very good putt. The 8th, I hit it very long but missed the fairway but very lucky with a good lie and hit a 5-iron and then lipped out, two good putts. SCOTT CROCKETT: And another celebration today because it's your birthday, and many happy returns, and you share it with another special man in the golf world, don't you. ALVARO QUIROS: Yeah, Scottish, my caddie (Alistair McClean). SCOTT CROCKETT: Have you any plans to celebrate tonight? ALVARO QUIROS: Not technically, I have to be focused for tomorrow. Q. Having done so well in it Doha last year, is this a favourite part of the season for you? ALVARO QUIROS: Well, the most important thing is I'm very happy to come to these three weeks. For me, my personal feeling, they are the best three weeks that we have in a row on The European Tour because we have almost per cent guaranteed the good weather, the golf courses are really good, the three of them, and normally I am in good shape. So for me, yeah, they are the best three weeks of the year. Q. Last year at this very golf course you had a hole-in-one, and -- inaudible -- are you going to use it sometime, because this week is going to be free for you anyway? ALVARO QUIROS: Well, I was trying to use them at the beginning of this week, but with the meeting or whatever, the hotel was fully booked and I couldn't use it. I don't think if I am going to come back especially for the three weeks. Next year I will make this trip earlier, and I will enjoy a bit more the weather here. Q. And what are the changes that you made over the break that you were talking about? I think maybe you are more longer? ALVARO QUIROS: I don't know if I'm more longer but I'm hitting more consistent, and it means I'm going to hit it more time the same distance, with the driver, with the short irons. Basically we make a change to control the metre, the distance. That is the weak side of my game if I have to be honest. Well, we will see the scores. We will see the results in a few months. Q. Is James Bond still your hero? ALVARO QUIROS: Well, after watching several movies -- I think both. Yeah, it's a very special thing for me. I like it a lot. Q. What do you think of the new guy? ALVARO QUIROS: Daniel Craig? Well, he was different at the beginning. I think James Bond used to be different. Physically speaking, he used to be more tall and slim than he is, but he's a good actor and he's going to make a good job for sure. SCOTT CROCKETT: Who is your favourite Bond? ALVARO QUIROS: I would say Sean Connery. SCOTT CROCKETT: Good choice. Good Scottish actor. Good choice. Q. Tomorrow what do you do coming in, is there anything that you were not happy with today? It was a fantastic round. ALVARO QUIROS: As I said before, it's just the first round. It means nothing if I don't play good the next three rounds. So tomorrow is going to be a new day. I'm going to start from zero again. Q. And was there anything today that you weren't -- ALVARO QUIROS: Well, every hole has a spot where the player can improve his whole game. In my case -- inaudible -- if it's not getting better, I shoot 66, it wasn't a perfect round. I have to hit better and some putts lipped out, so it means that I'm close. Q. Is this your best round on your birthday? ALVARO QUIROS: Well, yeah, because normally, if I remember last year, it was the week of Qatar, but it was the Monday, so it wasn't a round of competition. And the year before -- yeah, probably the best round on my birthday. Q. Lee Westwood when he came in to talk generally about this tournament he said it probably won't be a 23-under winning score like at the Earth Course. You are now on a course for 24-under if you can match your first round score. Do you think you would have to review that estimate, or that he's over-exaggerated the difficulty of the course? ALVARO QUIROS: I think it's going to be very difficult to keep the level of 6-under every day. Normally the wind starts to blow more in the afternoons. The greens are becoming tougher and quicker, and the rough is very heavy. I mean, I've been lucky two times. On the 8th, I hit a very good driver. I missed the fairway just for two metres but I was lucky to have a shot and on 18, again, I missed the fairway on the right side. Normally this shot is done. You have to make a very good lay up, and I come here, 5-wood. But I realise that I am in the rough when I miss it I think the new grooves are going to be different, a different thing. We understand that the leaders don't miss many times in a week, but with the new grooves it will be more difficult. I will say a lower score than last year for sure. I can't tell you the score because I'm very bad estimating, imagining which one is going to be the finishing score. But I would say 17 but it will depend on the wind. 17 will be a good number. If we are going to fight for the win, it would be top three for sure. Q. Because of players like you that can hit the ball such a long distance, we believe that the groove change was brought about. But after playing your first tournament round with the new grooves, what did you feel? ALVARO QUIROS: I missed three greens today, if I'm not wrong, and I made one recovery, and that's because I had a lot of mistakes to work on. I missed the green on 12, right bunker. It wasn't that difficult, but the ball doesn't stop as easy as it used to. I don't know if everybody feels the same, I hope yes, but I was speaking with some of my friends about the V-grooves and some of them told me that they don't feel very different. In my case, I feel a great difference. I can see how the ball is not going to spin that much. The ball always bounces and go two or three metres. Last year, we don't have a way to compare it, because last year, the greens were a little bit softer than this year, but the ball, I could feel how to stop the ball, and this year, the ball stops and then release. I think because we have a better thing to see which one is going to be the best player with the new grooves. Q. That movie thing, you've seen the new Sherlock Holmes film? ALVARO QUIROS: Yeah, I love it. Q. He's a possible new hero of yours? ALVARO QUIROS: Well, he's in a strong role, but my hero in my life would be my parent that give me the life that I have. They are special people for me; James Bond, he's a nice figure and I enjoy a lot watching these things but that's all. SCOTT CROCKETT: Thank you very much and have a very happy birthday. End of FastScripts |
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