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WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

February 17, 2010

Robert Allenby

MARANA, ARIZONA

COLIN MURRAY: We'll go ahead and get started. Robert, 4 and 2 victory this morning, never trailed, I believe. Gotten off to a great start this year, if you could talk about your year in general so far and then specifically this morning's 4 and 2 victory over Peter Hanson.
ROBERT ALLENBY: Obviously I've started the year nicely. Second at Sony. Ninth at Torrey Pines. Mid 20s at LA.
Yeah, I'm here. I'm playing well. My short game is good, putting is great. Just, yeah, taking every match as it comes. It's just -- it's nice to play a round of golf where the golf course is just in perfect condition.

Q. How are the greens different here from last year?
ROBERT ALLENBY: Well, are they? They still seem very slopey and quick to me.

Q. They modified them last spring.
ROBERT ALLENBY: Did they?

Q. They took out a lot of lumps.
ROBERT ALLENBY: I didn't notice them (laughter) at least where they put the flags today all the lumps seem to be in place. Now, I didn't notice that there was any changes. It looked the same to me.

Q. How would you describe your career in match play to now?
ROBERT ALLENBY: It's sort of up-and-down. I mean anytime I really get to play match play is if I get in The Presidents Cup or come here. I went to the world match play, the Volvo world match play down in Spain at the end of last year and I finished third there, I beat Angel Cabrera for the third spot. And I played well there. I played very well. I had to play extremely well to try and beat him. But, yeah, it's one of those things, you know, it's just so different to a normal round of golf.
A normal round of golf you're just playing yourself, whereas in match play you're always watching your opponent, you're always watching what he does. Sometimes it can bring you undone as well. You think he's in trouble, and you play safe, and then you're in the trouble. If you had just kept your focus on and hit the shot, you would normally have hit you'd be a lot better off.
But it plays a lot of mind games, match play does, but I think the most important thing with match play is just to try and keep level headed and I think I did a pretty good job out there today.

Q. What was the crowd like this morning?
ROBERT ALLENBY: What crowd?

Q. My point, exactly.
ROBERT ALLENBY: I got a bit of noise out of the coyotes out there this morning.

Q. Do you attribute that more to the early tee time or the lack of certain people here?
ROBERT ALLENBY: I was first group out, so I'd say -- guys are still warming up on the driving range to get to play this afternoon. It's just more -- at the moment it's just more that, you know, it's just an early tee off time, 7:36. And yesterday we had great crowds out here. I was amazed how many people were out on those tents out on the back nine there.
The crowds will come out, there's no doubt about it.

Q. Do you prefer it or do you like the quiet, do you not like the quiet, do you have a preference?
ROBERT ALLENBY: I don't care. I've got a job to do, so whether they're there or not, it's not going to change what I do. I love playing in front of crowds but if there's none, there's none. That's just the way it is.

Q. You were talking about match play being mind games. Talk about how getting off to a good start helped settle you down and must have helped you relax and play your best golf?
ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah, I mean I actually missed a 6-footer at the first for birdie to win the first hole. And I hit a great 8-iron in there. But then I won the next two holes, birdie, birdie. So, yeah, I mean I got away to a good fast start. It's important. I think it's -- it definitely helps.
But the thing is, the caliber of the players that are in this field, you might be 3-up or 4-up after three or four holes, but you know that they're going to make some birdies. So it's just -- you've got to just keep playing aggressive golf and just try and keep the birdies flowing.
But there are some holes out there that do play quite tough. And it's very bouncy around the front edges and on the fronts of the greens. The greens are very firm. So some of the flags were pretty hard to get to. And that does make it a little hard to try to keep the momentum going as well.

Q. Did you feel like you were in control of the match the whole day?
ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah, I was in total control. Every time he won a hole, I came back and won another one. But I made some great putts, I really did. I made some unbelievable par saves and some good birdie putts, as well. And that's what you have to do to win. There's no easy matches out there. I mean even if you're 5-up with five to go it's still -- it might look easy on paper, but it doesn't seem that easy, that's for sure.

Q. Out of the players that have been in here the consensus is that their goal is to keep the mindset that they're playing their own game, kind of the stroke play mindset and you mentioned that, too, earlier with trying to focus on yourself. But are you in agreement with that or do you look at it differently, like you said you focus or you look a little bit at what your opponent is doing, how does that affect you?
ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah, obviously you start off playing your own game. And the most important thing is to just try to hit as many fairways and greens as you can. And if you do do that, you put a lot of pressure on your opponent, because then you know you have to make him -- he's going to be forced to make birdies.
I think nine times out of ten, you play your own game, you'll probably win every match.

Q. Did you look to see who you play tomorrow?
ROBERT ALLENBY: I think Luke.
MURRAY: Luke Donald or Graeme McDowell. Luke was 3-up with three to play.
ROBERT ALLENBY: Probably Luke.

End of FastScripts

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