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WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

February 19, 2010

Ian Poulter

MARANA, ARIZONA

STEVE TODD: Ian, thanks for coming in. 5 and 4 win against Jeev Singh, another fantastic performance.
IAN POULTER: Yeah, it was nice today. I played Jeev in the first round last year, and Jeev's -- he's a tough player. He's got a good short game. He putts very well and I knew today wasn't going to be easy.
But I got off to a great start and made a couple of birdies. And I pretty much kept my foot down the whole way around the course. I kept hitting good shots into the greens and didn't really give Jeev much chance to kind of get his birdie in first. So he missed a few makeable chances out there, and I just kept my foot down and played good golf.
STEVE TODD: You saw a few guys pull away around the turn, 9, 10, 11, important holes for you today.
IAN POULTER: Yeah, important holes. Jeev hit a couple of shots a little astray, got himself in a bit of trouble. And it kind of made it easier for me just to put the ball in position on the green 15, 20 feet. And obviously allowed Jeev to make bogey and then I was left with a couple of easy putts.
I birdied 11, which was good. Made a good up-and-down on 12. And then kind of finished the job off.
STEVE TODD: We just talked to Paul Casey about the importance of winning 5 and 4 to conserve the energy hopefully for the long day tomorrow.
IAN POULTER: Sure, anytime you get done early is a relief. Also, yeah, saving some energy. It's hot out there. It's a long walk. And it's going to be a long weekend. So you just have to kind of rehydrate and reserve some energy.

Q. Pretty good day for guys who traditionally have had some success in this format. Is there an edge you have having gone through the grinder here a couple of times?
IAN POULTER: This is only the second time we've been here. The greens changed for this year, so guys have had to get used to the greens again. So, yeah, I mean I guess we all know the golf course. It's certainly going to be easier for the guys that have played in this place against the guys that haven't been here before. It was an advantage, sure.

Q. With the format, considering you've played so much match play, is there an advantage?
IAN POULTER: Generally, I mean, if you look at guys that have had success in match play, you can look at the Ryder Cup and see who the guys are that grind out scores, you know, year in, year out. They're always going to be tough to beat in match play format. Some people like stroke play. Some people love match play.

Q. When you win a match, does it give you impetus going forward?
IAN POULTER: I think so. I think Justin was always going to be a tough match. I got 2-down in that match, but I felt as if my game was good enough to hang on in there. I mean that could have easily gone the other way, and I could have easily been packing my bags and going home.
It's great to be able to grind a win out in that situation. And certainly my game has got better over the last couple of days. I played pretty much flawless today. I executed pretty much every shot I wanted to hit. There wasn't any real mis-hits out there. So I found my job very clinical today and it was nice.

Q. You reached the semis here before, didn't you?
IAN POULTER: Yes.

Q. What did you learn on that occasion, especially about Saturday?
IAN POULTER: Saturday is a long day. You've already played a lot of golf already up to now, 54 holes. So conserving some energy, but just trying to get off to the fast start. Don't put yourself under too much pressure.
You want to get your nose in front and you want to be as rudimentary also as you possibly can. You want to go win 7 and 6, 8 and 6 if you can. So certainly don't give them any holes, but make sure that you've got your foot down and you are hitting good golf shots.
And last time I was -- I just, I ran into David Toms who was just playing unbelievable golf. So certainly if I can play like I've played today throughout this weekend, I think I've definitely got a chance.

Q. What do you know about Jaidee?
IAN POULTER: I've played with him a couple of times. He played well today. I think he had a tough match today, which he seemed to finish the job off -- I think he was another 5 and 4 victory, so it's going to be a tough match tomorrow.

Q. I know you said you didn't watch any Tiger stuff this morning before you came in, but was there any sort of chatter in the locker room or around the course about what he said?
IAN POULTER: No, I just had breakfast this morning with a couple of guys and went out on the range and went out and done my work today.

Q. He said he didn't know when he was going to return, was an answer the guys were looking to hear, maybe when he would be back on Tour?
IAN POULTER: I don't know, maybe. If that's what he said, I guess he's left us all awaiting when he's going to return.

Q. Strategically, you said you didn't see a second of it?
IAN POULTER: No.

Q. Was it something you knew you were not going to see a second?
IAN POULTER: To be honest I've got a job to do today and I need to concentrate on my golf. I'm playing good golf. I didn't really want any distractions this morning. So purposefully I didn't turn on the TV. I got changed and I came to the golf course.
I knew it was going to be quite a distraction once I got out of the car. There was a lot of cameras and media there asking questions, but for me it's easier if I didn't see it this morning, I wouldn't have to talk about it. And it makes it pretty easy.
STEVE TODD: Thanks a lot.

End of FastScripts

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