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BALLANTINE'S CHAMPIONSHIPApril 21, 2010Graeme McDowellJEJU ISLAND, SOUTH KOREA STEVE TODD: Graeme, welcome back to Pinx Golf Club. You were winner here in 2008, which obviously helped you get on to The Ryder Cup team that year. Some special memories coming back here? GRAEME McDOWELL: Yeah, I mean, it's always nice to come back to a golf course where you've won. I think obviously some of the great shots I hit a couple of years ago come flooding back and thankfully none of the bad shots I hit last year come flooding back. Yeah, it's nice to be back. I think the golf course is set up a lot more like it was in 2008 this year. Obviously the weather forecast is a little dodgy tomorrow, but with some nice weather on the week end, I think I'm playing well enough, and again, the golf course is set up something similar to 2008, and you know, if I play good, I should be able to compete this weekend again. STEVE TODD: You mentioned you're playing well; you tied eighth in China last week, rounds of 70-70-70-68, where do you feel your game is at at the moment, and what have you been working on of late to get it to where you wanted it to be? GRAEME McDOWELL: You know, eighth last week was a nice finish. It's been kind of a funny year. I've played some really good golf. I've been playing well now for probably the last eight months. Finished last year pretty strong in the World Cup in China, a couple of good finishes. Got off to a low start this season. Finished sixth at the WGC in Doral which was a nice finish for me, and eighth last week. So like I said, the game has been ticking over nicely and I'm feeling good about things. This really kind of signals the start of the season, the real meat and bones of the season, if you like, just the real busy part of the schedule, and I'm really ready to go and I'm really excited to be here this week. I won a couple of years ago and developed a great relationship with the Ballantine's Company, and it's another Ryder Cup year, so hopefully I can get things started off again with a good performance here and kind of spark maybe my road to The Ryder Cup team again. Q. As winner of the inaugural championship, you obviously had a good experience with Jeju's famous winds, do they in some way introduce more of an element of luck, or does it require even greater skill to play in that? GRAEME McDOWELL: You know, I think the thing I like most about this golf course a couple of years ago was it kind of -- it kind of reminded me of home just a little bit. It's nearly a links-style golf course, and when you introduce the wind, it does, it does play very much like a golf course, maybe in Britain or Ireland. I think that was certainly one of the things I liked most about the golf course a couple of years ago. Obviously the wind strengths last year were extremely strong and I know tomorrow's forecast is for some very strong winds. At a certain point, the game becomes very difficult when the winds are extremely strong but I think 20 to 30 miles per hour winds I think certainly requires a lot of skill, rather than luck, to be able to play well in that type of condition. Q. The year you won, I think you were 24-under with a course record and last year you missed the cut in two rounds; was that more you or did the course get its own back last year? GRAEME McDOWELL: Last year was a little bit of both really. The golf course was set up a little differently I thought from 08. The tournament was six weeks later I think, something along those lines and there was a lot more growth and a lot more rough. You know, the greens didn't roll quite as good. In '08, the golf course was quite fast and quite firm. You know, this year, again, it's soft. A little bit more grass around, but they have kind of cut the rough back a little bit more this year, so that's kind of why I say it's similar to '08 a little bit. But like I said, the golf course played very firm and short and fast and hence, the scoring was particularly low. But last year was probably mostly me than anything. Conditions were tough last year, as well. It was windy and wet and pretty tricky. It really wasn't the defense of my title that I had in mind for sure but I'm feeling very confident this week. Lime being looking forward and I like the way the course is set up better and I'm certainly feeling good to go. Q. Before entering the winner's circle here in 2008 -- you said that your win here kick started your Ryder Cup year, but did you think maybe the winter before that you were a genuine contender? Was that a goal of yours in 2008? GRAEME McDOWELL: It was certainly a goal, but two years down the line, I think, you know, I've got a Ryder Cup under my belt and I'm a more experienced player and there's no doubt I feel like I'm more of a contender this time around than maybe I was in 2008. I've left myself a lot to do again this time around. There's a lot of points to be played for now over the next four or five months, whatever we have left. This is really the race for the team now at this point. You know, like I say, winning here in '08 definitely sparked a great run of golf for me, a great run of form. Obviously winning the Scottish Open, Ballantine's were involved there, as well, so they kind of turned out to be my lucky charms a little bit in 2008. I've been wearing the logo on my left arm now for a few months, so you know, hopefully the luck continues. STEVE TODD: We wish you best of luck this week. Thank you. End of FastScripts |
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