|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIPMay 20, 2010Ross FisherVIRGINIA WATER, ENGLAND PAUL SYMES: Thanks for coming in, Ross. Tell us about a great day for you. ROSS FISHER: Yeah, obviously very, very pleasing. Felt like the game's been there for a very long time, and just really, really struggled pretty much all of this year, just haven't holed the putts. Been working very, very hard on it, trying different things, and you know, managed to hook up through my caddie, Adam and manager, Conor, with a guy I did some work with a couple of years ago back in Germany, Phil Kenyon. He came over to the house on Sunday and did some work. It was very, very positive. Tried it out Monday, saw him Tuesday. Felt comfortable. Tried it in the Pro-Am and seemed to be working nicely. Thought, if you're going to give this a guy, you've got to stick with it and stuck with it today, nine birdies, obviously things are working. So overall, delighted with 4-under. Obviously course record at the moment but hopefully it will be gone by the indicate of the week, fingers crossed, by my self. There was a lot of high points, a couple of low points today, but overall very satisfying start. PAUL SYMES: Obviously a course you know very well, growing up playing it, but looks a bit different these days. ROSS FISHER: Yeah, local knowledge has kind of gone out the window a little bit, but the greens, I'm just trusting my read from being up here as a member for 16 years and playing in this tournament, what, four or five times now. So it seemed to work pretty well today. Like you said, the changes are very, very different. I think 12 is quite amusing to make a 3 there and walk off with only a birdie whereas you think you've made eagle and it's actually a birdie now. It just presents a very different challenge. It's no longer par 72; it's par 71, and if you want to make birdies coming in, you have to hit quality golf shots. You know, 17 is very, very penal, if you miss it in the wrong spot and obviously 18 is probably the most talked-about hole this week. So you know, I seemed to play those two very well, so very, very pleased. Q. You just said it's the most talked-about hole. What did you discuss with your caddie after you hit the tee shot straight down the middle, and I understand that the management of Wentworth are not a huge fan of the re-design? ROSS FISHER: Yeah, I think me and Adam discussed it when we played last Friday. Actually hit one and actually went for the green from about 250 and actually hit, you know, the purest 3-wood you could possibly hit but it carried the water by three yards and ended up on the green. So I think then we were kind of swaying towards laying up in two. You know, in the Pro-Am, did exactly the same thing. So you know, I was tempted to go for it in two, but like I said to Adam, I was trying to figure out where the pin was, and you know, obviously you can't miss it short or left, because you're dead in the water. So I was just thinking, if I did go for it, would the right-hand trap be a good miss, and we both decided that it wouldn't be very, very good, because you're coming out of the bunker or even in that little hollow, each pin, uphill, to a green that's running away from you towards the water. So we just thought, try and make four the hard way, and that's been our decision from the start of the week. It's obviously very tempting to go for it because I'm quite a big hitter and I've got a lot of history going for par fives in two. That's one of my strengths, and it feels like a strength of mine has been kind of taken away because the hole is that tricky and it's that demanding. So, you know, we did talk about even hitting 3-iron or rescue off the tee just to actually take no doubt or any doubt that we were contemplating going for it in two, but decided to stay aggressive with 3-wood and see what we have when we got up there to see if we could go for it in two and just decided to lay up. It was obviously the right decision. Q. Do you like the hole? ROSS FISHER: Personally, I'd prefer how it was before. You know, I think on the eye, it looks a stunning hole. But just in my eyes, whether it's going to create more drama than in previous years, I don't know. You'll have to wait and see this week, and you know, everyone obviously for gets that the course is only a couple of months old. So it needs two or three years to mature. But, you know, for me personally, I really like the hole before. Obviously it changed drastically; you saw people running the ball up to the green, whereas the last couple of years you actually had to fly it on to the green. So, I don't know, everyone sees it differently. There's a few guys that obviously go for it in two. Obviously the designer has gone for it today in two and hit it in the water; whereas I've been here 16 years and played smart and made four. So you can make of it what you want. Q. How many yards further would you have had to been to make you think that you might go for it? You were by sort of -- almost level with the first bunker, weren't you? ROSS FISHER: Yeah, I forget how far we had. It was, maybe, high 250s or something. You know, I think if I'm being honest, I think if the water gets taken out, then I'll probably go for it. But if it remains there, I'd be surprised if I go for it. Because the fairway slopes, obviously, down, the further you get. Even a perfect tee shot to, I think it's the yellow dot, which is 190 front, you're still coming in with 3-, 4-, 5-iron, which you know, if you slightly miss it left, you're in the water and you miss it right, you're in a deep bunker and like I say, coming out of new bunkers downhill, downgreen towards the water, is a very risky shot. But I've heard a few guys thinking of going for it. I spoke to Robert Karlsson, he was going to go for it, and I think Harrington might have hit 5-iron the other day. So everyone is going to have to obviously think about what they want to do, and you know, myself and Adam have got a strategy and I think, you know, nine times, if not ten times out of ten, we'll be laying up. Q. Did you sense the designer was almost duty-bound to go for it today? ROSS FISHER: I don't know, you'd have to ask him that. I don't know, I mean, it's a tough shot to take on. You know you've got to hit a perfect golf shot, and you know, unfortunately for Ernie, he just pulled it a little bit left. I didn't see how far up he actually carried, but he's hitting a 5-wood in there, so you're going to have to hit a very nice 5-wood in there high and soft to stop it on that green. But that was his decision and obviously cost him a couple of shots. Q. What was your yardage on the lay up? ROSS FISHER: I think we were trying to lay up about 153 yards to leave ourselves about 100 yards. So you know, it was between an eight and a nine, and I thought nine was a little bit defensive, so I tried to just chip an eight there. Actually hit it four yards too far and had 96. So it was not too bad. But it's still a tricky third shot. You know, that's the third shot I've played now and it's the first one I've actually got pin-high. Playing it last Friday and the Pro-Am, with this new turf, it seems to be going a bit further than I expected it to and the last few times I've played it, it's gone a bit long. With that pin there, obviously water left, I know it's only a sand wedge, 96 yards, but you are slightly erring on the side of caution, so I just tried to start it on the roll and draw it in and unfortunately I hit it dead-straight but pleased to see the ball disappear. Q. Can you give us a guesstimate of all of the players and members that you have spoken to over the last week or so, what's the feeling of liking or disliking the course? ROSS FISHER: I'd say on the whole I think it's pretty mixed. I think there's quite a few members that like it. I've spoken to a few that kind of don't like it so much. And obviously the professionals, I haven't been playing here long enough, but obviously guys like Ernie and some of the more established players that have been playing here for ten, 15 years, obviously it's going to be a big shock to them. For me as a kid, I've watched many great championships unfold, and I've been coming around this golf course for longer than 16 years before I was a member. So I've grown up playing it and watching it. You know, obviously to get to play it four or five years ago was tremendous; but to see the course evolve and change, obviously to the current date, it's just very, very different. And for me, it's difficult to get my head around some of the changes. I think the positive is the green changes are very, very positive from what I can gather from most of the players. I, for one, think it's a step in the right direction, because you know, if you want to get the biggest and the best players in the world playing here, that's what needed to be done, because the surfaces weren't quite good enough for -- this is our biggest tournament. This is our fifth major, like the TPC, THE PLAYERS Championship; it's a very bold move, and so far I think it's very positive. And the course is very, very new so I think you need to give it two or three years to settle in and I think you'll see the course in really, really fine shape, which is what it should be for such a great tournament. Q. Would it be fairer to have a somewhat bigger green on 18? ROSS FISHER: Yeah, I think if the green was a little bit bigger, I think it would tempt more players to go for it. Like I say, it's very, very narrow, whereas before, you were hitting towards to the green. The green kind of sits at a slight angle and you're hitting across the green now. It's just very, very challenging, and if you're going for it in two, or even if you're hitting a pitch shot in. For me, you kind of almost in a way feel sorry for the viewing public and the spectators because they want to see us going for the green in two and making threes and making sixes and sevens, I'm sure. So from that point of view, it must be a little bit disappointing. But you know, that's the way I'm going to play it pretty much this week, whereas, you know, I'm sure you'll see other guys coming in here saying that they are going to go for it in two. Q. Given your strengths, though, and as you say, your history of going for par fives in two, then clearly it's not quite right at the moment, is it, if you're not going for it? ROSS FISHER: Yeah, it's a debatable question. I've not gone for it and Ernie has. It's obviously going to be talked about for the rest of this week and probably for the next few years. Whether it's to make the green bigger, whether it's to flatten the fairway, perhaps, going down to the ditch, I don't know what the answer is. But obviously the changes are there now; whether they are going to be reconstructed and they are going to do more changes, I don't know. I guess just have to wait and see what they decide, and obviously getting players' thoughts is going to be key this week to both Ernie and Richard Caring. Q. Sunday can you imagine you're on the fairway, you need a birdie to get into a playoff or to win, would you still go for the strategy that says, let's go for the hard birdie, or would you then try to go for it? ROSS FISHER: Depends on a number of things. Depends on the yardage, depends on the wind, how I'm feeling, how I'm swinging it. We actually were chatting about this the other day, myself and Adam, because it's such a huge tournament; if I'm in second place and I've got maybe a three-shot gap to third, then it you probably would take it on. But, if there's only a shot between you, I don't know what the drop is from second to third, but I could tell you it's not going to be just a few thousand Euros. It's going to be quite a lot. So it's a life-changing tournament. It's the biggest tournament we play outside the majors. I guess hopefully I'll be laying up because I've got a few shots in hand. Q. Changing the subject slightly, how different is your putting stroke this week? ROSS FISHER: Very different. Before it was almost very slow and deliberate. And for, I forget how many years now, I've never taken a practise stroke. That's been my routine. It's a big change now to have a practise stroke but the work I did Sunday with Phil and the work I did Tuesday, it feels comfortable, and it's given me a lot more confidence with my putting. I feel like I'm hitting better putts now, they are more positive and they have more of a chance to go in now. And obviously this week it helps massively because the greens aren't very, very quick. I suppose the big test for me is when I get on quick greens like the U.S. Open and whether I can still trust what I'm doing this week on greens that are running at 11, 12 on the Stimp. But so far it feels very comfortable, and nine birdies proves that it's a step in the right direction. Q. Were you particularly pleased with the way that twice on the back nine, you came back from a disappointing bogey to then record two birdies? ROSS FISHER: Yeah, definitely. It just shows the strength of character. You are going to make mistakes out there. I got off to a hot start and obviously six was disappointing. Just pulled the ball too clean and hit the face and I hit the same shot again. Actually holed a very nice putt for a five but I then had to bounce back with a birdie. It was great. To make a six from nowhere really after just making a great three on 12, it kind of halted my progress somewhat, 3-under, thinking, right, got a couple par 5s to come. If I can get it to four, maybe five, that would be a good day's work, and obviously to drop back to one, had to start all over again. But two beautiful iron shots into 14 and 15, you know, disappointing on 16 to hit a good tee shot and not to have a great lie on the fairway was a little bit disappointing, but bounced back very well with birdie on 17, 18. Q. How long was the putt on the last? ROSS FISHER: I would say 15 feet, I would think. PAUL SYMES: Can we just finish up with your birdies and bogeys. ROSS FISHER: Birdied thank you. End of FastScripts |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|