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THE CELTIC MANOR WALES OPENJune 3, 2010Rhys DaviesNEWPORT, WALES GORDON SIMPSON: Rhys, I think a card without a blemish on it is always something to be proud of, and I'm sure that's how you feel at the moment after your opening 67. RHYS DAVIES: Yeah, definitely. I've actually done that quite a bit of late, and you never say it's the goal to go out there and be bogey-free, but when you do it, you're obviously especially pleased. So, yeah, it was a good, solid round. I plotted my way around the course I thought very well and put the ball in good positions on the green, and made a couple, hit a lot of good putts that didn't go in, but yeah, we are all very pleased with the day. GORDON SIMPSON: Is that what you need here, good management? RHYS DAVIES: I think you do. I think the way the greens are designed, you can have -- there can be some little corners, and the wind, sometimes it depends when the wind hits you as to what -- how aggressive you can be. I was fairly conservative today, but I felt I was always trying to make a birdie, and therefore, you know, had a lot of chances. GORDON SIMPSON: And you haven't played your way out of it, which is always important on Thursday. RHYS DAVIES: Yeah, the history of this tournament, it's never really been quite a clear-cut in the way someone has gone about the week. So being around the lead and just being, you know, within striking distance always shows that you've got a good chance come the weekend. Q. Was there more pressure from the home crowds? RHYS DAVIES: Not really. I wasn't quite sure how some of the crowds -- support of your home event is fantastic, but also expectation comes with it and sometimes the crowds are not as patient as maybe I am. But they were outstanding today, and I fed off them and felt comfortable in the environment and I feel I was really pleased with the way I was patient with my round. I waited for the good things to happen. Q. If that was you being patient, what will you be like when you are aggressive? RHYS DAVIES: I can make more birdies; I just felt like today, there were not masses on offer there because you hit so few wedge shots. Only one of the par 5s is within range and that's the 18th and that's not always one you would go for. And there are generally not very many wedges out there, so therefore, this doesn't always allow a huge amount of birdies unless the wind changes or the tees get mixed around a little bit. You get a lot of mid-irons into the greens; and therefore, you can't afford to be too aggressive when you are hitting the slightly longer clubs in. Q. Good to have two Welshmen near the top? RHYS DAVIES: Very early days but it was great to see Dredgey have a good score early on and hopefully the Welsh flag can keep flying. Q. (Regarding routine and managing extra obligations playing so close to home). RHYS DAVIES: Yes, I did that well this morning. I did have a very busy day yesterday and I was aware of that, and therefore, as soon as I was finished at the end of the day, I just went to bed and to be honest, forgot about everything. It was in the sense of it just felt like a normal week after that point. I was able to rest this morning, had a light workout in the gym and got my body in what I felt was in decent shape to go out and feel fresh today, because I have had a lot of golf previous to this, and I'm aware of that as well, and still managing my time and managing how my body feels is very important to me this week. Q. Couple of poor tee shots at the end? RHYS DAVIES: I think I hit quite a lot of good tee shots to be honest. Don't remember a lot of them -- Q. The 17th? RHYS DAVIES: I misjudged the wind a little bit. Yeah, sorry, I hit it straight down the flag there, and I probably hit one bad tee shot all day if you asked me and that was on 18. I deliberately went to that because I wanted to hit it further down there but knowing that if I did miss my target, I would end up there anyway, so I felt it was more worth it to have a go and challenge the hole in two. It was pretty tight. There was never a chance to go for it. So if I had hit a good, straight drive, then yes, I could have reached but it had to be a good one for me, and as it happened, it went in the rough, but that's okay. Q. Longest putt today? RHYS DAVIES: I think my longest was probably on 15, about 25 feet I would say. It was a conservative read you might say, but that hole is quite unique, because there's no -- I mean, you think being aggressive is going for the green. Well, there's no real -- I don't think there's a conservative way and I don't think there's an aggressive way on that hole. It's just whatever suits you, you can get around obviously in one and some players will choose to do so. I might later in the week. I haven't fully decided yet, but today my eye saw it down the left and pitching on, and I made a good three. Q. How long was your second? RHYS DAVIES: It was about 145 yards. It was quite a long way. That's what a lot don't realise is going the left still leaves you quite a long way. It's not a case of a simple little flick. That's also a reason why I think a lot of guys take it on because your second shot from the left is quite a long way; and therefore, that's why it's not necessarily the conservative route going left. It's just what suits your eye and what you see as a player I think. Q. Did you set yourself a goal today? RHYS DAVIES: No, because I believe if I get going, I can shoot something really low. You're never really sure when that might happen. You know, I just play each shot on merit and see what I can do on that shot. I'm trying to make a birdie but also -- you'll make birdies out there if you're in the correct positions. Most of the time I was today, but the wind was swirling at times. It picked up -- it wasn't always drastically strong, but it was enough to make you think and tricky at times to pick the right clubs. So as a result, you had to be fairly careful at times. Q. And you're reasonably happy with 4-under? RHYS DAVIES: Yeah, two off the lead at the moment and most of the good scores I think were shot in the morning, so you know, 4-under in the afternoon, that's got to be, I would have thought, one of the better afternoon scores and so when you compare it that way, yeah, it's a good round of golf. Q. Are you aware of what Monty said about you -- RHYS DAVIES: No, I haven't -- it doesn't make any difference to me. He's got his own agenda and I've got my own. I think they are in many ways very irrelevant, very different. Q. Are you feeling confident? RHYS DAVIES: I'm feeling confident I can play well this week. Q. But about making the side in The Ryder Cup -- RHYS DAVIES: It has not crossed my mind. No thoughts about it at all. There's so long to go and so many big tournaments between now and then. My objective is to win golf tournaments, and if I do that, then all ranking list, Money Lists, etc., look after itself, I believe. Q. Explain what you mean by a light workout? RHYS DAVIES: I spent about 40 minutes, and if you like, I did a little on the bike, some stretching exercises, some lightweight strength work and it's not going to make your body feel really tired or strenuous, but to me it actually makes me feel a bit fresher and makes you alert in the morning and ready to go and do something physical. You could say it's a warmup and just something that gets your body going, which I think gets your mind going, as well. It just makes you fresher, and therefore, I think a lot clearer when I'm in that frame, as opposed to if you just -- as opposed to feeling lethargic or, I don't know, monotonous, or whatever, on your routines. GORDON SIMPSON: Rhys, well played again and keep it going. End of FastScripts |
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