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U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPJune 17, 2010Luke DonaldPEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA Q. Luke, tell us about your first round in the Championship? LUKE DONALD: Yeah, it was a solid score, I think level par in a U.S. Open is always a good start. I didn't feel like I played my best. I actually thought the course -- there were some opportunities for birdies. But I played solid and made a couple of birdies, very poor double bogey on second, really just poor short game and bad speed on my putting there, but other than that it was, again, I kept it in, play very well. It wasn't flashy, it was just a solid round. Q. Is this a course you've got to maintain your concentration, really strongly, especially around the greens? LUKE DONALD: I think Majors are always that way. It's very easy to kind of lapse in concentration, yeah, and you have to focus pretty hard out there and it's quite hard with some of those views. But you really have to think through every shot around here. It's certainly not a course like some previous years Opens. The rough is a little bit shorter, it gives you a chance to get to the greens, but you've really got to figure out where you don't want to hit it. I did that pretty well. Whenever I missed shots I missed it in the right place and I was able to get up and down. Q. Anything around par, any of the four days is good? LUKE DONALD: Yes, it's a good solid start. I didn't feel like I played my best, but that's encouraging, not feeling your best and still shooting even par, that's a good start. Q. How tough was it out there today, on a scale -- LUKE DONALD: Well, I actually thought the greens were holding quite well. There was quite a few front pins, and I believe they must have watered them a little bit. There were some greens that were actually spinning, you had to control the spin rather than worrying about it bouncing on. Obviously it firmed up as the day went along. But the wind seemed very consistent with how it's been in the practice days. It's been very consistent direction. So, you know, there was no surprises out there. Q. You said solid, not flashy, is that going to win this tournament? LUKE DONALD: It certainly can. You have to play good golf to win at Majors. You have to have everything working. As I said, I just didn't feel like it was clicking in place today, there were a few iron shots I should have hit a little bit closer. Obviously a little bit of a disappointing double bogey on 2. But there's a lot of good out there, too, and I certainly will take some of those positives into tomorrow. Q. Do you feel the three week trip back to Europe has really got you in the groove for this, because finishing 2nd, first and third is a yes, I have three weeks? LUKE DONALD: Well, obviously coming off a great string of events, and that's going to give me some confidence. I feel good about my game. I was hitting it nicely in practice. And obviously a good start. Q. What were some highlights of your round? LUKE DONALD: Two birdie putts I made, one and 7 were both about 20 feet. You need to hole a couple of putts to keep going and give yourself some momentum. As I said, there weren't too many highlights. I got up and down actually nicely on 4. I hit a poor 4-iron off the tee, it pushed it right and bounced into the hazard and was able to get up and down for par from a hundred yards. Those kind of things kept me going today. Q. (Inaudible.) LUKE DONALD: I think so, with the greens being so small and as I said they were holding well today, but I'm sure they'll get firmer as the week goes on. It's going to be tough to hit a lot of greens. So you're going to have to scramble well and be very good around the greens and make those par putts when you're out of position. So, again, I did that pretty well today. Q. You drove the ball pretty well, too? LUKE DONALD: 10, 11, 13, I missed 14. I missed 15. I hit 16. Hit 18. So I missed 2, hit 1, 2, 3, that's four -- yeah, I think I only missed three fairways out there. So it was a decent day. Obviously, you know, it's not a course where you're picking up driver every time. I only hit one driver on the front side. Five drivers on the back nine. There's a lot of shots you're hitting 3-wood and irons, so I drove it pretty decent today. Q. (Inaudible.) LUKE DONALD: I think this week certainly suits my game. As I said, I'm quite familiar with this course, with the greens being so small. It's not a long course. It's more about position. I think some past U.S. Opens are very long, force you to hit a lot of drivers. And if you looked at my stats in the last couple of years, tee-to-green, I haven't been as solid as I could have been. I've been solid around the green. I think this year's Open suits me more than others. Q. How firm are the greens, and how much is that affecting you? LUKE DONALD: I actually thought the greens were very manageable today. I feel like they probably watered them. I actually hit a 4-iron into the 17th today, slightly downwind and it rolled about two feet. It didn't release like I wanted it to release. So definitely more manageable today. I have to control the spin on 18, as well. I think they're getting firmer as the day goes on, but this morning they were very manageable. Q. Great stretch of play coming in. Is that the best you've played, and how do you assess that? LUKE DONALD: I had a good run in '06, won the Honda and had ten top-10s in the U.S., probably my best run since then. Q. The tee on 5, they moved that up quite a bit. How did that affect that hole and were there other holes they moved around? LUKE DONALD: That was the only hole they moved up considerably. It made it simpler, obviously. You're hitting a wedge instead of a 5-iron, so you always take your chances with a wedge in your hand. Q. (Inaudible.) LUKE DONALD: I think I liked shooting 71 for the way I played. I think it could have gotten away from me a little bit today. Probably didn't hit as many greens for as many fairways as I hit. But something to build on. It was a good start. Q. (Inaudible.) LUKE DONALD: Probably, yeah, just looking at how I thought the course played, there were some accessible pins. I could have seen someone shooting 5, maybe 6-under today, getting hot. It was -- it just didn't seem like it was playing too tough. Obviously it's a U.S. Open. There's added pressure and sometimes that elevates scores a little bit. Q. (Inaudible.) LUKE DONALD: It's possible, but, you know, I think the morning wave always gets the better of the conditions. End of FastScripts |
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