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ALSTOM OPEN DE FRANCE

July 1, 2010

Jean Van De Velde

PARIS, FRANCE

RODDY WILLIAMS: Welcome to the Alstom Open de France, a place you know very well and that was a fantastic start for you today.
JEAN VAN DE VELDE: Yes, it was. I played really, really well. I thought I hit a lot of very good shots. I hit a couple of bad ones but I got away with them.
I got very, very lucky on 13; that was the only really bad swing that I made and got an extremely great break there, made par. And the rest, you know, I played very decent golf. Put the ball very often in position in the right place. Had a lot of opportunities some short irons, and I made some good putts actually. I putted well. I had the pace and I could read them well.
So that was good, very good. From three, four feet, I made three or four of them coming back, because if you are not on the right side, they can be pretty -- it can be quite quick now. It's getting hot, so even the ball from the front nine to the back nine has been a massive change in the ball flight, and the distance that you can catch, because the temperature is raised ten or 15 degrees, definitely, in the sun.
So you know, took advantage of it. The greens were receptive and, yeah, happy. Happy with the round.
RODDY WILLIAMS: A very special place for you and very special event, what does this mean to you?
JEAN VAN DE VELDE: Well, there's two tournaments I would like to play all my life if I could for the rest of my life: The French Open and the British Open. That says it all. To me, those are the two that have a special place, and very much so this one.
Saying that, on a course like that one, as well, I've always loved that golf course. You've got to hit the right shot at the right time. If you don't put, you can put yourself in a lot of trouble.
Having said that, yes, this one has a very special place in my heart.

Q. Inaudible.
JEAN VAN DE VELDE: No, I was close to lead six weeks ago or five weeks ago. I did an event around the French team of football, probably my fault I didn't play that one anyway. But yeah, I went to see the team in Lens when they played against Costa Rica, and then after that, we did a Pro-Am with the Premiership Clubs of French football. Pretty much all of the clubs were represented, whether it was coaches or all of the internationals like Gicnac (ph) was there, RibÃ©ry (ph) was there. It was good, media six was there and many other.
So I played three rounds, basically, two days Pro-Am and one day for the pros only and I left my clubs back here, because I said, yeah, I'm going to come to the French Open, and I shouldn't overdo it when I'm at home.

Q. So you decided to play then?
JEAN VAN DE VELDE: I knew already I was going to play then. I have a few other things on my plate right now, so golf is not the priority. Therefore, I thought I wasn't going to put too much into it, too much much practise, but, hey, how many balls have I hit over the last 25 years? I think all it takes is to try to have control on what you do and try to put the ball forward in the places you want to put it, and off you go.

Q. Have your expectations changes?
JEAN VAN DE VELDE: Exactly, no expectations whatsoever.

Q. Even now?
JEAN VAN DE VELDE: Even now, especially now. What I can expect -- to hit the ball forward is already a good expectation.
I hit more shots than I used to do for quite a while actually. I'm shaping the ball and I hit that great 5-iron on the second hole today and I aimed on the right-hand side of the green and drew it in. I can't remember when was the last time I hit a shot like that. You know, with intention, anyway. So that was fun.

Q. You also said a little while ago that everything is possible; you may get into The Open as well with a win.
JEAN VAN DE VELDE: I'm actually commentating at The Open. Do you think I can play with a microphone maybe? That will be interesting.
Hey, we'll see. Listen, it's a funny old game, plus this place, I can probably play it and walk it with my eyes closed. Doesn't mean I'm not going to shoot 85 or I'm not going to shoot 62. But I'm not standing on the tee looking a certain way and asking my caddie which line I should hit, there's no doubt about it, that I do not lead. I know what I want to do and where I want to put the ball and I know with the conditions what I need to hit as well.
Therefore, you know as well as I do, you need a bit of luck and to make a few putts, and, yeah, to keep it together when the big thing is hitting the fan, and then that's it, get over it.

Q. Inaudible.
JEAN VAN DE VELDE: There's always a chance, but today -- hopefully tomorrow I will wake up not feeling too stiff, because yesterday when I finished the round I was like, how the hell am I going to play tomorrow morning? I mean, I could barely move. Not playing golf for a while, not practising -- so I practised on Tuesday, yesterday played the Pro-Am and I was like, oh my God, I'm sore everywhere here, especially the bottom of my back.
But hey, I had a good night's rest and did what I had to do. But as you say, of course, you always -- I would not be on the first tee just to go around and wave a few times and not -- no. I'm here now. Expectation, you know what, what am I expecting, I'm expecting nothing. But if I play well -- I know I can swing. I know I can still swing the club; in the north of France about six weeks ago, I think the worst front nine I had was 32 on the three days. It helps. Feeling good. Feeling good with my life, so that's good.

Q. So you're not going to try to qualify for The Open?
JEAN VAN DE VELDE: Yes, without any doubt. Too old for that. Way too old for that.

Q. What do you do for your knee --
JEAN VAN DE VELDE: Don't put any strength on it. All I do is cycling and I try to keep in shape. Obviously that's not something I want to stop anyhow. I like sport. Yeah, so I stay in shape and I don't put too much stress on my knee. So it's much more likely to let me get away with what I want to do once in awhile, without a bout, without a doubt.

Q. It would be difficult for you to qualify -- it's this week.
JEAN VAN DE VELDE: It's this week? Forget it.

Q. There must be a little part of you if --
JEAN VAN DE VELDE: A lot of if, and if, and if -- and if, I can be there and I still see you, probably have a drink, as well.

Q. Wouldn't you rather be playing than commentating?
JEAN VAN DE VELDE: You'd always rather be playing, especially in majors, no doubt about it. I'm not going to try to qualify. Even if I win here, whatever, it's not going to change clam my life. You see me win here, you'll see me play five times a year, seven times a year.
I really believe that I just want to have fun, I just want to play the tournaments I really love, just want to come and stay fresh and come for the fun of it. Not only I'm 44 years of age, but I don't wake up in the morning wanting to go to the range anymore. I don't wake up in the morning wanting to go to the chipping green or to the putting green.
So therefore, you have to put your act together and say, well, if you don't wake up with that commitment, then don't expect much out of it. So I'm just expecting here to enjoy it, to have fun, to try a few shots and if they come out, well, they come out and if they don't, they don't.

Q. Next tournament?
JEAN VAN DE VELDE: Next tournament is Dunhill Links.

Q. What if you finish Top-10 here?
JEAN VAN DE VELDE: What happens? Usually I try to keep with the commitments that I do, so I don't come back on what I've said.

Q. Inaudible.
JEAN VAN DE VELDE: No, first of all, I didn't play with him. We did those three days around the last game of the French team. So I saw them, I had dinner with a few of the people of the staff and I had dinner in the same room. But no, from a distance, everything seemed to be all right.
I respect the space from people and I've been on this side, as well, of the fence and I know how come an insider sometime can be disruptive even if he doesn't mean by it. But I didn't think it was my place even to go and shake some hands and say hi.
So they had dinner on the side, five or ten yards away, in the same room, but I was sitting with the staff and the coaches. So that was that. From a distance, it was perfectly fine. You know, they seemed to have -- everybody was close to each other and now I can't comment on that. All I know is what you know, basically, nothing more.
I followed the national team, how many times have I carried them on my heart, many times. I got the le feu de patriote, fire, I'm a patriot. So that's one thing that I have without any doubt, so therefore, yeah, any national team, whether it's football or rugby, I'm very close to sports; I'm keen.

Q. What do you think about France's chances hosting the Ryder Cup in 2018?
JEAN VAN DE VELDE: Well, I think we have a few good things on our side. We have the fact that the budget seems to be currents and finalised. We have support from the highest level of the stage, which is the President, so, you know, if anything, you will think was going to happen, then you know the support is there, so that's tremendous.
The golf course doesn't need to be introduced anymore. I think over the years, people have preferences and I completely agree, but it's a hell of a course anyway. And the fact that Paris is so close, it's 20 kilometres, you take a train, 12 minutes you're there, I mean, how much better can it be. It will be hard to beat, everything. Doesn't mean we are going to get it but all put together, I think it's very attractive, and that's what I like about it.
You know, Versailles speaks for itself. You have the Chateaux and the Eiffel Tower and everything that you can have around The Ryder Cup itself, but as well for the evening for all of those people that are going to come and all of the festivities that you can organize throughout Paris and Versailles can be phenomenal. And it's very central as well for Europe, wherever you come from in terms of infrastructure of motorways or for trains or for airports. It's like, you know, I remember there was debate a long time ago about where are we going to put Disney, well, Disney established itself really around Paris. I know there was a lot of discontention, but I remember they made the study and they decided it was more attractive to come here.
So, yeah, I think it has a lot of positive. Now, a long way to go. Let's hope, you know, we can push it even harder and we can convince everybody who needs to be convinced, especially the British press. (Laughter).
RODDY WILLIAMS: Thank you very much. Well played.

End of FastScripts

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