|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
UBS HONG KONG OPENNovember 19, 2010Ian PoulterFANLING, HONG KONG Second Round 60. 13-Under Total. 127 MICHAEL GIBBONS: Thanks for joining us, congratulations on a great round. 60 with mixed emotions? IAN POULTER: Yeah, mixed emotions. It's one of those golf courses if you get off to a decent start, you feel as if you can shoot a low number and 5-under on the front nine was a great score. I had five birdies in a row from the 7th and then as soon as that happened, I kind of felt there's plenty of chances coming in. There's a lot of short irons to finish, the par 513, and it was close. I mean, I hit a great putt at 17. I really wouldn't have had it back again I thought from the hole and it stayed right on the grain, and I birdied the last for 60. So, you know, happy, but slightly disappointed. MICHAEL GIBBONS: And great battle with Rory today, kept you going I think. IAN POULTER: It was. As I said, the birdies around the middle of the course were good. Rory coming down the middle of 9 holes a 7-iron, which I thought was pretty cheeky, great shot that it was. And I managed to roll a 30 -foot putt in on top of him which was nice. He then holes a nice 15-footer on the next and I kind of roll it in from three feet and then I hit it stiff on 11. So it was a good match. I knew he was going to play well today and I knew I had to go out there and shoot a low score obviously to stay in touch. I'm sure he's a little disappointed to finish like that, but Rory is playing well and it's going to be an exciting weekend. MICHAEL GIBBONS: Did the earth move for you? Did you feel the earthquake? IAN POULTER: Yeah, on 14th tee, I wondered what it was. I was just about to pick my ball up. I did feel a little tremor. Q. Enough to sort of lose your balance? IAN POULTER: No, just felt -- just tiny. Just felt something. It was a bit strange. Didn't put me off. Q. Where would you rank that round amongst the best you've had? IAN POULTER: I would rank it pretty high to be honest. You know I've previously shot 61 in Italy 2002 or 2003, 2002 I think. So you know, it's my lowest round of golf to date, 60. So I would have to rate it up there. I had a lot of chances today. And yeah, I could have holed a couple more, but I mean, it's a good round of golf. Q. Similar weather again tomorrow, so expecting more low scores tomorrow? IAN POULTER: There will be. The guys that are in form are going to take advantage of the short irons that we have got around this golf course and certainly the two par 5s that are reachable. With that in mind, you know, you're going to have to go pretty low over the weekend to win this golf tournament. It's a good course. If you do play well, you can shoot some low numbers. Q. You had a really good second round in Singapore; are you confident that you can finish well here? IAN POULTER: Yeah, I mean, I'm obviously disappointed about last week. I'm disappointed about Shanghai, too. I've been in form. I've rested well after The Ryder Cup. I played some great golf there, and to be honest with you, I felt just as good coming out over the last three weeks, and you know, not to play as well as I think I should have done on Monday, is very disappointing, and yesterday was also disappointing. You know, 3-under par on a golf course that I feel I play very well, it wasn't good enough. 17 greens in regulation, and only to convert 3-putts is unacceptable in my book. So today was obviously very pleasing to put a number on the board, and you know, I just feel I'm playing well. So, yeah, I would like to go out this weekend and shoot a low number over the weekend and enjoy another three weeks on the road. Q. The race to No. 1 in the World Ranking is very tight, the top 5 players, and you are very close, as well. Are you targeting being world No. 1 in the near future? IAN POULTER: I'm putting my target on winning this golf tournament first. The Race to Dubai is what I'm focusing on right now and I know if I play well this weekend and win The Race to Dubai, then mathematically, I'm going to be close, I think. I haven't worked it out but I'm going to run pretty close. If I can do that, I'll be very happy and certainly if you're going to win some golf tournaments, then obviously you're going to move up in the World Rankings. With Tiger dropping as many points as he has dropped in the last 12 months, obviously you know Lee has capitalised on that, and I think many people will feel it's their best chance to get up as high as they possibly can. 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
|