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WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIPFebruary 26, 2011Luke DonaldMARANA, ARIZONA PAUL SYMES: Luke, congratulations again. This could have been a long day, but it's turned into a very short one and an extremely productive one. LUKE DONALD: Well, it was an early start; 4:45 my alarm went off. And obviously it's nice to get done early. I think with the conditions out there, it's pretty physically and mentally quite tiring. But to win early in both matches should stand me in good stead for tomorrow. PAUL SYMES: You've yet to be behind in any game so far this week. Have you played much better than this in your whole career? LUKE DONALD: Yeah, I've been playing good this week. I've been stringing together a lot of good rounds, making birdies, and not too many mistakes. The greens, I haven't really missed anything. I've been tough to beat this week and hopefully that can continue tomorrow. PAUL SYMES: Your first WGC final tomorrow, you can go to No. 3 if you win it. It could be a hell of a day for you. LUKE DONALD: Obviously I won't be focusing on the World Rankings, those kind of things take care of themselves. That would be an added bonus. I'll be concentrating on trying to beat whoever I'm playing against and trying to pick up a trophy. Q. Historically, the winner of this tournament has been the player actually that kind of gets the most rest, that doesn't really go to extra holes. Does that mean anything to you? How happy are you to kind of get out of this one at 3:00 p.m. with five holes left? LUKE DONALD: Yeah, as I said, you know, I think with the weather conditions today, having wind play a factor, it tires you out even more. So to get done early, I'm going to have some more energy. And I think out of everyone entering this week, I was the most rested. I only played one event last week. And looking back, that was probably a good decision now. Q. The golf course is 7,800 yards, and you're supposed to be a short hitter. Can you explain why you're doing so well on a golf course that's so long? LUKE DONALD: There's more to the game than hitting it far. There's definitely ways to make birdies, other than hitting 350 yard drives. Obviously 7,800 is a little exaggerated, because we are at altitude this week. But I pride myself on a good short game; I work very hard at it. It's usually a key to me making some birdies out there. Q. Since you are so well rested, do you almost wish there was 36 holes tomorrow rather than 18? LUKE DONALD: Certainly in 18 holes I think anything can happen. I think a 36-hole final is more a test of who the better player is for that 36 holes. Saying that, I'm playing well. I've been up in all my matches. I'm feeling confident. So it is what it is. I can't change that. And I'll try and do what I've been doing. Q. By my calculations you've been up, 3-up for like 36 holes, basically half of the holes you've played. Is that something that you don't -- it's not mentally as taxing for you, when you're up that much and that many holes during the course of the week? LUKE DONALD: I'm struggling to hear you a little bit. Q. You've been 3-up or more on 36 of the 73 holes you've played. Is that something that doesn't tax you as much mentally, when -- LUKE DONALD: What do you mean 3-up after 36 holes? Q. Your margin has been up for most of your five matches here? LUKE DONALD: As I said, yeah, it's just going to add to me feeling a little bit more rested. I'm going to play less holes than my two opponents, I believe. I haven't been following their results, but I'm guessing I will have played less holes. Tomorrow is going to be another tough day in terms of weather-wise. It's going to be quite a bit more colder, and all these kind of things take it out of you physically and mentally. I've got that advantage. I don't know how much that's going to play into it, but it's certainly one tick in my box. Q. You've got 27 birdies and four bogeys this week. Is this as good 72, 73 holes as you've played? And if not, tell us when you've had a better four rounds, really -- equivalent of four rounds? LUKE DONALD: It's up there. It's hard to kind of think back to some of the stroke play rounds, but as I said, match play is slightly different. You have a little bit different mindset. There's more urgency to get it done quicker. I don't think you're protecting your score so much as you would in stroke play, and hence it just seems that more birdies come. I'd love to be able to have this mindset in stroke play, and I've talked to many players who say the same. But it's kind of hard to transfer to stroke play for some reason. But definitely it's been a good, what, five rounds for me. Q. You started this tournament with 63 other guys and made your way through the brackets and now here you are ready for the championship match. Does the eve of this match feel any different than the eve of the first one now that it's a lot more specific? LUKE DONALD: The first round, you mean? Q. Yeah, so you had a certain mindset -- LUKE DONALD: Well, it's going to be -- yeah, there's a different mindset. There's no pressure. This is what I practice and play for. You obviously don't want to lose in any of the rounds but would be disappointed to make it this far and then lose in the final. There's more added pressure. There will be more people watching, that sort of stuff, but that's pretty common. Just like if you were in the lead or tied it for the lead or around the lead going into Sunday. It's a different atmosphere, different vibe, but that's why I practice hard to try to perform under that pressure. Q. Do you remember what the 18th hole looks like? LUKE DONALD: I played it a few times last year, so -- I just played it once in practice on the Tuesday, I believe. It's a reasonably straightforward hole. Hopefully I don't get to it again tomorrow, the right way. Q. Tomorrow is the biggest day of your golfing career, do you think? LUKE DONALD: Yes and no. Medinah probably being tied for the lead with Tiger Woods, when he was, you know, No. 1 in the world then and very dominant. That was a big moment for me. In terms of feeling pressure, though, this week I've felt very relaxed for some reason, very much in control. When you're swinging well and in control, the nerves don't play so much of a part. It will be a big day for me tomorrow for sure, but I'm looking forward to it. Q. You certainly are not going to change the way you've been playing, but I just wondered, how familiar are you with the two guys you might be playing? We don't know who it will be at this time. And you wouldn't have a preference, I assume, one or the other? LUKE DONALD: No, I'll take whoever comes. I know Martin pretty well, I've played with him a few times, obviously a Ryder Cup teammate of mine. And I've played a couple of times with Bubba; he obviously hits the ball miles. You never know what you're going to get with him. I think Martin may be a little bit more of a consistent player through and through. But whoever wins deserves to be in the final, and I look forward to the match. Q. The first ten holes today you just played so well, with 7-up through 10. Was there ever a point that you got really comfortable or not until you actually won it? LUKE DONALD: I don't think you should ever really get comfortable and relax. I think my philosophy in match play is it's not over until it's over. And there's always -- I know when I've been down, you tend to find an extra gear just to try to get back at your opponent. It was important for me to just keep the pressure on and keep making birdies. Q. Just curious, Luke, you obviously didn't play a lot. When was the decision made to start the season late, just take extra time, and why? LUKE DONALD: Just at the end of the season, it seemed a pretty busy season for me last year. I played 29 events, played all over the world, played the Ryder Cup. It just seemed like it was quite a tiring season for me. I won in Madrid but didn't win anywhere else, but I was competing a lot and kind of in the mix quite a lot and I think that takes a lot out of you. I think pushing to make that Ryder Cup, I might have played one or two more events than I would usually. And I think it had been seven or eight years since I'd had a really decent off-season. I'd usually play Tiger's event on Nedbank the beginning of December, maybe put the clubs away for a week or two and then pick it up again at Sony. It's hard sometimes when you want to focus on working on a few things. It's a long year, the Tour, and it was important for me to take a little extra time just to work on some stuff but also have a break. And everyone needs to recharge, occasionally. And I felt like I needed to this year. Q. After shooting a 79 last week to miss the cut at Riviera, you said your game was closer than that score reflected. Looks like a bit of an understatement right now? LUKE DONALD: Probably didn't look like it to the people that were watching when I shot that 79. I wasn't too worried. I played quite nicely on the Thursday and to come out and really have nothing go my way and play pretty poorly was disappointing. But I wasn't worried. I felt like I've been putting in a lot of hard work and it was going to turnaround and it just happened to turn around this week. Q. I realize you don't really care who you're playing tomorrow. Can you speak to the test each one would present, Bubba or Martin? LUKE DONALD: Yeah, as you said, both are in form. Martin's shown his form over the last couple of seasons, No. 2 in the world. If he makes the final, is he guaranteed No. 1? I mean, what if he losses today? Still No. 2? Well, you know, he's obviously had a phenomenal couple of years. He's a steady player. He's consistent. It's like me, but hits it further. I'll put it that way, you know. Bubba Watson is obviously showing some great form, winning at Torrey Pines, right? He won at Torrey. He's an extravagant player, hits it a mile. It will be interesting tomorrow if he makes the final. There's a difference in positions we're playing from. It will be astronomical. And it was a little bit like that my first two matches. I played against Charley Hoffman, he hits it pretty far, he was 30 or 40 past me. And same again, who did I play in the second round, Molinari? No, it was really just Charley, really. But I'd say Bubba, you just don't know what you're going to get with him. He's obviously been playing great to get this far and he is obviously has a lot of confidence. And you feel like you could go out there and make 7 birdies and a couple of eagles or he could make a few bogeys. I would guess mine would be the tougher match, but that's just a guess. Q. How far do you think you're behind? Both hit driver, 30, 40 yards, or that far? LUKE DONALD: Bubba, at least 40 yards, Kaymer 25, maybe. Q. You mentioned Medinah and playing with Tiger, what did you take from that experience? LUKE DONALD: Well, it was a long time ago. I think it was interesting watching Tiger, how he worked his way around the golf course, really was in control of his game. He didn't push things. He made other people make the mistakes. And that was kind of the one thing I learned, just watching Tiger, really. You don't have to do anything too spectacular; you just have to do things pretty well. Q. Based on that Medinah experience, can we expect a red shirt tomorrow? LUKE DONALD: No red in the Polo lineup, unfortunately, this season. So, no red. I think wooly hat and mittens probably tomorrow. Q. It's probably a moot point to change the system in the rankings right now. Given that you're playing 18-hole matches against one guy a day, should there even be ranking points awarded at this tournament? LUKE DONALD: Why not? I mean, it's a tough slot to get through this week. The guys here have deserved their place in this field, and they're given ranking points because of it. So I don't see why there shouldn't be ranking points. PAUL SYMES: Thanks, Luke, and play well tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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