|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
BALLANTINE'S CHAMPIONSHIPApril 26, 2011Lee WestwoodINCHEON, KOREA MICHAEL GIBBONS: Lee welcome to Korea, it's a great pleasure to introduce you as world number one again - start us off with a few comments on that andwhat it means to you to be World Number One? LEE WESTWOOD: It's obviously nice to be back as to Number One - it does make you proud but I suppose it is a little different now because I have been there before and I know what it means and know what to expect in terms of the demands on me. But it's good to be back as World Number One. MICHAEL GIBBONS: And thoughts on the week ahead - great field this week? LEE WESTWOOD: It is a very good field and should be a very good tournament. I just hope the weather gets a bit warmer because I have just come in from Jakarta and obviously there is a little bit of a difference in temperature between here and there at the moment. Q. You've played in Korea last year -- LEE WESTWOOD: Two years ago. Q. And now you're back as the top player in golf. This is actually the first time the No. 1 ranking player has come to play golf in a Korean championship. Tiger Woods did come in 2004 by at the time he was ranked second. So Korean fans have great expectations so, what kind of play are you going to show them this? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, I have great expectations, as well. Going to try to play well in this championship and hopefully on Sunday afternoon, have a chance to win it. I played well last week. My confidence is high. I'm looking forward to getting out there tomorrow morning and having a look at the golf course and see if it suits me. I didn't realize the world No. 1 had never competed in Korea before, so it's a bit of an honour to bring the title of the world No. 1 to Korea. Q. So obviously it's difficult to become the world's No. 1 player in the first place. You were the No. 1 player and you slipped back and now you're back on the top. What is your secret is? To be more specific, what do you work on? Is it your confidence? Is it your concentration? What kind of efforts do you make? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, you can't afford to have any weaknesses so you have to work on everything. Tee to green has to be good, and iron play and short game, and putting, as well. Because you know, the strength of golf at the moment is very strong and very deep. There are a lot of good players in the world. You can't afford to have any weaknesses. Tournaments are difficult to win, and the secret to being world No. 1 is having the consistency, and all parts of your game have to be good to do that. Obviously if you do play well and have good results, then confidence builds from that, as well. Q. So you were here in Korea two years ago; do you know a lot about Korean players in general, and in particular, if you could share your thoughts on the young women? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I've played on quite a few young players. I've played with yank and K.J. quite a lot. Last week I played with a Korean player, as well. So obviously you know, it's world-renowned how good the lady golfers are at the moment. Golf is very strong in Korea by the looks of things, and I think that having tournaments like this in Korea helps the popularity of golf, and it's always great if it people like yank, who are playing this week, come back and play in their own country and show the people of Korea that the Korean golfers can compete against the best in the world. Q. So many European players are now dominating the top ranks of the golf rankings; why do you think that is? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, I think it goes in cycles. There was one time I was the only Englishman in the top hundred in the World Rankings about ten years ago and there are many English and European players in the Top-20 in the world, Top-10. I think it does go in cycles but certainly one or two start to play well, and win big tournaments and compete around the world, and it does show the other people, you know, coming through that it is possible and it can give everybody confidence. Q. When you were world No. 1 the last time, do you feel it weighed heavily on you? You mentioned earlier that you felt you didn't play that well in the first part of this year. And the other question, obviously it always comes up, you haven't won a Major. When people talk about that, does that bother you? Or do you find a way to draw strength? LEE WESTWOOD: Obviously with being No. 1 there is a lot more responsibility. You have a lot more things to do, media commitments and things like that. People want a lot more of your time it becomes a bit difficult to cram everything in and leave time for practising golf and doing what got to you where you are. That's the toughest part of it. As to the other question, the only thing that gets a bit about answering that question is the amount of times I have to answer it gets on my nerves, so this might be the very last time I could be answering this question and it could be no comment after this. The World Rankings and major championships are two completely separate things. I haven't won a Major yet but hope to do so soon, and all you can do when trying to win those is keep practicing and doing what you believe is the right thing that is going to improve you. I've had a lot of good chances recently to win Majors but just hasn't happened. But the World Rankings are all about consistency and playing well week-in and week-out, which I tend to do. Q. Is there a particular time in the season -- LEE WESTWOOD: No (laughter) all three. I think all three venues are going to suit my game. Pretty good tee-to-green, and major championships, you tend to have a big advantage if you hit a lot of greens. Q. Once again, Korean fans are looking forward to very strong play and a good game from you, so if you can summarise how you are going to go about playing this week? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, I haven't seen the golf course yet, so I don't really know the golf course too much. I haven't really played a plan as such. If I play as well as I played last week, and keep that kind of form, hopefully I'll be in a position Sunday afternoon with nine holes to go and have a chance to win the tournament. Q. As you mentioned you haven't been on the course but this is a new course for everybody. Do you have your own strategy, special strategy, that you might use when you are going on a new course? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, my caddie has gone out to walk nine holes just now, so he'll give me a fair idea of what nine holes is all about. But tomorrow morning in the Pro-Am I'll have a good look around the golf course. I've been doing this for 18 or 19 now and come across new golf courses all the time. It's pretty easy to formulate a game plan once you've seen the ideal spots to hit, and if you play well and hit it straight, hopefully you don't get into too much trouble. Q. You've been the centre of interest somewhat for losing some weight, and a lot of amateur golfers are concerned that if they lose a lot of weight, that that might affect their distance. So do you have any tips on how to perhaps lose a little weight, but maintain the distance and hit a strong shot? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, you have to replace the weight you lose with muscle, or else do you lose power. As for giving any tips, you need to speak to an expert. I listened to an expert. I wouldn't profess to be one. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
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
|