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BALLANTINE'S CHAMPIONSHIPApril 29, 2011Miguel Angel JimenezINCHEON, KOREA MICHAEL GIBBONS: If you can give us your thoughts on the week so far, the golf course, coming to Korea. MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Coming to Korea only for a week, it's a very long way for me to play this tournament. I missed last year and I'm coming this year now. And then the experience is very nice, apart that we are a little bit far away from the city, from Seoul, and from the hotel, we take almost 50 minutes every day. But the golf course is a great golf course, and the effort is good enough today to come in and play this golf course. You can see everything now when you get to the tees. You can see everything. It's a great golf course. It's quite a long walk from the greens to tees, but apart from that, you can see everything from the tees, you don't have blind shots, a nice good design. Good golf course. I like it very much. Q. My first question is regarding the gallery with cameras. I understand that you were in the same group as Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter and they were distracted by the cameras and the gallery and they actually complained about this. So I was just wondering if you were feeling the same distraction, and if the gallery was any different today. MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: I tell you, it's a little bit of a nightmare with the people. The people are very nice. You always like to see people on the golf course. But it's every single shot, camera, camera, camera. And that is -- they don't care. That's the only thing. No, we need to be patient, but they have to understand that you know, anything happens, any click coming with a camera or anything, it just takes your concentration away and you have to start again and it's never, never good off and on the second shot. It's always the first one. And they need to learn and understand. Q. The second question is, a lot of other players said the greens are firm really slow. What do you think? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Yeah, the greens are firm quite slow. Today, the first nine, they are a little faster and yesterday, the second nine is still slow. But the thing that you have to see, there are some big slopes and if you put them much faster than that, they would be almost unplayable, some putts. But I think if the greens were a little bit more faster, it would be much better. Q. You're known to be very playful; you have fun. Is that your nature, or, is it a strategy to calm yourself during the game? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: What do you think? (Laughter). The more important thing in life is you have to enjoy yourself, whatever you're doing. Sometimes when you're concentrate you are a little bit more excited but you need to enjoy yourself with anything you are doing, and playing golf is my joy. And I love to play. And you cannot be hungry when you are doing something you like to do. I always like to have fun and I always try to enjoy myself, and of course, it's going to be much better. You're going to feel better. Q. It seems today that you were smoking less cigars than usual. Is there a reason? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: No, I never smoke -- no, I didn't smoke in tournament rounds. I smoke before, after, I smoke in Pro-Ams, I smoke in practising, I smoke all over the place. But when I'm in a tournament round, I don't smoke. It's a habit that I stopped doing since I quit smoking cigarettes. I also don't smoke in the gym, you know, when you go running. (Laughing). Q. When did you start smoking cigars? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Almost 11 years now. Before I smoked cigarettes. But there's no cigarettes, not on the golf course. Since I quit cigarettes, I don't smoke in the golf course in tournament rounds. Q. Lee Westwood on his Twitter wrote -- MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Twitter? On the Twitter? Q. Wrote that the hotel was very far away and that you had to get up at 4.00am for the 7.20 tee off, and he wondered if Asians played golf at night, too. The question is, in competition, in Europe, have you ever gotten up this early? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: No, I guess the earliest we ever play is at The Open, they start also very early, one of these early tee times, you know, you have to wake up -- not as early as 4am though. We are not usually that far away from the hotel. Normally you wake up 5.30, that's fine, sometimes 5.00. But like every day, 4.20, I wake up. The thing is, you are one hour away, so you need to wake up earlier than normal, another extra half an hour. But if you have to do it; you do it. Q. The tournament is not over, but it looks like Yang of Korea, Ian Poulter and Ernie Els are going to miss the cut. Why do you think -- what in their play do you think has caused them to be in this position? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Because they don't play well enough. (Laughter) Simple. If they play well enough, they will play on the weekend, too. Sometimes it happens. It's difficult. You know, sometimes the guy you are not feeling on your game in the right way and sometimes you make a bogey here, a bogey there, you miss the cut. You know, there's 156 players and only 65 are going to make the cut. If you are not playing well enough, you are not one of the ones going to go forward. Adios, amigo. (Laughter). Oh, I thought you were going to bring me Scotch whisky to match with my cigar. I thought you were going to bring Ballantine's to match with my cigar -- I'm fine, thank you. (Laughter). Q. Second question is, why were you so good? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Because I'm happy (laughter) because I am Miguel Ãngel Jiménez. And I play very well. (Laughing). I'm playing well, you know, like I said before. And that's what you need to shoot low, and I'm shooting low, I feel happy, I feel good. I feel good (singing). Q. Watching the competition, personally, I thought your iron shots were very good. Did you feel that? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: It's very good, yeah, and I've been playing very well from tee-to-green. And it's very good with my driver, consistent. Like you say, my irons, they are very good. Very nice iron shots to the green, and I'm giving myself many chances for birdies. I make only two bogeys in two rounds, you know, but like you say, I've been hitting very solid my medium irons. That's the strongest part of my game normally when I'm playing well. Q. It seems like players from the southern part of Europe are doing very well. Why do you think that is, and what are their strengths? Why are they good? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Because we have in the blood. Well, in the tournaments, you see the golf is starting in Europe, and there's so many, many years, because, well, it's a big tour there, and we have a good history of golf, we have Langer, Faldo, Woosnam, Olazábal, so many good players, that myself and the young people, is looking at. And you grow up with that, and that is one of the reasons, you know, to play this game. So many people are coming of good quality. After the blood, they make the running. MICHAEL GIBBONS: Miguel, many thanks for joining us and entertaining us. Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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