|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIPMay 29, 2011Luke DonaldSURREY, ENGLAND GORDON SIMPSON: Congratulations, Luke, BMW PGA Champion, 2011. It's been a long time coming, but you've finally scaled the mountain, and it was winner takes all today. Can you try and put that whole afternoon into perspective? LUKE DONALD: Well, it feels great obviously, being the runner-up a few times in my career, a few times this year, and to obviously come through in these circumstances in one of the biggest tournaments in the world, going head-to-head with Lee, is pretty special. It doesn't get much better. I'm not sure if there will ever be a case where No. 1 and No. 2 in the world are playing off for the tournament, but also a chance for the No. 1 ranking in the world. But a unique history I think has been made, and glad to be a part of it. GORDON SIMPSON: Did you have a feel at the start of the day it may well come down to No. 1 versus No. 2. LUKE DONALD: Well, I suppose looking at the leaderboard, Lee, he played well yesterday. He was playing pretty solid all week. I think he was obviously going to be certainly a challenge. He was going to be strong. He's a hell of a player, Lee; he doesn't back down. He's a deserved No. 1, and I knew it would be a tough playoff. I felt a little bit bad for Lee. Obviously hit a decent shot there on 18, just had a little bit too much spin. And, you know, I was happy to walk away with the win. GORDON SIMPSON: What gives you the greatest sense of satisfaction, another title here and the trophy in front of you or being on top of the world? LUKE DONALD: I've always said, winning is always at the top of the list. It's always the top of the goals. I'm not going to lie; being No. 1 feels fantastic. It's a great honour, a great achievement. But you know, winning is what got me there. A big win back at the Match Play, and a big win here. It's obviously been a great year so far, and just because I'm at No. 1 doesn't mean that I'm done now. I've still got a lot of work to do, hopefully a lot of titles to pick up, and hopefully I can keep going from strength-to-strength. Q. You just mentioned the Accenture; is this bigger than that? Does it feel bigger? LUKE DONALD: You know, match play and stroke play are different. They are different animals. Obviously stroke play, I think is a tougher win in a certain way. You have to beat a bigger field, a deeper field. Obviously I won in Madrid, but that wasn't a very strong field. It had been a while since even my win at the Honda, was probably an average field. But to come here and win with all of these people playing, the top three in the world, top six out of seven, all of the Ryder Cuppers, all of the four major champions, and to beat them in stroke play feels pretty good. GORDON SIMPSON: I suppose you put your money where your mouth is, earlier in the week you said you felt like you were No. 1 in the world the way you were playing. LUKE DONALD: Well, obviously if No. 1, if the world No. 1 ranking is based on consistency, yes, I have been the most consistent this year. I have been giving myself opportunities every week. This is something like my 14th or 15th Top-10 in the last 15 or 16 tournaments. I've had a great run, and you know, it pays to be consistent, and it obviously pays in the World Rankings. Q. Can you talk us through your strategy and shot selection, also your emotions on the playoff hole? LUKE DONALD: Well, I tried to hit the same club off the tee that I did in regulation. The wind, for some reason, felt like it was a little more into; it should have down off the right. I hit my rescue club, 2-iron, which made it to the trap. If I was a little further right in regulation, I probably could have gone for it in two. So I felt that was the same club. When I hit it, the breeze was a little bit more in than it seemed in regulation, so I had no opportunity really to go for it. But with the lay up, it was important to hit the fairway, to be able to control the spin. I didn't really have that control on the 72nd hole out of the rough. I got it to a perfect yardage, 97 yards into a bit of a breeze, so it was just a nice 54-degree wedge for me. And I practised that shot countless shot. Felt very comfortable with it, and hit a great shot, obviously put the pressure on Lee. Q. Was part of your strategy, as well, to be playing first on the green and maybe playing the second shot first, as well; were you surprised that Lee almost got up to the green, or into the equation in two, by not hitting driver or 3-wood? LUKE DONALD: I'm not sure, did Lee 5-wood or 3-wood? If he was on the fairway; he certainly far enough up to be able to go for it to be to be honest, and I thought if I hit rescue, I would be in the range, too, off the tee. I wasn't really thinking about that, but when the wind switched a little bit off the tee shot, I was way too far back to even think about going. So I relied on my good wedge game. Q. We know all about Seve, what happened, he died, and they tried to give him a great honour this week, as well. What I saw today, it was the greatest honour he could get, two Europeans battling for the championship and No. 1 in the world. LUKE DONALD: Yeah, certainly The European Tour and the European players owe a big debt of gratitude to Seve. He really put The European Tour on the map in terms of his flair, his charisma, you know, the way he played, his five Majors. Yesterday I felt like Seve would have been proud of me. I mean, some of the positions I was in, I've seen footage of Seve, and he obviously was in his lifetime, got in many similar positions, as well. To escape like I did and to hole those 3-putts on 16, 17 and 18 last night gave me a big boost. That round could have gone easily the wrong way. I was able to really be determined, fight back, and to shoot 4-under on the back nine was a big key to winning today. Q. How much does that banish the memories of what happened here last year? LUKE DONALD: They are gone (smiling broadly)obviously. Last year was disappointing. I really had a great opportunity to win, and you never like to lose a tournament, and I did lose it by making a seven on the 17th, losing by one was very, very disappointing. It was tough to take. Second place is no fun. And I'm sure Lee is feeling that right now. It's just you feel so close, but so far away, and you know, winning is very important. Those bad memories are replaced with the good ones that I have from today. Q. How did the warm-up go, because the first shot must have worried you somewhat. LUKE DONALD: Yeah, I felt pretty good on the range. Last night I talked to my coach, Pat Goss, he watched the telecast and saw a few things in my swing. I was getting a little bit too jumpy through impact with my left leg. I was just getting the -- standing the shaft up too high, and that makes the ball go right, right. I felt pretty good on the range last night and felt pretty good in the warm-up this morning. But obviously, poor tee shot on 1, back in the trees, and after that, though, other than -- did I hit one more poor drive? Kind of pulled one on 11 and 12. But I hit enough fairways where I was hitting enough greens today and kind of giving myself some opportunities for birdies at least. You know, I wasn't having to force too many holes where I had to make par. After the first tee shot, I think I regrouped pretty well, and kind of stuck in there. Q. When did you last win a playoff? LUKE DONALD: Don't know if I've won one, have I? Q. As a pro? LUKE DONALD: Got me there. Yeah, I've lost two or three as a pro I guess. It's nice to finally win one. Q. I think the broadcast mentioned that you might be expecting a second child; is that the case? LUKE DONALD: Yeah, mid-November. Q. So this must rank as one of the richest times in your life; I'm not talking about money. LUKE DONALD: Well, looking back to the birth of my first child, Elle, my golf has only gone from strength-to-strength. It's been a real blessing to become a father. It's given me a lot more responsibility I think as a person. I've grown up. I've become a better person. And you know, having a family meant a lot to me. They have really been a great support. My daughter is the best. She sleeps 12 hours every night. It's nice to come home even when you finish second or don't quite close out a tournament; when you've got her little face smiling back at me, you're able to forget things pretty quickly. And been able to do that through some of the disappointments; I've been able to put them behind me pretty quickly. She really is an inspiration to me, just watching her grow, and every day, learning new skills, adapting, becoming better and better at what she is; that's all I'm trying to do at golf, too. Just every day, just try and figure a way to improve. She does that every day. Q. That's a nice prize fund week; any thoughts on what you might spend your winner's cheque on? LUKE DONALD: Money is not really that important. I have no idea. Haven't even thought about it. Q. It happened at The Ryder Cup, but when you hear your name being chanted out the way it was over that last round, do you get sort of embarrassed? LUKE DONALD: It's kind of cool to have your own chant. Hats off to the crowds. From day one, so many crowds out there, so much support. I'm sure for Lee, as well. But I love coming back here and playing in the U.K. and in Great Britain. They are a very knowledgeable crowd. They know when to clap, not to clap. They are a pleasure to play in front of. It's all credit to this tournament that they are able to gain so many people to come and watch. Q. Three weeks to the U.S. Open, just wondering how does this set you up for Congressional? LUKE DONALD: Well, it's a tough test this week, and Congressional is going to be a tough test. So hopefully I can draw some positives from that. I'm obviously playing well. I'll be playing next week at the Memorial, and then have a week off to recharge a little bit, but focus on what I need to do to try to give myself a chance to win there. I've played it many years ago, probably seven or eight years ago, I played a qualifier there for a U.S. Open and got through, so the memories I have are decent there, but obviously I'll need to be refreshed. I hope to play there the week before, as well, and play a practise round. Q. Could you just talk about the influence that Dave Alred is having on you? LUKE DONALD: Dave has already been a great influence. Since he's been on my team, my golf has gone from strength-to-strength. Dave has done a good job of looking at how I prepare and how I practise, and trying to recreate doing that under pressure. Just like he does in rugby and kicking. But I don't want to single just Dave out. I have a great team around me, my coach, Pat Goss, who has been with me for 14 years; John McLaren, my caddie, hat been on the bag for a year and a half now. I have a great workout team that works on my fitness, and obviously my family and friends have been a great support, too. So this victory haven't won by just me; it's won by a number of people. Q. In a week that the course has come in for some criticism, given your record here, is there a sense of irony, bearing in mind you seem to do pretty well here? LUKE DONALD: Well, certainly second last year and first this year, I'm figuring out how to play this course. No matter whether you like the course or not, the challenge is to figure out how you can get around in the least amount or number of shots. I've done that well the last two years. Obviously it's taken some criticism. Certainly this isn't a tournament I would like to play week-in, week-out. It's a grind. It's a tough, tough test. It's mentally and physically very tiring, but sitting here with the trophy, everyone -- someone at the end of the week is going to love this tournament and this course, and I'm that guy. Q. How does it sound having world No. 1 in front of your name, and how do you think you'll regard yourself differently having that status? LUKE DONALD: It feels great. It's obviously a special accomplishment, something that I'll remember forever. As I said before, it's something that will be a great story when I'm an old man telling my grandkids that I was once the best player in the world at golf. It's a little surreal. It's hard to believe in a certain way. You keep thinking that you have the ability and the talent, but you never quite really know. Whether it will change me, I don't think so. The goal for me is to always continue to focus on the processes of getting better, and just because I have reached the pinnacle of the World Rankings doesn't mean my work is done. I have a lot more to accomplish, hopefully many more victories in me, and hopefully I can at least be somewhat of a worthy No. 1 for a few weeks. Q. Just a couple of things really. Can you remember what you said to Lee when you finished? And was his shot in the playoff into the green an example of a reasonably good shot being punished unfairly? LUKE DONALD: That green does slope right-to-left. The wind was pushing it that way, too. He landed the ball just -- by the looks of his pitch mark, just left of the hole. With the spin, the pin was pretty penal. It was three yards from the left. But there was plenty of room right. I wouldn't say that shot should focus on whether the course is fair or not. I think that hole is a lot better than it was. After the playoff, literally, he just said congratulations, and Billy, his caddie, said "Congratulations, the new No. 1." And I said, "This will be a good battle going forward. I'm sure Lee will be trying his best to get it back." That was about it really. Q. Was there one goal that you had at the start of this year? LUKE DONALD: Yeah, to contend in all four Majors. Q. You mentioned that it was a bit of a grind this week. Rounds two, three and four were solid. How much was it your opening round that means you're sat here covered in champagne right here, right now? LUKE DONALD: Well, of course, that was huge. To get off to a great start, and to shoot 7-under, that was a near perfect round I played. The second rounds, I actually played decently. I probably hit two less greens in regulation. I just didn't get a lot out of my round, 32 putts I think, compared to 25 in the first round. Third round was a mess. There was nothing really good about it other than the tenacity and fight to keep going. That comeback, there was a lot of loose shots. And today, took a lot to kind of put that behind me. Even after that first tee shot, to keep believing that my swing was solid enough to hit fairways when I needed to, and I was able to do that. Obviously shooting 64 in the first round was a big help. GORDON SIMPSON: Well, Luke, BMW PGA Champion, world No. 1, I'm sure you won't get tired of hearing that for a while. Well done and congratulations again. 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
|