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ALSTOM OPEN DE FRANCEJune 29, 2011Miguel Angel JimenezPARIS, FRANCE STEVE TODD: Welcome back, you have some special people rise no doubt of last year, a pretty exciting victory, I don't know if you can just start by remembering a little bit of what went on last year. MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Well, as you say, the memories and the finish, of course the memories that I play always, I had been playing so good all through the week last year and especially on the last nine holes was tremendous. We have birdie out there 11, 12, 13, 14, missed on the 15 and another birdie on the 16th, and then I come in with two shots lead on the last hole and there's a little bit of drama. But then there's a win in my sight, it's what I deserve, I believe, after the way I played. But we are humans and what happened there, I remember it like it was yesterday. I hit my tee shot on 18 perfect right in the middle of the fairway, and the camera coming on the side and then just playing a little bit but the end when I get to the fairway and I have to hit my shot, I opened my mind and then I start to get -- like the U.S. Open, I have to concentrate, and everything is a little bit too quick, in a rush. Like you're supposed not to be there. I went a little bit behind -- no, well behind. I hit first to the big ball, not the small ball, then the ball goes into the water and that's what happened there. And I make a bogey and we go into a playoff. Then tied with Alejandro Canizares and Molinari, and we have to go into a playoff and that's the history. STEVE TODD: A lot has been made this week of the Ryder Cup venue for 2018. You've obviously played in a couple of Ryder Cups. MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Four. STEVE TODD: A lot has been made of the last couple of holes and the drama that can be had there. I think the fact that you double-bogey asked went on to win in a playoff shows how dramatic and how much risk/reward there is on the last couple of holes. MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: You talking about the Ryder Cup or -- STEVE TODD: The finishing holes, how strong of finishing holes they are. MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Well, the finishing holes for The Ryder Cup, it's not only the finishing holes, it's all the golf course itself. Every single hole on the golf course is very good. It's very well designed, and we have super conditions to play. For The Ryder Cup, of course you have the full golf course, like you say, you've got very tactic, and it's important to hit it long, but on this golf course it's very important to have the ball on the fairway. Especially 15, 16, 17, 18, it's very important that you have the proper tactic on that. So a great golf course and it will be a great venue. STEVE TODD: And the oldest the continental tournaments in Europe, you were the oldest winner of the tournament last year; that's a proud record to have. MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: A, the oldest winner on the tournament, I thought you said the oldest winner on the Tour. STEVE TODD: It's a proud record to have. MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: It's nice, beautiful, yes. It's not going to be the last, eh, confirm? STEVE TODD: Are you confident to play? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: I feel well. I still feel good. I still hit the same distance as last year. I still feel fine. I still feel motivation to play golf and that's why you need to be competitive with this new young guns. You need to do what you want to do in your life and that's what I do and I still enjoy myself on the golf course. Maybe not the last few weeks, my game is struggling a little bit, a little bit of a mess there, but I still want to go on the driving range, I still like to work with the ball, I still like to enjoy myself to keep playing and to keep playing on this level. STEVE TODD: I think we still enjoy watching you play. Open up for a few questions? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: That's a quick interview. It's only me who is talking. STEVE TODD: It's me and you, one-on-one. MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Talking about what happened, for example, here on the last hole, we always say one thing that in Spain, at the time everything is good and it's very important when you are in that situation, that you not open the mind that way, because it could happen what happened to me. But we are still learning. Even after 23 years, you are still learning things. Sometimes you know that, but sometimes you forget and you think, okay, you have already done, but it's not done. It's not done until the ball finish on the last hole. That happens, things that other people should take note. STEVE TODD: We talked about the Ryder Cup, is an important victory in terms of you getting into another Ryder Cup. MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: For me it would be nice if I can play another one. But I understand that the time is going, I'm 47 now and next year I will be 48. But I tell you one thing: If I thought last year would be my last one, because all the new people, new players coming, very strong players. But if I still am playing well and I still make the team, I will play, of course. I would love to play my last Ryder Cup, but something that happens, life's coming, people are coming up. STEVE TODD: Your victory here helped your game -- MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Helped my game, and won in a playoff in Dubai the beginning of the year to Lee Westwood, won here, and then been playing very well. Making Top-10s all over the places, help to get on to the team and then I win in Switzerland just a couple of weeks before the Ryder Cup. That means that the game was on the right level. Q. How is the course for you? MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: The golf course is almost the same. Sometimes the rough -- I think the rough this year is not that high as last year, there more flyer, not because you have more height it's more difficult. Sometimes it's tough to see that you have a very high rough, you miss a fairway. And then sometimes when you have a big rough, you cannot have a shot and you just put the ball on the fairway with a wedge and you hit it to the green and you make your bogey or whatever you make. Sometimes, you know, that belief of the player to control the ball, it's going to be very fast from the rough, probably you go there, okay, I'm going to go for it. And now you can see the skill of the player to make something from these situations. And to me, I prefer that kind of a game that not the other one. I prefer more to see, okay, I have 50 metres off the green, running between the bunkers on to the green. You create a shot, like for example, too many golf courses now, now they are trying to make them modern and more modern, they put 30 metres, 40 metres longer, thinking that they make something better, but the only thing you make is longer, not better. It's only makes a benefit for the longer hitter but for the rest the field, it's not going to make any favours when you set the bunkers, put loose grass on the fairways, you have a lot of flyers. There are a lot of things that you can put more difficulties on the golf course, not only distance. Q. What do you think of the changes No. 7 -- MIGUEL ÃNGEL JIMÉNEZ: I think No. 7 was a great hole before. I played it downwind and I hit a beautiful driver right on the middle, just centre of the fairway, I have to cut from it the back of the green, 260 metres to get on the top and I just pitch on the top, 260 metres and it's 290 yards and the long hitters can pitch to me and the average player is going to pitch right on the edge with downwind, it bounce a little bit to the right and miss the fairway a little bit on the right yesterday. It was a very good driver. Today, for example, in the same situation, we have today no west wind, we are going to have into off the left and now, for example, 90 per cent of the time, the players are going to play to the left because we cannot carry to the top. And then you have to play to the left. And then you have two humps, you are going to hit against the hump, or you are even looking for the rest side. And that means that you are going to hit your second shot -- if you don't hit a low running ball, that is very difficult when you are going into the wind, for example, you are going to stay there, and now you're going to have a blind shot with a 3-wood or a 3-iron and hit it solid, and this is not golf. But that hole is designed to play the second shot from the shot. And before when we play on the last years, even if you play on left tee or the down tee, the old tees, you have to play a very correct shot there. Some people, always you have -- or downwind we have yesterday but you have to come through with a 3-iron probably, it's on the front of the fairway there to keep the ball on the fairway. It's very difficult shot. Or now for example today, you're going to have from the left, maybe into, some people are going to hit 5-wood, 3-wood. And you have to hit it on to the left, because the hole, you land it in the middle of the fairway, you're going to finish in the semi-rough on the right, then you have to get it on the edge. I think it's a great tactic hole that you have to come to the hole, play with an effort to win -- but you have to -- okay, if you hit a bad shot, you hit a bad shot, but you hit a good shot and you have a proper shot to the green, and that is what you have in the vision of the game. STEVE TODD: If no more questions, thank you very much, Miguel. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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