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ALSTOM OPEN DE FRANCE

June 30, 2011

Graeme Storm

PARIS, FRANCE

Q. Six birdies and no bogeys, tell us a bit about that one?
GRAEME STORM: Played great today and everything went for me, holed a few nice putts and just enjoyed myself out there, which was nice for a change.

Q. We trot out the line, this guy has been inspired by the French Open because he's won it; is it true?
GRAEME STORM: Yeah, definitely. I mean people always keep saying to me, when you go to the French Open, you always play well there and you always play well around this period, so it was a little bit of added pressure but to be fair, I just commit to every shot and just played as good as I possibly good and turned out great for me.

Q. Quiet start to the year but your recent results have been better. Have you felt it coming?
GRAEME STORM: I've missed six cuts but I missed four by one, so I wasn't really that far away, just frustrating and I've just had to try and get over the frustration, as you well know. I get frustrated and doesn't help my game, so if I stay relaxed I seem to perform better.

Q. What are your thoughts going forward?
GRAEME STORM: Just keep going the same and stay in the moment and keep hitting the same shots and not be too aggressive with too many pins.

Q. Last week a disappointing a final round at the BMW International Open in Munich, how do you feel coming to the French Open?
GRAEME STORM: Yeah, I felt frustrated coming into the French Open but I've put the work in and hopefully the rewards are going to be there by the end of this week. I was disappointed after shooting 75 because I felt as though I had a good chance to maybe try to get right in there and get in the mix on the last few holes but didn't happen and hopefully it will happen this week.

Q. Today you started off quite well here at The French Open, 65 opening round, bogey-free round, how was it out there?
GRAEME STORM: Yeah, it was great. I played fantastic. Obviously I didn't hit every shot perfect. I hit a couple of iffy shots but got away with them and made the most of them really and obviously holed a few nice putts.

Q. How tough are playing conditions this week?
GRAEME STORM: It's tough if you hit it off-line. If you hit it in the rough, it's very difficult to control the golf ball because the grass is patchy and the rough is really thick in places.
So you know, you've got to hit it really straight off the tee, which is what I seemed to do today and hopefully it will continue the rest of the week.

Q. You're just going to hit a few balls this afternoon for tomorrow?
GRAEME STORM: Going to chill out, watch a bit of tennis, go to the gym and chill out really. I've done all the work coming into the tournament, I just need to relax now.

Q. Can you just talk you us through a couple of the key holes around there?
GRAEME STORM: Yeah, third hole, 3-iron, rescue into the front trap, up-and-down and made 4 there, holed a nice putt.
5, hit a 9-iron to about 20 feet and rolled it in.
10, I hit a 9-iron again to about eight feet, made a bit less, nothing really major.
13, holed a good putt from about 25 feet. I hit a nice shot in but came up a little shy but holed a nice putt.
14, hit sand iron into five feet and left a perfect number for me.
Then at 17, I didn't quite get my second shot, it was on the very front edge of the green and managed to hole it just off the green there and 2-putted the last which is nice.

Q. Well played at the moment, tied for the lead, obviously you know this course pretty well but that's got to be a pretty good round.
GRAEME STORM: Yeah, it's fantastic. I've put the work in coming into this week, disappointed after finishing a bit further down obviously than I would have liked last week, shooting 75 on a Sunday, so I felt as though I needed to put a bit of extra work in and did some work with TaylorMade which was fantastic, got some things corrected, new driver and everything, so just gone from there really. So hopefully it will come to me for the rest of the week.

Q. What were you working on specifically with the putting?
GRAEME STORM: To be honest I've been putting fine but I felt as though I need that had bit of spark, something new and picked up a new putter and went with it and it seems to have worked out.

Q. So many dangers on this course lurking around the corner, how did you manage today to keep those away?
GRAEME STORM: It's very difficult to block them out to be perfectly honest, but basically, the only way that you can do it really is just commit to a target and hit it at the target.
And that's what I did at 16 and 18, I just picked a spot and just went for that spot and didn't think about where the flag was and I came off with pars there and when I had my chances for birdies, I took them.

Q. By winning at a course like this, do you return and think, yeah, I got that feel-good factor back again? Is that how it is?
GRAEME STORM: Yeah, there's always added pressure when you come back, as well, because people say, well, you won on one of the toughest courses on Europe and you obviously like it around that course. And yeah, I do, without a doubt. But you've still got to put the work in, still do all the preparation, and go through it. It's just another week, it's another tournament and got to treat it like that. But yeah, don't get me wrong, it's fantastic to always come back and know that you've won around here.

Q. Another three rounds to go here?
GRAEME STORM: Exactly, stay in the moment.

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