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THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 17, 2011

Tom Lewis

SANDWICH, ENGLAND

LYNN WALLACE: Ladies and gentlemen, we're joined by Tom Lewis, who scored plus 4, 74 today for a 9-over par total to win the silver medal. Congratulations. You had an amazing week. Can you give us your thoughts on your first Open experience.
TOM LEWIS: Yeah, The Open this week has been amazing for me. You know, the first day was wonderful, and I couldn't have asked for more. Saw some of the pictures that had been taken of me on the first day, and it was excellent. It was a shame the last three days, I haven't played anywhere near as good as I had hoped, but to win the silver medal is a great honour, and I'm looking forward to getting out in front of the crowds later and waving them goodbye.

Q. What happens now? Are you going to turn pro, or does playing golf without getting paid for it have any enduring attraction?
TOM LEWIS: No, I don't think I'll be turning pro. I think I've got things to learn, as I've just lost by about 20 shots this week. It will be nice to have a sit-down with the team and work out what's best for me and my future, and it would be lovely to play Walker Cup in September. But we'll just have to see what happens. I'll be going training the next couple of days up to Royal Aberdeen, so it'll be good to see the team and how it's getting on, and we'll just see what happens from there on.

Q. Does that mean you're not going to play in the Scandinavian Masters?
TOM LEWIS: Yeah, it would have been really good to have played in Sweden, but I've been told that it's been more -- the R & A would much prefer me being in Aberdeen than playing in Sweden. It's a bit disappointing that I'm not allowed to play next week, but if I'm going to stay an amateur, then I've got to do what the amateurs do. We'll probably sit down tonight or tomorrow and talk about it and see what's going to happen. But it looks like I'll be going to training instead of going to Sweden, which them things happen.

Q. Pete Cowen said earlier in the week that he felt there wasn't much left in amateur golf for you. Does that mean this decision is being made more by your heart than by your head do you think?
TOM LEWIS: I feel like I'm ready in certain areas, but playing with Phil yesterday made me feel terrible, really, around the greens. If you're going to play with the best players in the world, you have to chip and putt like they do. So I've just got to keep grinding at that and work on my swing a little bit. I hit the ball well most of the time, and Pete has been a great influence, too, in the last four or five years and he's given us some great advice. If it wasn't for the Walker Cup this year, I would have been turning pro. So obviously it shows that Walker Cup means a lot for an amateur to make this decision, but like I said, I'm going to sit down with the team and see what's best for my career.

Q. Are you going to play in the English Amateur?
TOM LEWIS: I'm not sure actually. It would be nice to play in Woburn. All three courses around there are fantastic. I'll just have to see how I feel. It would be a bit different going from this to there, which is obviously the bit I'm going to have to think about, having a great week here with the crowds everywhere, that's just an amazing feeling. I'm going back to play an amateur where no one really watches is going to be a little bit of a downfall, but you still have to win the events, and that's all that really matters.

Q. I suppose you already know that your player partner yesterday is tied for the lead right now. You've probably watched quite a bit of him on television. What did you come away with actually having seen it up close?
TOM LEWIS: Is this Phil Mickelson?

Q. Yeah.
TOM LEWIS: Phil, he shapes the ball a lot and he doesn't hit it the straightest I've ever seen, and I've started to hit it a bit wayward, as well. But it's excellent to watch the way he plays, winning as many majors as he has and being one of the best players in the world, to have them opportunities is excellent.
You know, I'm glad I played with him because I realised that I'm pretty bad around the greens and I need to work on that a lot, because if I've got his short game, I would probably still be out there at this moment in time competing at the top. But that's the difference between me and the top boys at this moment in time.

Q. Do you think you may have to work hard mentally to forget the fact that you led The Open at one stage? Do you think it could be a danger if it hangs around?
TOM LEWIS: No, not at all. It's been a great feeling, and Rory did that for the Masters and then turned around and did what he did at the U.S. So I don't think I need a psychologist to tell me how to think, I just need to play better golf and hit better shots, and that will make me feel better.
Hopefully I can work on, like I said, my short game and maybe that'll take a lot of the pressure off of me hitting into the greens. But I loved this week and I won't forget the first day what I did, but I still have to work on what I'm weak at, and that is mentally as well as my short game.

Q. You said you didn't want to look at the papers Friday morning before going out. Now a chance to go back over some of those coverage and use it to inspire you?
TOM LEWIS: Yeah, it'll really nice to see what's been written about myself and I see how I look on the camera, and hopefully I look okay. It'll be really good to see, and hopefully it'll settle in. At this moment in time I'm disappointed to see the way I finished. Like I told you at the beginning of the week, I'm an amateur and I'm going to make as many mistakes as anyone. It's disappointing, but that's the way it is at the moment.

Q. Could you just reflect on the week, how special it's been having your family around you, as well, and I imagine your Scottish grandmother who caused all excitement up north. I assume she'll be watching you at the Walker Cup?
TOM LEWIS: No, it's great, I've had my family from short of the Liverpool area and sort of Scotland, so I've got a lot of family spread around the country. It's been excellent to have them out there along with everyone, as well. I haven't seen much of them. I stayed in a hotel away from all of them because I don't know how much they're drinking and how much they're talking. But I'm sure they had a fun week, and I'm pleased that they came, and I thank them a lot.

Q. What's been the strangest thing that's happened to you during this sort of transformation over the past couple days? Has it all been a bit sort of surreal?
TOM LEWIS: Yeah, I think my girlfriend Lara is happy for me for putting her in the paper. Hopefully she gets a bit of publicity for it. She'd love to be an actress, so I hope that helps her. But no, it's been really good for everyone.
Like I said, it hasn't really settled in for me at this moment in time. But I'll have a couple of days to realise and I'll probably be able to answer that question in a couple of days. The whole week has been excellent and I've been so thrilled to be here and play like I did on the first day was excellent, but it's a shame to play like I did last three days, but that's the way golf is; it's a four-day event.

Q. If you turned pro after the Walker Cup do you think you have enough time, the seven invitations you get to try and win your European Tour card?
TOM LEWIS: Rory did it in 2007, so there is time if you're good enough. The only chance I've really got is if I play well around the Dunhill area. If I can get into the Dunhill and play there, that's probably my best opportunity to get my card for the Money List and for links. It's going to be cold and windy, a bit like this week. It's not been so cold, but it's been very windy, and it's probably helped me more. And hopefully come around to October when it's played, that's my best opportunity to see, and if I don't play well there, then no, I probably haven't got enough time.
But hopefully I can get the support in next year's season and get the opportunities and my card that way.

Q. Obviously all the Walker Cup guys will be watching this week. Have they been in touch with you since Thursday?
TOM LEWIS: There's been a few of them text, but there's been so many text messages, I'm not able to text anyone back because I'd be there forever. It's been great for the support of the team. I've heard from Michael Stewart who unfortunately lost in the final at the British Amateur, and I've heard from other team members which has been excellent. I thank them a lot for their support, and it'll be good to see them in a couple of days.

Q. How surprised are you that as we stand, there's only one Englishman I think above you on the leaderboard? And why do you think that is?
TOM LEWIS: Who's above me on the leaderboard?

Q. Simon Dyson I think as we stand.
TOM LEWIS: I think English players have played a lot of links courses, so it's a bit -- what's the word? It's a bit of a shock that there's not more English players up there, like Danny Willett, who's a great player, and Gary Boyd and great players like this from England who are great players. You can just tell by their results. They have one bad week and aren't going to make the cut, and unfortunately they didn't make that cut and they'll come back and win majors on links courses because we play it all year-round. I hope Simon does well and finishes well. But there's a lot of good players all around the world, and you can just tell by watching them play. It's so tight that the top players are performing week in, week out, and then you can get anyone that can win.
So if you have your week, anyone will be up there, and unfortunately the English players haven't been up there this week.

Q. Did you seriously believe before a ball was hit that you'd finish above Westwood and Donald and people like that?
TOM LEWIS: I didn't really think of it. I was just happy to play with Tom Watson and Henrik. I just felt like I needed to keep up, and I did. And then unfortunately I slipped back, and Tom is out there beating me. So it shows you that experience beats youth. Hopefully I can learn from him like I did the last two days, and I can come back and maybe win one of them in the future.

Q. Just wondering how and when you learned that the R & A wanted you up in Scotland because it must have been a bit of a reality check with everything going on.
TOM LEWIS: How do you mean?

Q. Obviously at the start of the week you thought you were off to Scandinavia.
TOM LEWIS: Well, I told Nigel, the captain, I phoned him and told him I got into Scandinavia, and I thought he would be really kind of like, well played, and I won't be able to make it. I was like, just send me the bill for whatever I've cost you in flights or whatever, and he just said that he was really -- he really needed me there, and I think for all the players they've had Challenge Tour invites and I think they've had to turn them down. So I think it's a bit wrong of me to tell me that I'm not going and the other teams go.
So that's the things that we need to do as an amateur. It's a shame, obviously. It would be really nice to have played next week because I feel like a course like that sets up for me. You have to hit the ball well. You might not need to putt so well. It's a shame, but it'll still be a good week in Royal Aberdeen and hopefully I can get more opportunities in the future.
LYNN WALLACE: Thanks, Tom. Congratulations.

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