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IRISH OPEN PRESENTED BY DISCOVER IRELANDJuly 26, 2011Ross FisherKILLARNEY, IRELAND STEVE TODD: Ross, many thanks for joining us, welcome back to Killarney, defending champion. ROSS FISHER: Thank you. STEVE TODD: Looking at last year, some of the achievements you made at winning here, two shots clear of Pádraig Harrington, I think 61 in the second round, your lowest European Tour round and a course record, and lowest for the tournament, that obviously helped you get into The Ryder Cup Team. I expect some special memories coming back here. ROSS FISHER: No, definitely. Last year, it was just a great week. Obviously shooting that course record on Friday, left myself a really good chance for the weekend. And like you say, to win in Ireland was very special, having Pádraig chase me down on the back nine on Sunday. So it was a sweet victory and obviously it meant a lot, because it kind of -- it really gave me a realistic chance of making that Ryder Cup Team, which I truly did. STEVE TODD: The atmosphere on that Sunday was pretty special, obviously a lot of support for Pádraig but you got quite a lot yourself. ROSS FISHER: Yeah, it was great. I think it was record crowds here last year. So fingers crossed, we can have just as good a crowd this year as last year. Like you say, Pádraig was making a charge and I knew he was doing well because I could hear the cheers. Having said, that I thought that there was a tremendous amount of support for myself walking around on Sunday. STEVE TODD: Just your thoughts on your game, a few days at home, but are you feeling refreshed and ready to go. ROSS FISHER: Yeah, obviously The Open was disappointing. I missed the cut by a shot and I was eight shots off the lead. It was disappointing not to make it through to the weekend, but I actually felt like I played really good. And like you say, I had a nice week at home with Jo and the kids, and got some good practise and the game feels in really, really good shape. Shot some decent scores, and so I feel really confident going into the week ahead. Q. Going back to last year, I can certainly feel it here this year already; there's something about this tournament, which possibly is unlike any other in Europe, for just a European Tour event, rather than obviously a major or Wentworth. ROSS FISHER: Yeah, I think last year was special, because obviously you know it was new territory for everyone. No one had played here before, and I think this year, it's even more special, having two major champions here in Rory and Darren. Obviously Pádraig being here, as well, and obviously G-Mac from his major win last year. So I think the field's particularly strong this year, and you know, fingers crossed, the weather will be kind to us. And like I said before, hopefully the crowds will come in last year, because it did make it a very, very special week. I think like you say, it's just a little bit extra special, because it is the U.K. and Ireland. It's close to home and especially for me, being with the guys at Horizon, being an Irish management company, it made it kind of a little bit more like a home win, I suppose, if you want to put it that way. Q. Can you sort of relax more, because everyone else is relaxed here? Or is there more pressure because of the crowds? ROSS FISHER: I welcome it. I would rather play in front of 100,000 than a hundred. It just makes me help myself focus more, and I want to try that little bit harder; at the end of the day we are out there to win for ourselves, but at the same time, I feel like we are out there to try to put on a show for the crowd. That's what I try to do for them, and last year, I put on a pretty decent show, and hopefully can do the same this year. Q. Have you had a chance to play the course yet this week? Does it feel any different to last year? And when you go out there having set a course record on a course, does it automatically fit your eye? Do you feel confident? ROSS FISHER: No, I haven't been out there yet, but I'm going to go literally straight after this and go and play a few holes, because last year, obviously I had Wobs caddying for me, whereas this year, Adam is caddying for me. It's the first time he walked it this morning. He immediately said to me, "I really like the look of the course." It just brings back fond memories of last year, and like you say, shooting that 61 on Friday was very, very special. And having the chance to shoot 59, I think looking back, you know, it was definitely there for the taking. I missed an 8-footer on 15, which would have really given me a really good chance. I've heard obviously the first tee has gone back a little bit and there's more rough this year, but how thick, I don't know. You know, if the weather is kind and the course is fair, there is that possibility that someone could go -- could go crazy, and possibly have a chance at a 59, and I certainly hope that's me. Q. Do you dwell long on the ones that is got away in the round, like the line of it -- ROSS FISHER: I didn't really think of a 59 until I was standing on the 14th green, because I just hit my approach in to about three feet, and Dave Horsey was standing there, and just waiting for them to putt and that's when it suddenly dawned: If I hole this, I'm 10-under and I have four holes to play and I need two birdies for 59. That's when it first hit home, but I immediately tried to scramble my mind and try to get 59 out of my head because the quicker it crops into your head and you can get it out of your head, the more you can focus on the task at hand. I gave myself three realistic birdie chance on the last four holes but unfortunately didn't manage to capitalise. So if the chance did come around this week, hopefully I can take it. Q. I wonder, having watched Darren win The Open, Rory, obviously spectacular in the U.S.; if you're thinking that this is a possibility, a real possibility now for you to take that step from tournament winner, Ryder Cup star, now really hitting the Majors, running, as it were and convert the chances that you get? ROSS FISHER: Yeah, definitely. Yeah, this year has been a little bit disappointing. You know, obviously missing the U.S. Open for the first year for three or four years was bitterly disappointing. You. Know, the Masters was a great week for me. I had a decent chance on the Sunday, and just hit one bad shot on 16 which cost me a double; if it wasn't for that, it would have been a Top-10 finish at a major, which would have been great and that probably would have got me into the U.S. Open. And obviously missing the cut at The Open and seeing the likes of Rory demolish everyone at the U.S. Open and seeing Clarkey play so well at The Open Championship, it spurs you onto see English and British guys to perform so well in Majors. And I'm no different. I want to be out there competing in the biggest and best tournaments. Just unfortunately this year has not quite gone as according to plan as I would have liked. I don't feel like I'm playing badly; I actually feel like I'm playing really well. For some reason, the putts are not dropping for me. But I know that once I can convert a few birdie chances and make a few birdie, I definitely know that there's definitely a win, if not two or three in there. So I'm hoping for three really big weeks with here, the Bridgestone and the PGA. Q. When you get to Ryder Cup level, win tournaments and shoot up the World Rankings, do you perhaps put a lot more pressure on yourself to do well, and that becomes more of a burden than a help in a way? ROSS FISHER: Not really. I try not to put too much pressure on myself. I just try and treat it as golf. I don't try and treat it as a job. I just treat it as a sport that I love doing, and you know, I'm fortunately very good at it. But you know, things obviously changed a lot this year, obviously after a decent year last year and then having the birth of our second child, that's quite a big sort of impact on life I guess. So it's been different. It's been difficult this year. I'm not putting that down to why the golf suffered. It's just been that sort of year where you know, you need a couple of breaks here and there. And hopefully, you know, these three weeks, especially this week coming back to familiar territory, where I did so well last year, hopefully this will be the springboard for my season to really kick on and have a really good end of season finish. Q. The friendly round you've played, where were you playing last week? ROSS FISHER: I played one at Willesley and one at Wentworth. Q. Carrying on that theme, the strength of this field here this week, to triumph in this company I would really have thought to substantiate confidence going forward. ROSS FISHER: Yeah, definitely, to win any tournament is huge, but obviously like I say, the field here is very strong, having two major champions here this week, and like I say, some of the other guys that are here, it is a strong field and I think it's probably stronger than last year. So you know, if I'm going to have a chance to defend my title, I'm going to have to play very, very well. But like I said, I feel my game is in good shape after a week at home last week. Practise went really well. Game feels sharp. So hopefully get out on the course this afternoon, familiarise myself with it and hopefully the fond and good memories of last year will come flooding back and I'll have a good week. Q. Playing the Irish Open, that is, compared to all of the other tournaments, do you find that a lot different, very different in context of this week; the fact that you are back here in Killarney; is that a big boost for you, rather than playing on a new course again? ROSS FISHER: Yeah, definitely I think it's a boost, coming back to a place that you've done well. You know, last year, I had family out with me, and they are actually coming out this week. So I think it just gives a more relaxed atmosphere to a tournament, rather than being at a tournament on your own, being around like the players and the caddies and stuff; having the family here is a massive bonus. I find a lot of time to relax in the evenings with the two kids, Eve and Harry and my wife here, and her family are here, as well. So it's going to be a nice, relaxed atmosphere. Like I say, hopefully I can go out there and perform well. I'm looking forward to the week. It's obviously lovely to be back here, and like I say, in familiar surroundings. And fingers crossed, we'll have four good days of weather and hopefully four good days of golf. Q. Just going back to last year's final round, what does that tell but your own mental strengths and fortitude, and what credence do you give to sports psychologists? ROSS FISHER: I guess obviously Sunday was going to be a tough day. Obviously going out with the lead, and obviously Harrington kind of breathing down my neck, and there was a few other guys around me at the time; I think Chris Wood and Greeny were out there. I just felt very calm and very relaxed, and obviously it was a different scenario for me, obviously having Wobs on the bag. It was our first week together, so we were kind of getting used to each other I guess. It was just one of those weeks where, you know, everything I tried seemed to go well. And you know, I just felt like the game is in really good shape. I was driving the ball well, hitting my irons well and putting well and giving myself a lot of birdie chances; obviously having a chance to shoot 59 on the Friday, you're obviously playing good golf. So you know, I was very positive, and very comfortable on the golf course. Q. Pádraig Harrington was reading the lines of your putts in The Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, did a good job there by all accounts. He's having a lot of problems at the moment committing to his own lines and reads. Do you have any advice for him or do you remember anything that he told you? ROSS FISHER: He doesn't need any advice from me (smiling, shaking head). He's good enough. That's one of my best weeks and I had a really good time with Ronan and Pádraig. We seemed to gel really well. I was a bit curious as to why he put us together. I kind of didn't really see at the start of the week -- I thought I would likely being playing with Poulter most of the week, and when I did hear it, I thought it was quite interesting, but was really up for it. Kind of thought, crikey, I'm playing with Paddy, a three-time Major winner; to have that kind of calibre of player behind you meant a lot to me. And like you say, for him to step up and read my putts, it gave me a lots of confidence looking at a putt, seeing what I thought and then getting someone else in to read and seeing the same lines as me. It just gave me that much more confidence to step up there and just hit the putt on the line that we had chosen, and as you saw, I holed quite a lot of putts. I'm sure Pádraig will come soon and he will start holing some putts; he's too good of a player not to. STEVE TODD: Thanks for joining us, Ross. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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