	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

IRISH OPEN PRESENTED BY DISCOVER IRELAND

July 28, 2011

Graeme Storm

KILLARNEY, IRELAND

Q. Tied for the lead?
GRAEME STORM: Yeah, I was off fast, so it was just nice to putt up a decent score.

Q. What were conditions like out there? There was a little bit of wind but was it affecting all that much?
GRAEME STORM: It was swirling around a little bit. We were trying to play the north and it was flicking between north, northwest, and it was moving around which made clubbing really difficult.
It's been great, obviously disappointing missing the cut at The Open, but I worked on my putting mainly that week and it seems to be paying off.

Q. And a fantastic up-and-down on 18?
GRAEME STORM: Yeah, more than a great up-and-down. I just had a bit of a cluggy lie and it was more get it on the green and give myself an opportunity and I just caught it a bit thin. Managed to hole the putt.

Q. Nice way to finish your round the par save on the last; how well did you play today?
GRAEME STORM: I only hit three bad shots and one of them was coming into the last there and I was a bit lucky to be honest to make four in the end because I obviously didn't play the pitch that well. But holed a nice putt.

Q. Give us a feel for how the golf course is playing today.
GRAEME STORM: Just quite tricky in the sense that the winds is flicking around a little bit and making clubbing quite difficult and sometimes you can get it right and sometimes you can come up a bit short. The greens, there are quite a few undulations on the greens but I putted fantastic today which was good.

Q. Winning score last year was 18-under and you finished outside the Top-20, are you expecting those sort of scores or is it a different challenge?
GRAEME STORM: Rough is more than I remember it last year, the rough up 18 is not really up but around the rest of the course is quite penal. Conditions were perfect to be off at 7.00 in the morning.

Q. What goals do you have for the rest of the year?
GRAEME STORM: Just to make The Race to Dubai basically, to finish in the Top 60 in the Order of Merit. I've been playing pretty decent golf all year, missed a few cuts where I shouldn't have done, especially at The Open which was really disappointing, and to really look back at that and think, well, why did I make the mistakes. I think I found the reasons and just have to putt them right.

Q. What time did you get up for the 7.00 start?
GRAEME STORM: 4.50, but I was awake from half two. Just clock watching. You do, don't you, when you're off early. I thought I was playing in The Open again. Could be a long week.

Q. Tell us about today, how good was that for a start?
GRAEME STORM: It was pleasing. I played lovely most of the way around, just hit a few bad shots. Managed to make a par at the last, which was fortunate to be honest. Just the mistakes I made -- just trying to hit it too hard really to be honest but I could correct that quite easily and I hit a lot of good iron shots, especially at 12 and 13.

Q. There must have been plenty of good shots to have a score like that?
GRAEME STORM: Exactly. I know what the mistakes are, I'm going to putt them right, it's just something that's a work-in-progress. I worked hard Tuesday, Wednesday coming here and I worked hard last week on my putting so hopefully it will pay off.

Q. It did pay off at the last I guess.
GRAEME STORM: Starting to relax a little bit more over the putter and seeing the line and trying to hit the line I've picked and if it misses, it misses. Just over-complicate it a little bit.

Q. 3 seems like a very good Mark today?
GRAEME STORM: I can't really remember to be honest. I think that like I was saying, the rough is a little bit more penal so if you miss the fairways it's a little bit more difficult. But conditions, really, this morning, were pretty perfect, really, forgetting up at 5.00.
It's lovely, wind stopped from it around about five or six holes or something like that and warmed up. It was perfect, really, to be honest.

Q. Another indication you are playing pretty decent stuff.
GRAEME STORM: Yeah, I've been pretty decent all year. I've had a few up-and-downs and I've missed a few cuts by one, like the Open and what have you, and that was really disappointing, because I played really nice at The Open. I was 1-under for the tournament after 27 holes, and to miss the cut was hard. It was frustrating.
I had a golf day for TaylorMade on the Monday after the weekend of The Open, and that took my mind off it really to be honest. I really enjoyed that and got to meet a lot of nice people and it was a good golf day, do you know what I mean. It was really good. That kind of took my mind away from The Open, and then it was just kind of re-assessing what I was trying to do and put it right.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297