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WGC BRIDGESTONE INVITATIONAL

August 4, 2011

Luke Donald

AKRON, OHIO

Q. A round with two birdies and the rest pars suggests it's a typical Luke Donald round. Is that the case?
LUKE DONALD: It was an easy 2-under for me today. I hit the ball very well tee-to-green, had some opportunities that I missed on the greens. But as I said, there wasn't too many holes I was out of position, a couple up-and-downs. But could have gone a little bit lower if I had got the putter rolling a little bit better.

Q. Yesterday you said you had been working with your coach Pat and tightening up a few areas. How was it today from that point of view?
LUKE DONALD: Oh, very good. Tee to green it was very solid. I hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens, and gave myself some good opportunities, which is sort of the game plan around this place. You try and keep it in front of you and keep it in play, and I did that very well, and hopefully can see the lines a bit better tomorrow and make a few more putts.

Q. When Lee Westwood became world No. 1, he said he was almost surprised about the difference between being almost the best player in the world and being the best player and the demands on the No. 1 player in the world. How have you found it?
LUKE DONALD: In terms of commitments to -- yeah, media requests and a little bit more people wanting interviews and all that kind of stuff, yeah, it's definitely heightened. But not to the point that it's gotten ridiculous. I think I've obviously had more obligations, but so far I've coped all right with it.

Q. Having to say no?
LUKE DONALD: You've got to learn that a little bit more, yeah. A couple times even this week people wanted some interviews, and I just didn't quite have the time. Unfortunately you've got to learn to say no sometimes.

Q. Your thoughts on this course?
LUKE DONALD: It's a very solid golf course. I don't think I'd want to play it every day. It's a little bit back and forward. But it's pretty solid. Right now it's playing reasonably kind because of the soft conditions. It's in good shape. You can really fire at pins. The fairways are holding, too, so they're not getting away from you. And I think in general it's a pretty good solid golf course.

Q. You struggled in Sandwich on the greens, didn't you? What did you do to try to -- did you do anything or did you think it was just one of those weeks?
LUKE DONALD: Just looked back at working on fundamentals, checking my setup, checking my alignment, all that kind of stuff really, just basic fundamentals. Yeah, haven't got it rolling yet. I didn't putt that great in Canada, worked a lot on it last week with my coach, just worked on a little bit of a slight grip change in my left hand and a little bit of a -- the stroke path was getting a little bit held off. So working hard on getting the ball rolling a little bit better, and sometimes these things just take a little bit of time.

Q. It's amazing because you couldn't miss early on in the year, could you?
LUKE DONALD: Yeah, and especially that Sunday at Scotland; I had it going there for some reason. Putting is a little bit like that; you're going to get on some rolls where the hole feels a lot larger and you don't feel like you can miss. When you go through a patch where you just can't quite make it, the hole looks a lot smaller.

Q. The scoring on this golf course has really changed.
LUKE DONALD: Soft conditions really help. I think the greens aren't as quick as they usually are here this week, but they're a nice pace, but they're not a frightening pace. And the rough is thickish, but you can usually get a lie where you can get to the green. Today's players with soft greens, if you're around the green, it makes the short game a little bit easier.

Q. Did you notice any similarities between the golf course in Atlanta and --
LUKE DONALD: I haven't played Atlanta.

Q. Another well-played round of golf. Tell me a little bit about the round.
LUKE DONALD: Well, it was very consistent. It was an easy 68 for me. I hit the ball very well tee to green and didn't miss too many fairways, hit a lot of greens. Just need to get that putter rolling a little bit better. But any time you keep a bogey off the card, it's a satisfactory day, especially around a place like this.

Q. Just from watching the scores coming in and play out on the golf course, it seems like the course is receptive right now.
LUKE DONALD: Well, I think you hit the nail on the head. It is receptive. The fairways aren't bouncing, the ball isn't getting away from you. There's certainly shots out here where there's a lot of slope on fairways and it's tough to keep it on the fairway, but with softer fairways people are hitting more fairways. The greens are receptive, and because of that, scores are reasonably low today.

Q. There is some thickness to the rough, but it seems like it's management, you can advance the ball?
LUKE DONALD: It is. I think it's probably about the right amount. There are patches which you can get some pretty tough lies, but most of the time you're able to advance it to the green or around the green, and then with the soft greens you're able to get it up-and-down pretty comfortably.

Q. I really see a maturity to your game where you can shoot 2-under, maybe could have been a few shots better but you realize there's 54 holes there to go, you're still very much a part of the tournament.
LUKE DONALD: You know, I'm always happy when my tee to green is good. I feel like even for some reason if I am struggling on the greens, it's a little bit of an anomaly. It's not going to last too long. I'm going to find my stroke and my speed and my line, and if I can keep continuing to hit fairways and greens, it's usually a good sign that I'm going to have a good week.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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