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WGC HSBC CHAMPIONS

November 5, 2011

Fredrik Jacobson

SHANGHAI, CHINA

LAURY LIVSEY: We are pleased to welcome Fredrik Jacobson into the interview room. You are the third round leader of the HSBC Champions. A little bit rainy out there today and you still came in with a very nice round. Can you talk about your day and your position in the tournament.
FREDRIK JACOBSON: Well, I felt I continued playing some solid golf today, and it was nice to get off to a quick start. So making a few birdies early kind of settled me into the round nicely. I don't think the rain was a big factor today. It was just light rain.
So far I think we've been very fortunate, and the weather has been very nice for us.

Q. Just come in late, don't know whether you've been asked it before, you have a nice, handsome lead, but looking over your shoulder there will be a few names chasing you tomorrow. How do you feel playing from the front?
FREDRIK JACOBSON: Yeah, it feels a lot better than playing from behind the rest of the guys, because when you are behind, you kind of have got to go out and shoot -- you know you have to shoot a low number. You've got to catch the guys in front.
Leading, I've still got to shoot a good score, but they will have to catch me, which is a lot nicer, and I don't have to feel -- I sometimes feel a little bit stressed if I start off a few shots behind. So I prefer any time I can get a lead, I'll take it.

Q. And do you play more aggressively or defensively?
FREDRIK JACOBSON: No, I think I've been playing aggressive all week. It's one of those weeks, I think you've got to keep putting good numbers on the board. So you can't really play too safe.
There will obviously be a few shots along the way where you feel, you take three or four yards on the safe side of the flag because it's the sensible thing to do and still fancy your chances of making a putt from maybe 15 feet or so.

Q. And excuse me for not doing my research already, but when you won the Travelers, were you leading going into the final round?
FREDRIK JACOBSON: Yeah, and that was the first time I had a lead in the U.S., and yeah, I think I had a one-shot lead coming into the last round.

Q. What do you expect for the winning score, especially on yourself? And do you think you have perfect confidence on winning the tournament tomorrow?
FREDRIK JACOBSON: Well, it's always tough to predict. We are going to have to wait and see what happens tomorrow. I don't want to get ahead of myself. But you know, I think it's going to take a good score again. Probably a similar fashion to the way I have been playing. So yeah, I do feel good about my game. I feel I've been playing some solid golf. So if I can keep doing that, I fancy my chances.

Q. On 13 and 14, you make birdie with a long putt. Can you describe about it? Does it change the momentum of your game?
FREDRIK JACOBSON: Well, obviously it's nice to make some long putts. It's a little bit of a bonus when you make the long ones, but that's sometimes what happens in a round. You make a couple of long ones and you might have a couple of shorter ones that slips by.
Yeah, it's always good to keep the rhythm through the round. You've got to make some putts along the way, I feel, of some length to keep the round rolling. So yeah, definitely, I mean, it gives you a little push. So it's nice.

Q. The two long putts on 15 and 14, how long?
FREDRIK JACOBSON: I think the putt on 13 might have been close to 30 feet almost I think, and the putt on 14 was a bit longer, that was probably 40 feet.

Q. Congratulations on another excellent second round. Sorry to go off course here, but I don't know if you're aware of the other story that's been going on here today about the comments made by Adam Scott's caddie last night; do you have any views on that at all?
FREDRIK JACOBSON: No. No, it's -- I don't know, really, what's going on, and I don't think it's any of my business, either. So I'll leave that to you guys.

Q. We have a Chinese player talking about pressure and how they deal with it in China; what have you learned about pressure over the years and how best to tackle it?
FREDRIK JACOBSON: For me, it's more a matter of focusing on what I'm doing rather than thinking about the outcomes. I try not really to worry about the result too much and focus on the procedure and the shots and the routine and where to hit the ball. That normally takes care of a lot of potential tension, and if it doesn't, maybe take a couple of deep breaths and remind yourself what to focus on. But as long as I focus on what I'm supposed to do, I feel good.

Q. The Chinese player scored 64 today; what do you think about the evolution of golf in China?
FREDRIK JACOBSON: It's the first time -- I played twice in Hong Kong in 2002 and 2003 and this is the first time I've been to China, Mainland China. So there was a lot more people out there watching today. I think the interest seems to be growing, and it's a great facility here that we are playing on.
So I'm sure there's plenty of good courses in China and that the kids that start playing golf are going to have very good facilities for training and playing, which is a huge part of creating more good golfers. I think we have only seen the beginning and there's a lot to come in the next few years.
LAURY LIVSEY: Fredrik, we appreciate your time, thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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