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DUBAI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY DP WORLDDecember 9, 2011Alvaro QuirosDUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES GORDON SIMPSON: Well, Alvaro, some people like Dubai and some people like it more than others. Clearly from winning the Desert Classic earlier this year, and now leading the championship here, there's something about this place that brings the best out in your golf. ALVARO QUIROS: Well, I wouldn't say about the best. Still hoping to have better things to come. Yeah, I have to recognise that I like the place. Normally we have good weather conditions, golf courses and the food is great. So I cannot complain. GORDON SIMPSON: And you've equalled the course record today, a 64 to get to 12‑under par, and you were just one shot away from a playoff last year. ALVARO QUIROS: Yeah, last year I played good. This year, I'm playing good, too. Yesterday I was struggling a bit with the putting, but today I was lucky. I saved a good putt on the 10th, and apart from that, everything the same. Q. Your play of the last hole, how far was the drive you hit down there? ALVARO QUIROS: It wasn't a long drive. It's a fairway that I don't feel very comfortable with it. I hit it 260 metres probably from the tee which is not that far either. Q. Hell of a good second then. ALVARO QUIROS: Yeah, the second was good. We were right between clubs, and we took the 3‑wood, grip it shorter and trying to shape it into the wind, and it was spot on. Q. You got yourself into contention last week in Hong Kong on a course that really didn't suit you. So how do you sort of explain the fact that you're in contention in Hong Kong on a course that's really tight and tree‑lined, and you come to a course here where you can sort of use your length a bit more to your advantage? ALVARO QUIROS: I'm still having the same chances. I'm halfway into the competition, and two days is a lot of golf, and one hole, having in consideration the 18th, is a lot of golf. But from my point of view, I think it's a very positive thing. If I'm able to lead a European Tour event in a golf course that doesn't fit to me, it means that I'm improving as a golfer, and that is what I want. So you know, just keep doing it the same, and if I'm lucky with the putter, probably I'm going to be fighting for the leaderboard at the end of this week. Q. Obviously it's very disappointing to lose a tournament like you did last week with the final round of 73. But what did you go back and think after that round; if whatever you thought, did it help out here? ALVARO QUIROS: Probably wasn'tputting well enough. I was in contention after three days playing great, hitting the ball from the tee to the green great, and putting average. Obviously the last round, it's a little bit different. You know that it's not more match to recover if you lose position, and this is what happened to me on Sunday probably. The positive things about it is that I was hitting the ball good, and this is what is happening this week, too. I mean, again, we are just second round of the tournament; we have to play another two. Obviously I'm very pleased, because at the end, it looks like I really shoot low. 8‑under is a good round of golf on this golf course, and this is the positive thing. Q. The fact that you're up there, of course, suggests that there is an advantage in having length on this golf course, but how great is that advantage, and is it possible for to you make all of the par 5s in two, given a good tee shot? ALVARO QUIROS: Yes. Obviously I mean, except on 18, that is a step today that they moved the tee forward. The rest of them, I've been hitting the driver well and with chances. Today, the 6th hole, uphill par 5, was a little bit more into the wind, and missed just the fairway by a meter and the lie of the ball was unplayable. But even from this lie, I was planning to putt the ball almost on the green. It was a risky shot; so at the end I make lay up. But the advantage that I have, obviously if we have to hit the driver in every single par 4 of this golf course, it's going to be an advantage for the long hitters. Not only for me; Rory, Sergio, all of the good players and right now Martin Kaymer, all of them are long. Obviously I'm one of the longest, I have to recognise, but at the end, finishing closest to the flag and don't hole putts, it doesn't work. So even with the advantage of the length, at the end, everything resumes with the putting. Q. You always seem to feature high up on the leaderboards in the Middle East; what is it about this region that gets the juices flowing for you? ALVARO QUIROS: Well, technically speaking I think we play under windy conditions, so it's sunny, but it's not cold, and this is something that I like, to play in the heat. Second of all, most of the time, in the Middle East, especially Qatar, we play the greens firm and quick. So it's a bigger advantage if you are hitting short clubs, as I do normally if I'm able to hit the driver well from the tee. So probably mainly this is the key of these golf courses. Except in Abu Dhabi that my best position is 12th or 13th, and obviously we have King Kaymer in Abu Dhabi; the rest of the tournaments, normally I play well. This is the main reason, I think mainly the setup of the golf course fits me. Q. You're normally the life and soul of the party, and you're in a great position now to ruin the party for Rory or for Luke. You're delighted with, that I guess? ALVARO QUIROS: I mean, unfortunately I have to say that the only two‑‑ they are not the only two players that play the tournament, hopefully. Not the only important people in the golf tournament is Rory and Luke. Obviously they are fighting for The Race to Dubai final top position, but the rest of them, we are lucky. I mean, we are playing here to try to, as you said, ruin the party, and this is good. I think otherwise the competition wouldn't be as stiff. GORDON SIMPSON: Well, let's see what the party brings over the next two days. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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