|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
VOLVO GOLF CHAMPIONSJanuary 19, 2012Nicolas ColsaertsGEORGE, SOUTH AFRICA THE MODERATOR: Well done, course record, 9‑under. NICOLAS COLSAERTS: Very happy, to be ranked No. 1 course in South Africa is quite special. You try to make the round last as long as you can, especially 18. THE MODERATOR: Obviously a lot of birdies in there, do you want to go through some of the highlights? NICOLAS COLSAERTS: Birdied the second. Hit pretty much the longest putt I holed all day. Probably a 12‑footer I think. Then every birdie just seemed from pretty close range. I holed every chance I had. I mean, I kept hitting the irons very, very close to the flag. You know, once you hit three or four in a rowyou feel you can kind of hole from the fairway pretty much. I kept hitting very good shots. Only bogey I made was on 6 with a 3‑putt. Nothing much I can say. Hit a good par on the short par 4 on the back, which is I think 14 and hit it in the bunker off the tee. Just short of the green and get it up‑and‑down. That's the only moment of the day where I was really in trouble. Is it really 2.00 PM now? Excellent. Q. We are at the Volvo Champions; you won in Beijing and you were in the semifinal at Finca Cortesin‑‑ NICOLAS COLSAERTS: I'd like to think it's a love affair with Volvo, but three rounds to go. I have good memories of Volvo in China and the Match Play. I'm sure we can work something out with the Volvo people. Q. Where does that rank as the best ever round? NICOLAS COLSAERTS: This is probably one of best, if not the best. On a course like this, even if we don't play it at the very back, it's quite a serious test of golf. The greens are quite receptive, so if you hit good shots on the greens, the ball is going to stop pretty much where it lands. That makes a big difference. I don't think you can shoot a score like this if the greens get very firm, it's not going to happen. I think the conditions of the course today, I'm not saying it's easier, but it's the only way you can shoot a low number like this. Q. Best score ever? NICOLAS COLSAERTS: I think I shot eight or nine in Indonesia somewhere, but the course is not as tough as this one. So this is probably the best round I've ever had. Q. At the Match Play‑‑ you had some very big‑‑ NICOLAS COLSAERTS: I had beaten a few when you think about it. I've beaten Retief and I beat McIlroy, and then I went through Jhonattan Vegas and Graeme McDowell. So, yeah, like I said, it was quite a big week for me. Q. You birdied every single one of the par3s. Have you ever done that before? NICOLAS COLSAERTS: I don't think I ever did. That's something you don't really see that often on a Tour card. Thinking that I can reach most of the par 5s in two, so it's quite a bonus when you get to birdie the par3s. There's not really holes where you are looking to make birdie. Q. Of those par 3s, which was the closest in terms of shortest putts? NICOLAS COLSAERTS: I think 11. I hit a 9‑iron to a meter and a half. Q. Monty was saying yesterday that you and Alvaro are the longest hitters. When you play with Alvaro, who out‑drives whom? NICOLAS COLSAERTS: I keep saying to everybody, when you start to hit those distances, sometimes you catch it, sometimes you don't. So, it's irrelevant. He thinks that he's probably the longest, but I know that if I pump a good one, I'm quite long. When you start hitting like 320 yard on a regular basis or 310, we average 300 yards, but most of the times we hit it 320. Sometimes you catch a good bounce and gives you a couple yards. When you start hitting 320, that's considered to be longer than any other. Q. What would you say? NICOLAS COLSAERTS: Oh, he would say he's the longest, of course, but that's Alvaro. I never played with him until the World Cup, but he's probably same as me to be honest. Q. On the par 5s, what were you hitting? NICOLAS COLSAERTS: I hit 4‑iron onto 4. I hit 4‑iron over the back and didn't get it up‑and‑down. 9, I hit driver, 4‑iron, middle of the green and 2‑putted. 13, I hit driver, 7‑iron, probably 15, 20 feet left of the pin and 2‑putted. Then 15, I hit it in the rough. I had to hack it out and hit a lob‑wedge to probably five feet and holed it. 18, it's a pretty funky second shot. I mean, there's different ways of playing it. You're either trying to spin it as high as you can and land it as soft as you can and or try to run it up. I went for the high one, pitched right on the slope on the front there of the green and sort of stayed on on the back edge. Most people will run it up there and guys like me will spin it up and try to land. Q. Which club? NICOLAS COLSAERTS: Driver, 3‑iron. Q. The wind didn't seem to be too much of a factor out there today. NICOLAS COLSAERTS: It was moving a little bit. It came‑‑ it sort of blew a little bit more when I got past the 9th hole I would say. Obviously it was really calm this morning and didn't really play much part, but from halfway through the round, it started to blow a little bit, switch at times. So it was‑‑ still have to look at what the wind will do. But it's not like it's howling a gale. Let's hope it stays that way, because the golf course can be pretty difficult. Q. Over the winter, what have you been doing to prepare for the season? Have you done anything different? NICOLAS COLSAERTS: Yeah, I started working physically a little bit. I haven't really been in the gym for four or five years. I started working with my coach's son, actually, doing something called Cross Fit, it's a bit of a special preparation, so it seems to be working quite well. Handled it quite good‑‑ thought I was going to die for a couple of days but doing okay now. I went to Mauritius for 12 days after Dubai and went skiing for a week and went back. Q. How do you follow‑up a first round at 9‑under and 64? NICOLAS COLSAERTS: It's going to be a little tricky to follow a round like this playing with an amateur. That's the way the tournament is. But, you know, I think that I'm not going to probably be as chatty as I would normally. But no, this golf course demands so much that you're just going to have to do your own thing and not really bother too much about what's going on. Q. Winning in China, what has that done for you mentally in terms of confidence, etc., and also Finca? NICOLAS COLSAERTS: Quite a lot. I didn't get myself too jumpy the last two rounds. I knew there was a lot at stake. It was a course where people could go really low, so you had to be very careful of not throwing easy shots away. Certainly, it's quite a big win, but I think the Match Play was the week where I really understood that I can play some world‑class golf. I'd beaten some of the best in the world at the time. I think the Match Play was a week where I understood how good I can. Q. What will be your strategy be tomorrow if you are linked to a chatterbox tomorrow‑‑ NICOLAS COLSAERTS: What's a chatterbox? Q. Somebody who doesn't stop talking. NICOLAS COLSAERTS: I'm just have my caddie‑‑ no, I'll be fine. But no, I'm not going to start talking about a lot of rubbish. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|