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WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIPFebruary 20, 2012George CoetzeeMARANA, ARIZONA SCOTT CROCKETT: Thanks as always for coming in and joining us. Welcome to the Accenture Match Play Championship. Not only your first time in this event but your first time playing professionally in America. Just give us your thoughts on that and looking ahead to the week. GEORGE COETZEE: Yeah, I must say I've kind of missed coming to America. I think the last time I was here was in 2005 when I went to USC San Diego for four months. And there's a good reason why it only lasted four months. It's nice to be back. And I mean especially in an event of this caliber. And the strength of the field. I'm here to enjoy and give it my best. SCOTT CROCKETT: Sure. And the very fact you're in the field shows that your form is improving. You're 6th and 5th in our golf swing events in the desert. Just give us your thoughts on your own form at the moment. GEORGE COETZEE: I guess I've been playing well for the last year or so. And trying to improve. And obviously 5th and 6th is good results. But you kind of always feel like‑‑ there's a couple of spots that I'd like to jump maybe five or six putts in those two events. But it's different format, I guess, form kind of counts a lot in this event. But obviously form on the day is what counts the most. SCOTT CROCKETT: Thoughts on your first round. No matches are easy, here, but quite a task against young McIlroy. GEORGE COETZEE: I was kind of prepared to play against Luke. But I think Ernie just dropped behind me last weekend. He obviously is a really good player, and I'll have to play my best to have any shot. SCOTT CROCKETT: Is that a bit out of the frying pan into the fire. You're looking to play Luke, and now you're playing Rory, it doesn't get any easier, does it? GEORGE COETZEE: No, they're both great players. It doesn't matter who you play, I think this week it's a question of playing your best. If you're not, you're going home. Q. George, have you played with Rory McIlroy before? GEORGE COETZEE: No, I've only watched. Q. Just watched him? GEORGE COETZEE: Yeah. Q. From what you've seen, how would you best explain Rory McIlroy as a golfer? GEORGE COETZEE: Actually I wouldn't know, because it's tough to know how a guy plays when you watch him on TV. I'm sure he's a great golfer. And obviously I aspire to the things that he's achieved in his golf. But I guess he's pretty solid in every part of his game. And hopefully on Wednesday I'll be pretty solid in every part of mine. Q. Talk about your time at USD. I know it was short. Was Phil's brother the coach? GEORGE COETZEE: Yeah, Tim Mickelson was ‑‑ I guess you would call it a manager. The first two months went pretty well. I played pretty well, I kept making the team. I kept making the team for all four of the months that I was there. But I guess it's‑‑ San Diego is a pretty nice place to be. The weather is pretty good, and there's a lot of other good things you can do other than play golf. There was no one else to a blame after myself. After four months I couldn't break 80. And I think it took me another three months to break par. I actually came back from San Diego, and I had to play in my National Open, I played with Goosen and Tim Clark, in the same group, because I'd won the National Amateur that year. And I shot 88, 35, and I putted like a champion. So I had to kind of make a decision, either play golf or go back and take my studies pretty seriously. So it's kind of a no‑brainer for me. I love my sport way too much. Q. Was that a turning point for you in terms of taking it seriously? GEORGE COETZEE: Well, I think my golf has pretty much at its peak just before I went. And I guess you can look back and say it was a wrong decision, but I think if I'd approached it a little differently and maybe thinking about making all the All‑American teams and all those kind of things, I probably would have done better. But, yeah, I mean I think that making the decision of not going to study, I'm done with schoolwork kind of stuff, I'm just going to play golf. And I guess the hours I put in after that to get back to breaking par kind of paid off in the end. Q. What do you rank as your greatest golf achievement? And if you were to upset Rory would you get more attention for that than anything you've done previously? GEORGE COETZEE: Well, I think it's just one game. Winning a first round match in a tournament is not that big a deal. But obviously it's first round or go home. It's hard to say. I think winning my National Amateur is pretty big and playing for my country was pretty big. But obviously there's a couple of events that‑‑ there's actually an event back in South Africa that I should have been defending this week, and luckily enough I had the opportunity to come here. But I think that was pretty much one of the biggest achievements for me because my dad was on the bag and it was an emotional thing for us. The whole family was there. It was nice to share one with the family. I think if I win on Wednesday it will be a big deal, but I don't think it will be eclipsing the one me and my dad had last year. Q. Match play is obviously a different animal. How comfortable are you with the match play format? GEORGE COETZEE: As an amateur I used to love match play. I'd much rather play in a match play tournament than a straight play tournament, because you can blow out as many times as you want, but if you make nine birdies, and nine blow outs you've got a pretty good chance to win your game. But I think golf's different in a lot of ways. If you think about tennis, I mean Raphael Nadal is not going to lose a first round match at all. In golf, you can't really say it's the same. Because anybody can beat anybody on any given day. Q. Ernie was just in here and he's talking about his struggles in this tournament, but overall he's such a good match player and has been his whole life. Growing up I'm sure you watched him and paid attention to him. How good is he and what has he meant to you throughout the years? GEORGE COETZEE: Well, Ernie Els was kind of the reason why I started playing golf. Because when I was a kid the first thing I saw was Ernie Els winning the U.S. Open. And I told my mother that's what I want to do. Ernie Els has always been kind of a role model to me, and I've aspired to achieve the things he's achieved. But I wouldn't know how good he is in this format, because I haven't played him yet. But hopefully one day I'll have the opportunity. Q. Just going back to your San Diego days. What kind of things were you getting up to in San Diego when you were there? GEORGE COETZEE: I guess we partied a lot. I think we went to Tijuana one night, I don't know if the coach knows it, but I guess he will now. Yeah, we got back very late and I got into trouble for being a bit‑‑ I think I was‑‑ I don't think I should carry on. Q. Did it take you maybe a bit longer to sort of mature, maybe, or find your feet or whatever? Rory seems to have come along since he was 16, 17. GEORGE COETZEE: Yeah, I think us South Africans, I don't think we travel very well. We are pretty much family people and we like spending all our time around our families. But, yeah‑‑ when I went to San Diego, I was definitely too immature and kind of‑‑ I think I needed someone to put me on the straight and narrow. But obviously going home, that helped, getting my parents to sort me out and make sure that I spend the hours that I need to spend. But golf is a lifetime game. And you've got all the time in the world to find the right putt. Q. Would you be very nervous playing McIlroy tomorrow, do you think? GEORGE COETZEE: The one thing I think I can just keep telling myself is there's 18 holes to go. As soon as we get on the first tee, there's a lot of holes and a lot of things can happen. I'm going to try to play it down, I guess. But I'm going to go out and enjoy it and give it my best. Q. Have you seen the golf course yet? Have any of your peers told you anything about it in particular? GEORGE COETZEE: Yeah, I just finished playing 18 holes today. It's a hell of a course. Some very good holes and some very long holes. I think it's a pretty good match play house, because there's risk‑reward out there, and I think you've got to keep it on the fairways this week. SCOTT CROCKETT: Thanks as always. Good luck on Wednesday. GEORGE COETZEE: Thank you. FastScripts by ASAP Sports. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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