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MASTERS TOURNAMENTApril 5, 2012Miguel Angel JimenezAUGUSTA, GEORGIA BILLY MORRIS:ﾃつ Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, we are delighted to have Miguel Jimﾃδｩnez with us.ﾃつ He is presently tied for the lead in the clubhouse. ﾃつAs you know, he has had 18 international victories, he's a four‑time European Ryder Cup Team Member, three runner‑up finishes in 2011.ﾃつ His best Masters finish was 8th in 2008.ﾃつ He's been to the Masters 14 times, and he has finished his first round with a 69 today.ﾃつ And as I said, he's tied for the lead in the clubhouse. Miguel, we congratulate you on a nice round today, and if you would like to say something, we can start with that, or we can go direct to questions. MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ Well, I mean, I can say something.ﾃつ I mean, I've been playing very well, very solid all the round through the tee to the green.ﾃつ I also did not make any mistakes on the greens.ﾃつ I still could make a couple more birdies that I left on the golf course.ﾃつ But 69, I always say the golf course, to beat this golf course is always good.ﾃつ The lower you make it, the better you are.ﾃつ But there's a lot of respect on this golf course that you have to give, you know, and 69, I'm happy, too. Q.ﾃつ The hot is good for you? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ The heat is very nice.ﾃつ It's very hot also the place where I live, and I like to play with the heat.ﾃつ You need to keep drinking and hydrating yourself and move your body (smiling). Q.ﾃつ How do you feel today with your game? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ I feel very good.ﾃつ Like I said before, I hit it very good from tee‑to‑green, and I missed a couple of fairways.ﾃつ Sometimes that's normal.ﾃつ Nobody is perfect, you know, but hit very good shots, many chances for birdies and only one mistake on the fifth when I missed my drive just on the edge of the fairway, just outside on the left.ﾃつ And I had to make a big hook with a 7‑iron going through the green and go through the bunker and two putts, bogey, that's the only bogey I made today and the rest is very good. Good up‑and‑down on the 18th where I missed on the right and I had to make a cut to the front, and it's not cut enough, big hook, and from there, just 40 meters to the hole and I made a nice chip to 2 1/2 foot, something like that for par. Then on the first hole, also, I missed my second shot on the right side, middle of the fairway, missed my second shot on the right side, and flag is back left and I make a nice chip, very sensitive chip that one, hit down there and put it like a foot to the hole. And the rest is very nice, a lot of chances, a lot of birdies. Q.ﾃつ You look very comfortable playing with Tiger. MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ I'm fine.ﾃつ I'm fine playing with Tiger.ﾃつ Sometimes the public, when he hits a shot, they start moving and you can hear the roar, but playing with him, it's fine.ﾃつ I love playing with him.ﾃつ He's a great player and a nice comfort on the golf course. Q.ﾃつ Are you trying to convince him to come to Spain? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ All the time I'm trying to convince him to come to play my tournament (laughter). Q.ﾃつ Did he ask you how your tournament went? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ Yeah, I said my tournament went very well but we need some more stars in my tournament and it would be nice to have big, top players.ﾃつ It would be nice for any tournament to have players like that. Q.ﾃつ Is he a different player to play with now than he used to be?ﾃつ Is Tiger a different guy to play with now? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ He's the same.ﾃつ To me, it's a lot of respect because he's top class.ﾃつ You know, he's been No. 1 before and now he's not there but his game is there.ﾃつ And he's only 36, you know, and he's on top of the wave.ﾃつ It's his passion.ﾃつ He's a great player.ﾃつ It's always nice to play with before and it's nice to play with him now.ﾃつ It's great.ﾃつ Always nice. Q.ﾃつ Did you not play with Tiger in the final round at Pebble Beach in 2000? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ No.ﾃつ I didn't play with him in that one in the last round.ﾃつ He finished 15 shots ahead.ﾃつ (Laughter). Q.ﾃつ You had a good finish there. MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ Yeah, I finished second there, tied with Ernie Els. Q.ﾃつ On 13 today, you were taking really big practice swings before your second shot into the green.ﾃつ Was there something‑‑ were you tightening in the back? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ No, to get loose.ﾃつ No, it's not the practice swing that you want.ﾃつ My practice swing is not to make somethingI want to do with the ball; my practice swing is to get loose and get a feeling of what I want to do. I put the ball in the water; I got my distance; I got my 5‑wood in my hand just to play to the middle of the green.ﾃつ The ball‑‑ the slope on the fairway is so big, now the ball position, you are playing it that way, no (indicating ball above feet), and the ball automatic is going to start right of where you're playing.ﾃつ And now the ball is starting there and coming back, you know, I want to play in the middle of the green, but it's not a bad shot.ﾃつ I hit the ball there and it stays there, and it's a nice recovery I make. Then I get the distance and I get the right distance, 17 meters, and I feel very comfortable for my lob‑wedge, and I put it in there to (indicating three feet) and I still make par.ﾃつ But, you know you've got chances to the green, you have to go.ﾃつ The only thing, I hit not a bad shot is the ball stopped, missed the line on that one, too, and that's it. Q.ﾃつ Did you find the greens easier today than two days ago when they were drier? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ They are very similar today.ﾃつ Probably it's a little bit more juicy, a little more juicy because the storms yesterday made it softer, and maybe they don't have time to harden it, I don't know. Q.ﾃつ Can you note any differences on the greens No. 8 and 16 compared to the last years? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ On 16 you can see the platform, for example, where the platform, where the flags were today on the back.ﾃつ It's a little bit wide.ﾃつ You've got a little bit more space.ﾃつ And also, you can see middle right is behind the bunker on the right.ﾃつ It's also a little wider.ﾃつ It's more human, you know.ﾃつ Because before, the ball, there's no space for the ball on the hole on the same space. Q.ﾃつ Human, meaning what? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ Now you can hit a good shot and have a chance for birdie.ﾃつ Sometimes you hit a good shot, pitch on the side of the hole and the ball doesn't stop and it runs.ﾃつ Sometimes it feels like not that nice, but I think the changes they do on the 16th I think is great. Q.ﾃつ So it's fair? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ It's very fair, of course.ﾃつ It's very fair.ﾃつ Because you hit a good shot, you've got chances for birdie.ﾃつ I hit a beautiful shot there today, like a meter and a half, 5‑foot for birdie and I missed that one, a little bit hard through the break, and I missed the birdie there.ﾃつ You hit a good shot, and you have chances for birdie.ﾃつ You don't hit a good shot there, you don't have chances for birdie, like before, but at least now, you can have chances there. Q.ﾃつ You've mentioned you've come to Augusta 14 times.ﾃつ What's the difference in yourself now compared to when you first played Augusta? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ When I first played here in 1995, the golf course is not that long, and we always play it much more hard and there is no semi‑rough.ﾃつ The ball is running fast through the pine trees, you know, and the greens, they are much more hard and fast probably.ﾃつ I remember sometimes you can see more people playing with the spike marks, with the metal spikes and you can see before like sometimes the spikes kind of go through the grass, you know. It's different.ﾃつ Now, I think from 2000 where they started lengthening the golf course, they started lengthening the golf course and putt a little semi‑rough and tried to make it longer.ﾃつ But as you make it longer, you need to make it also softer, because if not, it is only going to benefit one part of the field.ﾃつ So at least the people that don't play long like me, for example, we have a chance. Q.ﾃつ What's the difference in you as a person? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ I am the same one, but 1995 is 17 years younger than now.ﾃつ (Laughter).ﾃつ It's a number. Q.ﾃつ You've played a lot with Tiger.ﾃつ I just wanted to get, what did you see today?ﾃつ Were you surprised after he won two weeks ago, and hit the ball not very good? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ He missed a little bit from the tee, but you miss the fairway here, you have no chance to hit the flags.ﾃつ This is a golf course where sometimes you hit in the middle of the fairwaysand not the flag.ﾃつ But the only thing he wasn't very fine today was from the tee.ﾃつ But the rest, you go to the par 3s, for example, he got a nice shot on hole No. 4 and a very good shot on the hole No. 6, just a bit too much club. You go to also on the 12th or on the 16th, you know, I think he's playing very, very well.ﾃつ I think he's playing very well.ﾃつ The only thing is from the tee on this golf course, you are not in the right place from the tee, you have nothing to do here.ﾃつ And he's managed to make‑‑ well, he finished level par, he finished bogey, bogey, and as I say, he's playing very well. Q.ﾃつ This has been obviously a very special place for your countrymen Seve and Ollie; do you have the same affection for Augusta National as those guys? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ I love this place.ﾃつ It's different.ﾃつ You get here and you go get to Magnolia Lane the first day with your family and official car, you feel something going in your stomach up and down.ﾃつ It's different.ﾃつ It's nice.ﾃつ It's a great place.ﾃつ It's always nice to be back and nice to play here. BILLY MORRIS:ﾃつ Miguel, thank you very much. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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