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BALLANTINE'S CHAMPIONSHIPApril 28, 2012Paul McGinleyICHEON, SOUTH KOREA Q. 7‑under, 65, third round of the tournament, how was it? PAUL McGINLEY: Obviously good. I got a great start, very hot start, 5‑under after six is great starting any round. From there, just solid. Made a couple of birdies coming in and didn't really struggle for a par on any hole today which made the birdie putts easier. Q. You put yourself in an excellent position going into the final round very early today. What is your plan for this afternoon and the strategy for tomorrow? PAUL McGINLEY: Well, hopefully the leaders‑‑ I was first out this morning. So hopefully the leaders won't get too far away and the wind might blow a little bit like it did yesterday afternoon. We take it as it comes. I'm in good position no matter what happens, and try to play well again tomorrow. Q. Are you going to spend some time on the driving range today? PAUL McGINLEY: No. I got to bed late last night. I didn't finish here until 8.30 last night and got back to the hotel at nearly nine o'clock and I was up at 5.30 this morning, so I think rest‑up is the key this afternoon. Q. Tell us how special that round is. PAUL McGINLEY: Yeah, the round is obviously very special. My start set me up beautifully, 5‑under after six, it's a dream start. I don't think I've ever started a round like that before. To keep making birdies the way I did was great. That set me up nicely and I played solid. But the start was the key, between shooting 70 and shooting a 65. Q. Has something clicked today to make it work? PAUL McGINLEY: I felt the second day was tough. We played the afternoon, yesterday afternoon, and there wasn't anybody really who made any ground yesterday afternoon. It was a tough afternoon. Winds got up and the greens got crusty and pins were hard to get to. So I was disappointed with the 73 yesterday. 71 would have been a score I would have been happy with. Wasn't that far off, but made up for that today, particularly my start. My start took care of the bit of ground I lost yesterday. Q. And what was it about that start? PAUL McGINLEY: To be honest there was virtually no wind when we started this morning. So I had a lot of wedge shots the first few holes, and lob‑wedge to the first, sand wedge to the second, pitching wedge to the fourth, and then sand wedge and lob‑wedge again. So there was five lob‑wedges in the first six holes and I managed to birdie all five out of the six. Q. We all know how talented you are, but is there an element of surprise to find yourself up on a board like this? PAUL McGINLEY: To be honest, I've played quite well this year. I've only played four events this year and I've played quite well in all of them and not putted particularly well. Obviously I've putted better this week. That's the difference, the difference between having an average week and a good week is so small nowadays. Often the difference is one good round out of your four. I've had that now, and back it up with a good score again tomorrow is important. Q. This is a tournament where you've prospered in the past. PAUL McGINLEY: Yeah, it's been good to me, this tournament. I enjoyed this golf course last year; one of the reasons why I made an effort to come out to it again this year. It's a really good course and a course that suits my game. Q. The first year when Graeme McDowell won, it was he and Jeev Milkha Singh that edged away, and you won the other tournament. PAUL McGINLEY: I did. That's what I said at the time; I won the other tournament. Yeah, they battled out against each other and played great in windy Jeju Island. Yeah, so I've always enjoyed playing the Ballantine's and Jeju, I enjoyed the golf course there, as well, too. The golf course sets up well there as it did for me as well, too. Q. Can I ask about your caddie, because you've got a former European Tour pro on the bag, Simon Hurd. PAUL McGINLEY: Yeah, I think everybody knows who Simon Hurd is at this stage. Q. We know him for his belts more than anything recently. PAUL McGINLEY: He's known for his belts‑‑ more than his belts, he's known for a few more things more than belts. He's a real character as we know, and we've had a lot of fun out there the last few days. He's a good friend of mine. We are rooming together, as well, too. He couldn't get a hotel room, so we are spending time on the golf course and actually rooming together, too. We'll have enough of each other at the end of the week I would say. Q. How did you get to work together? PAUL McGINLEY: My caddie, Jimmy‑‑ I was only coming out for the one week. So it didn't make any sense for him to come out for the one week. It was either a local caddie, and I knew he was out here. And I rang him at the start of the week and I said, do you want to stay on a few extra days and caddie. He said, yeah, sure, never done it before, let's do it. So off we went. Q. I'm sure I overheard him say that this could be the biggest cheque in his professional life. PAUL McGINLEY: Yeah, he was second in the Pakistan Open, and hopefully I can better that achievement tomorrow with his caddying. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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