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ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT SCOTTISH OPENJuly 11, 2012Luke DonaldINVERNESS, SCOTLAND MICHAEL GIBBONS: Welcome back to Castle Stuart. LUKE DONALD: Thank you. MICHAEL GIBBONS: And the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open. How are we? LUKE DONALD: Doing well. Thanks. MICHAEL GIBBONS: You've been off. What have you been up to? LUKE DONALD: Yeah. I had three weeks away from competition, which you know, it was planned at the start of the year. It's obviously a very long season for us, and I've got a busy schedule coming up playing 10 of the next 13 weeks, and you know, spent a lot of time working more diligently probably on my swing than I usually do. I tend to practice, you know, a little bit on the range, but a lot more on the short game, and I kind of turned it around a little bit. I obviously wasn't very happy with how I hit at the U.S. Open, and a little bit a result of trying to hit left‑to‑right cuts. I got my swing in a little bit of ‑‑ you know, just a few of the old habits crept in, and just worked diligently on trying to work on those. It was a mixture of a little bit of relaxation, but working hard on the golf swing. MICHAEL GIBBONS: So you're getting ready for your defense this week? LUKE DONALD: Looking forward to it, yeah. Every time you come back to an event that you won the year before, so many good memories come back of what you did well, you know, the good experiences, and obviously that last round was pretty special. It was one of those rounds where everything seemed to click in place, one of those easy rounds of golf where everything ‑‑ every putt went in when I needed it to, and hit a lot of good quality shots. So excited to be back here. MICHAEL GIBBONS: And a nice place to celebrate your 52nd week at World No. 1. LUKE DONALD: Well, I am Scottish, I suppose, so yes. Yeah. Always ‑‑ yeah. Obviously very proud of that, too. To be a collective year No. 1 is something I'm very proud of. MICHAEL GIBBONS: Lovely. We'll take some questions for Luke. Q. With the weather here last year, obviously didn't affect you. You played some great rounds and won the tournament, but what are your recollections of how difficult it was? LUKE DONALD: Well, it was unfortunate. As players we want to go out there and play 72 holes. We want to get the tournament in, and obviously it was a lot of waiting around, a lot of sitting in the clubhouse, and you know, just not knowing. I mean the rain was relentless. It wasn't coming ‑‑ it wasn't stopping, and we heard from the locals that this was very unusual, that usually it kind of has its micro climate here. It doesn't rain as much as forecast usually. It was just a shame. You know, I suppose that happens sometimes, but I was able to deal with it pretty well, and I kept my focus and was able to go out in that last round and play a good solid round. Q. Just related to that, did you ever consider not coming back this week because of the way you performed last year at the Open and not coming back to defend your title? LUKE DONALD: I really don't think ‑‑ I think winning here was good preparation. I just didn't go to the Open and perform. Whether that was mentally or physically, I'm not sure, but I don't think it had any relevance to this week. You know, usually winning the week before is a good thing, and even though it was a lot of stopping and starting, I'd come off I think a couple weeks break before that. I felt pretty refreshed and I just didn't perform in the Open. Q. To win this is hard and to defend is even harder, but having done that at the BMW, how good would it be if you were to defend twice and win this week as well? LUKE DONALD: Well, certainly I have much more belief in myself I can do it after doing it at Wentworth. You know, that's the goal is to come here and try and win, and you know, feed off some of the positives from last year and hopefully, yeah, go back to back. That would be fun. Q. Not that many people have done that in one season. LUKE DONALD: I don't think any ‑‑ someone ‑‑ I don't know if anyone's defending at Scottish before and won back to back. Q. I'm talking about more in general, to defend twice in one season. LUKE DONALD: Oh. I'll try and do it then. Q. Will you start looking forward to Lytham, you mentioned already it's going to be a course that suits you. Do you wish people would stop saying that? LUKE DONALD: You know, I've always said ‑‑ you know, I've played on shorter courses, wider courses, narrow courses, long courses, you know, and I've been successful in a variety of different places, and it just comes down to obviously being mentally in the right position, but also feeling physically good about your game and having confidence in what you're doing. And you know, if I can do that, then I'll have a good week. Q. Do you think it's a course that's going to be a putter's course, someone that can putt their way around? LUKE DONALD: Again, I haven't played it since my amateur days. But as golfers we kind of have those weird memories where we kind of remember courses, even though it's been a while. Yeah, a lot of bunkers. I don't think it's overly long. But I'll know more when I get there Monday. Q. Are you thinking of anything you could do differently going into a major or do you think you've exhausted all different ‑‑ LUKE DONALD:  I've tried them all, I think. Again, it goes back to just continually learning from those experiences, you know, some of the failures, some of the good majors I've had, too. But I've realized that I do get a little bit more anxious, a little bit more uptight and I've gotta try and control that, and that's going to kind of be the priority, go out there and try to play a little bit more freedom, a little bit more fun, and hopefully that's the key to getting off to a better start. And once I get off to a better start, I feel like I'm going to be there and have a chance. Q. And was Sandwich an example of that last year? LUKE DONALD: Sandwich was, yeah. I played okay. Yeah, I didn't adapt well to the short game. I remember not chipping or putting very well that whole week. And again, that comes down to getting that ‑‑ that would prove to me that it's not just a physical problem. It's more of just getting in that moment of not trying to press too hard, not trying to force the issue. It's just being a little bit more relaxed and letting it happen. Q. What was the best part of going to Wimbledon last week? Was it experiencing Murray mania, watching the greatest player of all time, Federer, or sitting next to Cara at lunch? LUKE DONALD: Certainly the latter. No, she was a sweet girl, actually. Really genuinely nice girl, down to earth, and I enjoyed chatting to her a little bit. But yeah, it was fun. First time in the royal box. Got to watch two great matches, and it was a fun day out. Q. Could you relate to and understand the pressure that Murray plays in at his home major as well? LUKE DONALD: Absolutely. I think you could see how much it meant to him at the end there. So much emotion came out, which you don't usually see from him. You know, we're all trying as hard as we can to try and be as successful as we can, especially in the big ones. And it means a lot to him and it means a lot to me. Q. What did you talk about at lunch? LUKE DONALD: Just where she lived, if she was going on tour, all that kind of stuff. Nothing too riveting. But she actually wasn't aware that I was a golfer. So I had to mention that to her, but her boyfriend is a keen golfer and she turned around and said, he's a professional golfer. And he turned around and goes, yes, I know. (Laughs). Q. Did you actually tell her you were world No. 1? LUKE DONALD: Well, I'll let her boyfriend tell her that. Q. Just when did it dawn on you that you had been getting too tense and putting too much pressure on yourself in major championships? What made you realize it? LUKE DONALD: Well, I've realized for a while. Sometimes I slip into that mode without realizing it. I mean I've understood that for probably a couple of years, but you know, it's about ‑‑ I know it's a difference in myself. I get a little bit more agitated, a little bit more anxious. People around me notice it. So it's just a constant process of trying to work on that and prove every time. Q. Is there someone you work with on that? LUKE DONALD: It's gotta come from me, and that's it. Obviously I work with Dave Allred. But that's more about going through the process of being diligent about my practice and practicing efficiently and feeling comfortable through that. But yeah, it's gotta come from me. Q. No relaxation techniques? LUKE DONALD: No. Just gotta work through it. MICHAEL GIBBONS: Luke, thanks for joining us. Good luck this week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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