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ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT SCOTTISH OPENJuly 12, 2012Luke DonaldINVERNESS, SCOTLAND LUKE DONALD: I felt like I had a reasonable control today. I felt like just a little bit off, but not too much, and to be honest, after three weeks away from competitive golf, that was a nice, solid round to come back to. Obviously let a couple slip at the end there, but overall, pleased. Q. With that time off, you would expect a few mistakes, won't you? LUKE DONALD: Well, it's always hard when you've had a little bit of time off to be completely 100 per cent sharp. But again, it feels like I'm right on the cusp of figuring out exactly what I need, the positions in my swing, to hit those solid shots. Made some good putts today and overall that was a good, solid start. Q. Better to do 67 and feel you left some out rather than 67 and you've achieved the most. LUKE DONALD: Conditions were pretty generous to us today, no wind, pretty soft greens. Obviously Francesco went very low today and there was a score out there. But very happy. Seven birdies means I'm doing a lot of things right. Q. And what do you hope for for the rest of the week? Obviously good weather? LUKE DONALD: I wouldn't mind a bit of wind just to get in that feel for next week. It's doubtful we'll have calm days like this next week. It's good to test the swing when you need to, and you need to control the ball when it's windy. Q. What do you need to work on for next week, after having won here last year, Sandwich was a bit of a disappointment? LUKE DONALD: Yeah, it was, I played very well, but I'm continually working on solidifying my swing, getting the ball in play and being able to control trajectory and control the spin and really feel that solid contact. Obviously the margins are a lot smaller and next week I've got to be a little more accurate and have a little bit more control. Q. A 67 to start with the defence of your title here in Scotland, and how do you assess that for us? LUKE DONALD: Usually you're pretty happy with 67 but I'm five back already. No, it was a good, solid round for me. It's never easy coming back after being away for three weeks without competitive golf. So a lot of good positives from today, and it wasn't quite there, which is also a good sign. Wasn't quite on it but made some birdies to shoot a really good score. Q. With three weeks off, how hard did you work on your game those three weeks? LUKE DONALD: Pretty hard. I took a few days off after the U.S. Open; I needed to. The last couple of weeks I've been working extremely hard, more so on my long game than I usually do. Just was really disappointed with the control that I had at the U.S. Open, and I feel like I'm right close to getting something where it feels really solid. I'm still just a touch off, but it's certainly working the right way. Q. So far, so good on the weather front, but I saw you taking some pictures of the scenery earlier this morning. Didn't see much of that last year, did we? LUKE DONALD: No, it was a great day to play golf. Obviously no wind, unusual day for Scotland I would assume. No wind, reasonably soft greens from the rain that we've had, and it was perfect, ideal scoring conditions. Q. The last five holes, four birdies in a role and then the last little scratch. LUKE DONALD: To be honest I was surprised at the wedge I hit on the 5th hole. I hit a great drive, one of my best drives of the day. I had 130 yards, slightly held up in the breeze and came up five yards shorter than I thought and made a sloppy bogey there. Obviously wasn't able to capitalise on the next, and then the last couple of holes, 7 and 8 are tricky holes. I hit a poor tee shot there. But yeah, it was‑‑ certainly could have got this round in at 8‑ or 9‑under if I was really sharp, but I let a few go at the end. Q. Doesn't show when you look at the leaderboard but do you feel the pressure of expectation coming back here? LUKE DONALD: I was excited to be back here. I think any time you come back to a tournament where you've won before, you remember those good feelings. I certainly have a lot of those from last year, and I think that was more the feeling, just excited to get back into competition after three weeks away, and excited to kind of pick up where I left off 12 months ago. Q. Off to a great start but you look at the leaderboard and you're already five behind? LUKE DONALD: Yeah, it's the first round. That's the reason why I'm disappointed dropping a couple at the end there, just because Francesco played so well. 10‑under is a great score. Still, a good, solid start for me considering I've been out of competition for three weeks. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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