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PGA CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 10, 2012Carl PetterssonKIAWAH ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA KELLY ELBIN: Carl Pettersson in with a two‑day total of 140, 4‑under par and is among three players tied for the lead midway through 94th PGA Championship. Comments on your round after a little bit of a shaky start and a tough finish, wind certainly played a factor out there I would imagine. CARL PETTERSSON: Yeah, it was difficult the whole day. 10,11, 12, 13, 14 were very difficult. I was glad I started on the back to kind of get those out of the way. I was 2‑over through then and I thought that was probably playing even par. Then I managed to make a few birdies, one on 16, one on 1 and one on 3 and then kind of let it slip a little bit on 6,7 and 8. But overall, played pretty good. KELLY ELBIN: Could you go through those birdies and bogeys, starting with the bogey at the start on 10, please. CARL PETTERSSON: No. 10, I hit a driver in the fairway, 4‑iron just right of the green and chipped it to eight feet and missed the putt. No. 12, I hit a poor drive to the right rough, had to lay up, wedged it onto 15 feet and 2‑putted. Birdie on 16. I hit driver, 3‑wood just right of the green and chipped it up to eight feet and made the putt. No. 1, I hit driver, in the fairway, lob‑wedge short and holed it from the bunker. KELLY ELBIN: How long was that shot by the way? CARL PETTERSSON: 20 yards maybe. No. 3, I hit driver, lob‑wedge to six feet and made it. No. 6, I hit a poor drive into the hazard, took a drop. Hit a 7‑iron short of the green, chunked a chip and made a 25‑footer for bogey. No. 7 was a poor bogey. I hit a good drive and leaked it into the right bunker in the rough, hit a gap wedge, came in short right, had a difficult up‑and‑down and hit a good chip to eight feet and missed the putt. No. 8, hit a 6‑iron just right of the green in the waste area and hit the shot to ten feet and lipped the putt out. Q. Given the windy grind out there and the 74, do you feel like you're leading a major or do you feel beat up? CARL PETTERSSON: Both. Yeah, it was a difficult day. I thought 2‑over today was probably like shooting 2‑under yesterday. I played well. I hit some squirrely shots which is typical when it's blowing 30 miles an hour, but I hit some really good ones, too. It's just very difficult to get any rhythm in the round of hitting fairways and greens and my short game was good, which was nice on days like this. Q. Coming into this week, did you feel like you'd be able to be leading a major midway through? Do you feel your game is in pretty good shape? CARL PETTERSSON: Well, you never know, but I felt that the weeks this year where I've played well, I've been right up there and I've kind of been on or off this year. I played pretty average last week. I finished 28th, but I scored it well, and this week, I hit the ball really good yesterday, and today, nobody knows how to hit the ball today on a day like this. But my scoring was good today, which helped. So I know my game, my game is good when it's good and pretty average when it's bad. No, I had no idea. Q. Have you ever played in more difficult conditions? CARL PETTERSSON: Yeah, I think The Open Championship in 2002 we had wind similar to this, but it was raining and colder. At least it's blowing out here but it's a warm wind; that helps it a little bit. But I couldn't think of too many other times, I think this is right up there with The Open Championship in 2002. Q. Every player has their own way of approaching playing in the wind. For you, what are the keys? What do you try to make sure you're doing to play in the windy circumstances? CARL PETTERSSON: Well, you have to track the ball a little bit and hit it lower obviously. You've got to really shape the golf ball.  The wind was blowing so strong today, you couldn't really hold the wind but you still had to put shape on it so it somewhat stays on the golf course. It's just very difficult. So I tried to hit the ball lower, trap it, and just shape against the wind. Q. When you saw that Vijay had posted a 69 today, what did you think about that? CARL PETTERSSON: Yeah, I knew that was one heck of a round. It gives you some hope I guess before you go out there. Days like today, you really can't have any expectations going out there. You've just got to grind away. You know it's going to be difficult. Someone is always going to shoot a low round. I knew anything around par was a great round, and even 1‑ or 2‑over wasn't too bad and that's kind of mindset I had. Q. With shots like the chip‑in from the sand and the long bogey putt to save bogey, do you start to think, hey, you know, these are the kind of shots that major winners make when they are on the their way to winning a major; do you allow yourself to think that at all? CARL PETTERSSON: No, not really, it's way too early. We are only halfway through. It's certainly nice when those shots go in. But if we have two more days like this, no, it's‑‑ no. No, you don't. Sorry. (Laughs). Q. Does the long putter help you in the wind? CARL PETTERSSON: No. It's very difficult. They are thinking about banning the long putter; they should try using one when it's 30. I know the short putter blows around but it's almost double, the wind hits it twice as much I think. It was very difficult to putt. You had to‑‑ on your putts, you had to read the break in the wind and then try to trust it, which is very difficult. So no, I wouldn't say that. Q. The combination of the wind and the length of the rounds, 5 1/2 hours, how is that affecting you guys, and is it still fun to be dealing with the wind and the length of the rounds? CARL PETTERSSON: Yeah, they are long rounds, but that's why I go to the gym every day. (Laughter). I haven't seen a gym in years. No, it gets a little tedious, but we are busy playing and concentrating on trying to get the thing in the fairway and on the green. We don't really pay too much attention to that. On a windy day, it always takes a bit longer, yeah. KELLY ELBIN: Carl Pettersson, tied for the lead after two rounds at the PGA Championship. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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