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ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIPOctober 4, 2012Branden GraceCARNOUSTIE & KINGSBARNS, SCOTLAND MICHAEL GIBBONS: Talk us through that, some rounds, 60 at Kingsbarns, new course record. BRANDEN GRACE: It was good. Obviously it's not the easiest course I've ever seen, conditions and things like that but the course is definitely shorter than all the rest. I just gave myself a lot of chances and made everything I looked at; not really that I had anything major long putts or anything like that. But I just had a lot of 15‑footers to tap‑ins the whole day and could have been one better or two better which would really be nice. Q. Did that cross your mind, the magic number? BRANDEN GRACE: It did. Over the short par 4 and I had a 6‑ or 7‑footer for birdie and just before I hit it I thought if I can make a couple in, I made get a 59 and I left it short, one of those. Then just managed to make a couple coming in. Q. Would I be right in assuming that's the best round of your career? BRANDEN GRACE: I've actually played here before. I've played a 58 but on a par 70. It was nice, just a nice feeling to know that I did leave a couple out there, which was nice. It was just nice knowing that all around, everything went your way. Made a couple of putts, and bogey‑free always helps. Q. I know it's a ridiculous thing to say when you've just shot 60, but is there a sense of disappointment that you didn't get the 59? BRANDEN GRACE: Yeah, when I walked to the 18th green, I actually hit it to about a foot, my third shot and I told him, you know, that could have been a 59 and I know there's never been a 59 on The European Tour. So a little bit of disappointment, but for a second it goes in and out again but I'll take the 60. Q. Am I right saying that's 20 shots better than your last round at the European Masters? BRANDEN GRACE: Probably so, yeah. I think the break, I had a month off, I think that did me a world of good, but that's a stat and a half there. I played here once and obviously I've been invited the last couple years but I was on The Challenge Tour and so I had some different things to focus on. It's nice to be back. I've only played all of these courses a couple of times. Today only played a practise round on Monday, only nine holes and before that probably only played the course twice. It was nice that we had the conditions the way it was today and hopefully it stays the same over the next two. Q. Do you still pinch yourself? You have three wins already this year; do you still pinch yourself that that's happened? BRANDEN GRACE: I do. There's a lot going around myself and my golf, especially when I'm home. It was nice to be home now for a month now just think and settle in and things like that, so that's always nice. The year just keeps getting better and better, so it's nice to look forward to what's to come. Q. Can you identify the feeling you had over those 15‑footers as you holed them just by looking at them? BRANDEN GRACE: You know, I didn't really even think about anything to be honest. I got over them and the whole day, if I'm really honest now, I've never really felt comfy over the putter. I felt that it wasclose. I felt I made decent strokes but I didn't feel like any stroke, I made it was going to go in for definite. I never really hit a putt in the middle of the hole. It kept going in on the edges which was nice. So every putt I really looked at just went in, whether you had a bad stroke or a good stroke, just one of those days where everything went your way. I hit the ball superbly the whole day. I don't think I missed one shot out there. So it was good that I gave myself the opportunities all around. Q. Somebody today said there's similarities between Fancourt and Kingsbarns, did you see that? BRANDEN GRACE: Obviously it's a links at Fancourt, as well. You know, I've spent a lot of time there the last two weeks. Obviously we played an event there last week which I managed to win, so I've got a another one under the belt but before that, I was practising a lot of shots and things that I had to use for this week. So I came in well prepared for this week and things like, that and I think I did some good work over the last couple of days and I think the links course at Fancourt, obviously St. Andrews is a little bit different but I can definitely see a little bit of similarities in Carnoustie and Kingsbarns. Q. Going back to winning on The Challenge Tour‑‑ The Challenge Tour season and the spectacular start today? BRANDEN GRACE: Not really anything to be honest. Obviously a little bit of disappointment after missing my putt‑‑ getting into the Top‑20, and I've played really well the last year on The Challenge Tour. I just didn't have‑‑ the putting wasn't there. I think I worked on a couple of wrong things and I just finished it off. And then actually at the SA Open before Tour School, I got a new putter and I told Zach, I'm going to start doing things the way I feel comfy and just never look back. Went to Tour School and the putter started getting warmer and just never stopped from there. Q. Can you talk about this week and what it means to the South African players? You're obviously all here this week. Is it a good week for you to get together? Is there any competition among you? BRANDEN GRACE: Oh, definitely. What Johann does for South African golf for us and for world golf in general is amazing. He puts a lot of money and time and effort into things back home, and I think it's fair to say that this tournament just keeps getting better and better. If you look at the fields, obviously you would have enjoyed seeing a couple of the top guys coming from The Ryder Cup, but obviously with the win and things, you can understand that they didn't feel up to coming to play. But what he does is amazing and things like that, and it's a nice week. There's a lot of guys, I think it's ten spots that he gives to South African golf to come and play, and it's nice to give a couple of guys that play at home most of the year to give them some of the feeling and to see how it is and how things get to work over here. Q. South African golfers have had tremendous success in majors in recent years and people now talk about you as the next one; does that excite you? BRANDEN GRACE: It does. I think what's more exciting is that over the last couple years, I've gotten to know all those guys pretty well. I've gotten to know Ernie and Charl and I think Louis is one of my best mates out here. It's nice to see that they have all those things under their belt and you learn a lot. It's nice for a week like this where you can get out there, you can play practise rounds with them. I played a practise round with Louis yesterday at the Old Course and he showed me the ropes and things like that because I haven't played it a lot, but just saying, don't go there and things like that, and those things help. Q. I know you don't have a crystal ball, but you mentioned you could have had a 58 today. How close do you think now this record, this magic 59 is on The European Tour? Do you think it's almost imminent? BRANDEN GRACE: I think it's getting very close. If you look in the States, there's been a couple the last couple of years. I think there's been one or two this year if I'm correct. You think it's getting close. It just depends on courses. I think if you play like today again or the next couple of days are going to be good with no wind, you might see one this week, you never know. You need one of those things like myself today where you make the putts, you don't hit a couple of bad shots or make bogeys and before you know it, you might have that score in your eyes. Q. A week like last week, do the South Africans chat among is the each other and think, we could beat the Europeans? BRANDEN GRACE: I think they do. I think they really like it when we go back home. Obviously when you play back home, especially in the smaller events, like the one I won last week, you can't really say bored, but I'm going to use that term; they get maybe bored playing with the same people every week. Except when you come over to Europe and you play, whether it's Challenge Tour or European Tour, it's just the standard of playing is so good and it's so strong that you never know what's going to happen. Any guy in the Top‑50 can win every week and it's the same out here this week. There's been so many first winners this year on Tour, which just shows it all. I think golf is really going in the next generation, if you look at Rory and all those guys and Rickie Fowler just stepping up to the plate. I think it's nice from that perspective. Q. So what would the result be if South Africa played Europe? BRANDEN GRACE: I think a lot of those guys still need a lot to learn to be fair. I think the only way you learn is to come out and to take this for yourself. So I think it's good learning, so for the players that do get invited, to come here and play and see what it's all about. So it might just give them another way of looking at it, another way of showing them how they want to do things in the future. I think we are up there. There's a lot of good players coming through the rankings and things like that, so it's a bright future for South Africa. Q. The 59, is it down to players getting better or is it equipment? BRANDEN GRACE: I think equipment is playing‑‑ obviously I've always said since they have done this groove change, these players have been more consistent with wedge playing, and I think that's where golf these days, where you're winning tournaments, putting and wedging and chipping. You can really predict what the ball is going to do. In the past you might hit a great shot and it didn't spin, where now if you hit a good shot, you know it's going to spin and if you hit a bad shot you know what the outcome is going to be. I think players are getting better but like I said, it depends on the course. If you get a course like one of these where maybe it's a little bit open, you can do it ‑‑ but if the course is tough and tight and slippery around the edges, it's going to be really hard. There's been a couple on the PGA TOUR, but hopefully on The European Tour it's just around the corner. MICHAEL GIBBONS: And what was your team score. BRANDEN GRACE: 16. We actually had a great day out there today. She had a couple of clutch putts and she had a couple of pars and a birdie and an eagle which was nice and helped the team, so looking forward to that over the next two days, as well. MICHAEL GIBBONS: Thanks for joining us. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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