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DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIPNovember 23, 2012Branden GraceDUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES SCOTT CROCKETT: Thanks, as always, for coming in and joining us. Well played today. Another great round and another great season. Give us your thoughts on today and your place in the championship as a whole. BRANDEN GRACE: I think today and tomorrow is definitely moving day out there. Yesterday you just wanted to get off to a pretty decent start and then take advantage over the next couple of days. But everything went my way from the first hole. I managed to make four birdies my first five holes, which was good, or the first six holes, sorry. So you know, just the day got on the right foot and I kept on hitting good shot after good shot and managed to roll a couple of putts in. So it was a good day in the office. SCOTT CROCKETT: An adventurous 18th hole. Would have been a pity to finish with a bogey, but you did quite well to make par. Tell us about that one. BRANDEN GRACE: I actually don't know why I hit driver off the tee. I told myself I'm going to hit 3‑wood the whole week off there and play it as a proper par 5, and even if I hit 3‑wood I still could have reached today. I just thought, one of those holes, if I can get up there as far as possible, with that pin there, you can give yourself a pretty decent eagle opportunity. I just pulled the drive and a little bit unlucky with the lie. It went in with the wooden chips down on the left. There's a little bridge coming up to the grass, and my ball is lying right next to it. I just tried to get back to the fairway and clipped the top and it shot a little bit left still in the rough. And then it was just a step on from there, so try to get it forward; and I managed to get on a good distance on which I was comfortable, 84 yards and hit lob‑wedge to a couple of inches which was nice. SCOTT CROCKETT: The season you've been having, it's fantastic, does the confidence grow every time you go on to another golf course and you think, I can win this one, as well. BRANDEN GRACE: Yeah, it does. Obviously I've had four wins, but otherwise than that, it was nothing special. It was pretty much a win and a couple of weeks where I finished 30th, 40th, around there and things. And I think it's just more the tired and things kicking in more than anything else. It's nice to know that the form has not disappeared. It's still there on weeks where I know I have to play well and things like that. And it's nice to know that even after last week's disaster weekend, it's nice to know that you can put a couple of hours effort in the first couple of days, and this is where I stand now. Q. Why don't you begin by telling us which of your nine birdies that you made, which was most satisfying for you. BRANDEN GRACE: I think a good one was on the third hole to be honest. It is a tough hole, there's a lot of bunkers on that hole so you have to really position yourself well off the tee. So I managed to hit a 3‑wood right down the middle and I had a good 6‑iron distance. I hit the 6‑iron about 25 feet left of the pin, a little downhiller left‑to‑right and managed to roll in a good putt, and I think that was definitely one of the putts that kept the momentum going. There was another one, as well, on 6, the par3, where I hit a pretty decent 7‑iron. Came out a little bit longer than what I was hoping for and just took the slope. There's a slope back left of the pin and went down to about 35, 40 feet and I made one of those monsters. I think those were two of the putts that really kept the round going. Q. After four wins, did you come here in a relaxed frame of mind and now are you able to free‑wheel, or is it not quite as simple as that? BRANDEN GRACE: I'm not really over yet. I think there's still a lot of stuff I want to achieve this year. I really wanted to get myself to make a couple of goals for the last event. I've got two more events in South Africa after this which I want to win the Order of Merit and things like that, and I know all of this, if I can have a good couple of weeks here or a good week here, the form might just push me in the right direction heading into the last two. And obviously there's a lot of World Ranking points and stuff up for grabs this week and I want to finish the season as high as I can up the Order of Merit. I know winning is out of the question, the Order of Merit, but it's never a bad thing maybe if you're going to finish second or something like that. Q. I seem to remember you at St. Andrews hoping you would get into the Nedbank; is there a reason you didn't or is it a big disappointment? BRANDEN GRACE: It was a really big disappointment. I just didn't make the criteria to be honest. It goes strictly down the World Ranking and I'm not sure when the cutoff was, if it was before the Dunhill or after. I think I missed by a couple of spots. It's one of those things, and what can you do? It's just one of those, I didn't make, but I'm not going to be that disappointed with the year I've had. Q. It's not an allocation of South Africa players and world players? BRANDEN GRACE: No. There's one certain spot which is for the winner of the Order of Merit the year before that they have cancelled now. So that was a big goal of mine to get in for next year. But obviously they have pulled it away now, which I'm still disappointed. But it's one of those things you can't get down on yourself for too long because there's bigger and better things out there. Q. You described this year so far as a dream year; if you end up winning this tournament, what sort of a dream year does that make? BRANDEN GRACE: Well, I don't know to be honest. Just short of words to be honest. If I can win this week, the year just keeps getting better and better. You know, four wins, I've had five, if I can make it five on The European Tour, I think anybody out there would dream of having five. So just nice to know that I've put my foot in the World Rankings and I've made a worldwide impression for myself and it's something that you can look forward to for a couple of years to come. Q. Obviously four wins and been a lot of talk, but do you still feel that you're a little under the radar and that you have a lot to prove out there and that this week would help put you on the level with a Rory or Donald in terms of name recognition, that kind of thing? BRANDEN GRACE: I think in Europe and South Africa, I've got a pretty decent name to be honest. Obviously, you know, you can't really compare yourself to Rory. He's got two majors under his belt and multiple victories around the world and things like that, and he's No. 1 in the world and he's there for a reason. I think if I keep playing next year the way I am now, then you can maybe say, okay, you know, he might be the next guy in the Top‑10 in the world or something like that. But at the moment I'm just taking it as it comes and just want to get to the end of this year and see how good I can finish. And what comes next year is just something that you have to worry about when it gets to you. Q. Do you have a message for all those starting Q‑School in Spain tomorrow? BRANDEN GRACE: Good luck. You know, it's going to be a long week, but if they sit down and have a think of what I've achieved this year, then anything is possible. It's possible for one of those guys. I was one of those guys last year at this time, so things can change and it changes quickly. Q. This is the first time you're playing this golf course and this tournament, but is there something out there on the course that really suits your game or you really like and is giving you confidence going into the next two days? BRANDEN GRACE: I've been really hitting my irons well the last couple of days. I think the way they have set the course up, it has not been playing the longest. There's a couple of holes they pushed it forward and I think on a couple of the longer holes, the wind has actually helped us a little bit with the wind preference there. Long holes coming downwind, instead of having to hit driver, you can hit a 3‑wood down there quite a long way and things like that. I think it's really playing to my favour because I hit my irons quite a long way. I mean, today, playing with Marcus on the par3s, I was hitting 7‑iron and he was hitting 5‑iron. So it's a completely different ballgame.  You know, where I don't like going into a par 3 with a 5‑iron to be honest. With Marcus, he's a great ball‑striker, and with a 5‑iron in his hand, you know he's going to hit it inside 15 or 20 feet. So it's just the way I feel. Like I said, the shorter irons I can hit into holes, the better I am going to feel over it. Q. They say after you've had a year like you've had, you've got to maybe prepare yourself for not having quite as good a year the following season. Is that something you're mindful of? BRANDEN GRACE: It probably is I think. I think next year is going to be a big experience again, the same as this year. I'm going to be playing a little bit more in the States next year which is another big step forward and things like that, and I think coming from Q‑School, stepping on to The European Tour again was a big step anyway. I think next year is going to be one of those years again where you don't really know what to expect and if your game finds form a couple of weeks in the year, you never know, you might have a couple more wins. I'm really looking forward to what's to come. Q. Just the thought of coming into the weekend going down the fairway with a McIlroy or Donald or something like that, does that inspire you, get you nervous or how do you feel? BRANDEN GRACE: Well, I think it's always good if you can compare yourself to the best in the world; it looks bright for you. I think if I get the opportunity to play with one of them, it will be great. You know, every round you play, you learn something. I think what's really helped me in the past was playing with Tiger. Just the crowds and playing with him was a big step for me in my career. So no, maybe when I get going on a stretch tomorrow and if I get into playing with Rory or somebody like that, I know there's going to be big crowds. But I've had four wins this year, so I pretty much know how to handle it by now and things like that. Just stick to your own game and take it from there. Q. Can you remember what thoughts were going through your head this time last year just before the start of Q‑School? BRANDEN GRACE: You know, I don't think there is really that many thoughts that go through your head. Obviously the main thought is just to get a card, whether it's winning or getting the last card. It's just to get back onto this Tour. I think what's really helped, I had a really good week at the SA Open the week before my final round, I can't remember if it was 6‑ or 7‑under, it really pushed me and gave me a little bit of edge of more confidence going into Tour School and I really hit the ball well and like I said, it's just one of those hard weeks where you need to grind it out. Whether you get first or 30th card, a card is a card and the rest is what you make of it. If you look back at the year, I think I've made the most of a bad situation at that point but it's just great to be in the position where I'm at now. SCOTT CROCKETT: Branden, thanks, as always, for your time. Good luck tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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