|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIPNovember 24, 2012Luke DonaldDUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES SCOTT CROCKETT: Thanks, as always, for joining us. Very well played today. Just give us your thoughts on the day and your place in the championship. LUKE DONALD: Yeah, again, another solid round and in a great position. I'm not sure what Rory did on the last, either tied with him or one ahead. It will be a fun end to the season. Obviously playing with Rory, No.1 and No.2 in the world, and the last round for both of us in 2012. So again, I played a very solid round today. Picked off the par5s and made a couple other birdies. Very much in control of the ball and it's always enjoyable to play this game when that happens. SCOTT CROCKETT: The television interviews have made a lot of the stat that you've played 100 holes without dropping a shot. That's incredible, when you think that this golf course is not very easy, that's an incredible statistic. LUKE DONALD: Yeah, a little hard to fathom even for myself. That's some good going. I bet my next round is not even close to that, probably something like 40, 50 holes. Yeah, it's something I'll store away in the memory banks and use to my advantage down the road. SCOTT CROCKETT: It's clearly a golf course you feel comfortable on then with that statistic. LUKE DONALD: Yeah, for whatever reason, this week, obviously I've come into some good form off the back of the win from last week, and I remember this time last year, I was, again, just trying to play solid golf, minimise mistakes and must have gone quite a few holes back then, too, without making a bogey. I guess it's a testament to how I play the game. I kind of keep the ball in front of me, and when I do get in trouble, I've got a good short game to bail myself out. Q. Any idea of what your previous long run is? LUKE DONALD: If I had to guess, 40, 45 holes or something like that. But I remember I went a stretch at Wentworth 30, 40 holes, something like that. But can't think outside of that. Q. So are you shocked to hear that you're more than twice? LUKE DONALD: I'm pretty sure I remembered I didn't make a bogey in my last 36 this time last year for rounds three and four, and obviously I knew I had not made a bogey this tournament. So I guess I just didn't really add it up. But I knew that the number was pretty high, and you know, putts, when you have a putt like on 10 that I had today from about 15, 16, 18 feet to make par, you just grind a little bit more because you don't want to break that streak. There's a little extra will into that putt and trying to make it, and obviously it's certainly helped the position I am in right now; if you can minimise mistakes and just make some birdies along the way, you're going to be doing pretty well in the tournament. Q. How do you approach tomorrow? Is it almost like a match‑play scenario? What do you do? Do you have to bear in mind the other guys in the field? LUKE DONALD: You can't get too complacent. Obviously this is a course that can throw out some low scores, and some great players behind Rory and I. For me, it's more about just playing my game again. Obviously Rory, looking back today, he's hitting it so far right now. Looked like he hit sand iron into the 12th today and I hit 6‑iron. So it's a different golf course for us. But you know, obviously I know how to play to my own strengths and that's what I'll be concentrating on. Q. You just said that you didn't want the streak to end on the 10th hole when you were making that putt of 16, 18 feet; were you aware that you had a streak going like this? LUKE DONALD: I was aware that I had not made a bogey in the tournament. I didn't want to do that. After thinking about it, walking up the last couple holes, I kind of remembered that I didn't think that I had made a bogey, certainly in round four of Dubai last year. But I didn't realise the number was that high. Q. How difficult or otherwise is it tomorrow when you're going out with Rory, No. 1 and No.2 in the world, not to let that dynamic affect your game? LUKE DONALD: It's not that difficult for me. I mean, I know my own game. I know my game is different to Rory's. He's a power player and obviously he's got a great short game, as well. I can't go out and try to hit the ball harder or anything like that. I just have to play my own game and not get ahead of myself. That's what I intend to be doing. Q. What sort of score do you think you are going to need to shoot tomorrow to come away with the trophy? LUKE DONALD: One better than everyone else, that's about it. That's all I'll be concentrating on. Q. Can't remember that bogey, can you? LUKE DONALD: What hole would it have been on? SCOTT CROCKETT: The 8th hole in round two last year. LUKE DONALD: Gutted. I can't believe I made. Q. Probably a short putt? LUKE DONALD: Short putt. 8‑footer probably. (Laughter). Q. Is there any psychological brownie points to be gained tomorrow if you happen to win? LUKE DONALD: In terms of my own confidence, it would be a great way to finish off the year. Any time you're playing against the best player in the world, if you can go head‑to‑head and come out on top, yeah, you're going to come away feeling good about things.  Obviously before last week, the kind of year was a solid year, but if I go out and win tomorrow, it's turned into a pretty good year; to possibly win four times, is the same amount of wins that I won last year. Yeah, I'm excited for the challenge and you always want that opportunity to have a chance to win. Q. Just to follow up on that, to win, would it kind of set up a nice push for No. 1 next year and send Rory a message that you're out there and you're ready to take it back? LUKE DONALD: Again, being ranked No. 1 isn't a focus for me. But you know, I'm pretty sure if you ask Rory, he wouldn't be complacent, either, and say that he's going to be No. 1 forever and ever. But he certainly has that ability to do that, but there's a lot of great players behind him and certainly I'll be chasing hard. SCOTT CROCKETT: Luke, very well played today. Good luck tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|