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OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSICFebruary 2, 2013Lee WestwoodDUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Q. Excellent numbers on the scorecard, what's the store‑behind them? LEE WESTWOOD: If I'm being honest that's the probably the worst I've played in three days. Such a stupid game, isn't it. A few good putts here and there make up for a few bad shots and I just started missing it left, missed a few fairways, but hit a lot of good iron shots and made a couple of nice putts, which was good. I had a day‑saver on the fourth: Hit it to about three feet on the first, making birdie; and missing from about eight feet on 2; and 3‑putting 3 for par; and I had about a 10‑footer for birdie on 4, and it saved and made my day. Q. Give us a feel for how the golf course is playing. Some of the guys coming off are saying they are suffering with mud balls on the fairway? LEE WESTWOOD: No, I didn't notice that too much. I've got a new PING G25 driver and it comes out a bit lower and when it lands, it's not really picking up as much mud as usual. I thought the golf course played great. Q. Some players are saying, the rough not having been cut since Tuesday, also wet; if you miss the fairway, can get a bit dodgy. LEE WESTWOOD: It was noticeably harder to play out of than the first couple of days. I hit into the rough a couple of times and it was fairly easy to shift the ball forward. Wasn't taking much off the clubs. It was a good club extra out of the rough. Q. What would you say is a satisfactory score for guys going out leading now? LEE WESTWOOD: I had a score in my head to get to 13‑under and thought I might be three or four behind. It's very scorable out there if you're playing well. The greens are rolling lovely as they have all week, and with a bit of softness out there, there's no reason not to hit it close. Q. What's the story with this rise up the leaderboard on day three? LEE WESTWOOD: Difficult to tell really. I made a lot more putts today. I putted very nicely, rolled the ball well. I was pleased to finish with two birdies, birdied 17 and 18, 12‑under feels so much better than 10‑under and could be within striking distance tomorrow. Q. And unaccustomed conditions, we don't expect this kind of rain in Dubai? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, it's probably the most miserable day I've ever seen in Dubai. Certainly been 17 or 18 years since I've seen a die where it's cloudy all day and drizzling but I thought it made the golf course play a little bit easier, softened it up. If you hit good iron shots, they were stopping within a couple of yards. They had been running out the first couple of days. The greens are still holding up really well and putting beautifully. Q. What are your thoughts on your position on that board now? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, I don't know what the leaders are going to get to. I've heard mixed reports of how difficult everybody thinks it's playing. I thought it was‑‑ I was surprised when I got in and saw that I was‑‑ 66 had put me on 12‑under and only one or two behind. I thought somebody would shootout of the blocks. The goal is to come out and I'm certainly sharper today than I was the first to days. I'd like to play the way I played the first two days and retain the sharpness of today. Q. When you say that, how much do you feel as though you are grooved into the new season? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, I'm only three rounds into it but yeah, it feels pretty solid. I'm happy with the way my game is coming to. My putting and short game is way sharper than it normally is. That's the reason I shot 66 today. Q. When you came off yesterday, you briefly said you felt that even though you felt really good about it‑‑ is it the case that‑‑ what's the difference between yesterday and today? LEE WESTWOOD: Not a massive difference. You know, just turned a couple of drivers over. I mean, yesterday I felt like the ball was climbing a little bit so I was trying to turn a little bit more with my body today. Maybe that was it, just getting the club slightly out of position. Q. Yesterday, 17 and 18, and then starting off so strongly today; is that just typical? Are you able to just put a difficult two holes aside and start, or did you feel pretty good about starting so strong? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, I felt like I needed to start strong to make up some ground. Last night was disappointing but it didn't bother me too much. Just one of them things that occasionally when you're rusty you're going to make mistakes and mental errors and that's more what yesterday's finish was. Q. As you said it sounds like today some of the sharp putting, you come off feeling much better, basically? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, you know, I've come off with a nice 30‑footer at 17 and good putt at 16 I did well to miss; and 18, the eagle putt was right on line. So that sort of stuff can give you momentum for the next day. So I feel better about my putting walking off today than the first two days. Q. When is the last time you were motivated by someone not associated with the golf industry? LEE WESTWOOD: Motivated? It didn't motivate me. It made me nervous. I was nervous watching the horse. I wasn't motivated. Q. You said in one of the reports I read was that you wanted to do a 'Dubai Double' now. LEE WESTWOOD: Well, that would be nice, wouldn't it. I wasn't motivated by the horse's win. Whether it won or lost, I came here to win the tournament; a 'Dubai Single' would be nice. Q. How does that compare, winning a golf tournament to watching your horse win a horse race? How does that compare? LEE WESTWOOD: It's just good. You get a real buzz, especially when it's coming as far behind as that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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