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MASTERS TOURNAMENTApril 12, 2013Matteo ManasseroAUGUSTA, GEORGIA Q.  Give us your thoughts foremost on the round. Disappointing finish obviously? MATTEO MANASSERO: Yeah, I mean, I started really, really badly. I couldn't have started worse, missing two very short putts, actually three in the first four holes, and I was 6‑over, and I thought, I have to come back all the way to 2, which in the end was kind of wrong because I think 4 would probably make it. But I mean, we'll see. We'll see what the cut is going to be. Apart from that, I didn't play my iron shots well today. I hit some good ones, but in the end when the pressure got up a little bit, I had some bad strikes and paid with a double bogey and a bogey, which is what's going to happen at Augusta. Probably the worst thing has been the putter, though. I really struggled. I struggled on the greens, and I need to do some technique work, I think, and get that putting stroke more stable, let's say, just more consistent round after round and day after day because I can get good days but I can get really, really bad days in which I'm really doubtful about the way I'm going to putt. That's what it was. Q. (Inaudible.) MATTEO MANASSERO: Yeah, there has been a problem. I don't know if it's going to get a shot penalty or not. The rules official assigned a shot penalty. We've been timed only today since the 12th hole, and it's obviously a hard day for everybody, but professional golf is the way it is, and now with this problem in general of slow play, rules officials are very strict. So we'll see what's going to happen. Me and Ben, we both (inaudible) because it's something that sometimes you can't control. I can only say I've been lucky that I've always been a fast player because I think that's‑‑ especially on this course, especially in the position where he's at, it's really hard to manage, to handle. Q. Did you think he was playing slow? MATTEO MANASSERO: Well, he's been timed and he was off time, so he was slow, yeah. Q. Did it feel slow for you out there? MATTEO MANASSERO: I mean, it depends‑‑ I was walking slowly. I was last to hit, so I could take my time, and while they were hitting I was getting my yardage. So I always had things to do while they were hitting, so I didn't feel too bad. But I mean, a day like this is always going to be slow at Augusta. The wind gusts. If I would have took more time on 16, I probably would have saved two shots, as well. Q. He obviously is a young player, and he's obviously a talent, but he has a lot to learn. Is this perhaps an element of his game that he has to think about? MATTEO MANASSERO: I think it's the biggest thing he needs to be careful about, because I think he's ready. When the caddie pulls the club for him, I think he's ready. But he just sometimes‑‑ most of the times that he goes a little‑‑ takes a little too long, he just asks questions that‑‑ I think he knows, as well, but just to be sure, just to be clear in his mind. And so I think that's an important thing, and John Paramor was saying that, as well. We all feel sorry, but this is the way professional golf goes, and he's going to be here‑‑ by the time he comes here, he's going to be ready and he's going to have fixed that particular thing. This will end up being a great experience for him. Q. So maybe this is a valuable lesson in a way? MATTEO MANASSERO: Yeah. We all hope he's going to make the cut, but this certainly will be a very valuable lesson. He will never forget it for sure, and he will learn from it. Q. How did he take the news? MATTEO MANASSERO: Well, John said it to him on the 17 of the green, and he made a great up‑and‑down on 18. He tried his best. He's done his best. He was still very focused, so he looked really good when he understood he was going to get a one‑shot penalty. But obviously now he's trying to make his points because he could have‑‑ I don't know what the discussions were between him and the referee, but he could have not understood 100 percent what he was trying to say. I don't know. Q. You said afterwards that they were talking about it, so is it uncertain‑‑ when you were in there was it uncertain whether he would get that penalty or not? MATTEO MANASSERO: Do I need to give you my opinion? He's been given the shot penalty, and myself on the card, I had to put a shot penalty, so I put a 5 on 17 because I was told like that. What's going to happen in the next minutes, I don't know. Q. How impressed are you by what this boy has done this week? MATTEO MANASSERO: He's done really well, especially today was a very hard day today for a guy that doesn't hit the ball long. It was tough, and he's done well. He's battled right to the end. I personally think he's going to make the cut. I don't know, I'm probably‑‑ I don't know, but I think he will make it. Q. What could this mean for golf in China? MATTEO MANASSERO: Well, I'm sure it's going to be huge. I'm sure it's going to be huge for golf in China. They need great Chinese golfers and golf stories to tell, and this is one of them for sure. Q. You've had a lot of pressure in your teens as far as expectations for your country. Can you empathize with what he might be getting into? MATTEO MANASSERO: Yeah, but you kind of don't feel it while you're doing it. Once you grow up and you look back on it, you understand how important you were at that time. But I don't think he's feeling the pressure right now, which is a good thing. Q. How would you define Tianlang Guan's pace of play? MATTEO MANASSERO: He's been‑‑ by the time, he's been slow, and he was‑‑ he's been slow. He was just sometimes‑‑ he had the club right, he had the right club, his caddie pulled his club for him, and he was sure, but to be clear in his mind he was asking one more question, one extra question, which may be the timing when he actually had to speed up. You know, it was bad for him in the end. But from my point of view, I didn't get so much affected by it because I was hitting last, so I was taking my time and it didn't feel too slow to me. But the times are saying that it was sometimes too slow. Q. And just to clarify, when you and Ben left the scoring area and he was still in there with officials, where did the penalty on 17 stand? MATTEO MANASSERO: It's 99 percent I would say. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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