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BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIPMay 26, 2013Matteo ManasseroVIRGINIA WATER, ENGLAND STEVE TODD: Congratulations, BMW PGA Champion 2013. We've seen you looking at the trophy there a few times out on the course, the youngest champion we've had in this prestigious event, so just describe your feelings after a hard‑fought win out there. MATTEO MANASSERO: I'm feeling‑‑ I'm obviously feeling amazing about this win. You know, I also feel really proud and honored to have won the Flagship Event. I think The European Tour does an amazing job for us in general, week‑after‑week, but George and The European Tour putts an extra effort into this event since a long time. They have just‑‑ you know, I mean, you were out there, all of you, and you saw how unbelievable this tournament is and how much crowd, what a major feeling it has. I think there has to be thanks to George, The European Tour and BMW for being such a great sponsor. So first of all, I want to thank them. And then, you know, as I said, I feel extremely happy, extremely happy, because this place has always had a real special feeling to me, and I was in contention in 2011, couldn't do it. It was Luke's time. But I'm so proud to win this year. STEVE TODD: Talk us through the day a little bit, 69 in regulation play, and then the three‑man playoff. Just take us through how you saw the day. MATTEO MANASSERO: The day was‑‑ at the beginning of the day, I wasn't thinking about any game plan to be honest, because the course probably was playing the easiest it's played this week, these four days, and there were many guys from 4‑under and on that I thought they could have win it. In fact, Simon shot 6‑under and went from 4‑ to 10‑under and made it to the playoff. So it was open to everybody, so I didn't really have a game plan. Important for me, which I didn't really want to think too much about it but was to start well; and I've started the first six holes, which, you know, I didn't hit‑‑ I was unfortunate on 6 but I started hitting only really good shots, and that was important for me. I managed to make two birdies, and that bogey on 6. But it was important to see that I was playing solid and my swing felt solid. Because I said to you throughout the week, I wasn't playing that well before this week, but I didn't really feel that comfortable even during the week. So really important for me was to understand that the swing felt at its best today. Q. Could you talk about the crowd, because although you were the Italian, there were English boys out there against you; you got some terrific support out there. MATTEO MANASSERO: I did. Obviously Lee, Lee has got the most support at the beginning, but I had so much‑‑ the crowd in general this week has been unbelievable, really. I think the weekend that they got to see was a reward of the people that were here Friday with that weather to watch. Because I was there Friday afternoon, and I had people following me, and it wasn't only Alberto and my physio, there were more people. There were a lot of people watching under those circumstances with that weather. So they got rewarded by this weekend. So they helped me out a lot on the weekend, and in the playoff, I had so many people shouting my name and supporting me. That's important. Not that you really think about it when you're playing, but if you look back at it, you know, if it would be the opposite, it would be really hard to take it. So they helped me out a lot; they helped Simon; they helped Lee, I'm sure, and Eddie and all the English players. But in general, they were looking for some good golf, and that's because here, they really understand what golf is about. And they don't really care if it's English or British or European or however, whatever. They just look for some fun, and that's what makes it special. Q. You talked about being in contention two years ago. How important, how badly did you want to win this when you got into the playoff? MATTEO MANASSERO: I wanted to win it since the beginning. I think the only thing that changed is that last year, Luke was tied with me, and Lee was one or two back or something like this. So it was a situation about Luke and Lee being world No. 1, so it was all a different situation. And I started not really trying to make birdies, but trying not to waste shots. And it was a bit of, not exactly the right attitude to have. But it was a huge event for me at that time to be leading after three days, and certainly helped me, helped me a lot going into‑‑ from yesterday afternoon to this morning, it helped me on not thinking too much about what was going to happen, but just relax and not even trying to have such a fixed game plan. Just go out, and didn't feel the swing well, so I managed to think better than two years ago. Q. After your victory, Rory Tweeted that, "You are making me feel old" and "#phenom." What are your comments on that? MATTEO MANASSERO: I'm happy that he wrote that Tweet. He is a bit older than me (laughter). But I'm happy that he's wrote something nice like that. You know, I've got so much respect for Rory. I have been saying this since a few years, I can say that for sure, that I think he's got the best game, the most talented player out here. He achieved so much. So I've got so much respect for him and I'm just happy that he Tweeted something like that. Q. The second question I wanted to ask was even in Singapore we saw, and over here when it comes to a playoff, you seem to bring something extra out of your game; well, given that the playoffs are much like match play, what are your Ryder Cup hopes and aspirations? MATTEO MANASSERO: I agree, I can say this to you; I didn't feel‑‑ going into the playoff, on the 72nd hole I would never have hit a cut drive like I hit on the fourth hole of the playoff. So I guess maybe for some strange off, maybe the playoff takes some pressure out, because you know that it's just you and your opponent. I guess‑‑ it's for some strange reason that I can't really explain that well, but to answer to your question, Ryder Cup, it's different, I think, but I've never played it. I was there once and I could feel the atmosphere. So it's a bit like a playoff, but almost like a playoff of a major I guess, because it seems like every hole is so intense, and I didn't feel that there was that Ryder Cup feeling atmosphere around me today. I just felt that it was a very big event, an important playoff, very important playoff for me, but I was just concentrating on hitting less shots as possible. I don't know if we can relate playoffs to Ryder Cup. I think it's really hard, but I'm obviously looking at the next Ryder Cup and I really want to be there, and that's all I can say. I don't know; I can certainly say to you that I feel good in match play because I've done well at the Accenture and I've played a lot of match play as an amateur. But it's hard to relate anything to The Ryder Cup. Q. On Friday, how important and satisfying was it to stay in contention? MATTEO MANASSERO: Very important. Very important. Of course I couldn't say at that time that I was satisfied, because I was out of the lead, and Luke at the leaderboard at that time was the only guy on that side of the draw that stayed in contention. So that 1‑under par, not even playing that good golf, hitting a few poor drives, it was very important. I celebrated the birdie on the last, the putt may that I had on the last, to finish 4‑under, because I thought it was a big score, 1‑under par, that day. They were probably the hardest conditions I've played almost in my life; not that I've played so many rounds of golf, but I've played many, and it was so tough, extremely tough, so it was important. Q. A couple of things; can you tell me which of the great names on the trophy stands out for you, and why, in emulating them? And also, how do you see the balance of your future going forward between Europe and America? MATTEO MANASSERO: The players that stands out are‑‑ well, two in particular: Seve and Constantino. Constantino was the first guy that was won it, the first Italian guy that won on the European PGA, and Seve has always been my idol, and he had a lot of success here. So those stands out because adding my name to the Trophy where they are, it's a lot for me. It means a lot for me. And talking about the balance between Europe and America, to be honest right now, I'm going to finish the year as it is. I've played a few tournaments in the U.S., but having this win here, I feel like I should keep going till the end of the season, obviously playing a few‑‑ I mean, I'm in the Top‑50 in the world, so as every other guy in the Top‑50 of the world does, he travels a little bit. So I think that's the balance that I would like to keep, some weeks, most of the weeks here, but some weeks over there. If the WGCs and the majors would be in another place, we would probably travel to another place. We are very complete players on The European Tour because we travel so much. It doesn't cost us a lot. You know, we are kind of used to it because we need to do that. I'm going to play Sweden next week, so that says that I want to keep going on The European Tour, but I will travel to America. Q. You said you're going to go to Sweden, but you don't have to go to Walton Heath tomorrow, which is nice. What do you think about qualifying for the U.S. Open? MATTEO MANASSERO: Yeah, that's a bit of a relief to be honest. To play 36 holes tomorrow, it would have been hard. It would have been really hard. But I was dropping in the World Ranking a little bit, so obviously I had to enter in the qualifier, and I was going to be happy to play them anyway if I wasn't going to play well this week. But a big relief for me to be able to concentrate into Sweden only and then change my flight to a little earlier tomorrow and be there, be fresh and think about next week already. Q. Can I just check, are you still living at home with mom and dad? MATTEO MANASSERO: Yeah, I'm going to go to move out at the end of the year though. Q. Do you have your driver's license? MATTEO MANASSERO: Yeah. Q. Last year when we were talking, you said that one of your goals last year was to increase your distance off the tee, and then you just drilled this 301‑yard drive today in the playoff, according to the TV yardages. How good do you feel about it and where do you think you are now as far as that goal is concerned? MATTEO MANASSERO: I feel that my work has paid off. You know, as you can say, I lost some weight in the off‑season, and everybody tells me, have you been sick, or you've just done that on purpose. I've done that on purpose and I've lost some weight, and I'm trying now to add some distance. I think I've added already some distance with the driver. I've hit some good drives today. The one on 18, it was‑‑ obviously the fairway is kind of firm, so that says it all. But I think I added some distance, and it's obviously very important. I was saying it when I was ten yards shorter; I need to add some yardage to be able to compete in certain events. But in general, in any event, even a very short course, some distance helps. I would have never been able to hit three times 3‑wood, actually four, on the 72nd hole, on the 18th, and be able to reach the green in two. So you know, for that example it takes a lot of pressure off the tee shot that you can hit a 3‑wood and don't have to cut a driver. It's not only about reaching par 5s and having wedges and 8‑irons in; it's also about taking some pressure off many times. I feel really happy and the work has been done in the right way. Q. Can we touch on that‑‑ what did you do? Did you work with your coach to do this, because you really have slipped‑‑ you're much thinner, I almost didn't think it was you when I first looked. MATTEO MANASSERO: I've worked with my trainer, Massimo, who was here this week. In the off‑season, I had five weeks. I went on a diet. I've obviously decided to do it in the off‑season, and did quite a lot of cardio training and diet, and that was it. When I started to play again before South Africa, I stopped, and I just follow a regular routine. After the cardio training, I was then‑‑ I had to do work to get the muscle, weights. But obviously when you slim down, you slim down a bit of everything. And so I tried to put some muscles on again, and now it seems to have stabilised really well, because I felt comfortable this week. But, you know, when you look back, I feel much better now physically, so it was work that had to be done and I'm happy that I've done it, pretty quickly, because in the end it didn't take very long. Q. I walked with you in the end on the 72nd hole you seemed much more relaxed in the playoff than you were there; what is it? Is there no fear? MATTEO MANASSERO: I was. It's probably the sense that you have already achieved having the leading score, but that can't be the answer because in the end, you want to win it. You want to win it. But that experience in Singapore helped me a lot, but even at that time, I was much more tense on the green on the 72nd hole rather than in the playoff. So I don't know what's the reason to be honest, but you are right, I was more relieved and less tense on the playoff rather than on the 72nd hole. Q. You just mentioned the diet there; can you give us a bit more detail what you've done differently or what you do differently? MATTEO MANASSERO: Well, in that period off in which I was really doing the diet, I took all the carbohydrates off for five weeks, so it was just trying to slim down, and to do it quite quickly, we figured out that that was the best way, and then cardio training, because you cannot just lose it by not eating or eating less. So that's more detail. But right now, it seems like I activated my metabolism a little bit more, but I'm not really concentrating on having ‑‑ I don't have a certain diet, just normal things. I'm not really focused into that. It's already a lot, golf, gym, practise. I like to eat, so you've got to treat yourself. Q. How much weight did you lose? MATTEO MANASSERO: Since I started, I haven't weighed myself in a month but around seven kilos. STEVE TODD: Matteo, congratulations. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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