VOLVO PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 28, 2001

Andrew Oldcorn

ANDREW OLDCORN: Bloody marvelous.

ANDREW OLDCORN: Right now, it just feels like something I knew I was capable of doing. It's taken me longer to get here than I thought. I've had a lot of up-and-downs to get here. I specifically want to thank a lot of people. I want to thank my manager Allan Maxwell, who is not here. He was a guiding light in my career, a larger-than-life individual, and it might sound a bit corny, but I felt his presence out there today. My family, all my friends -- I don't want to go into specifics of names, but they know who they are. They never lost sight of the fact that this day would come for me, and neither did I. I always thought I was capable of winning a championship like this, and it just makes me believe that I've still got a lot left in me.

ANDREW OLDCORN: Yeah, I felt okay this morning. The first few holes, I was swinging fine, but my ball contact was not too good, so I sorted something out around the turn. Had a couple mistakes for bogeys, and when I saw Nick was getting closer and closer, it actually made me play better. It changed the way I approached the back nine, and, you know, my composure, you know, it was fantastic on the back nine. I was totally in control of what I was trying to do. I learned my lessons from what I had done in the past, and for that, I give myself a pat on the back.

ANDREW OLDCORN: Yeah, 17 was crucial. I thought that Nick would probably birdie the last, so I had to try and stay one ahead the whole time. And when I got to the 17th green, I hit a great 5-wood on the green, and I saw that he had not birdied the last. I figured, if I can birdie this hole, it gives me a little cushion. So, I got on the tee and between us we decided it was a 5-wood; it was perfect. Even after I hit my second shot, I didn't know that Angel had eagled the last. I still thought that six would do and I went up and Blackie says, oh, he's made an eagle, it sort of refocused me again. I had to drop in the drop zone and I dropped it in a divot. Somebody had been there previously. So, it really wasn't an easy shot, and that was probably the shot of the week, the pressure and everything. That was a great shot.

ANDREW OLDCORN: I played here in a game prior to playing the Carris Trophy at Moor Park when I was about 14. I think 14 or 15. Then I played the English Amateur as well. So, it is one of my favourite courses. It's probably my favourite course now. But it's always a course that I've felt comfortable on. I have had a -- if ever I was wanting to win a tournament, I would rather have won this one, funny enough, than the British Open. I've always wanted to win this tournament. That's what makes it feel real special now. I could happily retire, but I'm not going to.

ANDREW OLDCORN: My old mate, Paul Curry, who is an American now, years and years ago, his kids were watching a cartoon and says, gosh it, looks like Andy Oldcorn. He is infamous for coming up with nicknames for a lot people on the Tour. It stuck, even with the Tour people. That was over a dozen years ago. I hope I'm not infringing any copyright by having it on my shoes.

ANDREW OLDCORN: No. That's a fair comment. My expectations were that I knew my game was not far off; that I was coming to a venue that I liked. You know, realistically, the beginning of the week, my aim was to finish in the Top-20 and just get a nice check and get me going, get me into rhythm. I would say after the second round, my focus on that totally changed, obviously. I think even today, the fact that most people didn't expect me to win, and one or two disparaging comments this morning made it easier for me to get it going, put it that way.

ANDREW OLDCORN: I would rather not say.

ANDREW OLDCORN: I did. I was only a couple shots out of the cut last week. But that's the perverse nature of this game. And I think I am a testament now to the strength and depth of this tour. I think that sometimes something is not given to the strength and depth of this tour by the players -- you have categorised me as one with your favourite word, journeyman, prior to today. Now, a lot of guys can play good golf on this tour, an awful lot. I've seen players succeed; I feel that I am their equal, if not their better, and that helps as a motivating force. I hope that my victory will inspire others to believe in themselves and know that, you know, everything is possible in this game.

ANDREW OLDCORN: Well, somebody called me third-rate this morning.

ANDREW OLDCORN: No.

ANDREW OLDCORN: No. They are probably in this room.

ANDREW OLDCORN: Well, that's next time. (Laughter.) Obviously, the Open Championship is the greatest event in the world, and, you know, in many respects, I feel that I've maybe followed the footsteps of Paul (Lawrie). Okay, this is not the Open Championship, but next to the Open Championship, it is well-recognized by the rest of the players on the Tour as the biggest championship. Paul is a fantastic player. He's been an inspiration to me. He had a association with Allan, as well, and I think it's kind of ironic that, you know, another Scotsman has done good today.

ANDREW OLDCORN: I'll probably have to sober up for the primer on Wednesday -- no, I'll probably have to save the celebrations. Another big tournament starts in a couple of days. I'll just have to try and get quickly down as possible, as I can. Because now, obviously, I have something else to aim for. I think we all know what that is. Today has given me the belief that I know that I can do that. It's something for me to aim for, for the next three or four months.

ANDREW OLDCORN: It's massive for me. There's no doubt about that. It's an awful lot of money in anybody's terms. I don't see much of it. It will go straight to the wife, no doubt. (Smiles). To be honest with you, the whole way around, or the whole week, I wasn't thinking about the money, because if I start to think about that and what it meant to win this tournament, then I knew I was not going to win. Then I had some really good advice, some nice messages from people over the last couple of days, and I appreciate that from who they were. They know who they are. I thank them very much for that.

ANDREW OLDCORN: Oh, yeah. That's ancient history. That was one of the bad times of my life. I'll never, truly, I don't think be over it, but I've learned to live with it and I've learned to, you know -- I would not be sitting here now if I was still struggling with that.

ANDREW OLDCORN: I'm the only man -- and I know this for a fact because somebody told me that in the tour guide, I am the only one that says that I have politics as my interest. It was just something I put down a few years ago when they asked you about your interests. I'm not particularly interested in it at the moment because it's a foregone conclusion.

ANDREW OLDCORN: It does now. No doubt about that. I knew that if I won, it would definitely come into my mind. Can somebody tell me if I've got one of the five spots in the Open by the way?

ANDREW OLDCORN: That's obviously a big plus, as well. Sure. I mean, my focus changes now. I should really be able to play without any pressure for the next foreseeable future. That's given me a huge bonus of a four- or five-year exemption which will take me to the time that I am probably winding down my tour career, before maybe taking a break and playing senior golf, if I'm fit and able to do so. In many respects, the money is able to do so, but it's the kudos of what the tournament is and what it will allow me to do in the future.

ANDREW OLDCORN: I think subconsciously, I was maybe quite naturally a bit defensive on the front nine, trying not to make any mistakes rather than -- you know, it wasn't a day to be aggressive, because it was so windy and bouncy out there. I've played the back nine pretty well all week, and I think that's been the key, and certainly, it was today. I'm just concentrating on doing the simple things right now and it worked out for me well.

ANDREW OLDCORN: Absolutely. It did come into my mind, but like I said earlier, that's the sort of instance that I definitely learned from. Like I said yesterday, on that occasion, I rushed probably through -- I just rushed through; inexperience, probably, at that time, even though I had won a couple of tournaments. I think sticking to my routine -- I probably holed about -- I probably holed about, easily, eight 4- or 5-footers today for par. Now, that wasn't for missing greens all the time. That was just a case of my first putts were not all that well or my chips from the side of the green were not all that good, and that was real character-building stuff, because I holed out really well. I didn't putt as well the today as the first three days, but I holed out a lot.

ANDREW OLDCORN: I said to him: This would change our lives and I couldn't have done it without him.

ANDREW OLDCORN: Wonderful performance; the fact that Nick had never been up there for so long. But I'd been watching how he'd been playing all week, and what he said yesterday in his interviews, and I felt that if a threat was going to come, it was going to come from him today. You know, he's obviously got to be pleased with the way he's played. I'll be pleased for the rest of his season. Sure, I mean, it's not for me to say. It's probably Sam Torrance is the guy to be asking that question to.

ANDREW OLDCORN: I would love it. Sure.

ANDREW OLDCORN: No. We even discussed last night that if I was in that position, I would hit a 5-wood off the tee if the wind was in the same direction, because I could hit an aggressive shot and not hit it in the bunkers. It was only when I got to the ball that, you know, temporarily, I let my mind wander. And I probably hit the wrong club for my second shot, instead of a 3-iron or a 5-wood again, and then I found out that our Argentinian friend made it in 3; so came on again.

ANDREW OLDCORN: I did. I have to say, there's no doubt, it's made a big difference. I was struggling with my iron play. I felt that, you know, I wasn't getting enough clubhead speed. I was happy with the clubs themselves. I was new to them this year, but I felt the shaft was too stiff for me. So I got the guys to change it to a lighter shaft at the beginning of the week, and within five minutes on the range Wednesday, I felt right away incredibly lifted by that. And I also had a new driver this week from TaylorMade, as well, and I've hit that fantastic all week. So, quite bizarre in some senses. (Laughs).

ANDREW OLDCORN: Yeah.

ANDREW OLDCORN: He's one of those people that knows who they were that I was talking about before. He's next to Allan as being next to one of my biggest supporters. He's always been there. Just keep it is simple with me. There was nothing too complicated this week that we had to sort out. Just a couple of issues he kept reminding me of. He's very important to me and a close friend.