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ISPS HANDA PERTH INTERNATIONALOctober 17, 2013James NittiesPERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA OLIVIA McMILLAN: Birdies on the last two holes to come in equal leading, you must be happy with how you played today. JAMES NITTIES: Not really. Definitely take the score. You know, I all love being in the lead of a tournament, but I actually want to go to the range because I didn't hit it that great. I just managed myself pretty well today and then when I did hit a bad shot, I was in the right area, like short of the green where a pin was in front or fat side of the green. But always great to finish with two birdies. Like I'll take birdie on 8 any day of the week, and 9. But I missed a couple 2‑footers early which I usually don't do and the greens are perfect, so there's no excuse. But I mean, I suppose I'm happy where I played in spurts and took advantage of my opportunities. But overall, I sort of really didn't hit it that great. You just have those days some days where you hit it average and score really well and then you have those days where you hit it great and don't score great at all. OLIVIA McMILLAN: So you think you've got a lower number in you for tomorrow? JAMES NITTIES: I don't know about that. I would hope to think so. If I strike it a little bit better‑‑ it's all about managing yourself around the greens here. You can hit great shots in and land next to the pin but be sort of 15 feet straight downhill or sort of miss it in the right areas and have nice 15‑footers or 20‑footers straight up the hill. As long as you manage yourself, because you can hit it great and just be like a meter off, because the greens are firm and perfect, but the pins, you've got to be really smart around this course. I think anyone that comes up here would say that they have a lower number in them, and I'd like to think I do. But I think just manage the course and take advantage of your opportunities, and if you think you can score‑‑ if you can play well, you can score anything. Q. Given the conditions today, not a lot of wind, are you surprised 4‑under is tied for the lead? JAMES NITTIES: Kind of. Usually feel like by the time you tee off in the afternoon, someone has shot 5‑, 6‑, 7‑under, and the day was perfect. The course was perfect. The greens were perfect. But as I said, you can hit a couple of great shots, and then walk away with bogey. So if you hit a shot and you're just short of in the wrong position or you roll through a green, you can make a couple extra. You saw a lot of guys get up to 4‑ or 5‑under and then drop down to 3, because it can really bite you like that, this course. But yeah, very surprised. I saw a lot of guys under par early when I was having breakfast and figured that a couple of us would get on with it, but it's nice that they didn't. Q. Did you come here expecting to play well? How was your form? JAMES NITTIES: Form's been good all year. I've been playing a lot in America, so it's hard to know how you're playing converted to Australian golf because it's so wet over there and the greens aren't as great. And then you come home and the courses are perfect and it's more of‑‑ out there it's target golf and here it's more position and running golf shots up. So form, I missed the Playoffs and the Web.com, and I had not played for about six weeks and came home, had a week off and played down in Kalgoorlie and played well. And then I played average last week. I made the cut but didn't really do what I wanted to do. So I sort of had mixed emotions coming in this week, but the game is there. Very happy to be at 4‑under through the first round. Q. What's your plan for the coming year? Are you going back to the Web.com Tour? JAMES NITTIES: Yeah, so I finished 76th, I missed the Playoffs by a spot, which sort of sucked. But I still have good conditional, so I'll go over at the start of the year. I think get the first five or six events, if I play well, I'll have the whole year. Actually I have better status than I had last year and I played the whole season. So the plan is to play the Australian summer and go over and play the Web.com, probably midyear or so probably go over end of January or something. Q. And when you say you finished 76th, how close were you to 75th? Was it a matter of a stroke? JAMES NITTIES: Yeah, it was. I was playing the last event of the year, which is one of the most expensive purses, so every stroke sort of means a lot more. I think I finished bogey, double, par to miss the cut in the last event by a shot. And then obviously I missed by about $2,000. So if I make the cut, I make the Playoffs, so pretty simple. I felt the pressure because I felt like in the Playoffs, I could play on the tougher golf courses and get‑‑ I was pretty confident I could get back to the TOUR. Because Web.com is predominately easy golf courses and sort of a putting comp everywhere; two guys had 59 out there this year and four cuts in a row were at 6‑under. So the Playoffs were quality, tougher golf courses. I felt like if I could make it there, I could have got back on TOUR. I messed up, but deal with it. Q. How hard was that to get over? Did you dwell on it a long time? JAMES NITTIES: Not really. I've been in a position like that before. I finished 26th on the Nationwide two years ago, where 25 gets you straight on the PGA TOUR. That was sort of more tough to take. But I don't know, but just sort of puts you back a year. I don't want to be missing Playoffs and my future by one spot. I want to be comfortably getting in; so saying I shouldn't make it that close myself. So if I just play better, then I won't be in that position. So you just look at it relatively. So sort of good to get home and play the full summer and just go out and do it next year. Q. Do you feel that the tougher courses where you do have to manage the course, as opposed to just firing at the pins all the time, does that suit your style of game better do you think? JAMES NITTIES: Definitely. It's hard to say, but you feel like‑‑ when I play in America on the Web.com, you wake up in the morning if you're in the afternoon, and 9‑under is on the leaderboard, and then you play well the first couple of holes, don't make a couple putts, you're already like‑‑ one over par or something, you're already ten behind. You feel like you just have to make everything. Because it's wetter and softer, it's more the guys just bomb it into the rough and you hit a sand wedge into the green or a wedge or a 9‑iron and just stops on the green. But here it's more keeping it‑‑ giving yourself the better yardage into holes and sort of thinking your way around a golf course, and then actually hitting a quality shot. And sometimes you hit a good shot and you've still got 30 feet. You make a birdie on a tough hole out here, you really feel like you've stepped it up. So as I said, you cannot hole everything around here, and feel like, okay, I'm not really losing ground on the field. But out there, every putt you miss or every par 5 you par, you just feel like, man, there's another week where you've just got to, it's the same deal. You make the cut out there and you felt like you played good. You get to the weekend, you shoot even and you drop 20 spots. Out here, you can get away with shooting even and then having a great last round and still winning a tournament. It's more my style of golf thinking‑wise. I mean, I love the U.S. and it's really helped me to learn how to really go deep I suppose, because the tournament I won out there, 26‑under, and I never thought I could do that. So in other ways, it sort of helps me, but I prefer this style of golf; firm, fast. OLIVIA McMILLAN: Thanks for joining us, James. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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