|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
TURKISH AIRLINES OPEN BY THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISMNovember 5, 2013Lee WestwoodANTALYA, TURKEY Q. Having shared a flight with you from Shanghai, how have you acclimatised? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, not too bad. It's nice to wake up in the morning and there be a chill in the air. Looking forward to seeing the golf course and playing this week. Q. A chill in the air; we are expecting 24 to 27 degrees every day and glorious sunshine. LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, but no humidity down here. It cools off at night and that's nice. Q. What do you make of the whole concept of golf in the area of Turkey? LEE WESTWOOD: I played in an event down here last year, in the eight‑man field, and I enjoyed it. The people are very friendly and welcoming and the golf course is good. . We've changed golf courses for this year, but Turkish Airlines are a good sponsor and they are obviously putting a lot of money in and deserve a good tournament and big field that they have got. Q. And an area like when Spain was developing its golf and Portugal and something that's growing? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, reminds me a bit of that. I'm sure they are trying to get into that holiday market and winter golf. They have got every chance. Fantastic facilities down here, lots of golf courses and the hotels are great. So it's worth looking into I think if you're coming from Britain. Q. Having seen it 12 months ago, is it right to step into an eight‑man tournament as something as prestigious as part of The Final Series? LEE WESTWOOD: It's a big leap up, yeah. They have done well to get a big tournament in such a short space of time. Be interesting to see how it plays out this week, and great for Turkish Airlines and all the other sponsors. Q. How is the game? It looks like you're shaping nicely, building some scores, a couple of little faltering marks here and there. LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I always try and sort of look at my form on how many birdies I'm making. I'm making a lot of birdies, but I'm making some silly scores, a triple‑bogey and a couple of double‑bogeys and a few silly bogeys on easy holes last week. Making enough birdies to win the tournament, it's just making too many silly errors, whether that's through coming off five weeks off or just because of the time of the year at the end of the season, just mentally a bit jaded. Just have to try and figure it out this week. Q. Just one of those things, you can figure it out this week, might click into place as it sometimes does? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, and I'm working on a few things in my golf swing which is never easy to do on the golf course, just a few different changes. Most of it's there. Making a lot of birdies but making too many silly mistakes at the moment. I was saying to somebody else, I don't know if that's coming off five weeks off where I'm just a bit rusty or it's the end of season, just a bit jaded mentally and not focusing fully all the time. So just try and sort it out for this week and hopefully keep rolling the putts in that I'm making and cut out the silly errors. Q. Comes the time of year when the European No. 1 has been decide and you've been there twice, what did it mean to you to be No. 1? LEE WESTWOOD: It means an awful lot. Obviously it's a sign of consistency really. Although maybe not so much nowadays where there's a big discrepancy in the purses. I think you have to win a World Golf Championships or a major or even one of these Final Series to win the Money List realistically. But you certainly have to play well the full year. Q. Where would you say it ranks in your list of achievements? LEE WESTWOOD: Pretty high up, right after becoming world No. 1. Winning the Order of Merit twice is very high up. Q. How would you say it's changed down years? You already mentioned the fact that you have to win one of these world events; it's quite different from ten or 15 years ago to win this. LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, first time around in 2000, I think I won something like six or seven events that year. You don't need to do that‑‑ you can almost win the Money List without winning an event. So it's a little bit different. But you still have to play well. Q. Ernie has been quite critical of the fact that the tour have insisted you play two of the three preceding events to get into Dubai. What's your thoughts on that? LEE WESTWOOD: Quite right, really. The disappointing thing about it is the only people that's losing out are the sponsors in Dubai. They have been penalised for a silly rule made by The European Tour. Q. You talk about rules; rules have been in the headlines recently. How well do you think you know The Rules of Golf, and do you study them? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I know them pretty well. I know you're not supposed to tap down spike marks. Q. Is it something you study? Players work at every aspect of the game, and rules can cost you a championship or a stroke or two at least. Do you study them? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, they tend to crop up as you play over time; 20 years of playing on Tour, you generally bump into most of the rules or come across them, and if you're not sure, then you call in the rules official. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|