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VOLVO GOLF CHAMPIONSJanuary 10, 2014Tommy FleetwoodDURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA STEVE TODD: Thanks for joining us. Difficult day out on the course, a lot of wind, but just give us your assessment of the 67. TOMMY FLEETWOOD: It was really good actually. It was weird obviously playing with a complete opposite wind. Felt like playing a new golf course in the first five, gave you the chills, and you can get off to actually quite a good start, and missed a couple on the‑‑ but just played really well all the way in. If I missed the green, I got up‑and‑down and my short game was pretty sharp. Very rare that you get a round of golf that you make everything and get the best out of it that you can. But front nine, I played really well. Finishing holes back into the wind, it's hard to make a score into the wind when you're hitting long irons in but delighted how I played and managed to put myself in a good position going into the weekend. STEVE TODD: Coming back after the break‑‑ TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, I struggled to take time off, I struggled to rest and just felt like time ticking away. But I realised how much I missed and how much I enjoyed playing golf. Just all this week, I've been absolutely made up to be out here and been made up to be playing and practising and playing my game and looking forward again. No expectations; my expectations have been really low, and all that put together has worked and hopefully I can keep it going over the weekend. Q. So when you're at home, are you just full of energy, just can't sit still? Just desperate to get back out on the golf course? TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Pretty much, at least over Christmas, you've got to try to see everybody who you haven't seen throughout the year‑‑ but that stresses me out anyway. I guess around 20th of December, you're just praying that Christmas will come early. But it is hard to rest because all I want to do is practise and all I want to do is try to get better. But at the same time, everybody always says, you need to rest, you need to rest; ha‑ha, don't worry about it. It just shows that you can have weeks off and you can come back and play well and it doesn't affect your game as much as I thought it would. Mind‑set‑wise, it's made a huge difference, and my golf game is actually‑‑ I've lost a couple of major flaws that I had last year when I was playing so much and it's done me no harm at all. I feel really fresh. Q. (Inaudible.) TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Well, because I was playing‑‑ my swing, when I play more and more and more, I do feel less‑‑ but by doing that, I give more of a chance of hitting it left and a.m. closed and end up swinging on the inside. Since I came back, it's gone‑‑ I still have one‑‑ overall my game has been a lot better. I haven't played like I played today in about a good three or four months. So I'm made up; I felt like my swing was really good. I hit a lot of straight shots and a lot of shots that started out on line which I kind of lost towards the end of last year, so it's encouraging to know that I can play and hit a shot if it's a tough pin on a tough hole now. Q. You're here after winning the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles; can you just talk about how important that was for you in your career and how much of a motivation it is, a certain event in September, to go back to Gleneagles? TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Well, I mean, it's strange, because, I could have lost in a playoff and just finished the year, came 50th in the Order of Merit and I wouldn't have played in the WGC that I played in and I wouldn't have played in this and the difference in your mind‑set is huge probably. It gave me a lot of experience last year. I played in the last four and I got drawn with McIlroy and Garcia, all in big events. You get this tournament, and just being surrounded by the best players there is, is a massive learning experience. You can't buy it and you have to win to get it almost. It's made me a better golfer by an absolute mile just by winning. The Ryder Cup isn't my motivation at the moment. It would be great to get in it and it is a dream come true; I want to play in Ryder Cups and I want to be part of that team and I think it is the best sporting event in the world, but there's a lot of guys ahead of me this year right now as it stands. A few more wins wouldn't do me any harm, I'm sure, but at this point in my career I'm just trying to learn and make the most that I can out of the opportunities that are given to me. Q. I was going to ask you, you said the other day you're going to seek out José Maria; did you see him? TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I haven't seen him yet. Normally he's on the range. But I would like to see him and just ask him‑‑ I think it's important that you take those chances you get when you play with people like that. I actually get a little bit nervous playing with the older guys like Olazábal because they have done so much in the game. He's won two Masters and they know it all and I always want to kind of impress them and show that I can play a bit. So I do want to see him. I spent a lot of time with Darren Clarke this week and he's been great with me. Playing with José is obviously another great opportunity to seek him out and ask him what he thought and what I can improve on. I think it's definitely one of those things that I want to do throughout the year this year is make sure that I can ask as many of the guys‑‑ I feel a bit more comfortable now after seeing them a lot more and playing with a few of them over the last few years. I feel more comfortable‑‑ it's very difficult to start out and just walk up and stay, hi, I'm Tommy Fleetwood, can you just ... Q. Obviously Matteo Manassero is up there, as well. Is it important for European golf to have young guys like yourself and the American, Jordan Spieth coming through? TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, Jordan Spieth. And guys like me, Matteo, Victor, we've all grown up together and we've played junior golf up through now and we are starting to get up there in European Tour events and obviously we've all won. It's great. On a selfish point of view, it's great to have them around because it motivates you. I've been with Chris Wood and Joost Luiten and all these guys, they are all young guys starting out and they are all motivated and they are all thinking about getting better and winning tournaments, and that ups your game. It's great to be surrounded by the best possible people and the guys that want to get good and the guys that want to get to the top of the game and that makes want to practise and that's what makes it so good. Q. Going into the weekend, we are expecting quite a bit of local crowds. You've played in Europe and foreign countries; do you have any idea what it's going to be with Louis Oosthuizen right up there with you and the local support? TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, I doubt if‑‑ if Louis is playing with me‑‑ the crowds are really good. It's great whenever we come here, because we do get good crowds and golf is quite a good sporting‑‑ they were good sports today. A few people were giving me support and mentioning my name. It's really nice. It makes you want to play in front of everyone and you just want to put on a show for them really, because that's what they come to watch. I'm looking forward to it and hopefully they will be nice to me. It will be good fun because the South African fans are actually some of the best in the world. STEVE TODD: Thanks, Tommy. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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