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BMW CHAMPIONSHIP

May 25, 2005

Greg Owen

SURREY, ENGLAND

GORDON SIMPSON: It's interesting, a year ago from now, you were completely incapacitated with a back operation and it's been a remarkable transformation in these 12 months, hasn't it?

GREG OWEN: Well, 12 months and a week tomorrow was the operation. So it seems to have come a long way since then. It was worrying times, but things have worked out pretty well. Going through Q School was hard work, a lot of pressure. And the year so far, it's fantastic. It was something, I wasn't sure whether it was going to happen or what, just out of the blue really, and just fulfilling my ability as a golfer I think.

GORDON SIMPSON: Probably you always knew you had the ability, but maybe didn't have the results to back it up.

GREG OWEN: Yeah, I don't know what was missing really. In Europe, I obviously won the British Masters but I always felt there was more to come and probably just wasn't working hard. I seem to be working harder this year and the results have come. Still pushing for the win. I'm not hanging back on my laurels and sitting on my laurels. Still ambitious.

Q. When you say you're working harder this year, how does that manifest itself? Is that bashing more balls or is it more focus?

GREG OWEN: Both. I'm enjoying practicing, so that means I'm hitting more balls, and I've got more reason to practice. Everything is new and exciting out there, and it's just I want to prove myself. I want to feel like I belong out there, and the only way you do that is by getting results. I have goals that I want to achieve out there, and I'm starting to get them. And I've got definite plans in my mind how to get that, how to do that, so I'm working towards it.

Q. Is it like saying, "Now that I'm here, I've got to make the most of it?"

GREG OWEN: I never practiced. December and January is two months off. Back in England, the greens are no good to practice, on so I've just not practiced.

So I've had two months, end of December, January, practicing, and I go out to the facilities out in the States to do that now and I'm enjoying it. The facilities are better than my home place, and the weather is pretty good in Florida at the start of the year. So I just like getting out on the golf course and getting my own practicing.

Q. Have you bought a place in November?

GREG OWEN: Yeah, I bought a place in November before I got my card.

Q. Where?

GREG OWEN: In Windermere in Orlando.

GORDON SIMPSON: That was a bit of a risk.

GREG OWEN: We put the money down for the place at the end of March before the injury, thinking it was a good investment and a place to practice. I was looking at ways to improve what was happening in Europe, and I thought I needed to practice in the winter. The pound is strong, and it would be a good investment anyway. I just sold an old house of mine and things just went well. Just happened to close on it two weeks before the final qualifying school. Everything's worked out great, except when I got my card, I have to worry about trying to find somewhere quickly. I've got great facilities at Orange County National which is five minutes from my house and Disney 20 minutes down the road, so Lauren is happy and there's plenty for them to do.

Q. Thomas Bjorn was in here earlier on saying as European Tour players, they should really support the flagship event. Have you made a special journey back to play?

GREG OWEN: This is my only event I'm playing this trip.

Q. Can you expand on why you came back?

GREG OWEN: BMW put a lot of money into the European Tour and supporting it, and the players support that. It's a massive event. World Ranking points are huge. We have the top players in Europe playing. The course is fantastic. We get looked after really well. And obviously it's important for us to pull a good show off for BMW, and they are the main sponsors and they need the best players. And I want to get in the Top 50 in the world.

Q. You made a special trip back for this?

GREG OWEN: My last tournament was Wachovia in Charlotte, that was two weeks ago. I just played four in a row and I can't play as often as I'd like to now with my back, otherwise I'd just keep playing. So I needed two weeks off and come back, see the family and then play the PGA. And then I fly down, back for the U.S. Open and back for K Club, Loch Lomond, British Open, Deutsche Bank. Those are my intentions.

Q. Even though there's always a next goal, even though you've done so well, do you notice you're playing without pressure?

GREG OWEN: No. I never play without pressure. That's probably what's holding me back is I want the best every time I play. I want more all the time. I'm 63rd in the world, I believe and I want Top 50. I'm 25 on the Order of Merit and I want Top 10. I'm always pushing myself to get it, and I think half the time, or most of the time, you struggle to achieve everything you want, and I get a little bit more down than others, I presume because I feel like I can achieve all of the goals I set.

Q. And you've never felt that piling pressure on has a detrimental effect to the results?

GREG OWEN: Yeah, but I can't help it. I was brought up trying hard, you know, and if you don't work, try harder. Working in the pro shop, you had to fight. Nothing was given to me when I was younger. I just went out there to try and win money to start with and it's the same principle going on there. It's a case of, there's never enough in the bank.

Q. What did your father do?

GREG OWEN: He started selling mining machinery. My mother, she was selling painting on houses and now she teaches computers in the college. Just average family with no extra cash, and just go around the course and I just wanted to go out and win. I've always been a very competitive person no matter what I do. It probably is holding me back.

Q. Westwood driving up used to always have what he called "reality checks" when he went home, almost if you get too big in your boots; this was life was like.

GREG OWEN: I don't know about that. He's played a lot more golf than I did when I was a junior, put it that way.

Q. Have they visited you?

GREG OWEN: No. Hopefully my grandma, she passed away unfortunately just before Pebble Beach. She was bedridden and my parents were looking after her, so they had no chance to get out and now she's passed on. My mother is hopefully coming out just before the U.S. PGA this year. My father, I'm not sure when he's coming around. We have a dog back home and he doesn't like leaving.

Q. Is there one moment in the States where you thought, "Oh, wow," or has there been any kind of standing moment you would pick out?

GREG OWEN: I played with Phil Mickelson. The crowds, it's the first time I've seen somebody up close where he is the favorite of the crowd and they are all cheering for him and he's going to win. I mean, the guy had a six , seven shot lead and they were going wild.

One of the best moments for me was when I saw the draw at Bay Hill and I got drawed with Tiger. Then another best was coming up the 18th at Wachovia; it was just like a major. The crowds were fantastic, they were clapping you on tees, off tees, down the fairways, on greens, off greens, it was just fantastic. The atmosphere was just outrageous. It was brilliant.

Q. What did you and Tiger talk about?

GREG OWEN: Sport mostly. Just chatting. I couldn't believe what the guy has to go through on a golf course, the amount of stuff that gets thrown at him is unbelievable. I don't think people realize that, and he's such a nice guy. I didn't think he wanted to talk to me.

Q. Did he make an offer on his yacht?

GREG OWEN: No, I don't think I'll be in there. Kind he's just a really nice guy. People just the trouble with the golf out there is people that have say something. They can't just watch it and be quiet. They have to say something, and most of the time they say the wrong things. He does really well in ignoring it and just playing his game and getting on with it.

He's not been playing the best. He didn't play well when I played with him, but I actually said, I think I said earlier, "There's no way that Tiger is going to win this Masters, his swing just doesn't look tight enough, he doesn't know where it's going." He goes out and proves me wrong. That just goes to show how strong he is mentally.

Q. Should you have won any of the tournaments?

GREG OWEN: Houston. I was in a position to win. You can never guarantee winning a tournament, but I was in position. 11 holes in the final round, I was so comfortable, we just got on the 12th tee and we had about a ten, 12 minute wait. And I don't know if I can blame my back, it seemed to stiffen up and had one bad swing and bogeyed a par 5 instead of birdieing it and started drifting away a little bit there. It was very frustrating after that round. It was hard pill to swallow. Just felt like my time had come and I knew that I could do it before and I just slipped up a little bit.

Q. Playing as well as you have, would you be disappointed if you don't make the U.S. Open, since it's obviously majors now that you want to shine?

GREG OWEN: Yeah, but it's a little different than getting in the British Open. Because you do well in the European Order of Merit, you get into the British Open at the start of the year, but not as much in the U.S. because I have to be in the Top 10 in the Order of Merit. I've had a good year and I'm 25th and I'm still a long way behind. The only way to get in the U.S. Open now is Top 50 or qualify; so I'm going to go qualify.

If it doesn't happen, yeah I've never played a U.S. Open. I want to play all the majors and I've never played a world event so I want to play all of them as well and I'm doing whatever I can to do it. Hopefully a good result this week will do that for me. If I don't get in it I will just have to start playing better.

Q. Where will you try to qualify?

GREG OWEN: Columbus, Ohio.

Q. Day after the Memorial, is it?

GREG OWEN: Yeah, I'm flying out Sunday night. I have to play they have a Pro Am on Tuesday in Memorial and I have to play the two qualifying courses on Tuesday; and I have to play the Memorial course on Wednesday; and then I have to play the tournament and then Monday I have the qualifying. It's going to be hectic.

Q. Do you have any idea how well you need to place?

GREG OWEN: I have no idea. I presume Top 10 maybe. Again, I've just got to play well. I'm playing okay, I'm playing pretty good, I'm excited about this week. It's nice to see a lot of the guys again, it's been a while and I've got a good feeling. You know what golf is like, anything can happen.

Q. When you arrived here and sort of sat up on the range and first time obviously saw the guys

GREG OWEN: Yeah, windy and cold

Q. Apart from that, how did you feel? Did you feel different? Did you feel like a different player?

GREG OWEN: I thought I would, but I didn't. I came over and everybody's been really good to me and said congratulations. I don't really feel like I've done anything personally. I've had three Top 10s. That to me doesn't say I've had I've done that all my career in Europe. Three Top 10s is nothing. But everyone has said well done and it's been nice and good to see the same old guys. Feels a bit different but it's nice. It's good to be back and see some friends again.

It's just my opinion, you look at the start, you think $600,000, I've got to earn $600,000 just to keep my job, and you think that's a lot of money; in relative terms, it's not as much. It's similar to what the European Tour is, the prizes they play for. You've got to after Pebble Beach, that took a huge chunk out of it and just made things a lot easier. I really don't feel I hope people aren't thinking this is just a flash in the pan and it's going to end soon. I feel that I've got a lot more to give. I don't feel like I've gone out and played my best game yet. I just feel like I'm improving slowly and things are going to happen.

Q. Do you feel success from where you were a year ago?

GREG OWEN: I didn't even know I was playing a year ago. A year ago today I would have suggested 50/50 whether I would play ever again competitively. So even six months ago, beginning of December when I got through Q School, I'm thinking what's going to happen, I had not had a Top 20 since my operation. Top 20, that's not good golf; it's nice to be playing, but there was no quality there. Just answered a few of my own questions, which was nice just to get back into contention.

Q. For how long after the operation did you not play at all?

GREG OWEN: First started swinging the club. If you can work it out, first time I swung the club, I hit balls Wednesday at Loch Lomond I think it was, May the 19th I had the operation.

Q. What was the operation?

GREG OWEN: My L5 S1 disk burst and they basically cleared it out and trimmed it up. It was scary and as soon as I woke up from the operation, the pain had gone, so things had gone well and rehabbed pretty good.

Q. Had golf caused the problem?

GREG OWEN: No, I don't think so. Weight training I think. I think golf didn't help, repetitive motion, but I think weight training had caused the problem to start with and golf had finished it off. When I work with my coach, Dave Ridley, we work on we've always worked on level hips and level shoulders through the hitting area, which means it's going to be less stress on your back. We've always worked on that, so I can't believe that golf was it. I just got some bad advice in training. I would advise most golfers to check what they are doing first. Lifting heavy weights is not a good idea, especially when you're six foot four.

GORDON SIMPSON: Hope you have a really good week and great to see you back here.

End of FastScripts.

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