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ABU DHABI HSBC GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPJanuary 18, 2014Craig LeeABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Q. What are your thoughts on heading this championship into the last day? CRAIG LEE: Delighted actually. It was obviously a strong pack behind me, you can tell from the leaderboard there that there's a lot of good players starting to make a charge; so I'm delighted to still be one in the lead. Q. A lot of good stuff today? CRAIG LEE: Yeah, I played really nicely today. I felt the first couple of days, I wasn't quite striking the irons as well as I could have done and as a consequence I was maybe playing away from some of the pins I could have gone at but today felt pretty confident and seemed to pay off. Q. Are you adds relaxed as you seem to appear on the TV? CRAIG LEE: Pretty much. So I'm pretty laid back, easygoing but in this position with this sort of field, yeah, you can't not be nervous a little bit. Q. So was it a case of after a couple of holes, you started thinking about that? CRAIG LEE: No, not really. This was Saturday, after all, so we'll see down the home stretch tomorrow. Just keep going out and playing and see what happens. Q. Not sure who you're playing with come the final round but exciting come what may? CRAIG LEE: Yeah, you look down the leaderboard and doesn't matter who's there, pretty hefty accolades of wins and majors behind them, so it will be good fun playing tomorrow whoever I get drawn with. Q. Are you likely to feel the benefit from contending so well in Switzerland? CRAIG LEE: Yeah, hopefully I can draw off the confidence I got from that and as I say, I feel a bit more relaxed, wait and see what happens.       Q.We were very impressed with your play today, what pleased you most about it? CRAIG LEE: Yeah, I found a swing on the range. I was struggling with the driver for the first couple of days. It's a tough track out there if you can't find the fairways but started to hit it quite nicely on the range this morning. Felt a little bit more relaxed out there, and I hit a lot of fairways out there, so I was pleased. Q. How different is it emotionally in the third round going around rather than being in the middle of the pack? CRAIG LEE: You still have the same shots to play and you're still trying to compete as best as you can, but I think from years gone by where I've been maybe in that sort of position, where I need to hold on to a card for next year, you're sort of playing a little more defensive. But now I feel a lot more confident and relaxed, so I'm probably attacking the golf course a little bit better. Q. Going to be three balls because of a storm coming in and you're certain to play with Mickelson and Rory, how excited about that prospect? CRAIG LEE: Yeah, that would be fantastic. Two of my idols I've watched on telly growing up with golf at different levels, so I'll be very interested and looking forward to play with either of them. Q. What would it mean to come out on top tomorrow? CRAIG LEE: Quite a lot, from where the career was three years ago, it's just sort of starting to gradually get better and better and steadier and steadier, which is probably the most important part; but to come out on top tomorrow would be a joyful occasion. Q. What's life like when you're on the leaderboard with all those names on it and striving away as you were? CRAIG LEE: It's exciting, it really is, and the quality of player behind you is probably nothing that I've been used to before, and looking right down that leaderboard, every one of them has won either a major or plenty of European Tour events or across the pond, so yeah, it will be exciting. Q. Are you consciously looking at those names on the leaderboard or can you divorce that and concentrate on your own game? CRAIG LEE: Yeah, you look at numbers at the end of the day and I'll just keep on playing my game. I can't control what they are doing but when guys are going to start shooting 63s, you have to take notice. Q. How much note would you take of what Jamie Donaldson did last year in the final round, in the sense, playing the role of the unheralded figure on a star‑studded leaderboard? CRAIG LEE: Yeah, you can look back on that and say it is possible and fairy tales do happen. So I just have to go out and play the best I can. Q. What's been the see to your form? CRAIG LEE: Everything is just starting to click together. Started to hit the ball really well the tail end of last year and signs of the putting coming back. I putted really well on these greens last year, so that helps, as well, so just keep on top of everything. Q. Do you sense it's potentially the biggest day of your career tomorrow? CRAIG LEE: It might be but Switzerland was always prior to this. I think there's going to be plenty of important days, so we'll just keep calm and see what happens. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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