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OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSICFebruary 1, 2014Stephen GallacherDUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES MICHAEL GIBBONS: A fairly boring front nine. And then to borrow a Scottish phrase, you've gone a bit mental on the back nine. You'd better explain yourself to us. STEPHEN GALLACHER: I don't know where to start. I struggled at the start to be honest. I played the first‑‑ the first couple of holes, well, the first three holes a bit ropey, first four holes actually a bit ropey. And then I hit a good shot at 7, ended up at six‑foot and I missed it. And then bogeyed 8 and I thought, oh, well, because I wasn't feeling in sorts, but then I hit a beautiful drive and 7‑iron to 9 to about three‑foot and then from then on, I just never missed a shot. MICHAEL GIBBONS: Do you want to just take us through them? STEPHEN GALLACHER: 10, I hit a drive and a 4‑iron into the bunker short, which I was playing for it. And I chipped out to about six inches. The next hole I holed from about 25 feet. I hit 9‑iron at 11. 12, I hit it in the left rough but I had a good lie, and I hit 7‑iron to about six inches. Then at 12, I hit a great drive around the corner, only had 9‑iron to the par 5 so I hit it to 25, 30 feet and then holed it for eagle, which was bizarre, because I holed the same putt one year, as well, for eagle. So sort of repeated itself a wee bit. Then I played the next hole regulation, fairway, green, couple of putts. Hit a lovely 5‑iron into the par3 to about 30 foot and holed that, as well, right in the middle. Seemed every putt went exactly where I hit it. 16, hit a great drive and a wedge to 15 foot and holed that. 17, I hit it just off the side of the green, chipped it stiff to about six inches. 18, I hit driver, 3‑wood through the back and chipped down to about 12‑foot and holed that. Q. No. 14? STEPHEN GALLACHER: Misread it. Q. How long? STEPHEN GALLACHER: 30 foot. Q. I suppose this is a silly question, but is that the best back nine of your professional career, and where would the round itself set in that kind of tally? STEPHEN GALLACHER: Well, I've had 10‑under around here, so I holed a bunker shot last year, so it's one of these‑‑ it's the best back nine I've had here, by far, 9‑under. And 10‑under was probably the best, but it's up there obviously; to get yourself back into contention when I needed to do it was good. Q. A good par at 2, just talk us through what happened at 2? STEPHEN GALLACHER: I'm trying to hit it in the left side and the wind drift it back and I've hooked it into a bush. My son found it; thanks, Jack. (Laughter). I took a penalty drop under the sand and obviously it was plugged, but, I managed to kind of squeeze it onto about 20‑foot and I holed that for par. Q. Important at that time? STEPHEN GALLACHER: Yeah, good to keep it going. Good to keep me going. I missed a few. I missed a putt at 5 and had a chance at 6 and 7, but I just thought, I missed the putt at 8 from about 5‑foot and I thought, I just didn't feel right. It was one of the ones‑‑ and then it just all clicked in. Just tried to watch my rhythm, swing a bit slower or something like that. Q. You were in this sort of situation this time last year. How do your emotions compare a year on compared to 12 months ago? STEPHEN GALLACHER: There's still a lot of golf to go. Guys still have four or five holes to go. The main thing is, after the front nine, if you gave me contention, I'd be delighted with that, but to be in proper contention, a good chance. Q. You said your best nine is 10‑under. How would you rate out of ten the front nine compared with giving the back nine a rating? STEPHEN GALLACHER: That's a hard one, Bernie. It's probably about 4 to 10. Q. Thoughts on what you might be able to provide to the European Ryder Cup Team; I imagine you want to get on that team at Gleneagles? STEPHEN GALLACHER: Well, nine months a way, eight months away, obviously I'd love to get on it. Probably need to win four or five times, so, you know, you've just got to ‑‑ the thing with The Ryder Cup is to try and shelf it and put it to the back of your mind. You can't try and‑‑ you can't think of it now. If I go about my day‑to‑day stuff and you're preparing to win tournaments every week. If you can just knock a couple of them off, start playing in the majors and stuff, then you've got a real chance. But obviously that's a long‑term goal of mine to get in The Ryder Cup. Q. The 3‑wood into 18, was that to make sure you got up there? You weren't between 3 and 5? STEPHEN GALLACHER: It was 235 over the water. It was to make sure I got over the water. Q. What is the difference then going into the Sunday of a tournament? You've done it before and done it as recently as last year. STEPHEN GALLACHER: I'll tell you tomorrow. I don't know. Q. Will help you, presumably? STEPHEN GALLACHER: Well, the good thing here is you've got good memories and good thoughts of what's happened the year before; can sort of lift you, lift you out of your game, because you've obviously, you've shot well under. There's putts you've holed and drives you've hit and chips you've holed. I'm just trying to sort of think of the good things I've done around here all the time and just hopefully they can bring you out. Q. What is it about Dubai, the Majelis Course, that gets you fired up? STEPHEN GALLACHER: Haven't got a clue. I think it's just a good‑designed course where you need to shape it and doglegs both ways. It's normally quite a bit of breeze which we are used to. Greens are quite firm and in good condition. I don't know, it's just I'm quite familiar with it, as well. When I come over on holiday, I tend to play it and do a bit of practise here, as well. I just love the course. Q. You would like 10‑under for ten holes on any given day, but do you wish you had done this yesterday or the day before when you were playing in such august company? STEPHEN GALLACHER: No. Any day. Playing with myself I'd be happy with that. I thought I'd done all right playing with Woods and McIlroy the first couple of days. It was something I was not‑‑ not in the norm, so it's quite different to the normal stuff. There's a lot of things, outside agencies and stuff you've got to get used to a bit. I thought I had done okay with it. Q. Did you say that one of the puts you had today was exactly the same putt you've had in the past? STEPHEN GALLACHER: Yeah, well, pretty similar. Same pin at 13. Q. I wonder, when you go out tomorrow and you're going along and you're going as you did today, par, par, par, par, does the score you had today begin to burn in your mind at all as you turn the corner? STEPHEN GALLACHER: I don't know. You talking about what will happen tomorrow? Q. Yeah, does it affect‑‑ in other words‑‑ STEPHEN GALLACHER: I think it can only be good because it just means that you stay patient; who knows what can happen. You know, that's the thing I try and always do. You just try and stay patient. You never know in this game. You could birdie the first five or you could birdie the last five.  That's the beauty of it. Q. I suppose what I'm saying is the galleries, you go out there and you've shot the lights out of it and they will be expecting you to do the same probably. STEPHEN GALLACHER: Well, they will be the only one (laughter). Q. Anything you'll do similar tomorrow to a year ago last Sunday? STEPHEN GALLACHER: I have the same color clothes, black and grey. MICHAEL GIBBONS: I think we'll finish on that note, good luck tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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