|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
EURASIA CUP PRESENTED BY DRB-HICOMMarch 29, 2014Thomas BjornJamie DonaldsonVictor DubuissonGonzalo Fernandez CastanoStephen GallacherMiguel Angel JimenezJoost LuitenGraeme McDowellKUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA MICHAEL GIBBONS: We have Team Europe in the room, ladies and gentlemen. I think Miguel, start with yourself, obviously an amazing day's golf out there. MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: Yeah, it's an amazing day of golf. It's been very tough. At the end, we finish 10‑10. Looks like at the end of the week, The European Teamdo not win tournament‑‑ but I would say that the Asian Team, they played very well. Today they won seven points and that showed that golf is very, very healthy all over the players. I have to say that all the players, they are playing very well and they are giving me everything they have and I have all the respect for the players I have the pleasure to be here with this week, and as I say in the prize giving presentation, you know, Asia, Europe, they both win, they both win, nobody lose. And for the first‑time edition of the EurAsia Cup, I wish all the best for the future and we hope Europe win. GONZALO FERNANDEZ‑CASTAÑO:  Well, it wasn't easy. Miguel was coming over to give me advice but I couldn't hear much of what he was saying (laughter). This guy (pointing to McDowell), I wanted to ask him, what did you do in The Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, because I was just shaking. But it's totally different when you play for a team. We are not really that used to it. I've been in contention many times in tournaments, and I never felt as nervous as I have today. All of a sudden everything was down to my game. I try my best. I think I'm pretty proud of the way I played the last few holes. If I could go back, probably 15 again, but apart from that, tan I hard applied very solid and he holed crucial putts at the right time and I think a halve was a fair result for our game. MICHAEL GIBBONS: Along with Miguel, you're a winner of a point today for Europe. JOOST LUITEN: Yeah, it looked like‑‑ 3‑up after 14, but I made it difficult for myself and gave 16 away, basically, and on the last, it's very nerve‑wracking. It's good to make an 8‑footer to get a point in and I'm proud of that. Q. How much was the heat a factor? THOMAS BJÖRN: You come to these places, I think you tell the whole truth about how tough a day we had today. It's difficult, and to come out here and play, a lot of times we come out here when you're on your own, you kind of time your week. It's maybe a bit harder when you're part of a team I think. You do a lot of things together and you spend a lot of time together in the evening. We are not used to it, and if you don't drink enough, the body‑‑ I felt like a piece of jelly out there today and that just makes it tough to play the game. But there's no excuses. As a team ball, it's a fantastic way of bringing it together at the last minute, but the team is behind ‑‑ and today is Saturday, the last day, and played some fantastic golf. So just got to give a lot of credit to their team today. Q. This EurAsia Cup, do you think it can come back up to The Ryder Cup? GRAEME McDOWELL: Yeah, well, let's hope so. I think this is a very important team building exercise in a Ryder Cup year for The European Team. Having Captain McGinley here this week is very important to us as European players. A couple of the boys sitting up here are pretty much locked into The Ryder Cup Team in September, and you know, tits great to get out there and see some pairings, put together in foursomes and some better‑ball pairings. Like Thomas said, team golf is very special. It brings players so close together. You experience a lot, and it was very exciting out there. You know, let's hope this event can go from strength‑to‑strength and really establish itself as a big match. You know, I think we all as a team enjoyed the week, and you know, certainly it got what it deserved in a very, very exciting finish and two very evenly‑matched teams in the end. I certainly enjoyed every minute of the week. Q. With the harsh weather, you have been very cool for the last two days, the last game yesterday and today. You made a big difference in the final score. What is the secret behind all the cigars and the wines? MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: The most important thing, you have to enjoy yourself. Then everything will run perfect. That's it. At the 19th when you're on the golf course‑‑ just concentrate on what you're doing. Q. After playing against Asia, how difficult is it not to underestimate them after a 5‑0 win? GRAEME McDOWELL: Yeah, I mean, you only have to look at The Ryder Cups over the last ten or 15 years from Valderrama to Brookline to Celtic Manor to Medinah; things happen. There's no room for complacency. I don't think our team was guilt I of being complacent. The Asian team played very well the last two guys and the ten guys sitting here are professional players. You can't take anybody lightly, especially in match play, anything can happen over 18 holes in match play. There's no room for complacency. We are not making any excuses about what happened the last two days. The Asian team played better than we did. This golf course was really well set up. You have to hit it in the fairway and you have to attack these flags and they just did a lot better than we did. So match play, team match play, there's a lot of things can happen. I feel like we were very lucky to get the halve in the end, some great golf from Miguel and Joost and Jamie, and Gonzo in the last match. We fought hard for every point we got today, and I think we probably feel a little bit of relief that we got a halve. Q. The importance of team work is obvious in an event like this. Would you prefer to have a little bit more time; some of you arrived on Tuesday all the way from Bay Hill. Would you like more time next time around? It's been a long way to come. JAMIE DONALDSON:  I played last week and yes, it is a long way to come. It's two or three flights but to be honest, I didn't feel too bad this week. I was quickly on the plane and arrived Tuesday morning. It's 12 hours' time change, but to be honest I think I wasn't affected at all by the jet‑lag during the week. A little tired when I got here, but as the week moved on, I felt pretty good. You know, it's been a pleasure to come to Malaysia and play the first time the EurAsia Cup's been played. It's been a great week and if I had to do it again I'd be straight on that plane to Malaysia to play in this great tournament again. Q. Would you take us through your match with Nicholas? MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: The match today, I make a birdie, he make a birdie on the next, no, and then at some point‑‑ back on the hole No.9. I made birdie, he hole another birdie, was a very nice match. Q. With the red on the leaderboard as the day wore on, did you feel more pressure? VICTOR DUBUISSON: No, I was very focused on my match. I didn't want to lose the first match. But seeing some red on the board, I was feeling confident about my teammates. I didn't feel really pressure about this. STEPHEN GALLACHER: You just do your own thing and that's it. Just focus on your own match, unfortunately didn't persevere. In the end, we all went out happy and we'll all come back happy. MICHAEL GIBBONS: That's a fine way to end. Team Europe, Miguel, thank you very much. 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
|