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MASTERS TOURNAMENTApril 12, 2014Miguel Angel JimenezAUGUSTA, GEORGIA MODERATOR:ﾃつ Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.ﾃつ I'd like to welcome Miguel ﾃδ］gel Jimﾃδｩnez to the interview room, after recording a second round 6‑under par 66, the low round of the tournament. This is Miguel ﾃδ］gel's 15th Masters appearance, with three career Top‑10 finishes.ﾃつ Before we take some questions, could you give us some of your thoughts on the round today. MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ Yeah, well, playing very solid all day, all day long.ﾃつ I feel very nice.ﾃつ You know, beautiful day there, just light breeze sometimes.ﾃつ It's great.ﾃつ Great to play golf on a day like that. I played very solid from green‑to‑tees.ﾃつ My iron shots was working very good, too, and you hole some putts when you were having chances for birdies.ﾃつ Minus six, you cannot complain (laughter). Q.ﾃつ I want to know, what's it like to go from a 76 one day to a 66 the next day? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ Well, it's very easy to answer that.ﾃつ I think before yesterday, I finished 1‑under, maybe 4‑under on the first nine holes, and, well, you miss some shots sometimes, not on the right way, and then I finished minus 1. But I played very well, very patient, and feel confident on the golf course.ﾃつ Yesterday, probably is sometimes you feel that good that you want to see the things happen, the birdies coming before you hit the shot, you know, and then when you get a little bit impatient, sometimes it can happen like that.ﾃつ That's what happened yesterday. Yesterday I didn't hit it bad, only a couple bad shots on 18 holes.ﾃつ But probably is not in the same mood as I was before yesterday or today. You know, today is very patient, just commit to every hole, shot by shot, and that's what happened.ﾃつ That's the secret to play this golf course, and that's probably that's the difference between yesterday and today. Q.ﾃつ You've had some nice rounds here and some success in the past.ﾃつ Is there something about this course or this environment that maybe brings out‑‑ MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ I love the place.ﾃつ It's a beautiful place, a beautiful golf course, always manicured and I feel great here.ﾃつ Doesn't matter how you play, you feel good, because everything is prepared for us the way it is. The golf course also is if you don't hit good, you don't want to be there.ﾃつ Doesn't matter how you call it or how you name it.ﾃつ You need to hit good and you need to be patient, and you need to be into your own zone.ﾃつ I like it and that's my style of game and what I love, what I love to do. Q.ﾃつ What surprises you more, your 66 today, or that there are six players over 50 playing the weekend? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ Well, if you are 50 doesn't mean that you cannot play well.ﾃつ I'm still moving.ﾃつ I'm still flexible.ﾃつ I still hit the ball‑‑ I hit the ball longer than ever.ﾃつ I'm not a long hitter necessarily, just a medium hitter.ﾃつ But I still play my irons, when I want to play fade or draw, high or low, it still happens.ﾃつ I'm competitive, you know. The main thing through the years, when you get reach the 50s, it's not about how you feel now, because the people's take more care of themselves and you are more healthier this age, no.ﾃつ But probably the main thing is that I'm doing what I like to do in my life, and I'm enjoying it completely.ﾃつ That's because probably for ‑‑ especially for this age. It's difficult after 25 years; it's my 26th year on Tour.ﾃつ And probably some people say, that's so many years, that's got to be hard and that's got to be hard on the body.ﾃつ No, I love what I'm doing, and I hope I'm still in the same conditions for another 25 (laughter).ﾃつ I'm not going to get bored of myself (laughter). Q.ﾃつ You're quite a relaxed and patient man, as you just said, when you play golf.ﾃつ Augusta can be a stressful place to play because it's so difficult at times.ﾃつ Does that mind‑set and your outlook help you here? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ That's the main thing that you have to take care of around here.ﾃつ As I said before, yesterday, not being patient and stressing myself, those things, you pay the bill, and then you're the whole day off your pace, off your rhythm. The main thing is to keep that pace, keep that rhythm and keep on your song.ﾃつ That's the main thing, that's the secret to the golf course.ﾃつ Doesn't matter how you play, you need to keep patience and keep always below the hole.ﾃつ That's the only thing.ﾃつ The rest just happens. Q.ﾃつ Phil Mickelson said yesterday that what killed him was the big numbers, but you guys over 50 don't seem to hardly ever have any big numbers.ﾃつ What's the secret to that, the big scores? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ I'm going to answer the same thing.ﾃつ You know, you need to keep playing. The golf course, the only thing you need to do here is the lakes.ﾃつ If you can miss in the right place and you are able to make bogeys, because if you are in the wrong place and you go into the water, probably you're going to make double‑bogey.ﾃつ Like if you go in the water on the 11th or the 12th or the 13th, you're probably going to make a double‑bogey, or the 15th.ﾃつ If not, you make bogeys. Also the golf course, if you are fine with the short game, don't miss any putts, also, you're not going to make a very high score here; you can, of course, if you lose your mind and you don't care and you go.ﾃつ But if not, you're not going to be a very, very high score.ﾃつ The only thing you need to do is play the game. Q.ﾃつ Will you still make your Champions Tour next week if you win? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ I'm going to play.ﾃつ I'm going to commit.ﾃつ I got an invitation to next week and I'm a professional and I'm going to play next week, of course, and that's what I'm going to do. I don't want to commit to play the Champions or anymore events on the senior, apart from the British Open Senior, because I want to put myself in place, too, for The Ryder Cup.ﾃつ I know I have a chance to play The Ryder Cup, and I would love to play The Ryder Cup.ﾃつ If you put yourself to play in The European Tour then and also the Champions Tour, then you are by yourself you don't do nothing. I'm going to play next week, because after here, I was planning to have one month's off, and I'm going to play next week and then I'm going to have only three weeks off.ﾃつ That's the only thing.ﾃつ Also, I want to feel a little bit of a taste of the Champions and compare myself. Q.ﾃつ A good warm‑up routine is obviously very important to you. MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ Of course. Q.ﾃつ How much do the fans like to watch you? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ Well, the fans like to see that.ﾃつ That is a little funny what you see there.ﾃつ But it helps to move the joints, you know. Obviously the thing what you do, early in the morning, you do the proper exercise, and everything is going on in the back, what people cannot say.ﾃつ You know, at 50, it's difficult to be here if you are not working out somehow.ﾃつ You need to be flexible and you need to be elastic and strong to be here. Q.ﾃつ Do you realize that the Patrons like to watch that almost as much as to play the golf? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ Well, it's nice.ﾃつ Probably it's funny.ﾃつ Sometimes I'm looking at myself on video, and I'm laughing to you.ﾃつ (Laughter).ﾃつ It's nice, it's bueno.ﾃつ But you know what is the main thing, I never get injured. Q.ﾃつ Played very well last year at The Open Championship.ﾃつ Do you almost feel like you're almost more capable of winning a major now? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ Well, Majors is about patience.ﾃつ It's about play well, of course you have to hit good.ﾃつ You have to play very well.ﾃつ But you need to have patience because the golf course is always prepared in tough and hard conditions, and that's the main thing.ﾃつ That is something that you deal with in life, and also patience when you play the British Open and when you play this course, when you put in the gap for the age people with other people, it's more lucky you have to play the game.ﾃつ It's not only about hitting and chipping and putting.ﾃつ You need to play the game when you are on a links course, and then you have got the oldest guys has more chances to get close. Q.ﾃつ What are your thoughts about the Champions Tour?ﾃつ And you're going to be one of the young guys, how is that going to feel? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ Yeah, but you know, my goals, it's different.ﾃつ It will be different to feel younger than the other guys, but my goals is not to play the‑‑ to be part of the Champions this year.ﾃつ My goal this year is to get in The Ryder Cup and then if I am on the Champions, I'm not in The Ryder Cup, simple.ﾃつ I'm still going to commit to The European Tour. Obviously I would love to play everything, but you need to rest and you need to commit to something.ﾃつ And then next year, I will decide what to do.ﾃつ Depends how I feel and how things are going.ﾃつ You never know. Q.ﾃつ You've come close to tasting a major championship a couple of times over your career.ﾃつ I just wonder what do you think has held you back, and if you are able to break through, what that would mean to you? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ That would mean a lot.ﾃつ I have plenty of victories in my career and having a major in my career would be amazing.ﾃつ That would be the flower on top to say so. I will try to.ﾃつ I will try to.ﾃつ If I can play golf and control the ball, I have my chances.ﾃつ If you are close there, you have chances.ﾃつ I'm still going close on the weekend of the major; I've got chances. Q.ﾃつ How do you rate your chances of making Europe's Ryder Cup Team and did you have any conversations with Paul McGinley at the EurAsia Cup? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ He's very happy with the way I play, and he tell me, "Hey, keep doing that, because I need a very experienced guy on the team." And I said, "Okay, well, don't worry, I will try to do my best."ﾃつ (Laughing) And that's it, of course. Q.ﾃつ What advice would you give the players several years younger who are well conditioned but seem to be breaking down, experiencing physical injuries, chronic injuries that are keeping them off the course? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ Well, you know, it's tough to say to someone to make or not make more or less exercise.ﾃつ If you see in sport, men, professional sportsmen who go up to the limits, when you get to some kind of age, they are all injured, knees and elbows and backs and things because the human body is not to put under that stress for such a long time. You need to make exercise because you're going to be healthy; you need to make exercise because you're going to be stronger but you cannot go to those limits sometimes. Obviously you need to prepare yourself.ﾃつ You need to exercise and you need to get flexible, but it's very difficult to get what is the balance for everything, you know. And the thing I recommend to the young people is just enjoy what are you doing, make exercise to be healthy, not to get overdoing.ﾃつ If you've got a physical body that way (indicating large, athletic frame) don't try to be that way (indicating twice as large, athletic frame). The main thing is enjoy yourself, enjoy what you're doing, to not get injured, and smile, because you can't forget to smile on the golf course.ﾃつ (Laughter). MODERATOR:ﾃつ Two more questions. MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ Yes, because I'm hungryﾃつ (laughter). Q.ﾃつ Josﾃδｩ Maria was the last European to win here 15 years ago.ﾃつ Will you be speaking to him later to ask for his advice? MIGUEL ﾃδ¨GEL JIMﾃ窶ｰNEZ:ﾃつ Well, I'm going to see him on the driving range in the office (laughing) and we are speak and teasing each other a little bit. MODERATOR:ﾃつ Miguel, great playing. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports \ |
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