Author: Golf Post

Categories
Satellite Tours

Thomas Bjørn: first over-50s triumph at Irish Legends

LETTERKENNY, IRELAND - AUGUST 22: Thomas Bjorn of Denmark poses with the trophy after the final round of the Irish Legends at the Rosapenna Hotel & Golf Resort on August 22, 2021 in Letterkenny, Ireland. (Photo by Phil Inglis/Getty Images)

Final round report 

Thomas Bjørn claimed his maiden Legends Tour title with a birdie on the second play-off hole after finishing tied with Welshman Phillip Price at the Irish Legends presented by the McGinley Foundation.

The Dane posted a closing six under par round of 65 to join Price on 15 under par, and the duo both made par on the first trip back down the par five 18th hole at Rosapenna Hotel & Golf Resort. On the second play-off hole, Price saw his birdie putt lip-out leaving Bjørn with a five-foot putt for the win, which he duly converted.

The sun shone on County Donegal on the final day and it was 15-time European Tour winner Bjørn who seized the initiative. Heading into the final round four shots off Price’s lead, the 50-year-old birdied the first and made the turn on two under par, before four further gains on the back nine ensured the fight for the Irish Legends title would be only a two-horse race.  

The victory adds another memorable moment to an already illustrious career for the 2018 Ryder Cup Captain and he now becomes only the 13th man to win on the European Challenge Tour, European Tour and the Legends Tour.

Bjørn and Price finished six strokes clear of their nearest competitors, with English duo Peter Baker and Peter Wilson sharing third place with Argentina’s Mauricio Molina, who set a new course record on the Old Tom Morris Links with a sublime nine under par round of 62.

South Africa’s James Kingston, Scotland’s Euan McIntosh and English pair Paul Streeter and Gary Wolstenholme finished in a tie for sixth on eight under par, with Denmark’s Steen Tinning and 1999 Open Champion Paul Lawrie finishing tied tenth on seven under par.

Irish amateur Clem McCloskey won the Alliance Pro-Am competition after converting his overnight lead, finishing on 100 Stableford points after 54 holes.

The next event on the Legends Tour International Schedule is the Legends Open de France hosted by Jean van de Velde, which takes place at Golf de Saint-Cloud, Paris, from September 2-4, 2021.

Thomas Bjørn:

“It was nice. It never gets old, that feeling that you lose it for a few years when you go through the motions on the European Tour and you don’t really get in contention and once you get in there, all those old feelings come up in you. As a sportsman, there’s no greater feeling than Sunday afternoon. It doesn’t really matter where it is, I really got into it today. I recognised myself and I haven’t seen that person for quite a while, which is quite nice. It’s pretty special winning any golf tournament.

“I was quite comfortable yesterday. I was so far behind and I was quite happy when I saw that Streeter got in the final group and it just left me and Paul Lawrie together. I felt like I was in a group today where if we got going, we had a chance of edging each other on knowing we both had the capability of doing good stuff on Sunday. Paul didn’t have his best today but I still felt comfortable and it was quite nice not being in the last group. I think if you’re in the last group and you’re too far behind it becomes difficult so I felt like we could just go out and play golf. I got off to a decent start and from there it just snowballed into knowing there was only me and Phillip that could win it and it had to end in a play-off.

“I’ve been to Ballyliffin and played the Irish Open but coming up here and knowing Paul McGinley for so many years, he always talks about how great the places up here are. You don’t always get to go to the places you want to but I’m really, really glad I came. It’s a wonderful part of Ireland and a wonderful part of the world.”

Categories
Ladies Tours

Anna Nordqvist: “It was going to be my time”

Sweden's Anna Nordqvist celebrates with the trophy after her victory in the Women's British Open, after a final round 69 at Carnoustie, Scotland on August 22, 2021. - Sweden's Anna Nordqvist won her third major title with a final round 69 to finish on 12-under par at the Women's British Open at Carnoustie on Sunday. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP) (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Q. Your wins are all majors —

ANNA NORDQVIST: Yeah, it’s been a long time. I had a good opportunity last year to win and didn’t pull through. You question whether it’s going to happen or to the again but knowing it’s the British Open, it’s been worth the wait.

Q. How special was the putt on 18?

ANNA NORDQVIST: Me and my caddie, Paul, were chatting with Nanna was putting. It just seemed so unreal and just to have a little tap-in for the win, like I couldn’t ask for anything better. Just to share the experience with him and knowing how hard he’s worked, and keeping patient all these years, yeah, it’s such a great experience sharing that with close friends and family.

Q. Four years ago at Kingsbarns you were quite ill and you were determined to make the Solheim Cup team. From the memories to now — how proud are you of that?

ANNA NORDQVIST: Yeah I got mono in July 2017. I found that out during the U.S. Open. I was sitting up sleeping at that time because I was coughing so bad but I played it through and I really wanted to make the Solheim Cup team. So I battled through Kingsbarns. Kingsbarns and Carnoustie is probably my two favourite courses in the world. I really wanted to be there because I really wanted to play in the Solheim Cup, and then ended up winning Evian in the same stretch.

I don’t think a lot of people realised how tough that was, and it took me a good three years just having no energy and don’t feel like you have the mental strength or you don’t have that extra gear that I’ve always been used to having.

COVID was a blessing and a curse, because it made me slow down my tempo a little bit, and I could be home a little bit more than I have been, and I’ve been pro since 2009, so just having — feel like I’ve been home; I haven’t been home for nine weeks, so I’m dying to go home tomorrow.

Q. At the start of the week, were you excited about coming here? You must have fancied your chances?

ANNA NORDQVIST: I played well so well during Scottish Open last week, it was blowing hard especially the first three days. Just didn’t feel like I capitalised on some of the opportunities that I had and ended up finishing 12, and I was disappointed because I played well. Knowing I hit the ball really well in that tough wind last week, and then the first two practice rounds here were pretty brutal. So Carnoustie gave us a little bit of a break, but I love links golf and I think Carnoustie is such a good golf course and to be able to pull it through here, it just feels even more special.

Q. Three majors; is this more special?

ANNA NORDQVIST: I think this is the most special one. Just because it’s taken me a couple years and I’ve fought so hard and questioned whether I was doing the right things. Also, knowing like how my caddie, Paul, he’s been working so hard and I really wanted to do it for him, too.

My husband has been supporting me so much, too, and all friends and family, and having spectators back and feeling that adrenaline kicking again I think this is definitely my most special win.

Q. Golf can be a cruel game, Nanna on last, did you have any words for Nanna on that finish?

ANNA NORDQVIST: No, Nanna played really well. She made a lot of great up-and-downs, a great up-and-down on 17 and a couple good ones in the beginning. She’s a great player. She’s going to play well in the future. It’s tough to see that, finishing with a double. But she did really play well today.

Q. Felt inevitable there would be a playoff, how did you keep the focus?

ANNA NORDQVIST: The only thing I could really control was myself and it was going to be my time. It was going to be my time. Just try to do the best could I and see where it ended up, but I’m glad it didn’t go to a playoff because I saw there was quite a few players at 11.

Q. Do you look at the leaderboard much?

ANNA NORDQVIST: I tried not to but I was definitely aware where things were going, and I knew the last couple holes where I was standing.

Categories
PGA Tour Top Tours

Viktor Hovland: “I hit a lot of fairways, which out here is important if you want to get close to the pins.”

Viktor Hovland teeing off in hole 16th during the first round of the 2021 Northern Trust, in the Liberty National Golf Course, in New Jersey.

THE NORTHERN TRUST

August 19, 2021

Viktor Hovland

Jersey City, New Jersey, USA

Liberty National Golf Club
Quick Quotes

Q. Viktor, just talk about your round, just a recap?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, it was pretty solid, especially off the tee. I hit a lot of fairways, which out here is important if you want to get close to the pins.

Hit a lot of really nice iron shots. Couple not so good ones, but I was able to hit some good short game shots and make a couple putts.

So it was good day overall.

Q. What was the best recovery around the green for you today?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: I pulled a shot on No. 5 that looked like it was going to go in the water, but since I got a flier, it went over the water on the left side by kind of the trees, by the bridge, and it was right on the red line and my backswing was kind of up against a tree, so I had to take a very slow backswing.

I hit a flop shot that hit the side of the slope on the green and rolled to maybe four feet. Went from looking like having to fight for a bogey to making a par, so that was big for momentum.

Q. Is that a part of your game that really keeps getting better and better? How would you describe the progress you made there?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, I feel my technique has gotten a lot better, and in practice it’s way better than it is in tournaments.

I think for me it’s just kind of — I have some scar tissue in there, and just trusting kind of what I’m doing now. You know, I have a tendency of getting a little tentative on the chips out there, so I’ll hit good chips but they’re just eight, ten feet short because I just don’t hit it; whereas I feel like as soon as I get more of that confidence I can hit it harder to create more spin just because I know I’m going to clip it the way I want to.

Q. Is that Jeff you work with on that or someone else?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, Jeff.

Q. Okay. How old were you when you learned to speak English out of curiosity?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: I guess we started in first grade, so six, seven years old we started learning a couple words.

Q. Curious about the Ryder Cup. From here we are like, oh, yeah, Viktor is going to play on the Ryder Cup. Do you feel like you have added pressure? You’re literally the first person from your country who will have done that. Does that add something?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, I mean, that’s really cool, especially coming off the Olympics, just being a part of that. I felt like that kind of added some patriotism in just the way I go about playing golf over here. Representing my country, which is cool, but playing golf is uncharted territory for Norwegians, so…

Obviously it’s cool being the first Norwegian to play in it, but, yeah, our history is not very long in Norway.

Q. Growing up did you have a favorite Norwegian athlete? I know Bjorn Dahlie, a couple.

VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, I used to watch a lot of biathlons, Ole Einar Bjorndalen. He was a stud. And, I mean, we had multiple cross country skiers and downhill skiers, so I used to watch that a lot.

But I grew up mainly watching golf, so Henrik Bjornstad was the only Norwegian TOUR play that played before me and Kris Ventura, so looked up to him when I was younger.

Q. What’s your earliest experience of watching the Ryder Cup, and get a little color of what time of day and how late you stayed up?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: The first one I actually watched and sat there and rooted for, it’s not like that long ago. I mean, Medina was kind of the first one that I sat and watched multiple days and multiple nights. It would’ve been nighttime and I wouldn’t have been that old, and I remember watching on the couch with my dad and going nuts in this apartment complex. I’m sure the neighbors above and below us were not too happy with us yelling.

Yeah, that was a cool moment.

Q. That round back home that you played where everyone followed you, I think you know you have a lot of support, but did that surprise you, the amount of interest and passion people have for your golf?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: Yeah, that was pretty wild. I probably shouldn’t have had my buddies put my name on the online kind of portal that you put your names on to register for events or rounds, but I didn’t think too much of it.

When we show up there are 200, 300 people there. That was pretty nuts. I didn’t think that was going to be the case.

Q. Do you worry about the reaction at Stillwater if you beat the U.S. team too badly?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: Let’s — yeah, let’s worry about that when that happens.

Q. How big did the gallery get that day?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: It was probably the biggest on the first hole actually, and then probably say most of it went out for a couple holes and then for the rest of the round I watched — the whole round was probably just over 100 people.

But people flying in from half the — the other side of country and driving eight hours. It was pretty wild.

Q. Would you have done that to watch anyone play golf growing up?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: No. (Laughter.)

Q. Tiger?

VIKTOR HOVLAND: That’s a little different. That’s a little different.

Interview Transcript by ASAP Sports

Categories
PGA Tour

Dustin Johnson: “There’s definitely some trouble off the tees, but if you’re driving it well,you can definitely make some birdies.”

Dustin Johnson giving most responsibility to his tee shots for this week at the 2021 Northern Trust, in New Jersey

THE NORTHERN TRUST

August 18, 2021

Dustin Johnson

Jersey City, New Jersey, USA

Liberty National Golf Club
Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We’d like to welcome Dustin Johnson to the interview room here at the Northern Trust. Dustin, obviously, the defending champion winning at TPC Boston, but also the defending FedExCup champion.

Dustin, entering the playoffs 17th in the standings. Last year before your run, you entered 15th, so definitely in a similar position there. I guess just starting out how is the game feeling this year compared to this time last year when you made your run for the FedExCup?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Obviously, last year was a little bit different because a lot of golf tournaments leading right up into the playoffs. I feel like the game is starting to round into form. I’m starting to in the last couple of events definitely played a little bit better, played a little bit — it’s a lot closer to what it was last year.

Yeah, I’m looking forward to the playoffs. I feel like I’m in a good spot. Obviously, need a good couple of weeks here, first and foremost here at the Northern Trust, and then next week at the BMW just to improve my position going into Atlanta.

Q. Dustin, you just finished your Pro-Am from this morning and then obviously went right to the range. Just curious about how you think Liberty National is playing so far and what stood out to you so far.

DUSTIN JOHNSON: The golf course is in really good shape, perfect condition. Greens are really good. Fairways, everything. It’s in perfect shape. It’s one of those golf courses — you know, there’s definitely some trouble off the tees, but if you’re driving it well, you can get it in the fairway, you can definitely make some birdies. It kind of all depends on the wind.

It’s going to play fairly long because it’s soft. Last time we were here, it was so firm it played actually really short, but it’s pretty soft out there. So it played fairly long. Got to take advantage of the par-5s and got a couple short par-4s that you know you’ve got to get some good looks on.

I feel like the course all in all is in perfect condition and shaping up to be a good week.

Q. Just curious, are you completely healthy?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: I am. I’m feeling good.

Q. As you look back to last year, could you have predicted the run you went on, which was nearly sweeping all three of them except for one monster putt. Could you have predicted that going into Northern Trust last year?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, but I don’t look that far ahead, so I would have never predicted it. I was playing well, so it wasn’t a surprise because I felt like I was playing good coming into it. Obviously, two different courses for Northern Trust was Olympia Fields. One was soft, the other was really firm and fast, but I was playing really good golf.

I liked all the courses, and then obviously Atlanta is very difficult. Yeah, I mean, definitely couldn’t have predicted that, but obviously I felt really good about the game.

Q. Didn’t shock you, in other words?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, it didn’t. Nothing really shocks me anymore.

Q. And I know you haven’t had a good answer to this before and I’m actually not expecting one now, but last year when you had the double rounds of 80s and another one in Minnesota and you withdraw, and then all of a sudden you come back and it’s like you’re a brand new person from the PGA and onward. Is it that easy for you to just flip the switch?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yes, it is. As far as why, I can’t tell you why. For me, obviously, I know I’m a good player. I’ve been a really good player for a long time. So playing a few bad rounds doesn’t really bother me too much. Obviously, I know I need to go work on some things, which is what I did.

Any time, no matter how bad I’m playing, it only takes one shot here or one shot there where I get a nice feel and it turns everything around.

Q. Dustin, you got qualified for your fifth Ryder Cup team. I’m curious, when you think of guys who have excelled in that kind of event, whether they be Europeans, Poulter or Sergio, or American guys, what are the qualities of players who seem to excel in the Ryder Cup? What does it take to play well that week?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Golf, as we all know, is a very frustrating and difficult game, but the Ryder Cup, it’s match play. It’s a lot different because you know you’re not out there just playing for yourself. You’re playing for, obviously, your teammates, your captains, your country. So it’s a little bit different of feelings out there.

But as far as why people play good and some don’t, it’s a golf tournament pretty much. So we’re out there playing golf. It’s whichever guys have their game that week are the ones that are going to play well and win their matches. You’ve got to get a little lucky too because sometimes if you’re playing every match or four matches, most likely you’re going to be a little bit off in one of them, and that’s the one where you need, obviously, a little help from the other side.

Q. You’ve played in every possible scenario that is possible in this game. How do the nerves of the 1st tee of a Ryder Cup compare to anything else in golf?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: It’s definitely different. My first Ryder Cup, I still remember the tee shot at Wales. It’s a completely different feeling. It’s something you’ve never felt before, at least something that I never felt before sitting on that 1st tee, especially the fans over there singing, and the it cold and wet, windy, wasn’t ideal conditions to hit a nice tee shot for your first Ryder Cup.

It’s a lot of fun, though. You’ve just got to embrace it and enjoy it and enjoy the week.

Q. What was your level of disappointment in not shooting 60 last year at the Northern Trust? Breaking 60, I mean.

DUSTIN JOHNSON: None really. Obviously, I wanted to shoot 59, but I’ll still take 60 any day of the week.

Q. Is that the best four rounds that you’ve ever strung together?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean four rounds in a row, I was pretty flawless golf for the most part. But, yeah, but four days in a row, yeah, it’s kind of hard to beat that for me.

Q. Question for you on Collin Morikawa. Can you remember the first time you played with him or heard about him that you thought this guy’s really legit?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I played with him — I saw him play a little bit, I guess it was two years ago. Obviously, didn’t play with him, I don’t think, until last year maybe, but he’s with TaylorMade so I got to see him a little bit, but obviously I knew he was a good player.

At the beginning, you can never really tell how good of a player someone is, but I knew he was a really good, young, talented player.

Q. Jordan Spieth isn’t locked in yet for the Ryder Cup team, but what difference does it make that probably a year ago, if they’d have had the Ryder Cup when it was originally scheduled, he would not have been on the team, and now he looks to be pretty much a lock?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: What’s the question?

Q. How big a difference is it to have him on the American side in this Ryder Cup?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Obviously, he’s playing really well this year, had a great season, turned it around a good bit. So, yeah, he’s obviously somebody we want on the team, especially when he’s playing as well as he is right now. Yeah, it’s definitely good to have Jordan on the team.

Q. Going to make the mistake of tapping your memory here. I’m curious, I was wondering when’s the last time you felt a sense of urgency for anything? By the way, you were, I think, 117 in FedExCup in 2008, your first year. Do you have any recollection of that?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: I do.

Q. Oh, good.

DUSTIN JOHNSON: I actually remember on the 36th hole, I had like about a four-footer to make the cut on the number, which would have gotten me into the next week. My card would have been — because that was back then it went to 125 for the second playoff event.

And I horseshoed it, and I missed the cut, obviously didn’t make it into the top 125. Back then, we also had the fall season to go where you could make 125 on the money list. So I had three weeks off and went home and worked on the game really hard and obviously came out and won the first event at Turning Stone.

Q. Back to kind of my original question, I guess, if there was one, do you recall the last time you had a sense of urgency about anything, about playing, about needing a good result or something like that?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: I mean, yeah, I always need a good result. For me, every week I come here playing I want to put myself in position to win. Obviously, it’s the playoffs. It’s definitely a sense of urgency to play well and contend for the championship.

Q. If you’d have been told in January that we’re in August you and still haven’t won on the PGA TOUR, what would have been your reaction to that?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: I would have said I was probably struggling (Laughter).

Q. Surprised? Disappointed? Anything?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, it just is what it is. It’s golf. It happens. Like I said, the game is definitely starting to take a turn for the better, starting to see a lot more consistency in the shots and in my game. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to the next few weeks.

Q. My question is a pretty simple one. You’ve been in a lot of Ryder Cups. How important is it for the team to get along and be friendly with each other while you’re there in terms of going out and playing well?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, all the guys out here, we’re all — especially it doesn’t matter what our differences are. When you get to the Ryder Cup and you’re on the team, it’s not just about you. So we’re all adults, and we gather as a team and as a whole for that week, so I don’t feel like there’s any issues with that.

Like I said, we’re not just playing for ourselves, we’re playing for our country. You’ve got other teammates, your captains, your family, all the fans that are there. It’s definitely important that everyone comes together and plays as a team.

Q. Do you think the American team has been good at that while you’ve been a player?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I think so. I think we’ve done a good job. This year I think it’s shaping up that we’re going to have a pretty stout team. So I’m looking forward to it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Categories
Ladies European Tour Ladies Tours Live

Charley Hull: “I prefer playing links when it’s windy.”

Charley Hull during the Pro-Am round in Carnoustie, in Scotland, at the 2021 AIG Women's Open

AIG WOMEN’S OPEN

August 18, 2021

Charley Hull

Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland, UK

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Charley Hull here at the AIG Women’s Open. You’ve had a chance to go out and see Carnoustie. How much are you looking forward to play this weekend and hopefully contending?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I played this morning in the Pro-Am. It was really fun. It was in great condition. It’s good. It’s playing a good length, like it’s not too long either. Even though it’s playing nearly 400 yards longer than they played it last time, gets. I like it. It’s in great condition.

THE MODERATOR: The challenge, is that something you relish?

CHARLEY HULL: Usually I find them very challenging but after last week I feel like I’m in a good head space. Last week’s golf course was good and felt it was a great warmup for this week. I feel confident in my game at the minute.

Q. Wanted to get your view on Nelly Korda’s performances this summer and how do you feel getting drawn with her? Is that a good thing, recognition of your profile? How do you see it?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, played with her quite a few times this year. She’s playing really good. It’s really good what she’s doing for the game. She’s good fun to play with. I really enjoy it. It’s great.

Q. What do you mean, just raising the profile of the game?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, like winning. It’s good to see like an American player like playing really well. I just think it’s good. Like she’s a nice girl.

Q. We saw there that the prize fund for the competition has gone up quite significantly. Obviously this is a great thing for women’s golf, but how much do you feel that women’s golf’s is on the rise, and is getting that recognition?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I think it’s brilliant. Obviously I think the prize fund has gone up, what is it — what has it gone up to? Next year it’s going to go up to 6.8. I think that’s brilliant, and a bit this year. I think it’s great. It’s getting a lot more recognisation [sic] which is good. I think it deserves that. Yeah, I think it’s brilliant.

Q. You spoke about going out with Nelly Korda. How significant could that be for your game in terms of raising your game this week?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, like I said, I don’t really take too much notice of who I play with, as long as they are not slow, I enjoy it, and Nelly is a fast player, so it will be good fun.

Q. You’ve had a chance to get a bit of a feel for Carnoustie. What do you make of it overall, the course, and it’s reputation? What have you made of it so far?

CHARLEY HULL: It’s really good. Great condition. The fairways are playing firm and the greens are playing soft. Be nice if they could get the greens a bit more firmer. Yeah, I just think it’s in great condition. It’s nice. Hopefully the wind stays up as well. I prefer playing links when it’s windy.

Q. And what are your hopes for this week?

CHARLEY HULL: Obviously I would like to go and win. I feel like my game is in good condition. My main goal this week is to go out and have fun. I play my best golf when I’m having fun and smiling. That’s my main focus.

Q. Just picking up on the prize money, do you think the women’s game is closing in on the men’s game or sticking at the same feel? How is that dynamic working?

CHARLEY HULL: I think it’s getting better and better and better definitely. I don’t actually take too much notice of it myself, but yeah, I think it’s definitely getting better. Obviously because it’s shown, more media is coming towards it and once you get more media and show it more on TV it’s going to generate more money for sponsors to want to, like, sponsor it. I think it’s good.

Q. In terms of the growth of the women’s game, is visibility the key? Is that what you think is the key to drive people to follow it and participate?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, 100 per cent. I think especially for young girls, as well, because they obviously think it’s an old man’s sport and it’s boring, and it’s really not. I feel like this new breed of players that’s all coming through, it’s all helping the growth of the game.

Q. And do you enjoy that, allowing people to get to know you more and showing your personality?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, definitely. I feel like I’m quite a bubbly personality. Say what I think. Just go out there and have fun and I feel like more people should be like that. It’s nice to see that, you know, like interact with the crowds and stuff, and that’s what I’ve been doing a bit more lately and I think it’s fun — well, when we do have crowds, because of COVID, but it’s coming back to normal.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much for your time and very best of luck.

Interview Transcript by ASAP Sports

Categories
Ladies Tours Live

Georgia Hall: “To be crowned champion again would be amazing and that’s definitely one of my goals.”

Georgia Hall is feeling confident about her golf game in Carnoustie, Scotland at the 2021 AIG Women's Open

AIG WOMEN’S OPEN

August 18, 2021

Georgia Hall

Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland, UK

Press Conference

OLIVIA McMILLAN: We are lucky to be joined by the 2018 champion, Georgia Hall. Thank you so much for joining us, Georgia.

It’s been quite an exciting day here at the AIG Women’s Open with the big announcement that the prize fund for this year increasing to $5.8 million, followed by 6.$8 million next year. From a player’s perspective can you let us know what that means to the players as a group.

GEORGIA HALL: It’s phenomenal and fantastic to hear that and that it’s actually happening. Week-in, week-out, we want to play for big prize funds and it just recognises what an amazing event this is. To me, it’s the biggest event in women’s golf, and it’s great news for all our players.

Q. Saw you on the course this afternoon getting a feel for Carnoustie. What are you expecting from the course this week? Obviously it has quite a reputation?

GEORGIA HALL: Yeah, I mean, I played 18 holes today and it was a lot different golf course than yesterday, just based on the wind. I think every day is going to be different, and that’s what it should be, you know, British Open. I’m really excited to play. I haven’t played an event here in ten years, and yeah, I look forward to teeing it up tomorrow.

Q. And obviously you have the experience of winning The Open Championship. What would it mean to go and do that again at Carnoustie?

GEORGIA HALL: Yeah, it’s incredibly special to me, winning three years ago, and yeah, to win it again would be incredible, and it’s still my favorite event of the year. Yeah, I mean, I don’t really think about that. I’ll think about tomorrow first.

But obviously to be crowned champion again would be amazing and that’s definitely one of my goals.

Q. There’s such a strong contingent, yourself and Charley from England, flying the flag for England, as well. Are you expecting a successful week for you?

GEORGIA HALL: Yeah, I mean, I’m playing well coming into this week. I’ve had a run of a lot of golf but also good results. Also a lot of players especially from Britain, England, playing well and playing in this event and so hopefully we’ll have the home proud behind us.

Q. Just going back to 2018, do you remember kind of or if at all, do you know if the win changed you in any way, either as a player or in terms of your preparation or on the course?

GEORGIA HALL: I don’t think it changed me as a person. As a golfer, obviously having an Major Champion on your name is very special and I will have that the rest of my career. I think it changed that way. I got noticed more. Yeah, there’s more expectation, and winning in my home country, I got more known around England.

Q. Did it in any way increase pressure or the fact that more people are recognising you day-in and day-out?

GEORGIA HALL: I don’t like to put too much expectation on myself but it increased expectations from other people. But of course when you win a major, especially it’s my rookie year, more people would take a look at how I’m doing.

But I love the pressure that comes with winning, and after that, I felt very comfortable just going out there playing golf.

Q. Picking up on what you said at the top in terms of being asked about the increased prize fund with the Women’s Open, in terms of closing the gap to the men, do you think that the game, the women’s tour, is closing that gap slowly?

GEORGIA HALL: Yeah, it definitely is. You know, especially what the R&A and AIG have done for this event is just raising the bar for other events and companies to do the same and that’s what’s needed in women’s golf.

From a personal point of view, I’m really happy and proud to be associated with the R&A and AIG.

Q. Do you ever see a situation in your playing year where the gap is so close that the men’s and women’s tours sit side-by-side?

GEORGIA HALL: I really hope. So that would be incredible if that happened. But it all has to go in steps and this is a great step forward to making that happen.

OLIVIA McMILLAN: Georgia, I know that you’re really passionate about growing the game and you’ve spent a lot of time as the R&A Girls’ Golf Ambassador, and on Monday, you went out with a whole heap of excited children who won a ticket to the AIG Women’s Open. Can you comment about Monday’s experience and why junior golf is so important to you?

GEORGIA HALL: Yeah, it’s so important to of course growing the game and get more youngsters into golf in general. I think that’s incredibly important for the game. It’s really inspiring to me seeing so many youngsters turn up, and for me to give a tip that they can go home and start practising with, but it’s nice to be able to help inspire them.

Q. What’s your take an Nelly Korda, her achievement over the past few months and how good is it to have a big star, potentially maybe become a dominant force in the game? Is that a good thing for the game to help promote it?

GEORGIA HALL: Yeah, 100 per cent. The achievements she’s done this year is extraordinary. She’s quite a good friend of mine and it’s been really great to see her do so well, especially win a Gold Medal a couple weeks ago. It was really inspiring. I think she’s such a role model for the youngsters out there, very athletic and just a really down-to-earth, nice person.

So yeah, I think she’s done great.

Q. How long have you been mates?

GEORGIA HALL: I would say three years, kind of since I’ve been on Tour. We’ve shared together a few times obviously before COVID, so I got to know her pretty well.

OLIVIA McMILLAN: Georgia, thank you for being so generous with your time. We wish you the best of luck this week at the AIG Women’s Open.

Interview Transcript by ASAP Sports

Categories
Highlights Tours PGA Tour

Matthew Wolff wins the Aon Risk Reward Challenge, and speaks up about mental health: “Knowing that I had to get out of bed and just like not being able to.”

Matthew Wolff was named the 2020-2021 Aon Risk Reward Challenge winner

Jersey City, New Jersey, USA

Liberty National Golf Club
Press Conference

THE MODERATOR:We’re going to go ahead and kick things off. We’re going to do the first five to ten minutes recognizing your award as the Aon Risk Reward Challenge winner, and then we’ll get into the tournament press conference questions.

So we’re excited to make a big announcement for you today. You are the 2021 champion of the Aon Risk Reward Challenge with a $1 million prize for the PGA TOUR. To turn it over and welcome you and thank you and congratulate you, I’d like to introduce Eric Andersen, president of Aon, who’s joining us today.

ERIC ANDERSEN: Thanks, Laura. It’s great to be with you all today.

First off, Matthew, congratulations. We’re so happy to have you as our Aon Risk Reward Challenge champion. It’s been inspiring for all of our colleagues around the world to watch you compete on the challenge holes, especially as the competition got tight and started to really become very competitive as we went down the stretch.

Watching you play, seeing your strategy, using your team, how you put yourself in a position to make the decisions that really — it really speaks to what we’re also trying to do with our clients, and it’s incredible to see that your approach has paid off in the way that it has. So really congratulations. Really excited about it.

MATTHEW WOLFF: Yeah, first off, it’s nice meeting you, Eric. I appreciate you for what you do and for Aon and putting everything on and allowing me to do what I do and making the best decisions and getting rewarded for that. So I appreciate that, first and foremost.

Secondly, yeah, it’s an honor to be the 2020/2021 Aon Risk Reward Challenge champion. It’s a season long race and felt like a really long season this year. It was great. I just think, like you were saying, making the best decisions, and especially coming down on those holes. Those are the holes when usually they’re later in the round, and like the risk reward, it’s just you take on that risk and you can get rewarded, but it can also go the other way. I wouldn’t be sitting here if it went the other way. So I’m glad I got the reward along with the risk.

ERIC ANDERSEN: For sure.

THE MODERATOR: Matthew, your approach allowed you to birdie over 54 percent of the Aon Risk Reward Challenge holes. Your par-5 at over 45 percent. Go for the green success rate, 16 percent higher compared to the field. So many amazing stats throughout your season. Are there any Aon Risk Reward Challenge holes and specific decisions that stood out to you throughout the season?

MATTHEW WOLFF: I think one of my favorite Aon Risk Reward holes is 15 at Travelers. I just think it’s such a good hole. It’s coming down the stretch. What I love about it is I love those drivable par-4s that are those Aon Risk Reward holes because it’s just — it’s set up so perfectly to where, if you take on that risk, that you will get rewarded because par-4s are not supposed to be driven, but if you have the ability to and you’re willing to take on that risk and try to step up and hit that shot, you can get rewarded.

But I also feel like, if you don’t pull off that shot, it could definitely — you know, like it’s a break your round or maybe even tournament if you’re trying to go for the lead, and I think that’s what is so amazing about this hole — or this challenge is because it makes you really step up and hit the shot and commit and take on that risk.

It just shows that there’s much more to going about golf than just hitting the shot. It’s about preparing and looking at the statistics and seeing everything, where people make birdies from, where people make bogeys from, pulling all that together, and on top of that, just your feel of what you feel like you should be doing and putting all those factors together and making the best decision, it’s not always easy, but at the end of the year, it seems like I made the right ones.

THE MODERATOR: Absolutely you did. Players on the PGA TOUR obviously have very different approaches. Can you talk about how you build your strategy specifically to these challenge holes?

MATTHEW WOLFF: Yeah, I think I’m a very aggressive player. I feel like there’s a lot of times when I try to take on that risk. You’ll see that in a lot of players, such as Brooks Koepka, who I know was last year’s Aon Risk Reward Challenge winner. I think just being that aggressive mindset, knowing that you can pull of that shot, or feeling that confidence that you can pull off that shot, it really helps me when I get to these holes because, even though the shot may require a little more skill or a little more kind of thought going into it, I feel like at the end of the day I have that confidence and I have that ability to pull off those big shots when they’re not easy.

To me, it was just really knowing that I could — you know, having the confidence in myself and knowing that I could step up on those hard holes and take a risk and know that it was going to be — or I had a good chance of getting rewarded, which was don’t always feel that way, but it was a nice feeling.

THE MODERATOR: I have a last question, and that goes toward both of you. This is the third year of the Aon Risk Reward Challenge across the PGA TOUR and the LPGA TOUR. Eric, you launched this in 2018 and made the decision to support the challenge across both tours and anchored it with the $1 million for each winner.

Can you first tell us, Eric, about the significance of the program and gender equality in sports, and then, Matt, we’ll talk about what it means to you to have this challenge across both those tours as well.

ERIC ANDERSEN: Sure, Laura. Listen, the Aon Risk Reward Challenge for us, we really wanted to do something that really showed our commitment to what we were trying to do around inclusion and diversity both within our firm but also within our communities.

The winners of this Risk Reward Challenge, how they approach the shots, as Matt was saying before, really has nothing to do with gender. It’s around skill. It’s around preparation. It’s around working with your teams. It’s about using that right risk reward balance that’s so important to winning like you have.

For us, it was an easy decision that we wanted to back up our challenge with a financial commitment that was equal across both the women’s tour and the men’s tour. We’re really excited about it. We’ve gotten great feedback from it, not just from our own colleagues who were excited, but also our broader community. So we’re really excited about Matt for sure and also who’s going to join him in November with the LPGA TOUR winner.

THE MODERATOR: Matt, what does it mean to you to have this program launched across both the LPGA and the PGA TOUR?

MATTHEW WOLFF: Yeah, I think just kind of echoing what Eric just said, it’s more than just the gender or the skill that you have. It’s about the decision-making and the thought process going into it and also the hard work. No matter what gender you are, no matter what skill level you play at, at the end of the day, taking those extra steps and looking at the statistics and going out there and getting a feel for the hole is — that’s what an athlete does.

And being able to — you know, for Aon and everyone, just forget about gender and make everyone equal because, at the end of the day, I put in all the work that I do in order to make the best decisions and play the hole — not only the Aon Risk Reward holes, but every hole as well as I can, and they do the same thing. They put in just as much work. They put in just as much time. They go through the statistics and try to make that best decision, and they should be rewarded just the same as we are.

I think that it’s really important for other athletes, especially female, to see that and know that, you know, to keep working hard because people will realize that, and Aon is one of the first to do it.

I’m sure there are plenty of others that have the same rewards and stuff like that, but not many that I’ve heard of. So it’s really cool what Aon’s doing, and I’m excited as well to see who’s going to join me in November with that trophy.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Matthew. Thank you, Eric. We’re going to turn it over to our media here at the Northern Trust, but congratulations again on your award this year and all your hard work.

MATTHEW WOLFF: Thank you. Thanks again, Eric. I really appreciate it.

ERIC ANDERSEN: You got it. Well done.

Q. You’ve now played, I think, six times since you came back at the U.S. Open. Just wondering how are you doing mentally and personally? How are you handling life on TOUR differently than you were before?

MATTHEW WOLFF: Yeah, it’s still a grind. I’m doing a lot better. I am. I feel like I’m starting to feel like the results based — or the performance doesn’t so much affect the person that I am, and I can still be friendly to fans and talk to people and smile and have fun out there and enjoy all the hard work that I’ve put in to be where I am today.

Sometimes I definitely take that for granted, and it’s hard when you’re out there working really hard and feel like you’re ready for a tournament and then going out and not performing, it takes a toll on you, especially when you’re not playing well in that moment, and it might happen over and over again.

But I just feel like I’ve really got to stick to what I’ve been working on. I trust the people that are on my team, and it’s definitely getting better. You know, I can’t say by huge amounts really quickly, but I know incrementally the scores might not be better, but I’m feeling better. I’m happier. And I’ll look to keep on being happy.

Q. And with what happened with Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles, it does feel like there’s a momentum to addressing these mental health issues in sports. Do you feel like there’s momentum in that way, and did you notice support from other guys on TOUR for stepping away the way you did for a little while?

MATTHEW WOLFF: Absolutely. I feel like stuff is starting to go that way. What you said about Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles and stuff, I want to move that to what Rory said. He was at the Olympics, and they asked him about Naomi and Simone, and I think his quote on that was so powerful and so true. It was mental illness or not being happy, that’s an injury, and people don’t look at it as that. People look at it as, oh, you’re not happy, or you’re a little screwed up in the head or you’re just playing bad. It’s like get over it, keep on working.

But it’s more than that. It’s more than just how you play. It’s about enjoying yourself. There’s so many guys out here that have such good attitudes, and even when they’re not playing good, they’re going out there, having fun, talking, laughing. They’re enjoying themselves out there.

If you don’t feel right, if you don’t feel like you want to be out there and you feel like — some of the feelings that I had were like getting up in the morning knowing I had to get out of bed and just like not being able to, being like I don’t want to get out of bed. I just want to stay in my bed and not be in front of everyone and not screw up in front of everyone, and I think that what he said was really powerful because, if you don’t feel a hundred percent right, no matter if it’s physical or mental, it is an injury, and you should be able to rehab and take your time in order to get to a place where you need to be.

I feel like I had that time, and I’m looking forward to this off-season to working on it a little bit more.

Q. Hey, Matt, this is where you had your first playoff appearance two years ago. When you look back at two years ago, is there something you’re possibly trying to recapture or kind of those feelings you talk about? Did you have those in 2019? I guess how would you — what are the things that 2019 Matthew Wolff, you want to get back in 2021 Matthew Wolff?

MATTHEW WOLFF: Yeah, I think just how free I was. Obviously, I made the cut here, but I didn’t have that good of a tournament. I think just the aggressiveness and the go for it attitude and the everything — not everything’s going to be all right, but I’m taking on that risk, and if it doesn’t always happen the way I want it to, not getting frustrated because I know there’s going to be times when I do take on those risks or I play how I used to in 2019.

Just I would say more fearless if anything. It was going up and getting after every round and being like I’m going to go out and shoot 62 today and not being like I hope I shoot under par, and I just think that little mindset is something that I’ve been working on.

Yeah, playing here always helps even if it’s only one time. You see guys out here, they’ve been playing for 15, 20 years, and they show up on Wednesday morning or Tuesday night, and they just play the Pro-Am and they’re ready to go because they’ve seen it before.

It is nice knowing that I’ve seen this course before, and maybe subtle things on the greens or lines on tee shots that I can feel a little more confident with this time as opposed to the first time I played here. But I think at the end of the day, I’m just going to stick to my game plan and try to have a good time out there.

Q. With the fall, do you feel like you’ll use that as a time to step away again and work on the things you talked about? Or is that a time, because you had a break, you could maybe play a little more than you would have attended if you played the fall season? I guess how do you view what you possibly want to try to accomplish in the fall?

MATTHEW WOLFF: Yeah, I think that my fix or what I’m working on isn’t a quick thing to fix. It’s not something that is a choice. It’s not, oh, just be happy because if I’m working really hard and my results aren’t good, it’s hard to stay positive. The most important thing for me is to keep on working on it and make sure that negative results or bad days don’t take away from the overall product of what I’m trying to do.

I think that I’m definitely going to take as much time as I can off in the fall to work on that and work on my game as well as my mental side and just being happy, but I do think that I’m ready to go in the fall. I think I’ll have a couple months off, and that will be a good time to reset and work on what I need to work on. Or my bad, a couple weeks off, and then play the fall, and then I’ll have a couple months off.

It’s a long season. The PGA TOUR, they play a lot of tournaments, and just like any other professional athlete, you play a lot of games in any sport that you play, and any down time that you can get is really important, and I think that’s one thing that I’ve learned since I’ve been out here.

In junior golf and when you’re younger, you feel like your motor always goes. As soon as you get out here and travel week to week and play a bunch of weeks in a row, you feel like your motor kind of wears out quicker than it usually does. Rest is just as important as practice, in my opinion.

Press Release by ASAP Sports

Categories
Apparel Equipment Products

ARCCOS GOLF TEAMS UP WITH SAMSUNG FOR THE NEW GALAXY WATCH 4 SERIES

Introducing Arccos + Samsung Galaxy Watch4

Arccos – the pioneer of big data and artificial intelligence for golf – today announced it has teamed up with Samsung to launch the Arccos Caddie app for the new Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, leveraging the Wear OS Powered by Samsung platform built jointly with Google to benefit golfers around the world.

By working closely with Samsung to participate in the launch of the first Samsung smartwatch to leverage Wear OS Powered by Samsung, Arccos has reaffirmed its position as the global category leader for on-course performance tracking and insights. Its members have recorded more than 7 million rounds and 460 million shots with the system while playing golf courses in 194 countries. This feeds the world’s largest on-course dataset, which now includes 31 billion separate data points that are analysed to help golfers perform their best.

Arccos Caddie App for Wear OS Powered by Samsung on New Samsung Galaxy Watches
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 users will now be able to use Arccos Caddie to receive precise GPS distances while in-play and review their shots and clubs used post game. Later this year, Arccos will also incorporate Health Services API information into the Arccos Caddie app for Wear OS Powered by Samsung, as well as enable users to see a variety of statistics from previous rounds.

“Samsung has long been a global leader in wearable technology and Wear OS Powered by Samsung comes with some major enhancements for developers,” said Ryan Johnson, Arccos’ Vice President of Software Engineering. “Our team has found the platform very easy to develop on and the result is a seamless integration between our app, the Samsung Galaxy Watch-4 Series and Android smartphones.”

Golf’s first Artificial Intelligence platform, Arccos Caddie automatically tracks shots while delivering in-round insights and post-round Strokes Gained Analytics. The system includes the world’s first A.I. powered rangefinder, smart club distance averages for each club and caddie advice for any hole on earth. These innovative features combine to help golfers of all skill levels make smarter decisions, improve faster and shoot lower scores. In 2020, the average new Arccos member improved their handicap by 5.02 strokes.

About Arccos Golf LLC
Arccos Golf LLC develops game-changing connected golf products. The company is revolutionising the golfing experience by integrating automatic shot tracking with Artificial Intelligence to deliver unparalleled insights that help players maximize their potential. Listed among the “World’s Most Innovative Companies” by Fast Company, ranking #3 in the Sports category globally, Arccos boasts the golf industry’s richest data set. Its official partners include PING (smart clubs), Cobra Golf (smart clubs) and TaylorMade (smart clubs). For more information, please visit: www.arccosgolf.com.

Press release by Sports Impact

Categories
Ladies European Tour

SOPHIA POPOV: “It’s the Highlight of the Summer”

Sophia Popov (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland, UK

OLIVIA McMILLAN: Welcome back to the AIG Women’s Open, you are of course our defending champion, Sophia Popov, and it’s a pleasure to have you back in Scotland.

How are you feeling this week coming into it?

SOPHIA POPOV: It’s kind of cool to see, first of all, from the parking spot to all the life videos going on in the clubhouse and all the pictures just brings back a lot of memories of last year. Obviously a special week in my golf career. It’s a little bit emotional coming out here and it’s obviously a really cool venue.

OLIVIA McMILLAN: You said it’s been a little bit emotional. Can you tell us what those feelings were when you saw your car parking spot entering the championship and YOUR face is everywhere.

SOPHIA POPOV: Literally everywhere. Yeah, I just think it’s — it takes awhile. Like you only realise it once you get on-site and you do see your face everywhere and you realise, oh, my God, it’s been a year now and this is the event that changed so much for me. And I think up until last week, it was just a regular season and just keep playing, keep playing.

And then once I kind of set foot out here, it was like, okay, I’m coming here to truly enjoy this week, you know, regardless of what happens. This is my sixth or seventh week on the road now so obviously it’s kind of the highlight of the summer for or less for myself.

But again we are all probably a little tired at this point, but I think this is kind of energising me a lot just to be here and just the excitement surrounding the event.

Q. I know it was played at a different time of the year, slightly earlier in the year last year. Can you take us back to the Tuesday exactly your emotions, what your thoughts were about what you could achieve that week?

SOPHIA POPOV: You know, obviously last year was a completely different time, also just in my career where I was at at that moment.

It’s actually funny just playing my practise round today, it’s a lot of the same emotions I kind of go through that I had last year where it’s just I’m kind of excited to be back to play some links golf, and just enjoy the venue because it’s so special. It’s the site of my first AIG Women’s Open in 2011.

So it just brings back a lot of memories from having played here in 2011 and 2012, and so I think I’m just enjoying myself being out here and I think that’s very similar to last year. Just last year I didn’t know what was going to happen on Sunday, and I don’t know this year either.

Popov compares the course to the first time she set foot on it

Q. Having played the course before, does it feel different, the setup this week compared to the first time you were here?

SOPHIA POPOV: Yeah, maybe a little bit. I think that the one thing that stands out for me is we are playing 17 as a par 4 this year. We played it as a par 5 back in 2011. I think that made that final stretch a little bit more manageable. Now we’re looking at four pretty strong finishing holes with 15, 16, 17 and 18. So I think that you’re just going to have to be fully on. It wasn’t very much different at Troon either. I think the final stretch was not that easy but you did have 16 to relieve some of the pressure.

I think that’s going to be a little bit different. I think I didn’t really realise that quite as much in 2011 how tough that final stretch really is, so that’s kind of something that’s definitely noticeable this year. But other than that I think it’s playing very similar. But it all depends on the wind. We’re playing in a different wind than we’re going to have starting on Thursday. It all depends on that.

Q. Having backed up the win last year, you have a Solheim Cup on the horizon, how exciting is that?

SOPHIA POPOV: Yeah, it’s very exciting. I think a lot of times, I think I might even mentally get ahead of myself a little bit, just really looking forward to that week and the excitement of it always reminds me of all the great things that happened last year and this year.

The fact that the British Open, of course last year I played well and I won the tournament but I had to back it up with some other finishes to make that Solheim Cup team. I did that pretty well throughout end of last season and beginning of this season. Now I fully grasp the idea that I really belong on that team, and now I think I can really enjoy it and look forward to it.

Q. So much of your life has changed over the past year. What have you worked hard to keep the same?

SOPHIA POPOV: I think that just the enjoyment I guess of playing, and just trying to have a good time and a good mindset. I’ve caught myself the last six, seven weeks have been a little bit of a roller coater on the golf course just because it’s been very tiring I think with all the travel that we’ve been going through. I think I tried really hard to just stay in the moment, go hole-by-hole, shot-by-shot and not really think ahead too much because I think it’s just very easy, too, when you’re playing so much and you’re playing so many really big events to kind of get ahead of yourself a little bit and expecting a lot.

I think to this day, I just get to the golf course and I expect myself to play well all the time. Sometimes the body just doesn’t want to go the way you do, and mentally you’re fine but your body is just kind of tired or the other way around; your body is fine and you’re mentally little bit exhausted from the last few weeks.

I think just really enjoying being out there, especially this week, just to take it all in because I don’t know what’s going to happen this week and going forward.

So just being able to tee it up as at defending champion is something that’s very, very special and something I shouldn’t take too lightly either.

Popov has been through the process of trying to replace her caddie

Q. You had a very special caddie on the bag at Troon. What’s the process like trying to replace him?

SOPHIA POPOV: He’s irreplaceable. No, I talked to him yesterday and obviously Max is not just someone that’s really — I guess really good on the bag, but he’s obviously a great life partner. So I think in every department, he always says the right things at the right times and I think it’s very hard in that sense to replace him.

I think I’ve got a great caddie in Carlos on the bag this week, starting last week. He’s very calm. Reminds me a lot of Max, actually, in a lot of ways.

It’s tough because I know he’s not going to be there to — I don’t think he’s caddying any time soon. So I have to figure out a way to play golf without him, which I’ve done pretty well this year already. It’s nice to know that he’s only a phone call away and is supporting me from wherever he is.

Q. Current form, where is your game at now, would you say?

SOPHIA POPOV: I think that it’s actually in a better spot than I think it is. I think that I had some — I think about five, six weeks ago, I think just playing so much kind of made me a little bit tired and I think a couple mistakes were creeping in starting at the U.S. Open, especially after that week in Vegas that was just really long and grueling. I’ve been trying to keep it very, very simple and, I have over-complicated things a little bit for myself these last few weeks trying to be that perfect ball-striker that I think I can be, but it’s just not necessary around here.

You just have to pick good target and miss the ball in the right spots, and I think that’s what I’m getting back at. I think these practise rounds have been very good and I think it’s a lot more, I think mental effort for me than it is physical effort right now. So just kind of keeping my head in the game and making sure I stay very focussed and especially on some of the tougher shots.

Q. To be back at Carnoustie, it’s a special place and there are going to be thousands and thousands of Scottish golf fans there cheering you on. How special is that going to be?

SOPHIA POPOV: Yeah, it’s going to be amazing. It’s going to be awesome to kind of see the flipside of last year. Last year was very quiet in general just because we didn’t have any fans out there. I could see a lot of the people coming off the beach and they really wanted to watch some golf.

And I think it’s going to be great thing about this year everyone is looking forward to this so bad. I know Scottish fans are always awesome. I feel like they are very well known to cheer for everyone which is great. They know the game so well, so they know they can decipher golf shots from bad shots and I think that’s the greatest part of it, for them to also be really able to enjoy it because they weren’t able to enjoy it last year. I’m just as excited for the fans as I am for myself.

Q. About the Solheim Cup, how much has Catriona Matthew talked to you about what’s going to happen in a few weeks’ time or has she been leaving you alone to focus on this week?

SOPHIA POPOV: It’s been nice. She’s been texting me after every time I’ve been playing well and just to see how I’m doing and how I’m feeling. I got to play with her yesterday, which was very nice. We had a couple quick chats.

But also just about everything in general. I don’t think she’s just someone to talk to only for Solheim Cup purposes but for a lot of other stuff she’s been a great help. I think that now it’s a lot closer, we were able to have some conversations about it that obviously I won’t let anyone into. But it’s also a little bit early for her to talk about too much because she still has some picks to make.

I think that we, I guess, would try to help her as much as we can but it’s up to her at the end of the week. For the most part we just chatting about this week and really just looking forward. I think we are just very excited.

Q. Would you tell giving away anything that she’s told you, have those conversations made you more nervous, excited, petrified? How would you describe it?

SOPHIA POPOV: I think it calmed me down a lot. Someone with her experience and talking about things — everything she says sounds really calm. I think that’s the quite nice thing. I feel like there’s not so much pressure tied to things she says, too. She’s pretty laid back, and you take things as they come and at the same time, you know, she’s probably deep down excited and very nervous about what’s going to happen and how the team is going to shape up like this coming week. But I think that in general, our conversations have been very mellow.

And also I think a lot of the nerves I might have for this week. I’ve talked to so many players that have really given me great advice on it. So I’m starting to feel calmer and calmer, until I get to that first tee.

Sophia is ready to start!

Q. So you’re to the volunteering to hit the first tee shot on Saturday morning, will you?

SOPHIA POPOV: I’m definitely not hitting off the odds.

Q. Can you talk about the overall buzz that you’re hearing in the locker room of players being at Carnoustie? For many in the field, it’s their first or first time in a long time?

SOPHIA POPOV: It’s been pretty fun, actually. I think that there’s been this video that’s been like on a 20-second cycle going on in the clubhouse and everyone is just kind of like — I think everyone is fed up of seeing me to be honest. But it’s really funny because everyone just comes by. It’s like they call you defending champ and you’re like, okay.

Normally I’m way too humble of a person to even identify with something like that, but I know this week I can, so I’m just taking it all in. I’m like, yep, I’m defending. So I’m getting better at just accepting that and being all cool about it. But it’s pretty cool. It’s awesome and I think just for me and myself, you walk in the locker room and I have one of the first lockers obviously for all the previous winners and that’s just something that’s very cool and I honestly didn’t even know about until I got here.

OLIVIA McMILLAN: Thank you so much for being very generous with your time today. We really appreciate it and wish you the best of luck in your title defense at the AIG Women’s Open.

Interview transcript by asapsports.com

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Travel

Aroeira Golf Resort: An Elevating Experience

A view of the Aroeira Pines Classic

ORIZONTE NEW INVESTMENT ELEVATES AROEIRA GOLFING EXPERIENCE

ORIZONTE – Lisbon Golf has taken its investment to new heights by unveiling an array of new facilities at Aroeira Golf Resort – a two-time host of the Portuguese Open.

Fresh from the rebranding this spring of its two 18-hole championship courses – Aroeira Pines Classic and Aroeira Challenge – Portugal’s leading golf management company has continued its spending by upgrading the golf leisure facilities at the resort.

Among the renovations made, the clubhouse for Aroeira Pines Classic, host venue of the 1996 and 1997 Portuguese Open, has been given a fresh new look with a modern contemporary décor inside and outside the restaurant, new kitchen facilities and refurbished changing rooms.

In addition, the resort’s swimming pool area has been refurbished with a new bar and décor while the Kids’ Club has also received a makeover, making it the ideal place for parents to leave their children while they’re playing golf or enjoying a relaxing meal in the clubhouse restaurant.

Nestled amid tranquil natural pine forest, Aroeira Golf Resort – 25km south of Lisbon – is rated among Europe’s top 50 golf resorts and has been dubbed the ‘Wentworth of Lisbon’ by many observers.

Among the many attractions on the stunning Aroeira estate is the Aroeira Lisbon Hotel. Providing the ultimate in chic modern design, the hotel includes 68 bedrooms and suites, an outdoor pool, a spa and a choice of five bars and restaurants, and offers easy access to the many golden sandy beaches in the Costa Azul region.

Alternatively, golfers can enjoy a staycation break in one of Aroeira’s choice of villas and apartments with stay-and-play packages, while a short drive from Aroeira, Ribagolfe boasts two of the finest layouts in the Lisbon region – Ribagolfe I and II.

As part of ORIZONTE’s golf maintenance programme, both courses were the subject of an upgrade at the start of the golf season while a new hotel partner for 2021, the Four Points by Sheraton Sesimbra, offers the ideal base to play the club known as the ‘Valderrama of Portugal’.

ORIZONTE provides golfers with the opportunity to play four of the leading courses in close proximity to Lisbon in the stunning Costa Azul, together with exceptional value for money on a wide range of accommodation options.

 For more details about ORIZONTE – Lisbon Golf and to book any of its golf packages, please email [email protected] or visit www.orizontegolf.com