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LPGA Tour

Lydia Ko: “It’s a place where I’ve had a lot of good memories.”

July 20, 2021
Lydia Ko
Evian Resort Golf Club
Quick Quotes

Q. Lydia, got to be a good feeling to finally be back here in Evian. How are you doing right now?

LYDIA KO:

Yeah, obviously we missed it last year, so definitely good to be back. It’s a place where I’ve had a lot of good memories, so, yeah, weather is beautiful and hopefully it stays that way the rest of the week.

Q. I obviously know what they are, but in your voice tell us some of the great memories you got here.

LYDIA KO:

My final round here the year that I won in ’15 is probably some of the best golf that I’ve played. You know, I think when I was out of position I played smart and I finished really strong with a couple birdies in my last two holes.
So, yeah, in general, I used to be an Evian ambassador, so I feel like I have that connection with Franck and Jacques, and obviously Rolex is obviously a huge supporter of this event, so hopefully do them proud.

Q. You finished up the first practice round. We’ve had of a lot rain here over the last week, but how is the course looking?

LYDIA KO:

I thought it was going to be really wet after seeing the email about how much rain this course is kind of received, but it’s actually pretty dry considering.
I just don’t know how much — like what extent the rain was. It’s drier than some time we’ve dominate come who are is looking pretty pure.

Q. How is your game feeling right now?

LYDIA KO:

I had so much fun playing with Danielle last week. I had a couple not-so-good shots that kind of put us out of contention on this Friday.
But, no, hopefully that gives me good momentum coming here and just enjoy it and see what happens.

Q. And we’re in for a busy couple weeks. Here, Olympics, AIG. How are you going to be managing your time?

LYDIA KO:

Yeah, going to take next week off, go home it Orlando for a few days and then I’ll be doing Olympics and the two Scottish events and have a pretty big break after that. Yeah, this is an important and big stretch for me.
So just making sure that I’m physically feeling good as well as mentally.

Press Release by ASAP Sports

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Amateur Tours

Junior Ryder Cup Cancelled

JOINT STATEMENT FROM THE PGA OF AMERICA AND RYDER CUP EUROPE

The PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe today jointly announced the cancellation of this year’s Junior Ryder Cup due to ongoing travel issues for the European Junior Ryder Cup party. The match was scheduled to take place at Blue Mound Golf & Country Club in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, from September 20-21.
 
We are deeply disappointed for the talented young athletes on both sides of the Atlantic who were working hard to earn a place in this wonderful match. First played in 1997, the contest between six boys and six girls from the United States and Europe, all aged 18 years and under, will return in Italy in 2023. 
 
The PGA of America will welcome U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team members to Whistling Straits for an exhibition match on Wednesday, September 22. The team will also be introduced at the Ryder Cup Opening Ceremony and invited to watch Friday’s Ryder Cup competition.
 
The 43rd Ryder Cup will take place from September 21-26 at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. Plans remain on course to hold the contest with full spectator attendance and under the guidance of public health authorities.

Interview transcript by the European Tour Communications

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Highlights Tours

New Super Premium gin brand named Official Supplier and Licensee of the 2023 Ryder Cup

Old Tom Gin 1821, a new and exclusive luxury gin brand, has been named as an Official Supplier and Licensee of the 2023 Ryder Cup which will take place at Marco Simone, in Italy, from September 29 to October 1, 2023.

Founded by entrepreneurial father and son duo, Giorgio and Gino Cozzolino, Old Tom Gin 1821 was created in St. Andrews, the recognised ‘Home of Golf’, and distilled using the finest Sicilian oranges with hints of ginger, juniper and cardamon. The ‘Super Premium’ gin symbolises a harmonious marriage between Giorgio’s Italian homeland and his love for the Scottish town, where he has resided for the last six years.

Old Tom Gin to be provided at prestigious venues

Having already attained credibility within the high-end drinks market, Old Tom Gin 1821 is set to become the gin label of choice for consumers at prestigious venues and iconic sporting events worldwide, affirmed by this early sponsorship deal. In the build-up to golf’s greatest team contest, consumers can enjoy the stylish packaging and limited-edition decanter-style bottle which incorporates the official Ryder Cup branding and a certified Bohemian crystal stopper.

Giorgio Cozzolino said: “We wanted to create a leading, Super Premium gin brand synonymous with quality and sophistication, and we believe we have successfully achieved that with the launch of Old Tom Gin 1821.

“Having introduced a cosmopolitan, indulgent drinks product to market that we are confident will become a timeless classic, we are keen to begin growing our wider lifestyle brand with additional products that will attract and indulge the premium demographic.

“We are extremely thrilled to be an Official Supplier and Licensee of such a renowned sporting event so early on in our journey – and one that’s so close to our hearts. This achievement is purely representative of the quality of Old Tom Gin 1821 and we are excited for what lies ahead.”

Ryder Cup Director: “We are delighted”

Guy Kinnings, European Tour Deputy CEO, Ryder Cup Director and Chief Commercial Officer, said: “We are delighted to welcome Old Tom Gin 1821 to the sponsorship family of the Ryder Cup.

“As well as being recognised as one of the world’s greatest sporting contests, the Ryder Cup also rejoices in blending the rich history and traditions of golf with the future of the game, which is why the association with a company which links together the spiritual home of our sport in Scotland to our next home venue in Italy, is so fitting.

“We also continually reference the growing commercial appeal of the Ryder Cup and the fact we are able to announce this latest partnership some two and a half years in advance of the contest itself, simply reinforces that fact.”
Press Release by European Tour Communication

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European Challenge Tour

Manley triumphs in Austria to secure third Challenge Tour title

Stuart Manley claimed his third Challenge Tour title in dramatic fashion after recording a birdie on the last hole to secure a one-stroke victory at the Euram Bank Open.

The Welshman had three holes to play this morning after the third round was suspended on Saturday night due to thunderstorms and heavy rain and trailed 54-hole leader Matias Honkala by one stroke.

After playing his first nine holes in level par after two birdies and a double bogey, he made his move at the turn after posting four consecutive birdies from the tenth hole. Tied for the lead with Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson on the par three 18th tee, he fired his tee shot to 15 feet and rolled the putt in for an 18 under par total and his third victory on the Challenge Tour.

The 42-year-old, who last won on the Challenge Tour in June 2018 at the Hauts de France Golf Open is delighted to be back in the winners’ circle once again.

“It feels amazing,” he said. “It’s been a tricky year with an injury just before South Africa, I almost thought the season was going to be over and to be here now with the winner’s trophy is amazing.

“I could feel the adrenaline pumping (on the 18th). I chose a six iron, I had 200 yards – a six iron doesn’t quite go 200 yards – but I thought just hit it firm and hit it harder, the adrenaline will take over. It landed right by the pin and went about 15 feet past, so it was a great opportunity. I knocked it in and I’m over the moon.”

Manley who has played at Golfclub Adamstal many times admits that it is suited to his game but says that he had to be patient throughout in order to have the outcome that he did.

“I had to have patience and really good management on my game,” said Manley. “I didn’t hit it amazing, but I hit it pretty solid. I made a lot of putts, my chipping was spot on, everything was pretty good I didn’t hit in trouble all week, so just the patience and short game was really good.

“The golf course is amazing, probably the most scenic golf course I’ve ever played and the condition it was in today after we had all that rain yesterday was amazing, so yeah I really like the golf course.”

“It is tough, physically more than anything, I got off the golf course just before nine o’clock and then you’re trying to find a restaurant to eat and then you need your sleep and your rest but then you have to be back at the golf club for about six this morning..”

Ferguson recorded his fourth top-four finish of the season with his runner-up result, matching his performance at this event in 2019.

In a share of third on 16 under par were South African Oliver Bekker, ranked fifth on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, and Honkala.

Hinrich Arkenau of Germany finished fifth on 15 under, with Chase Hanna and Federico Maccario sharing sixth place after rounds of 66.

With his victory, Manley jumps to 20th place on the Road to Mallorca Rankings after his third event of the season. Spain’s Santiago Tarrio still leads on 110,993 points, with Frenchman Julien Brun and German Marcel Siem occupying second and third place, respectively.

The Road to Mallorca continues next week in Italy, with the Italian Challenge at Margara Golf Club, from July 22-25.

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Highlights Tours

Louis Oosthuizen: “You can’t be thinking about bad rounds when you start the next one. You’ve got to shake that off quickly”

MIKE WOODCOCK: We’d like to welcome clubhouse leader and former Open Champion, Louis Oosthuizen into the interview room. Louis, great round of 64 today, 6-under par. You got into a great rhythm there in seemed, obviously played very well. What are your thoughts on today’s round?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Yeah, probably in my mind the perfect round I could have played. I didn’t make many mistakes. When I had good opportunities for birdie, I made the putts. So yeah, just a very good solid round.

Q. Since you won The Open in 2010 you’ve had a remarkable record of nearly winning other majors. Except when a person like me mentioned it, does that play on your mind at all?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: It gives me confidence going into majors knowing that I’m still competing in them and I’ve still got chances of winning. But yeah, once the week starts, I need to get that out of my mind and just focus on every round and every shot.

But it definitely puts me in a better frame of mind going into the week.

Q. Given that, how long does it take you to get past a near miss like you had at the PGA a couple months ago?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Yeah, it depends if you lost it or someone else beat you. I think in both of those I was beaten by better golf at the end there. It takes a little while, but it’s sort of — you have to get over it quickly, otherwise it’s going to hold you back to perform again.

But yeah, I tried to take a few days and just try and forget about it and see if I can get myself ready for the next one.

Q. You’ve got an uncanny ability to bounce back, whether it’s bouncing back from a bogey with a birdie afterwards or whether it’s bouncing back from a tough loss at a tournament with another excellent showing and another run at the title. What do you feel is the secret to your resiliency and your ability to not let those prior things frustrate you?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: I don’t know. No, I don’t know. I feel if you do the work that you feel you should have done to get ready for a tournament and you left everything sort of out on the course, then there’s not much more that you can do.

I always try and — I do get upset on shots if I hit bad shots and things like that, but I try and always be at the best mindset for the next golf shot and the next tournament or the next round.

I try and not think too much of mistakes that you make on the golf course. I try and focus on every time hitting the best shot that I can hit, and I feel that’s the only way you can sort of go forward in this game.

Louis Oosthuizen is questioned on the strategy of the course and how his experienced caddie can be beneficial.

Q. Just wondering, can you talk a little bit about the strategy of playing this golf course? Obviously there’s quite a lot of strategy involved in playing it well, and the role your caddie is playing in formulating that strategy, being the experienced man there in Colin Byrne.

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Yeah, I think number one, on this golf course it’s hit the fairway. You’re not going to be able to do much from the rough here or the fairway bunkers. Coming into this week driving the ball good is key. If you aren’t comfortable with a driver around this golf course, then don’t be scared laying further back, as long as you can get in the fairway.

Colin has been great on the bag. He’s got so much experience and helps me to be focused on what I want to do and take the shot on, the shot that I see.

I think out here in windy conditions like this, you need to be — you need to go on what you feel the whole time. It is difficult for the caddie to see what you think you want to do, so it’s great that he gives me a lot of confidence in trying to play the shot I want to play.

Q. I know it’s a tough start there, but you had seven straight pars to begin your round. How were you feeling at that point standing on the eighth tee and did you feel like there was any chance you were going to shoot 64?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Yeah, seven pars, I think I probably would have taken seven pars again. I’ve learnt over the years playing major championships that patience is the key thing, and even if you make bogeys, know that a lot of people are going to make bogeys.

I was just very patient. I was trying to just hit my shots and didn’t really hit anything close enough to make birdies those first few holes, and then all of a sudden just made two good putts on 8 and 9 and got the ball rolling. It happened quickly, but you still need to put yourself in those positions, and I felt definitely the last 10, 11 holes I gave myself a lot of opportunities.

Q. You said earlier in the season how you’ve been working on your putting game, that that’s something you wanted to sharpen up and obviously it’s been paying huge dividends. We’ve seen you make some insanely great putts over the past few months. I was wondering what specifically you worked on or what you did to get that game up to the level that it’s at right now.

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Yeah, most of the work I’ve done was on routine, going back to a few things that I’ve done early in my career. I think the main thing is sticking to the putter — I’ve been with that putter for a long time now, and just try and — every time I go out and do a bit of work on the putting green to just do the same work and the same drills and the same things and get into a really good routine on practice and when I get on the golf course.

You know, it’s paid off for me.

Q. You had two guys that are well known playing links golf in your pairing and they didn’t really have a very good day. Does that distract in any way, shape or form from how you’re trying to get around your 18 holes?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: No, it didn’t. Playing with them, I didn’t really feel like they played poorly. They just — again, around this golf course, if you’re just out of position off the tee, you’re going to find it difficult to give yourself opportunities for birdies.

I just think it’s so marginal to be good off the tee and have opportunities to try and get close to the holes for your second shots. But no, it doesn’t distract me at all.

Looking at their score afterwards, I didn’t feel like they played — I thought they both were maybe level or 1-under par, and I saw they were just over par, but I didn’t really feel like they played poorly.

Q. You mentioned that you’ve stuck with the same putter now for a while. Were you previously changing every week, and if so, what happens to the naughty putters? Where do they go?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Yeah, I’ve got a bag there at home that I might just throw in a river someday.

Yeah, I went through a stage where I changed a lot of putters. Every week we were trying something. I realised quickly that there’s no way to find any consistency in putting if you do that.

Yeah, I found one that I really like the look of, and I sort of worked on it. There were tournaments where I felt my stroke wasn’t great, and I felt like I was working on a few things, and I would actually change that putter then for just on the round. I didn’t want to have any bad memories of that putter being not good on the day.

You know, going through all of that and sticking with it has really helped me a lot.

Q. Going back to when you say you take a few days off after something has gone wrong and you forget about it, what is your secret to forgetting a bad round?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: I don’t know. Just forget about it. You can’t be thinking about bad rounds when you start the next one. You’ve got to shake that off quickly.

I think anyone playing professional sport can tell you that you’ve got to have a really short memory. You’ve got to just go on and work hard again and see if you can do better the next time you go out.

Q. Do you go fishing?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: No, just spend time on the farm with the family, with the kids, and just get my head away from golf completely.

Q. Do you get on your tractor?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Always. I’m always on the tractor, don’t worry. I don’t need to play good or bad to be on the tractor.

Q. Do you try to remember good rounds tomorrow, or do you try to put that aside, as well?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: No, good rounds you always try and remember. I mean, I think when you’re going through a spell where you want to try and figure a few things out, I would always go back and look at videos of when I played really well, look at good rounds I’ve played or when I know I’ve done good things on the golf course. That really helps you to see yourself play well again and to look at a few certain things, whether it’s a movement in your swing on something you were doing on the greens.

But I love going back and watching good rounds and just get some confidence from that.

Q. What model putter is it that you’re so in love with right now?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: Man, I hope I don’t get this wrong. I think it’s the Voss — it’s the Ping. Obviously Ping, and it’s the Voss. Yeah.

Q. If you were to win a second major title, do you think that would accelerate your decision to retire and head back to the farm, or do you think it would push you to try to get a third and fourth and maybe keep playing for much longer?

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN: No. While I’m playing, while I’m competing in the game of golf, I will be playing.

MIKE WOODCOCK: Louis, very well played today and best of luck the rest of the week.

Interview transcript by asapsports.com

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Highlights Tours

Rory Mcllory: “Yeah, it was a tricky afternoon”

Q. Rory, thanks for joining us. Birdie at the last there. You must be happy with that finish.

RORY McILROY: Yeah, really happy with that finish. Yeah, it was a tricky afternoon. The conditions got pretty rough there in the middle of the round. The wind got up and I made a few bogeys in a row, so sort of said to myself at the turn if I could get back to even par for the day I would be happy.

To birdie the last hole and get back to even par, yeah, it’s nice to finish like that. Looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow.

Q. Well played. Nice birdie at the last. What was the biggest challenge out there today? The pace of the greens seemed to be something that troubled quite a few players. I know you left quite a few putts out there short today. Maybe that was something that troubled you.

RORY McILROY: Yeah, the greens have been slow. The whole transition of coming back to Europe and putting on these greens, I felt they were slow in Ireland, slow last week in Scotland, and they’re slow this week again.

It was Patrick left a lot short, so did Cam, I so did. I put extra weight in my putter this week to try to help that, to try to counteract the slow greens. My pace was a bit better than in practice. I was leaving some woefully short the last couple days.

The extra weight in the putter helped a little bit. Yeah, it’s just so hard. The wind was so strong and you get a putt that’s back into the wind, you really have to give it a belt to get it to the hole.

Q. And just the final birdie, how much does that mean to you? Obviously big difference being level par mentally to 1-over.

RORY McILROY: Yeah, more mentally than anything else. Obviously one shot closer to the lead. Yeah, just to battle back — I was 2-over through 7 after getting off to a good start. To battle back and shoot even par, play the last, whatever it is, 11 holes in 2-under, I was pretty pleased with that in those conditions.

Interview transcript by asapsports.com

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Highlights Tours

Bryson DeChambeau: “The driver sucks”

Q. +1 for the opening round, but you only hit four fairways from 14. Despite that obviously not looking great, you must take a lot of heart that you’re still +1 and still in with a shout despite kind of wayward drives. If you straightened those up, you certainly must think you must be contending by the end of the week.

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Yeah, and that’s what I said yesterday or a couple days ago. If I can hit it down the middle of the fairway, that’s great, but with the driver right now, the driver sucks.

It’s not a good face for me and we’re still trying to figure out how to make it good on the mis-hits. I’m living on the razor’s edge like I’ve told people for a long time. When I did get it outside of the fairway, like in the first cut and whatnot, I catch jumpers out of there and I couldn’t control my wedges.

It’s quite finicky for me because it’s a golf course that’s pretty short, and so when I hit driver and it doesn’t go in the fairway, it’s first cut or whatever, or it’s in the hay, it’s tough for me to get it out on to the green and control that.

but when it’s in the middle of the fairway like I had it on 18, I was able to hit a nice shot to 11 feet and almost made birdie. It’s kind of living on the razor’s edge, and if I can figure out how to make that driver how to go straight and figure out the jumpers out of the rough, it would be awesome. I just can’t figure it out. It’s forever.

Q. When you’re dealing with that kind of thing with the driver, are you going to be having somebody working on that now? Did you not realise that during the practice round? What’s the dynamic of that, and how difficult is that to change in mid-stream during a tournament?

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: I’ve realised this for years now. This has happened since 2016-17 when players stopped drawing it. There’s not very many golfers that draw it anymore. It’s not because of spin rate. Everybody thinks it’s — we’re at 2000, 1800 spin or whatever. It’s not.

It’s literally the physics and the way that they build heads now. It’s not the right design, unfortunately, and we’ve been trying to fix it and Cobra has been working their butt off to fix it, we just haven’t had any results yet.

Interview transcript by asapsports.com

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Highlights Tours

Dustin Johnson: “The Open…, you want to hit greens. Where you get in trouble is when you miss greens”

Q. Joined by Dustin Johnson. Dustin, how would you rate your performance today?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: I thought I played very solid. Got off to a nice start. Struggled a little bit on 7, 8, and 9. Kind of gave a few shots away there. Other than that, played really well.

Didn’t get up and down on 7 and made bogey on 8 and 9 from the fairway, which you just can’t do. Other than that, I think it was a really solid day and I’m pleased with my performance.

Q. Important to build that momentum going into the latter part of The Championship?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah. I mean, obviously you want to get off to a good start. The course is fairly receptive. You can drive it in the fairway and definitely make some birdies. Obviously there is a few holes where you’ll take par every single time and keep on going.

There is definitely opportunities out there, and I just need to — if I keep driving it well I’m going to play well.

Q. You had 14 greens in regulation today over the 18. How important was that for such a solid round?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, out here especially playing The Open, you want to hit greens. Where you get in trouble is when you miss greens.

So I feel like especially — it’s definitely a bit of wind out there today. It didn’t play easy, but it was scorable if you were in the fairway. That’s what I feel like I did a good job of, is hitting it in the fairway and after that hitting the greens.

Q. With the weather conditions relatively consistent over the weekend, do you feel that it suits you and maybe you have a strong chance of contending?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah. I mean, if I keep playing the way I am, absolutely. I feel like obviously I want to — need to go out and shoot another solid score tomorrow. If we keep these conditions obviously the course will continue to get a little bit firmer, play a little bit more tricky.

But like I said, if you can drive it in the fairway the course — you can attack the golf course. The rough is pretty penal and obviously the bunkers are always penal.

Interview transcript by asapsports.com

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Highlights Tours

Jordan Spieth: “Golf is a game played between the ears”

MIKE WOODCOCK: We’re joined by our clubhouse leader on 5-under par after 65, former Open champion, Jordan Spieth. Good round today. You looked like you relished the return to links golf in the Open.

JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, I mean, I’ve really loved this tournament. Played well here, whether I’ve come in in form or not, and so last year missing being able to play this tournament was certainly something that I didn’t want to do.

Now we’re back, and it feels — actually inside the ropes when we teed off on the first tee forward, it feels the most normal of any tournament I think that we’ve played thus far relative to that same tournament in previous years pre-COVID.

The fans are fantastic here. They’re just the best in golf. Very knowledgeable, and you always know where your ball is even if it’s a blind shot. It was really great to have them back and have what feels like normalcy when we teed off on the first hole.

Q. You just mentioned that you feel like you’ve been able to summon form even when you haven’t been playing well coming into Open Championships. Why do you think that is?

JORDAN SPIETH: I think it brings a lot of the feel aspect into the game. I think I shorten swings up over here and hit more punch shots and just stuff that I probably should be doing at home when I’m trying to — you get less swing-focused and more shot-focused over here because the second you take your brain off of what you’re hitting, you may not find your ball.

There’s a — instead of just a driving range shot in Palm Springs, there’s always some shot you have to play that gives you a little bit of an advantage or certain club selections based on you hit a fade or a draw; they go 15 to 20 yards different distances than between which shot you play.

I guess to sum that up, there’s a lot of external factors over here, and I think that external is where I need to be living.

Q. Have you allowed yourself to think what it will feel like to win a major championship again versus at a time it looked like the path you were going to continue on forevermore?

JORDAN SPIETH: I haven’t. To be honest, the path that I’m on and where I’ve been before in the game, I feel really good about my chances going forward, as good as they have been historically.

As far as surprised or not, I guess I feel like I’ve been trending the right way and certainly had a chance this year already at Augusta. Made some mistakes in the first round and second round that I shouldn’t have made that I very well could have won that golf tournament this year.

I like where I’m at. Again, I feel like I was progressing nicely. Took a couple steps back really on the weekend at Colonial through the U.S. Open, and I know what it was now and tried to put in some good work over the last few weeks to get back on the same and even forward it from where I was already progressing.

Q. Do you think success will feel different than it was then?

JORDAN SPIETH: I’m not sure. I would hope to answer that question for you in a few days.

Q. It doesn’t really look easy out there, but there’s a lot of good scores. What would you attribute it to, lack of wind? Is it some softness, anything?

JORDAN SPIETH: I would say if anything just a little bit of softness. I kind of got away with a couple tee shots in the first cut that maybe if it was firmer may have worked their way just into the fescue. I’m sure a lot of people it’s the same way. It’s a course where you have so much undulation in the fairways that if it gets firmer it gets very bounce dependent.

That’s what I had heard coming in, and then after playing it you can see that. But certainly the greens just being a little bit softer. The wind is up, and the pins are on knobs and crowns and they’ve done — they put a few pins in some really fun spots for us today where you could get at them in some bowls. If you hit some wedges you could feed it in. You might see some shots holed today, actually.

But that’s only a few of the holes. The rest of them, they’re on some of the more difficult locations, I think, to kind of separate the field out. If you’re really striking it well or you’re not, you end up in better positions versus not.

Q. Was your attitude about the course different than what you had heard or read?

Spieth and his attitude on the course after the first round

JORDAN SPIETH: I actually — for the most part historically I’ve come into venues I’ve never seen before in any tournament, not just an Open, and I’ve always just tried to find something I love about it.

There’s been times recently where I’ve said, Man, I just really don’t like this place. I came in here and I’ve been in a really good mood about it. My first walk around it I played 12 holes, played a loop on Sunday, and it was the opposite wind and I still — I thought, Man, this could be a really fun kind of cool, tricky track. It’s certainly odd compared to some of the other ones and some of the shots — it’s also the opposite wind, so that’s maybe not fair, not giving it enough credit, because they typically have that southern wind, I think.

But certain holes, like 6 and 16, those short par-3s become easier downwind off the right, but other holes are really challenging.

I liked it.

Q. It’s slightly strange but trivial that Brandon Grace played the first two rounds in the eventual winner’s group the last two Opens. Was there any talk about that with him, and also are you a superstitious guy in do you read anything into it?

JORDAN SPIETH: I mean, I think I have to be — how many people at the event? I have to beat 150-something players to win this tournament. I think that’s coincidence. If it happens four or five times in a row, maybe people start paying off to see who can get paired with him the first two rounds, but at two I think —

Q. What if it happened three times in a row?

JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, I think maybe. I would certainly like that. It would be a 50/50 shot then, so that would make my chances go way up versus 1 in 150.

I think that that’s maybe not extremely uncommon. I think that when you have a top 50, top 25 player in the world that Brandon Grace has been, he’s going to be in some pairings with guys who are certainly capable of winning major championships, and it just so happened it was two years in a row.

I did hear that ahead of time, though, which just made me laugh. I didn’t think much of it.

Q. I’m curious, if I’m not mistaken, you haven’t played for a few weeks leading into this week, and you did the same thing in ’17 if I’m not mistaken. I’m wondering if there was a conscious effort to redo what you did there when you had success, and as a second question there, what were your expectations coming in, getting into the round, when you hadn’t played competitively in a few weeks.

JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, that was kind of my one concern I think coming in here. I felt pretty good about the work that I had done over the last say week and a half or so, but when you haven’t played for a little while, you come into a difficult track, you can have a bit of rust early, and I was a little bit concerned about that. I think midway through the front nine today kind of turning under par was just big to feel like hey, we’re in the thick of things. There’s just a little extra nerves when you’re not coming off the week before just getting started, and hit some really good shots early in the round today, which I think was important.

No, I don’t — I’ve played the week before in ’15 and then I think I was off at least two or three weeks every year since, won at Birkdale, had a chance to win playing the week before in ’15 and had a chance at Carnoustie.

It just so happens in the schedule that I end up playing a lot in the spring with Dallas and Fort Worth and now with the schedule shifted around with the PGA Championship in there. By the time the U.S. Open is done I’m pretty gassed and looking for a little break.

So I think it’s more the break before it versus the preparation for here, but I’ll certainly look into, I think, playing into The Open Championship going forward, thinking that it could be really good prep.

Q. I’m just wondering how you would compare the challenge this week with what you faced at Birkdale in 2017, and coming into the first round like before playing, was it a course that you thought suited your game?

JORDAN SPIETH: I think that — I actually talked, Cameron brought this up. Birkdale was a course that you played a lot from the air versus other Open venues. You couldn’t really bounce it up a ton there, and you really can’t bounce it up a ton here. So it has similarities on that front, where it’s more of an aerial links. You’ve got to flight the ball but you can’t really get away with kind of punching five clubs extra up the entire green. You can on some holes, but there’s bunkers that guard the fronts and there’s a lot of false fronts here.

In that sense I think there’s similarities, but I think if I had played any venue in 2017, I would have won that week. I mean, I was hitting it, at that time, the best I had maybe ever hit it in my life, and it certainly became a two-way match where there was a couple shots I hit that weren’t the best I’ve ever hit but was able to, for the week, just continue on the trends I was there.

Here I feel for the first time since then I’m at least coming in with a bit of form, a bit of confidence, and really my start lines off the tee, and I felt like I drove the ball good enough today to be able to shoot a really good score, and I’d like to improve.

Q. In the period between winning The Open and winning in Texas, your record in the majors was far from shabby. It was quite impressive in many cases. Was there ever a period where you lost a bit of faith in your golf or your self-belief?

JORDAN SPIETH: Absolutely. It’s funny you mention that, though, because I look back and I had a chance to win at least one of the majors each year when I felt like I had no idea where the ball was going, which is, I guess, could be bad and good.

But sure, yeah. Golf is a game played between the ears, right. When it’s not going great, you can certainly lose quite a bit of confidence in it, and it takes — that was the first time I’ve had to really try and build confidence back up, and it takes time. It’s a combination of obviously getting things figured out mechanically but also then putting it to the test and mentally stepping up with enough oomph to go ahead and pull off some shots, and that’s how you build the confidence is using that improvement I think physically on the course under pressure. By no means do I feel like I’m where I want to be mechanically yet, but this year has been a really, really good progression for me, and that’s all I’m trying to do is just get a little bit better each day.

Q. Do you have any recollection of 2011, Darren Clarke winning?

JORDAN SPIETH: I don’t. I don’t really have — I remember vaguely. I always watched major Sundays, but I don’t remember the golf course from that, other than a little bit of the 16th hole. But it was playing the opposite wind.

Q. A lefty/righty question. If you’re talking to a young player who’s left-handed or right-handed, do you tell them to go with that hand when they start to play golf?

JORDAN SPIETH: You know, I throw and shoot left-handed. I do a lot of things — my dad is left-handed, my brother plays golf left-handed, and I somehow hit right-handed in baseball, and golf righty. You probably have more club options right-handed, but if you like the Masters, Augusta is a nice left-handed golf course, left-hander’s golf course.

No, I think whichever one you feel like you’ve got more power with I guess is the better way to go right now, and then you build in as you get older, you build in a lot of kind of control.

Q. You were very enthusiastic about the fans. You were saying they were “fantastic.” What is the ideal fan?

JORDAN SPIETH: Well, I just think over here they’re very knowledgeable, so like I may have a 5-iron into a hole and 20 feet is a fantastic shot, and they just know that because they’ve seen it all day and they’re aware of how difficult shots are versus if you hit a wedge and you really had an opportunity to get one close.

I feel like the fans here are very knowledgeable about the sport, and they’re also having a great time. Really the grandstands, the amphitheater settings at this tournament is a lot of what I’m talking about. It’s just like at Augusta, it’s just a beautiful setting a lot of times, shaping a lot of the holes with people.

I think that’s kind of fun.

Q. So what’s different from America — surely they’re having fun there and they know what they’re seeing. What is the difference?

JORDAN SPIETH: Well, I think over here you have a lot of blind shots, and I think — and also, scores are a little higher over here. In America a lot of times if it’s not within 10 or 15 feet, everyone wants every shot to be really, really close, and so do we, but I think over here times a really good shot is one that’s just punched out of the gorse.

It’s just a different style of golf, and it’s crazy how well informed I think people are of already the style it must be because they’re playing it every day.

Yeah, our fans are great everywhere, but over here I just feel that the giant grandstands, they’re very knowledgeable of when a shot we would feel is really good and when we would be frustrated about it, I guess.

Q. Could you see out there some of the places where it could — people could come undone? It is a very tricky course, isn’t it.

JORDAN SPIETH: Yeah, I think first thing I noticed when I got here was how high the rough was on the first hole, and I thought, wow, if it place starts to firm up, which it can if they want it to as the weekend approaches us, it reminded me of kind of the way Muirfield looked to start, where it was totally brown by Sunday. I thought they have that option here.

I just think with the rough up, if you’re not controlling the golf ball in this wind, keeping it maybe lower to the ground and avoiding these bunkers, you’re — when I wasn’t in the fairway — there was only one hole where I was in the fescue today. The rest I was in first cuts, and you can do just fine out of first cuts here. If you’re not in between the beacons, it’s very, very hard, and that’s not easy to do when the wind is a solid 15 to 20 and it’s a heavy wind.

Interview transcript by asapsports.com

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European Tour

Matt Wallace: “I’m excited to play at Celtic Manor for the first time”

Four-time European Tour winner Matt Wallace cannot wait to tee it up at The Celtic Manor Resort for the first time when the Cazoo Open supported by Gareth Bale returns to The 2010 Ryder Cup venue, from July 22-25.

The Englishman will be making his third appearance on British soil in as many weeks after finishing in a share of 26th at the abrdn Scottish Open before teeing it up this week at Royal St George’s ahead of next week’s Cazoo Open.

The World Number 60 will be making his first appearance at Celtic Manor as the event forms part of the UK Swing, which takes in successive events in Wales, Nothern Ireland, Scotland and England across July and August.

“I’m excited to play at Celtic Manor for the first time,” said Wallace. “It’ll be great to play in front of Welsh crowds; we saw how passionate they were at the Ryder Cup 11 years ago and I’m sure they’ll get behind all the British golfers playing that week.”

Also returning to Celtic Manor Resort this year is Wallace’s compatriot Sam Horsfield, who won the Celtic Classic held in Newport as part of the European Tour’s 2020 UK Swing.

Horsfield won the Celtic Classic, finishing two strokes ahead of Belgium’s Thomas Detry to claim a second European Tour title in the space of 14 days.

“To win a second title in the space of just two weeks was a fantastic feeling, especially at a venue as iconic as Celtic Manor,” said Horsfield. “Obviously I have some great memories of the course, so hopefully I can tap into those feelings and have another good week in Wales.”

Joining them in the field is 2016 Ryder Cup player Chris Wood, who grew up in Bristol, England, just 30 miles from Newport on the south side of the River Severn. The 33-year-old has enjoyed success in Wales in the past, having won the Welsh Amateur Stroke Play Championship in 2008.

“Being from Bristol, an event at Celtic Manor is as close to home as it gets,” said Wood. “I’m really looking forward to playing in front of fans and the support we’ll all receive during the week. Celtic Manor is a great venue. I was disappointed to miss the events there last year, so I’m looking forward to having the chance to go back.”

Adult tickets for Cazoo Open supported by Gareth Bale are priced at £19 for Wednesday’s Pro-Am day and £24 for each tournament day. Concession tickets (for 13-17 year-olds) are £10 per day, while under-13s go free.

All tickets for the Cazoo Open supported by Gareth Bale are subject to Welsh Government health guidelines, with a comprehensive refund policy in place should spectators be unable to attend due to on-going COVID restrictions. A full FAQ can be found here.

The only official sales channel to purchase tickets for the Cazoo Open supported by Gareth Bale is via the ticketing platform Eventbrite. The resale of tickets on unofficial platforms contravenes the European Tour’s ticket terms and conditions and such sales render the ticket void.

Interview transcript by European Tour Communications