ROUND 2 INTERVIEW

7 February 2020

MATTHEW GRIFFIN  ( -11)

MATT GRIFFIN:  Friday afternoons can be tricky when the wind gets up and it’s nice to shoot another good score.

Q.  Your history here is obviously good.  Does it help?  I know it was six years ago that you won.  Does that help?  You see the shots, you see the holes, you’ve got good memories.  Is any of that still worthwhile?

MATT GRIFFIN:  Yeah, for sure.  It’s quite a tricky golf course.  It’s not a place you can just bomb away and smash it off the tee, you’ve got to think off the tee and leave yourself in the right spots.  So I think that will help.  With a bit more wind on the weekend, that will become even more important.

Q.  The scoring’s been super low to this point, we see that historically here, then it tightens up on the weekend.  Does that play to your advantage?

MATT GRIFFIN:  Yeah, definitely.  I think I’ve never been one that’s loved really low scoring weeks, but when it gets a little bit harder that definitely suits my game.  We play a lot of that golf up in Japan, so I’m used to that.  Yeah, just get out there tomorrow and hopefully chase the leader down.

Q.  What do you feel you’re doing particularly well to shoot the numbers you are?  Would you automatically point to the putter?  Have to think you’re holing putts.  What else? 

MATT GRIFFIN:  Yeah, putted nicely and probably just kept the mistakes off the card.  We’re all going to make birdie out here, but I only bogeyed ‑‑ 18 was my only bogey for the first two days.  I’ve always thought when you’re not making bogeys you’re playing pretty good golf.

Q.  How did you make the bogey?

MATT GRIFFIN:  I made a poor decision off the tee and hit driver, probably should have hit 3‑wood.  No. 18 plays really difficult just straight off the left and got behind the tree.  I wasn’t in bad position, but hit a really poor wedge and poor wedge, poor chip and made a pretty poor 6.

Q.  And you would be happy if it blows a bit tomorrow?

MATT GRIFFIN:  Yeah.

Q.  You would be okay with it?

MATT GRIFFIN:  Yeah.  I think as long as it’s pretty consistent all day because there will be guys out really early, it doesn’t sort of flip it too much, but a good solid wind all day would be nice.

Q.  I have to ask you a very rude question, mate.  You’ve reached this stage of your career where you’re going to be surrounded by young kids and you’re the grizzled old veteran.  

MATT GRIFFIN:  Well, well I played on (inaudible) I played with Peter Fowler, Peter O’Malley and Marcus Fraser, so shows the group I’m more accustomed to now.  It’s nice.  Hopefully I can use my experience, with those conditions it will help a bit more.

Q.  Because there are ‑‑ you remember the situation yourself when you’re coming up like Jed Morgan or the young French guy who’s in the lead, first crack at that stage is pretty daunting, isn’t it?

MATT GRIFFIN:  It is.  I think winning the first time is quite difficult because until you do it, you don’t know that you can.  Nice going out there on the weekend knowing that if I can get myself in the mix coming down the final stretch, I know how to do it, I guess.

Q.  You raise an interesting question.  You’ll have a decision to make should that happen.  You’re pretty safely ensconced in Japan there.  With the lure of a European Tour card, have you given that some thought?  What would you do?

MATT GRIFFIN:  I don’t know.  We would have to make that call when I come to it.  Probably I’m not the one making all the decisions now, I’ve got a 7‑month‑old and a wife at home, so it would be a good, I hope I have to make that decision in the next couple weeks.