JED MORGAN AND SU OH

Q.  Su, it’s been seven years since you won, how does that feel? Is it drought-breaking

SU OH:  I guess so. I felt like I’ve been playing a lot better since last year, probably my game wasn’t good enough. I’ve been struggling a lot with my long game, and I felt like I was hitting the ball better last year. Kind of putted solid the whole week. Maybe not the front nine today, but it definitely feels nice. Hopefully more to come.

 Q.  Jed, a pinch yourself moment?

JED MORGAN:  Yes. Absolutely. I’d never imagine this happening to be honest with you. Even last night, I’ve been feeling sick for like three days, especially after I was leading after two rounds. I thought ‘there’s no way back from there’. I tried to press as hard as I could and tried to keep pushing it.  It’s been amazing what’s happened.

Q.  Jed, just on that, congratulations first of all, but if somebody had said to you two months ago when you turned pro that you’d be the Australian PGA Champion, in all probability you’ll have your European status next year, you’ll get starts on the European Tour.  I think you’ve moved from something like 1500 to just outside the top 200 in the world.  Would you have had those people committed?

JED MORGAN:  No.  As I said, I wanted to just make the cut this week.  I know that’s a low kind of shot to shoot at, but it was all reality.  I felt a lot of pressure, especially on myself, obviously being a member here and having won the Australian Amateur here and stuff.  I missed a couple of Tour Schools in the US towards the end of my trip and come back a little bit with my tail between my legs.  I was just lucky I went to Tour School in April before the Aussie Tour and yeah, obviously the opportunities I got from that, plus playing this week, it’s just been pretty sick.

Q.  Just on today, did you take an attitude today that this is another Sunday game at Royal Queensland?  Were you able to try and convince yourself of that?

JED MORGAN:  No, I’m pretty sure before a Sunday game at Royal Queensland I don’t want to vomit.  So, it’s been difficult.  The last two days, I’m glad it’s over, whether I won or lost, I’m just glad it’s over because I’ve been in all sorts, for sure.  So, I’ve never had that type of emotion.  I’ve felt pressure for sure, I’m sure like Su’s felt it more than I have, she’s played in major championships and obviously has cemented her spot in the LPGA Tour, but I’ve never felt pressure like the way I felt it this week.  It was something.

I want to do it again.  Obviously, there’s a couple of things I’d do a bit different, just try not to feel that way, but you can’t help most of it.

Q.  Su, does winning feel the way you remember it did?

SU OH:  I think it was different.  When I won at RACV Royal Pines, I didn’t really go into the week trying to win, I just played.  It was like my first pro event and I ended up winning.  So, it was kind of like, oh, okay, but this week, when I decided to play, I really wanted to come and win and hopefully put my name on the Karrie Webb Cup.

So I think it made me be a bit more, you know, a bit of confidence in myself that I could get it done and it was a small field, but we had good players and it really came down to the last six, seven holes I think.  So, it’s nice to get it done.

Q.  That confidence level as well, it’s probably the first time you’ve ever been a favourite for a Tournament and then you go out and prove that and win.  What does that do for you for the rest of the year as you head over to the States and start playing the LPGA events?

SU OH:   I don’t think it would change a lot.  I would still try and do the same things, maybe a little bit more confident in myself, which is neat, yeah, but hopefully my game will be goon enough and the timing will be good and things will fall in the right place at the right time and there’ll be a US win hopefully.

Q.  Jed, just quickly, would you like them to put Jed or Jediah on the Cup?

JED MORGAN:  No, put Jediah.

Q.  Jed, not even Greg Norman won an event in Australia by that many shots, his name’s on the trophy, I guess firstly, are you playing with those names in the back of your mind this weekend – that’s the first part of my question.  Secondly, we heard Geoff Ogilvy say the way you were playing reminded him of a young Norman, so how does that make you feel?

JED MORGAN: Actually, I saw that article, my girlfriend read it to me and I just laughed.  I know Geoff fairly well now – pretty well anyway, I know his team decently enough as well and he’s a smart individual.  He just gets it, Geoff.  I think he’s back playing with guys that he doesn’t need to play with, he’s got his own – he’s sorted, he doesn’t need to play in any of these but he chooses to because he understands what type of growth I think the Australian Tour needs to have going forward and he’s a big part of that as well.  The PGA Tour of Oz obviously, yeah, I think they’ve all worked together and made a pretty decent tour, especially on the back of his name and the back of the Tour as well.  

So, yeah, I’m not playing with any type of names in the back of my head.  I think the best thing I’ve done this week is just be myself for the first time in a long time on the golf course and I was just glad that it was at home and I was able to do it in a manner that was pretty exciting for other people hopefully as well, and yeah, I can’t wait to do it many more times.

Q.  You said those nerves were there, was that the way you were geeing everyone up, was that a conscious effort?

JED MORGAN:  Yeah, I think, I just tried to give myself kind of what experience I think, because I just felt so many emotions, even on the 9th hole where I made a pretty short putt for birdie, I just yelled because I just needed to get it out of my system.  If I didn’t, I just would have been sick I reckon.

It’s a part of me.  I’ve got a background in contact sports I think, so coming to play golf is very different and being quiet all the time obviously is a – I guess I just try to embrace myself as an individual, yeah.

Q.  Su, today the lead was going back and forth between you and Grace, it was pretty close.  Did you know that or what were you–

SU OH:   No, I didn’t know that.

Q.  So was that good, that you didn’t know it or would you prefer to know?

SU OH:   I purposely didn’t look at the leaderboard.  I could have on 9 and a few other holes.  I saw my name at the top on 11, but I didn’t check the score and I obviously just heard that she was playing really well, and I knew Grace was going to play well.  She wasn’t going to just give it away, but I just prayed and hoped that my good golf is going to be good enough.  I felt like I gave it my all today and if it came up short, then that just means someone’s played better; it would have been Grace.  But yeah, I was glad I kind of got it done.  Coming down the stretch I had a little bit of luck, like 13, I mean, I hit a good putt, but you need a little bit of luck for that, and 12 was a really good save, so I really things just fell a little bit my way today.

Q.  After you won on the 18th, people came up to you and gave you hugs, that’s the sort of bond between everyone.

JED MORGAN: Yeah, Su’s obviously in a different position, she’s obviously away from home, doesn’t have quite the amount of support that I had.  Yeah, Hanno was big 10, just as much as mine, so it was sick.  The feeling of me is different to her.  I mean, I was obviously extremely stoked and she looked pretty stoked too.

SU OH:   Yeah, I was.

Q.  Jed, 9 shots is a huge lead to take into a final round but it’s not totally insurmountable.  How important was that birdie in the first few to settle the nerves?

JED MORGAN:  It was massive.  I said I wanted to get 25-under at the start of the day just to give myself to keep pushing towards something, but yeah, that was big.  I think it was a bigger even birdie the third.  That kind of cemented a lot of it.  Yeah, there were a couple of stages throughout the day I got a bit panicky I guess, made a couple of bogeys in the par 3s, but yeah, that was a nice way to start, especially to that pin.

Q.  For both of you, were you paying attention to what was happening in the other one’s event?  Su, were you watching what Jed was doing and knowing what he was doing and Jed, vice versa?

SU OH:   Yeah, I mean I say, ‘I wonder what it’s like to have a 9-shot lead into the last round?  It definitely would be better than having a 2-shot lead, surely?’  But having such a lead, I guess you can kind of, you don’t really know what to do and for me, I knew I had to play really well.

I think last year we spent a bit of time in Orlando House and Jed had a pretty tough finish to the end of the year, and I’m really happy that he was able to get it done and, you were a bit bummed about that.

JED MORGAN:  Yeah.

SU OH:  He was up at like 4 am and couldn’t even play a hole because it got rained out and ended up missing by a shot, so I felt really bad and I really felt bad because he was up so early and just couldn’t even play.

I think he really deserves it this week and hopefully he’ll kill it out there on the European Tour.

JED MORGAN: I guess that’s enough said.  We almost lived together I guess for a month or two.  There’s a special bond I think between Australian golfers that only gets stronger as you go overseas.  It’s funny, like the Golf Australia House is obviously provided by the funding that they give to both amateurs and professionals.  I’ve been lucky enough to obviously be with that program for five years now.  I’m forever indebted and grateful for everything and as I said, I think it’s a special bond between Australian golfers and just Australian people in general.  We’re huge fans to be Australian and yeah, it’s just awesome.  It was awesome to see her win as well.

Q.  Su, what do you think you might share with Karrie out of the Cup when you get to Florida?

SU OH:  I know we both like gin, Four Pillars, so maybe I’ll buy a bottle of that with me and I don’t feel crap on Sunday.  But she likes her wine.  She always does a really nice steak whenever we’re over.  I don’t know, it’s actually more like a pizza oven, so maybe she’ll put that in.  I’m sure we can mix something up in there, it’s pretty big, so we’ll all have a drink out of that.

Q.  Su, I wonder if you can describe just how well you felt you played this week?  Obviously, was it 10 or 11-under?

SU OH:  10.

Q.  10-under is a hell of a score around here anyway, but do you feel you were close to your peak the way you played this week?

SU OH:  I definitely played well.  I made quite a lot of mistakes as well though, around the greens.  I just don’t think I quite got used to the grain and how it really sits.  But I played better than I thought I would, to be honest.  I didn’t know if I was going to be ready so early in the year, but I just said, I’d been playing well at the end of the year, so hopefully that feeling’s still with me.

It’s always different when you’re under the pump.  Sunday feels so different to Thursday, but my swing felt better as the days went on.  I actually hit it very good Thursday, Friday, but played much better on the weekend.  I didn’t putt as well today, but still holed all the crucial putts that I had to hole. 

Yeah, I mean, I think I’m pretty happy with how I played and hopefully a little bit better as the year goes on.

Q.  Su, I just wanted to ask you a question.  I know you both spoke about the experience of playing together, but what do you think about the experience for those watching, the young girls watching, the impact that this Tournament has had on them, being able to watch the men and women play together?

SU OH:  Well hopefully more girls want to come out.  I saw quite a few out there today, which is really nice.  I think it’s kind of a men’s sport at clubs.  Hopefully we break that era a little bit.  I think it’s a great idea.  We need more tournaments like this, men and women playing together for separate trophy.  It’s a great atmosphere.  I think everyone that comes here likes it.

We just have a very different game.  Like Jed hits it so far, whereas we have maybe a little bit more accuracy, but just a different game and I really enjoyed playing with the guys.  Even Min Woo, his short game is so good and I was just trying to see how he played his bunker shots here and there and how Jed kept his cool out there.  

So yeah, plenty of things to learn and hopefully it’s vice versa and many more like this.

Q.  Jed, do you have anything to add to that question?

JED MORGAN: I agree with that in terms of I think it’s unique that you get to play the same week both the males and females.  I actually think going forward it attracts more, like a wider variety of people and viewers, and hopefully sponsorship, especially Australia, we need it.  I agree with everything she said.  I just think it’s a cool motive to move towards it, I think, for sure.

Q. Thanks very much to our two winners and congratulations and thanks for coming.

GRACE KIM

Q.  Grace Kim, 6-under for the Tournament, looks like you may fall just short – assuming that nothing happens to Su, what do you take out of the week?

GRACE KIM:  Honestly, it’s probably the most fun I’ve had for a while.  Obviously, as a home game, to have that many people out there cheering on for you, regardless of your score, it’s just so nice to be able to see all that support.  Honestly, you can’t even get mad because that party hole is so good.  I just enjoyed myself, even though I had a couple of bogeys out there.  You just end up smiling when you get to that hole, so I really enjoyed myself out there today.

Q.  The moment at 13, you’re really going to end up so close to this, but at 13 you looked like you hit a good shot in there, the pin was tucked away, but it just ends up long and you walk away with a 6.  Talk us through that?

GRACE KIM:  Yeah, so I had about 86 metres, which was a pretty similar distance to what I had on the ninth hole, so I was quite confident with the shot, but I guess I just carried it a bit too far and just didn’t take into account that long was just no good, and then I think just not being able to be that used to that sort of grain and that chip shot, I think I had the right type of chip shot, it just didn’t land where I wanted it to, so yeah, I ended up with a 6 over there.  It just happens I guess.  You just slip here and there, just a couple of hiccups but in the end, it’s all good.  Honestly, I won’t be complaining if I’m out here and I’ve finished wherever I finished.

Q.  It’s that kind of golf course, isn’t it, where one little mistake – you wouldn’t be aware that Su actually went off the green on the same hole and putted it straight in for birdie.

GRACE KIM:  Nice.

Q.  So that’s kind of going to be the difference it looks like, in the end.

GRACE KIM:  Yeah.

Q.  You’re close with Su, you know her very well, so if she does go ahead and win, I’m sure you’ll be pleased for her, even though you wanted to win yourself.

GRACE KIM:  Yeah, I mean, you know, you come to these tournaments, especially these big ones, wanting to win, so I definitely had that bit of passion in there, but in the end she did play solid all throughout the week and hopefully finishes pretty good as well.  So, all credits to her.

Q.  And the rest of the season at home before you go to the States?

GRACE KIM:  Yes, I’ll stay hopefully in Australia up until April and then I’ll hopefully be back in the US playing some Symetra events and getting my card that way onto the LPGA Tour [inaudible]

Q.  A few months as a pro now, do you think you’re getting better already, do you think you’re improving?

GRACE KIM: I’m really enjoying myself out here.  I think the crowd’s definitely making it quite easier for me.  Yeah, I don’t think I could have asked for a much better beginning for my professional career.

Q.  Congratulations Gracie.GRACE KIM:  Thank you.

Q.  Min, that shot at the last would have been a nice little finish to the week, but you’ve had an okay week anyway, I guess.

MIN WOO LEE:   Yeah, I guess it wasn’t the best week golf-wise, but I think I got a lot of positives out of it.  I striked it, probably one of my best strokes game approach plays this week and driving was unbelievable, so just got to work on my putting and could have been a much lower score.  But it’s pretty tough with the grain and hopefully I can get out at the end of the year when I come back.

Q.  You obviously thought that one at the last was in.

MIN WOO LEE:  Well, it was cutting it up against the breeze and it bounced probably right on it and it somehow kicked left, so it was a little annoying.  But, it was a good shot.  You don’t hole many shots like that, so it would have been nice, but it was nice to finish with a tap in.

Q.  So back to European Tour now.

MIN WOO LEE:  Yep.

Q.  I think Abu Dhabi next week.

MIN WOO LEE:  Yes.

Q.  Do you feel that you’ve got a benefit out of playing this week, just in terms of the rustiness?

MIN WOO LEE:  Yeah, for sure.  I didn’t know what I was going to do this week, but approach play, I kind of just started where I left off, so it was really good.  So hopefully I can keep it going.  I just need to keep fresh for the next few weeks.  I’ve got Abu Dhabi, then a week off and then I’m going to go to America and play Pebble Beach, so that should be cool and special.

Q.  And the overall plan for the year, are you still looking at trying to play your way onto the US Tour, because you’ve got those starts in the Majors?

MIN WOO LEE:  Yeah, for sure.  I think I’ll work around my schedule on the PGA Tour, but if not, I mean the European Tour, DP World Tour’s still going to be there.  It’s going to be big events, Rolex Series events on the DP, so I’m excited for them.  But I’ll probably be more in America.

Q.  What’s the mindset like, you’ve already mentioned Pebble Beach and Masters, it’s a different year for you, do you just get really excited about that or do you try not to think too far ahead?

MIN WOO LEE:  I mean, it’s a golf course and you’ve still got to hit your shots.  I mean, I’m definitely going to soak it in when I can, because all these courses are going to be pretty new to me, so I’m still going to embrace it.  But you’ve still got to hit your shots and hopefully I play well and get the results.

Q.  Ogilvy was saying pre-tournament some advice to first timers at Masters is to get there early and have a hit, soak it all in.

MIN WOO LEE:  Yep.

Q.  Have you thought about getting there early including the schedule?

MIN WOO LEE: Yeah, if it fits in the schedule I’ll definitely go there and have a hit.  I think we get to go there a few times, so yeah, I’m looking forward to it.  I mean, my coach has been there and he said there’s a lot of the sneaky spots out there that you just don’t know and you need a professional caddy from Augusta to show you around, so I’ll look forward to that.

Q.  What do you think of Jed’s play this week?MIN WOO LEE:  I don’t know what his score is now, but I mean, unbelievable – home club, in front of his home crowd too, it’s pretty special.  I’ve got to speak on the Queensland Australian crowd as well, it was amazing to have so many people out.  I wasn’t leading or anything, but just for them to come out.  There was hundreds of people watching.  It hasn’t usually been my crowd, so it was nice to have them out and supporting me.  But Jed, to shoot 20-under around here and the wind’s getting up, it’s pretty good.

Q.  Louis, that’s a lovely start.

LOUIS DOBBELAAR:  Thank you.

Q.  Talk us through that.

LOUIS DOBBELAAR:  Yeah, it was fun.  I think the round got kick started pretty quick after the hole out on the second hole.

Q.  How far was that?

LOUIS DOBBELAAR:  I think I was about 102 metres, 101.

Q.  Clubs, wedge?

LOUIS DOBBELAAR:  Sand wedge.  Yeah, I wasn’t expecting it to land straight in, so that was pretty good to get the round kick started.  Yeah, I had some good shots after that and got some momentum going.

Q.  It’s not playing easy out there, did you see 7-under right there before you were heading out there this morning?

LOUIS DOBBELAAR:  I think when you’re in the right – on the right side of the pins, I think you’ve got a few more chances than short sided, so I just tried to keep myself on the right side of the hole and just trust my game after that.

Q.  Late and early looks like a different side of the draw as well.  It will be pretty hot tomorrow, so you’re getting out there earlier and getting it done, is that how you see it?

LOUIS DOBBELAAR:  Yeah, I mean, got to get home and have a good rest and get some good food into me, but it wasn’t too windy this arvo.  I know it can get pretty windy around here, so hopefully that’s a good thing.

Q.  It’s a new year, but do you feel like you sort of kept rolling after last season?

LOUIS DOBBELAAR:  Yeah, definitely, I think I found a few things last year that I guess have helped me transition into being a pro.  Yeah, it’s all exciting stuff and I’m grateful to be where I am today.

Q.  You’re still 20, right?

LOUIS DOBBELAAR:  20, yeah.

Q.  How did you find that in the States, too young to have a beer?

LOUIS DOBBELAAR:  Yeah, exactly.  It’s definitely different to home in that regard, but I had a few good mates around me, still made do.

Q.  Are you looking forward to going back home this year, what’s your plans?

LOUIS DOBBELAAR:  Yeah, so I’m going back to Mexico in February. The Latin season kicks off then, but yeah, try and park up in America for a little bit and just travel back and forth from there.

Q.  Do you feel like you’re ready to win a big Tournament like this in Australia?  Obviously, looking at the past winners, there’s massive names there and you’re a bit of a hunter at the moment.

LOUIS DOBBELAAR:  Yeah, I mean, that’s a pretty cool feeling.  My game definitely feels good, so just got to keep trusting myself and doing all the good things right.

Q.  You sort of bring some of that amateur golf mindset in here where you’re not worried about the pay cheque, whereas probably some of the other golf pros who haven’t played in events for two years are thinking about the money and you’re just thinking about the golf tournament.

LOUIS DOBBELAAR:  Yeah, well I haven’t made any money yet, so it’s definitely something new to me.  I think it’s probably a bit overwhelming at first when you haven’t really earnt much, so once I accepted that I think I can just keep on doing my stuff and just play golf after that.

Q.  Plenty of support out there too, a few cheers for you.

LOUIS DOBBELAAR:  Yeah, it was nice.  It’s good to be at home for an event.  After being away for so long, it’s good to hear some good Queenslanders around.

Q.  Thanks Louis.

Q.  Jed Morgan, you obviously know a thing or two about Royal Queensland?

JED MORGAN:  Yeah, I’ve been a member here for, it’s my fifth year as a member, so lucky enough to know it pretty well.

Q.  Talk us through your round today?  I know that you hit it very close on 18, I saw that.

JED MORGAN:  Yeah, hit it in that close on the last hole.  I started pretty ordinary.  I was very nervous.  I had a lot of, obviously, support and I guess a bit of expectation on myself and I think a few people do as well, but I was pretty nervous trying to handle that first few holes, but then rolled one in on 5 and just said, just keep going for it, kind of thing, and it turned out pretty well.  I’m pretty happy.

Q.  Do you think tomorrow you’ll be fine?

JED MORGAN:  No, I’ll probably be just as nervous.  If you start a tournament well, you obviously want to keep it going well, it’s just part of it.  I’m keen as mustard right now, so I’m just yeah, ready to keep going.

Q.  It’s pretty cool to play a big event like this in your home town.

JED MORGAN:  Yeah, yeah.  I hadn’t even teed off on 17 and all the boys in the back were cheering already and they knew I was on the tee box.  Honestly, I said to Marco, my caddy, you don’t get this very often, so I’m over the moon.

Q.  Your form hasn’t been all that great?

JED MORGAN:  It’s been all right.  There was a couple of missed cuts in my last event, Geoff Ogilvy’s event.  I come second there, so I can’t say it’s too bad, but I mean, we’ll just see how it keeps going.

Q.  That familiarity will that be on the weekend, do you think, come Saturday?

JED MORGAN:  Yeah, pretty important, just mainly knowing where the pins are and kind of exactly where the pins are.  I think when you go to a golf course, that’s the thing, once you have that freedom of knowing, I guess exactly what the ball kind of does, you’re just lucky.  I’m lucky to have it.

Q.  That break freshened you up a bit after Geoff’s, you were saying then you were pretty worn out, obviously had a good spell.

JED MORGAN:  Yeah, I had a couple of weeks off and fine tuned it after that basically, but yeah, just relaxed.  I had Christmas with the family, New Year’s with the family and my girlfriend, so it was pretty relaxed.  I just chased kids around pretty much for all of it, babysitting.

Q.  Do you see an announcement like the PGA did yesterday about the three spots for Europe from the Order of Merit, do you see something like that, has that given a bit of a carrot?

JED MORGAN:  Yeah, absolutely, that’s sick.  Obviously next week’s purse has bumped up to 200 and they just promised 2 mil for this at the end of the year, so it’s sick.  There’s nothing better than playing on home soil, whether it’s in a different state or not, but yeah, it’s awesome.

Q.  Thanks Jed.

Q. Brad Kennedy, that’s quite a nice tidy start.

BRAD KENNEDY:  Yeah, there was some really good bit of ugly.  They’re the types of days where you’ve just got to grit the teeth and try and get back to the basics and yeah, just continually try and hit fairways and greens.  I just struggled trying to map out this golf course and manage to keep out of the fairway bunkers until the second shot on the 9th, but yeah, the way I played, I played, I probably didn’t feel like I shot 4-under, but managed to make a few birdies.  I’ve got to go to work on the range and try and work some things out.

Q.  Do you think it’s going to be a struggle this week for everyone?  Is there a real low score there waiting for someone?

BRAD KENNEDY:   I think there’s a low one out there, you’ve just got to do everything right.  Depending on the pin positions and the breeze, I think it’s a perfect breeze, a sou-easter today and there are opportunities, but you’ve just got to be careful.  There’s quite a few mid to long iron par 4s that are playing downwind today, but if the breeze switches it’s going to be different but.  I’m surprised that the scoring’s probably not a bit lower this morning.  Definitely scores were out there. The par 5s were gettable.  But yeah, again, you’ve just got to try and – I think the key to playing this course is really to manage your iron play and be able to shape into the flags, which I wasn’t quite able to do today.

But definitely happy with 4-under, but I’ve got a lot of work to do.

Q. Talk us through the eagle on 12, did you hole out there?

BRAD KENNEDY:   Yeah, it was just the perfect club for me, just the perfect driver and just nailed it straight at the flag and hit it to about 8 feet and managed to make it.  I hit it in the exact same spot yesterday in the Pro-Am, so it’s one of those risk/reward holes and I think the type of course that this is, you’ve got to try and take on those holes as much as you can, because there’s a lot of difficult holes coming.

Q. As a veteran Aussie Tour pro, what’s it like to have a big tournament back and actual galleries and just being back in big time golf?

BRAD KENNEDY:  Yeah, it’s nice.  It’s nice to even be at home, just a 50 minute drive from home.  I’ve got friends and family out today, so yeah, it’s nice to be able to just come out and it’s great to see the crowds, especially in Queensland, they’re starving for sport, starving for things to come and watch, so hopefully on the weekend we can have good Queensland weather and really try and put on a show for everybody.

Q.  Are you still trying to sort of hone the game after that extended break you had at the end of last year or is it coming back?

BRAD KENNEDY:   No, still working on it, yeah.  There’s just a few – been training hard off the course and just not quite – most of the time when I’m playing really well, the tempo is there, but it’s just a bit out at the moment.  So, things are a bit out of sync.  The short game’s there, putting’s there, driving it quite well, so just the iron play, having the ability to hit your yardage is what I’m struggling with at the moment and also shaping it the way I want to.  So when I’m playing well, that’s where I feel like I’m at my best and I’m just not quite on it yet.

Q.  Does that make you particularly happy the golf course like this to have 67 if you’re approach is not as good as you might want?

BRAD KENNEDY:  Yeah, I guess for me, the score is sort of irrelevant to how I’m playing and what I want to try and get out of my game.  The score is just the outcome, but for me it’s all about really getting in that process mindset.  I was able to do it a lot today, even when I made a couple of mistakes, I was able to get back in it, which saved me a couple of times, but the field this week, you’re not going to be able to have too many chances for that, so I’ve got to knuckle down, get my body to be able to get back in sync and there’d be nothing better to try and win an event back home in Brisbane. But yeah, I’ve got a lot of work to do.

Q.  What was the club on the 12th?

BRAD KENNEDY:   Driver.

Q.  Thanks Brad.BRAD KENNEDY:   Cheers, thank you.

Q.  Sarah Jane Smith, an even par, that’s quite a nice start out there.  It must have been quite difficult.

SARAH JANE SMITH:  Yeah, it got windy pretty early in the day really, but I was happy with the way I hit it.  I just didn’t hole all my putts.  I putted nicely but just didn’t make them today.  So, it’s nice to get a good steady start.

Q.  How did you enjoy playing with the men today?

SARAH JANE SMITH:  I was really nervous actually at the beginning.  I really enjoyed it and I knew I had a really nice group and I know Michael Sim quite well, but I don’t know, it was different, new, but I was really fortunate, I had a great group and they kind of looked after me.

Q.  Sarah, Su Oh is lighting it up out there.  What do you think about her scoring?

SARAH JANE SMITH:  It’s awesome.  I think 4-under, I just sort of caught a quick glimpse of the leaderboard, but she’s playing really well.  It’s a good score out there.  I mean, it’s pretty tough that back 9.

Q.  What’s the tough part of the course, is it the bounciness of the greens?

SARAH JANE SMITH:  I think so. Even just from Monday, just because there was a lot of rain and a lot of wind, so it’s dried up a little bit, but there’s some sneaky little spots where you’ve got to be careful that you don’t go – there’s some pins close to the back, so it’s easy to run off the back and make a bit of a mess of things.

Q.  Do you have a few family around, given that you’re close to home?

SARAH JANE SMITH:  Yeah, we do.  We have both my parents and then my husband’s sister actually lives down here, so we have a nice little crew with us.  But our little son is definitely top of the pecking order.  They’re not here to see us.

Q.  We’ve seen the women’s field disseminated quite a bit, are you doing anything special to try and dodge this rain?

SARAH JANE SMITH:  Not doing anything, literally.  We’ve been getting take out food and eating it in our room and just trying to keep our little bub as close as we can. We’re travelling back to the States next Tuesday, so we also need to stay good through then, so we’re trying to keep it as low as possible.

Q.  Thanks Sarah Jane.

Q.  Aaron Pike, you like this place and you made it your home today.

AARON PIKE:  Yeah, obviously being a Brisbane boy, I’m pretty fortunate to get to play out here a bit and in terms of golf courses, this is one that really does suit my game.  It’s quite sort of open off the tee and you’ve got to be a bit more precise with your irons and putting’s a real premium around here, so those factors, it does bode well for me, but you’ve also got to do it.  But yeah, I’m pretty chuffed at being able to play in my home city.

Q.  One bogey all day mate, that’s pretty tidy golf around a tough golf course.

AARON PIKE:  Yeah, I’m not going to lie, I made some good par putts and realistically the one hole that I made bogey, I had to get up and down for bogey, because as this place does to you, if you put it in the wrong spot, it’ll just bite you, and I did there.  Fortunately for the rest of the day, although I got up and down, I was getting up and down from spots that are just really simple.  Sometimes having a 30 foot putt here is worse than having a chip shot or a putt over a ridge and these kinds of things.

Again, the local knowledge of knowing this place so well, that sort of really helped.

Q.  Wedge game’s important around here, would you agree with wedge play, was that a big part of today?

AARON PIKE:  Absolutely.  I stuffed quite a few shots in there.  I took advantage of the par 5s, except the last, but I made a couple of birdies, and 10 we’re playing as a par 4, but still a par 5 in my mind, because I play here so much.  So effectively in my head, I made birdie there.

I took advantage of the par 5s.  I hit a couple of wedge shots nice and close early and then I made a nice putt on 18 and then I just sort of eased into the round.  I nearly jammed it in for two on the second and I just kept sort of playing along from there and birdied 7 and sort of just kept plugging away.

Q.  Added distance put on during the year as well?

AARON PIKE:  Sorry, what was that?

Q.  Do you think that extra distance that you’ve put on the last few months-

AARON PIKE:  Yeah, definitely.  It was noticeable, like I played with Matty Jager today and he’s been a guy that’s always been well past me and I’m certainly not the longest guy, but I’ve tried to make a concerted effort to hit it a bit further and we were level pegging the whole day.  Sometimes I was past him, sometimes he was past me.  So he probably didn’t have his best game today, but that shows to me that I’m probably inching up the metres, which is what you need to do in this day and age, and especially around this golf course.  I think that’s an advantage.

Q.  You made an interesting comment to the TV about your comfort level out there, being on top of the leaderboard, comfortable being uncomfortable.

AARON PIKE:  Yeah, that’s something that all of the boys and the girls that are out here playing this week, it’s something that we have to just get used to.  As I said, you want to be winning these.  You want to be at the top of the tree and you want the camera on you, you want the interviews, you want all these kind of things.  Being comfortable being uncomfortable is something that I’ve had to sort of basically just get over it and learn to do it and it’s something that sort of comes pretty easy, but as I said, I’m playing a golf course I know pretty well, so.

Q.  The changes to the Order of Merit with the top three now going to Europe, have you and others noticed that?

AARON PIKE:  Yeah, I obviously got the email yesterday and information.  I think it’s great.  Any more spots that we’ve got to get onto those bigger and more advanced tours and stuff like that, it’s an incentive that we want.  It’s an incentive that – all we want is an opportunity in this game.  We want the opportunity to show what we can do, and that’s just another opportunity, and whoever gets it, whether it’s me or Michael Sim or whoever it might be – Brad Kennedy gets it again, they deserve it.  If you finish top three, you deserve it, don’t you and it’s what you want, and those things, that’s what we’re aiming for.

Q.  Thanks Aaron.

Q.  How’d you find it out there?

MIN WOO LEE:  Yeah, it was good.  Good first round.  I mean, it was a little scrappy I guess on a couple of the holes, but I mean, expected, first tournament back in a few weeks.  No, I created myself pretty good there.  I could have made a few more birdies, but it is what it is.  There’s a bit of grey on the greens and it got pretty windy out there, so that’s expected.

Q.  Do you feel like it’s the kind of course where you could have one big day and set yourself up?

MIN WOO LEE:  Yeah, definitely.  If you do all the right things and hit good shots, yeah, there’s a lot of birdies out there.

Q.  Do you take anything away from playing partners, how they played?  Do you sort of pay attention to those guys in this sort of event?

MIN WOO LEE:  No, it’s actually very fun, it’s enjoyable.  Su hit it pretty far, she was – there wasn’t anything weird about it, I don’t think.  It was my first time playing with a lady in an event, ever.  So no, it was actually really cool, I enjoyed it.  I mean, Su putted really well.  I could probably get that off her, but other than that, Windred played solid, but yeah, if we clean up a few things as a group, we’ll have a low one.

Q.  Is it the sort of course where you feel like you almost get better every day as you learn it a bit more and you get back into the rhythm of tournament golf?

MIN WOO LEE:  Yeah, for sure.  The first two days was a bit confusing out here practising and definitely got the gist of it a little bit.  But yeah, definitely, any course, it definitely helps playing it more.

Q.  So you’d be able to hit your driver literally everywhere?

MIN WOO LEE:  Yeah, most of the time.  I mean, only a few holes where it’s a bit shorter and you need to hit one less, but yeah, it’s pretty wide out there.

Q. What about 12, the driver?

MIN WOO LEE:  12 I hit 3 wood and it got like pin high right, so I mean driver was too long, it was downwind, that hole.

Q.  What do you think our winning score might be this week?

MIN WOO LEE:  I want to say maybe 15-under, maybe a bit more.  I think if you shoot 15 you’re going to be up there.

Q.  Much banter with Su or were you keeping to yourself?

MIN WOO LEE:  Yeah, I mean, I knew her from junior golf and amateur golf, so no, it was fun.  I haven’t seen her in a while so it was good to catch up with – I mean, everyone out here is pretty good mates from junior and amateur golf, so it’s good to see.

Q.  It’s been a concept, it’s not new, but it’s still relatively novel.  Do you think it’s got legs, the combined events?

MIN WOO LEE:  Yeah, for sure, I definitely think, it was fun.  I didn’t complain at all.  I mean, it brings everyone into golf.  I mean, yeah, it’s a good concept.  I really like it.

Q.  Are you pleased with the news about the Tour here, extending the time out here?

MIN WOO LEE:  Yeah, for sure.  I mean, it’s huge for Australian golf.  I was pretty devastated when there was no, I mean, a lot of people were devastated when there was no golf in Australia because there’s such good courses here, so it definitely is a happy smile to start off the year and hopefully there’s a few more tournaments.  But no, congratulations to the guys that made it happen.

Q.  Thank you mate.

Q.   Thanks for coming along today and welcome to Geoff Ogilvy, long time great Australian player, back to the PGA, past winner of this event.  Geoff, how is your playing form?  You have a lot of other things in your life nowadays now you’re done touring and you’re obviously doing your architecture and you run your own tournaments.  Have you got something left in the locker there as a player this week?

GEOFF OGILVY:  I guess we’ll find out.  I’m not really sure, to be honest.  I’ve played less golf in the last two years than I’ve probably ever played since I was about six or seven really, so a bit hard done by in Victoria, a little bit there for a while.  But it’s been okay. We played the Sandbelt Tournament, which went really well, just after Christmas.  I’ve been hitting a few at home and playing a fair bit of social golf I guess in the last few months.  So, we’ll see.  I mean, tournaments are different from home golf.

But it’s a bit like riding a bike, I was sort of a bit uncomfortable and I don’t know, just not that comfortable at home for some reason but as soon as I got on the range yesterday, it was like, I remember this, this is what I do.  So, we’ll see.  The short game is usually the question mark when you come back after a long break, but I don’t know, as I said, no expectation.

Q.  Talk to us a little about Royal Queensland because I understand you’re going to be doing some work here in the architecture sense in the future as well, so talk to us a bit about the new Royal Queensland and how that sets up for a tournament like this?

GEOFF OGILVY:  It’s quite different, obviously.  There’s obviously quite a lot of stuff here that’s like the old Royal Queensland, similar holes, like 10’s the same and 17 was there and run-off stuff, but it’s evolved into a really good course.  I’ve been around it a lot looking at it with the architecture eye, sort of critiquing it from that sense, but haven’t actually played a serious round with the score card in my pocket here, so time will tell about how that works.

But, I think it will be great.  It’s quite strategic.  We’ve got to think about it.  There’s some really interesting decisions to make off a lot of tees. It’s not just bombs away.  It always gets a bit windy in the afternoon and it can get pretty firm here, so I don’t know, time will tell.

I mean, it’s almost impossible to guess what guys are going to shoot these days.  Look what Cam shot the other day and Jonesy, Jonesy shot 23-under on the weekend, last weekend in Kapalua.  I mean, everyone’s really good here, so I think it will be a good tournament.  I think it’s a great course.

It’s nice that it’s getting a great field, men and women’s, that sort of show off Royal Queensland a little bit and how it can be played really well and I think it will be a good challenge for everyone.

Q.  Geoff, you mentioned before the lack of golf in general for everyone.  Can you just talk about what it’s been like for the fraternity to have such a long time between drinks, I guess?

GEOFF OGILVY:  I mean, I’m a little bit different.  I kind of came back to Australia because I was ready.  I was ready for a bit of a break, sick of being on the road all the time, missed Australia a lot.  I wanted my kids to have a bit of time in Australia.  2019 was I think was my sort of gap year of playing, get home and then I was going to sort of head off and play 10, 15 and sort of have my cake and eat it too almost as a dream.  Just sort of play a part time schedule but still get to live at home.

That didn’t pan out, so you sort of pivot along and I just tried to play a bit of social golf and in Victoria we had golf and then we didn’t, then we had golf and then we didn’t, so I’m a little bit different from some of these guys.  I feel a lot for these kids, sort of 19, 20, 21 who were all about to take that sort of get on the aeroplane, go to a Q-School or go play overseas and that’s sort of been put on hold a little bit in the last two years, which is really tough I think for them, kind of really an awful time for that sort of thing to happen.

But it will be build resilience or sort of show their desire or no desire.  I mean, if they’ve got the deep desire, it would have got stronger, I would have thought, not being able to do it.  It’s been a tough run for everyone, but I think it’s been great to watch.  We’ve had Aussies winning all the time – Minjee’s just won a Major, Cam’s been playing great, Min Woo played great this year.  

Someone told me a stat – you guys I’m sure know it – we’ve won 20 or so tournaments in the last two years, Australians around the world, which is incredible really.  Probably the strongest run of wins we’ve ever had maybe, during this period.

So we’ve all been sitting back here and they’re all friends with these guys, so it’s pretty inspirational and stuff and I think it’s been tough not being able to sort of free wheel it, just come and go wherever you please.  The guys in Japan have had a really tough run, that’s been brutal.  They’ve spent half their last two years in hotel rooms.  Seeing Instagram of them having chipping cups up hallways and stuff.  So that’s been tough for everyone, but it feels like golf and professional golf is in a really good state.

I think our girls are a lot stronger than they’ve ever been.  I think our female side of our game is getting great.  We’ve got a tonne of these kids who are, as I said, very enthusiastic and excited to get overseas, because they’ve sort of been held back a little bit the last couple of years.

So I think it’s a really good period for us and good things coming.  Wins like Cam’s on the weekend, you can only do everything, but get everyone excited about doing it again.

Q.  That ties into something else I wanted to ask you about the tournament and Vic players in general here.  Obviously harder and harder to get the guys back from the US, running out of room on their schedule, then there’s new tournaments popping up in Saudi being another hurdle.  But it sounds like there’s a way forward without those big names.  What do you think about that battle that seems to come up every year, throwing those big names back?

GEOFF OGILVY:  I think there’s been far too much focus on prize money and big name players.  I mean no one really minds who goes to play in the Australian Open Tennis – that’s not exact today, but they go anyway.  The Melbourne Cup’s the biggest horse race in the world and nobody cares what horses are running, they want to go anyway.

I think we’ve sat down on Tuesday and Wednesday press conferences for the last 20 years in Australia and say, isn’t this a shame Geoff, there’s no one playing here this week?  So who’s going to come and support the Tournament when we tell them don’t come because there’s no good players?

I think all pros are great players.  I think we need to focus on building great events, sort of build them from the ground up again.  We’ve had this sort of all or nothing approach, that unless it’s a big massive event with the top 10 players in the world, it’s not worth having.

I think if we can sort of go back to the basics, fundamentally sell events, just put them all on, give somebody the chance to play, build them up, build them up, build them up gradually, and the big name players will gradually come.  I don’t think you need them for a great tournament.  I mean, we come to a tournament – I think people come to golf tournaments for a couple of reasons.  One is because they want to see people in draws with drivers and people who can do stuff that they can’t do – and everybody here can do that.

Everyone here is impressive to a club golfer, if you ask me, and two, you go for the contest.  It doesn’t matter if it’s the 1000th player in the world versus the 900th best player in the world for one and two, the contest is the contest and that’s exciting – guys holing putts and hitting good shots and coming up with the stuff under pressure.  I mean, I think, I was at the Ashes Test the other day.  It wasn’t really who won or lost that, it was just how good it was to watch and I think all elite sport, including golf, is like that.

If you have a great contest, it’s appealing to watch and I think if we can focus on that rather than who’s not there, I think we can rebuild and create an unbelievable tour, I think.   I think golf’s a massive sport in Australia, people love it.  You’ve just got to give them a reason to come, not give them a reason not to come.

Q.  You mentioned your own expectations are lower, but having watched you play the Old Tournament last year (?), that seemed to raise it a little bit, because you’re getting used to it, how do you temper your expectations against not playing tournament golf?  How do you keep yourself level headed and not maybe go back to your arm chair (?) thinking about how you’re playing?

GEOFF OGILVY:  You tell me how to temper expectations and I’ll put that into practice.  But it’s tough.  I think it’s partly why we are what we are, because we set ourselves really high standards and it’s very easy to have no expectations today.  If I hit a few good shots today, all of a sudden I’m going to come out tomorrow all excited.

That’s really the challenge of a golfer, to be realistic, stay present, just hit good shot after good shot, after good shot and sort of add them up at the end and see how you do.  It’s very easy to not miss a shot on the range on Thursday morning and bogey the first hole and the whole thing comes unravelled.

So, I’ve been better at it I think over my career.  I think that’s just a maturity, growing up thing and an understanding that golf very often doesn’t go how you want it to go.  So I’m still working on that.  Hopefully I can just try to enjoy playing a golf tournament I think and that’s usually a pretty good recipe, so we’ll see.

But if I do get grumpy or annoyed that I’m not scoring how I want to score, I need to admonish myself a little bit, because that’s not realistic.  I just haven’t done what I’d normally do and I’ll do my best to play good golf and I’ll do my best to keep my headspace in a good place, I guess.

Q.  Does that lack of tournament golf help you avoid going down rabbit holes and things like that with golf when you’re only playing average golf, I know you’ve spoken about before at tour events, or do you still think a lot of golf [inaudible] do you still stand in front of the mirror and fashion positions and [inaudible] pick something different?

GEOFF OGILVY:  I have golf clubs all over my house.  I’ve got a putting mat in front of the TV.  I haven’t stopped swinging golf clubs.  I’ve made more practice swings in the last two years than I’ve ever made, than I’ve made in the previous five years.  It never goes away.  I think it’s been a nice period for that, because when you’re playing week in, week out, it’s very difficult to really sort of take a deep dive into your golf swing and how you hit it, because you have to perform at the same time you’re doing it.

I think really the only way to be honest and actually get somewhere with golf is to disregard how you’re hitting it for a while and when you’re playing tournaments that’s really difficult, because it’s very hard, with a bit of ego involved, it’s hard to have a bad score knowing that you’re on the way to a good score.  So you end up sort of half working on it and half trying to play well at the same time.  

So it’s been an interesting period, yeah.  As I said, I’m constantly swinging, I’m constantly sort of trying to get deeper and deeper into why when my swing went bad, why did it go bad.  The goal really is how simple can I make it.  Can I pare this down, can I see two or three simple things that if I can stick to, then I’ll be okay.  Because we all have patterns that we follow our whole life and I’ve been trying to sort of unravel why my pattern is my pattern – if that makes sense.

Q.  Your chances this week, you’ve played Royal Queensland in the past, but you wouldn’t have chipped and putted on greens themselves for a long time.  Is that something you’d spend a bit of time on today, get used to it and just like riding a bike, it’s come back to you?

GEOFF OGILVY:  I think it’s a bit of both.  I think I certainly will be chipping and putting a lot today, definitely chipping as well.  I think Bermuda grass – Bermuda – I would say Bermuda, but 328 or Couch or whatever we call it, grey haired grass, is different.  When I first played, when I first started coming up here for amateur tournaments and stuff, I was just completely lost.

But after 15 or 20 years in the US, you play on this sort of grass 30 per cent of the time probably, so I got a bit better at what I’m looking for.  So, it would probably wouldn’t take too long.  I don’t know if I can be completely back and home and accustomed to it by tomorrow morning, but certainly I think by week end I think I would be.

So, a lot of chips today, a lot of putts today, try to let my, whatever my learnt experience over the years, sort of come out.

Q.  You were talking about the tournaments, probably from a media point of view they’d still love to hang their hat on a big name.  I mean, would you expect because of COVID that these guys have been stuck overseas for so long, that a couple of them now would say we’d like to come home and free up towards the end of the year with Opens, PGAs and things like that?  The Cams, the Adams, the Leishs, Jason?

GEOFF OGILVY: I imagine so, I would be.  I think there was one summer I didn’t come back and by like about February I regretted it.  I was just counting down the days until that November or whatever we could come back for the Open.

I imagine if we can present a good looking schedule there in November, December this year, I think they’ll all be very, very keen, especially Leish, very Aussie, Cam’s very Aussie, Scottie hasn’t been here for a little bit.  Yeah, I imagine, we’ve got an opportunity this year, as you say, just by COVID and them having no golf to play in Australia for a couple of years.  I think if it’s smooth sailing or an easy way to do it this year, I think it’s an opportunity to get them all to come back, absolutely.

Q.  Just on Min Woo Lee, the highest ranking player in the field, just about to play his first Masters in like April.  What’s it like for him going into that first sort of Masters when he’s there compared to your first Masters maybe?

GEOFF OGILVY: I talked to Lucas about this actually, because he’s about to go play his first one.  I think the best thing you can do is go early, before the Tournament.  You’re going to be a fan of the Masters and you’re going to be open eyes.  It’s like going to Disneyland for a kid the first time you go there.  

I think you’ve got to get that out of the way, but you’ve got to allow yourself that, because you’ve been waiting your whole life to get there, so you’ve got to go do that.

So my advice to him, and as it was to Lucas, I said if you can get there early, maybe call Cam or Leish or Scottie or someone and say, are you guys going the week before the Tournament, can I come and tag along, show me the ropes a little bit?  Get it all out of your system.  Drive down Magnolia Lane, go in the pro shop, buy all the merchandise, go behind the trees on 13, feel the shot, do all that stuff.

Get that stuff out of the way, so that when you come back a week or so later for the Masters that you’ve got that out of the way and you can play a golf tournament.

Historically they all say that you can’t play well there first time, but I don’t think that’s true.  I think you absolutely can.  I think if you can get to the first tee and have all that sort of fan stuff out of the way, the wide eyes, like be ready to play on the first tee, I think you can do it.

I think it’s a relatively simple course to play basically right and then it’s 50 years of experience to get all those little 1 per centers, you know what I mean?  So I would say go early and play as many practice rounds as you can with people who have been there – the longer they’ve been there, the more you should seek out their practice round.  Langer, Couples, Scottie, like all those guys.  Go play with them and see how they play, because they seem to hit it to spots where they don’t ever make bogeys and when you’re a rookie there, you just seem to hit in spots where you can’t make pars.

Just watch how the experienced guys play it.  Just get the visit out of the way so you can get back there on the Monday of the Tournament where you can just be ready to go.

Q.  Geoff, thanks very much, thanks for coming.GEOFF OGILVY:  No worries.