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ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP

October 5, 2006

Gary Evans

ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND: First Round

GORDON SIMPSON: Okay, everybody. Well, Gary, a lovely record 65 today. I think you'd take that on the Old Course any time, wouldn't you.

GARY EVANS: Nice way to finish a career, isn't it, pretty much. Not finished yet, certainly a few rounds left. It's lovely, nice sort of finish.

GORDON SIMPSON: What are your plans exactly?

GARY EVANS: I'm starting a company called the GE Consultancy, and I've got two or three projects I'm working on at the minute, all within the world of golf. I'm heading down to Dubai on Sunday night to go into a few meetings down there with a couple of projects I'm working on.

GORDON SIMPSON: Mainly going to be Middle East based.

GARY EVANS: Some of it will be. Some of it is in North Africa. I've got an Internet idea that will be coming to the fore fairly shortly with a German company that I know, lots of really good stuff. But until my name is on the pieces of paper, there's really no point in getting into too much detail.

GORDON SIMPSON: You're saying because you've got other things on your mind, just go ahead and play at the moment and this is the result of it?

GARY EVANS: Yeah. It's such a stupid thing, isn't it, really, I guess. I had a mate on my bag in Madrid and we had a great laugh. I played with Robert Hisson (phon.) there about three weeks ago at Sunningdale and he's a really nice guy, just basically had the crack out there, really. I played nicely.

Q. (No microphone.)

GARY EVANS: I think when you've picked yourself up off the floor and dusted yourself off as many times as I have, I think eventually it gets a bit wearing on the brain. I think it's fair to say that all golfers have a natural stubbornness about them because of the very nature of the game. It's a game where you do very little succeeding, or what you might call success.

But yeah, the last few years has been tough. My kids are growing up, and I feel I've got so much more to do in my life. I feel that I have some talents in terms of communication. I've got a great database of people. I know so many people having traveled the Tour for 15 years, and it just seems like a good time to transition over, really. I don't think I'll be particularly missed, do you?

Q. By whom? Your peers, officialdom? Media?

GARY EVANS: No, I've never been a glowing light on the European Tour, I've just been, you know, a regular supporter of the Tour, and I've had a great time doing it.

GORDON SIMPSON: Some great highs, as well.

GARY EVANS: Absolutely, yeah. I wouldn't change it for anything, really.

Q. What have some of the highs been?

GARY EVANS: Well, I mean, obviously never losing my card, and technically I've never lost my card. Obviously the Open Championship in 2002 would stand out as a high point personally. It was just an amazing feeling, and it still gets me going when I think about it.

But no, I think the fact that I've been lucky enough to travel the world and meet so many great people and be privileged enough to play on the European Tour amongst some absolute superstars or legends. Playing ten years ago with Faldo, Langer, Woosnam, Lyle, Ballesteros, Olazábal, that's something fairly not too many people can say that they did that for a living, and I feel very proud of the fact that I had that opportunity.

Q. Was there a moment when you decided to call it a day?

GARY EVANS: Not particularly. I mean, about a year ago it started going through my mind about a year ago, obviously when I got I had an operation on my right shoulder two years ago, and then I came back from that, and then when my leg went, I just thought, I just don't believe this, what have I done to deserve this amount of hassle in my career. As I said, the picking yourself up from the floor every time, it just gets wearing.

You know, I've tried. I've tried hard to sort of come back, but it just hasn't felt right ever since.

Q. What if you win this week?

GARY EVANS: I guarantee you, I will be hanging my spikes up 100 per cent.

Q. Unless you win this and you end up in the Volvo Masters?

GARY EVANS: It's possible. That would be a different rotation because I've got things planned that week.

Q. Today's highlights?

GARY EVANS: I actually just played really steadily. I made a really good birdie at 16, which was my 7th hole, hit a 4 wood and a 5 iron to 20 feet and holed it. That's a really awkward little hole. It was playing slightly into the breeze.

And then obviously walking off 17 with a par is always nice.

But I suppose I got onto the front nine, 5, hit driver, 5 iron to about 12 feet for eagle.

But I really played solidly. I mean, I could have gone a lot lower. The next two holes I had lob wedge in my hand for my second shot and I didn't get within 20 feet of the hole either time.

But it was a really good, solid round of golf. I really didn't do much wrong at all.

Q. (No microphone.)

GARY EVANS: To some extent.

Q. (No microphone.)

GARY EVANS: No, to some extent it's the other things that have been going on. If you look at my scores this year, I've missed so many cuts by one and two shots, it's a joke. And what happens when you're not on Tour for a while, that sharpness, that edge, that little bit of more patience that you have when you're in the zone just isn't there. Basically that's the reason why I've been missing cuts.

My golf actually hasn't been bad, I just haven't been scoring, and mentally it just drains you. You want to play four rounds, and when you turn up every week, work hard, go and miss the cut by a shot, it's devastating. It is tough.

GORDON SIMPSON: Gary, best of luck for the next three days. Hope it goes well.

End of FastScripts.

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