	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

HSBC CHAMPIONS

November 11, 2006

Retief Goosen

SHANGHAI, CHINA: Third Round

RODDY WILLIAMS: Retief, One shot lead going into the final round, must be a nice position.

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yeah, obviously whenever you're leading going into the final round, it's great. I've got somebody tomorrow that I have to watch out that I don't know. Yang is obviously playing extremely well and I'm going to have to watch out. Obviously Tiger is still in there. We know what he's capable of. We just have to see what the weather is going to be tomorrow. Hopefully it's not as windy and cold as it was today.

So yeah, one shot lead, you'd like to have ten, but got to hopefully get a good round in tomorrow and see if we can win it.

RODDY WILLIAMS: We're hearing on TV you have a pretty good record leading from the front, I think you've won nine of 12 on The European Tour. Confidence going into tomorrow?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yes, obviously I'm feeling quite comfortable with the course. Today was a tough day to get through today. I probably thought 1 under or somewhere around there would be a good round, but to shoot 3 under is a good, solid round today with two bogeys, so overall very happy.

Q. Has the coach helped your game a lot, I believe you've just worked with him for the last three or four months; and secondly, given the form you've shown in the last three or four months, are you bad not to take this step sometime back?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Well, you can always argue that point that, yeah, you should have done it some longer time ago, but you never know. I might have started with a guy two months ago and didn't help at all, who knows.

But obviously when you're under pressure and windy conditions, bad habits tend to creep back in. It's difficult to do what you know you have to to do the right thing. I hit a lot of poor shots out there, but putted really nicely today and holed a lot of good putts. Overall, I'm happy that I made the decision to go with the new coach, and it has gone better for me the last couple of months, definitely.

Q. What specifically have you ton in the last couple of months to turn things around with the new coach, and also there are some crazy scores out there, how were you able to hold it together?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yeah, basic stuff, really. It was more the setup and something on the backswing that we've been working on. But overall, mentally wise, it's also, you know, helped me to trust it a little bit better out on the course.

So yeah, it wasn't easy out there today. There was a few holes that played different to the first two days. You know, into the wind, the ball just went nowhere. Especially on the back nine, it got so cold that into the wind was probably a three club wind. And downwind, the ball also didn't go that far.

Q. So my first question is, what would it mean to you to beat Tiger and be the champion tomorrow? And second question is, what's your first impression of Shanghai and China and of the Sheshan course?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yeah, I obviously enjoy the golf course. Whenever you play well on a golf course, you always enjoy the golf course. And when you don't play well, you seem to not like the golf course. But the golf course, when I got here on Wednesday in the Pro Am, I quite liked the course and the feel of the course and the way it looked.

So, you know, I'm feeling very confident on some of the holes, and today hit a lot of good shots on some of the holes. Well, you know, I think that's a lot of other guys I have to worry about than Tiger. Obviously Tiger is always a guy you're going to have to worry about; that he's going to come up and shoot a good round. But Yang is playing very well, and Joyti is playing very well. So those are the two guys I have to really keep my eye on tomorrow.

Q. I want to know, is Tiger Woods giving you some pressure, and if you win tomorrow, you have many good records in China if you win tomorrow, will you come back and play more and more in China in the future?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yeah, obviously, I've played in China quite a few times now, and I enjoy playing here and I enjoy the people. I definitely want to come back and play well, and even if I don't win the tournament tomorrow, I definitely am coming back to play here again.

Q. We saw Tiger and Randhawa put on extra clothes through the round, but you kept just your golf shirt on. You're not afraid of the cold temperature?

RETIEF GOOSEN: No, it did get very cold out there, especially in the last seven holes. It really started getting cold. I didn't bring a sweater to the golf course today, so I didn't have a choice but to stay cold. But, you know, once you're in there, you're running around the golf course concentrating, it's sort of you don't really feel the cold as much as you would be just standing in the crowd.

Q. When you get your sort of stature in the game, how important is it for to you have multiple wins in a season than perhaps just a single victory?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Yeah, we all want to do that. There's only been a couple of years that I've won more than one tournament. It would be nice to get a win in this year at least, you know. I did win in China a couple of months ago, so at least that's a win.

But to win on The European Tour, I should say I didn't win on the U.S. Tour this year. But to win on The European Tour this year would be nice. It's for the 2007 schedule, but it's still for the 2006 year.

Q. You seem to be very calm on the golf course, you don't show much impression, how do you recover after a bad hole when you step to the next tee?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Well, one thing about golf is you're always going to make mistakes. So you've got to, you know, try and get it out of your mind as quickly as possible and carry on to the next hole and try to make up with a birdie. I don't know, you know, we are all nervous out there, all of us. Just part of the game. It's just how you handle it yourself and on the inside, you keep your concentration and not let your mind wander on what's going on outside the ropes.

So I don't know. I might look calm on the course, but on the inside you're always nervous. That's how the game is, and, you know, keeping focusing and that kind of stuff gets you over the bad holes and try and get it back on the next hole with a birdie.

Q. You're having a great weekend, just wondering if you had any interesting Chinese food this weekend and if you feel it is helping your game?

RETIEF GOOSEN: No, I haven't been trying my luck with too many of the Chinese food this week. I've sort of been sticking with the pizzas and that kind of stuff.

So I'm not sure if my stomach will handle some of the food here, but maybe tonight I'll try a little bit of something different, but I think I'll go with what my body is used to.

Q. What do you do during the week after the round, how do you relax each night?

RETIEF GOOSEN: Well, I've been pretty tired with the jet lag after each round. You finish early, around four o'clock, go back to the room, relax and maybe have a light workout in the gym, stay loose. Been watching a TV this week. So generally I've been pretty much asleep around 9.30 at night.

RODDY WILLIAMS: Retief, thanks very much.

End of FastScripts.

About ASAP Sports • FastScripts Archive • Recent Interviews • Captioning • Upcoming Events • Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297