Q. Is your father helping with these swing changes?
IGNACIO GARRIDO: Yeah, he's always been there. I've had new ideas from Domingo Hospital, I'm sure you know him and he's been very helpful. I have always worked with my father, and sometimes being too close, you lose perspective. Those new, refreshing ideas have helped a lot. Actually, when I asked him, I thought it was going to be just little things, but he said, "Look, if you want me to help you, we need to change the whole thing."
And I said, "I've played this game for fun and I really want to enjoy it, so let's go with it. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen."
Q. So when you made the Ryder Cup, your swing wasn't what you wanted it to be?
IGNACIO GARRIDO: I thought it was, but now I understand why I couldn't keep that going. Because my swing was -- I mean, my chipping and putting were very good at that time and that always helps. Obviously, well, you know how many hours we spend practising, so anything that you make mechanical can work to a certain point, but obviously I was limited for many shots. When you are messing around a little bit, that's when you are in trouble. I guess good players are not the ones that can shoot 64s. They are the ones that when they are not playing well, they still finish 20th in the tournament, and that's what I couldn't do before. When I lost my game, I really lost it. So I could be Top-5 in the tournament or one of the last five, depending on how my game was performing. That's when I tried to change to be a little more consistent.
Q. When did you decide you needed to change?
IGNACIO GARRIDO: Well, it's a really difficult decision. When I got to the point where I didn't feel like working that much -- I've always enjoyed so much practising and working. I got to the point that I thought, the more I work, probably the worse it goes. And I thought, well, I need a change. But it's difficult to know which way to go; I mean, who to listen to, because if you make the wrong decision, probably your career is gone.
I think I've been very lucky to find someone that has really helped me in simple ways, but obviously, big changes at the same time.
Q. It's building up for a really good finish tomorrow, with all of the really good names, Els; Faldo; Montgomerie, coming through; does that excite you to be involved in something like that?
IGNACIO GARRIDO: I think the ultimate goal of any player in any sport is to be competing with the best. Of course, it's exciting. But the best thing about this game is that you don't have to play against anyone. It doesn't matter if I play with Ernie or with Monty tomorrow. They can't affect my game.
And that's what makes it easier. It wouldn't be the same if I'm playing tennis against them. You know that you can have difficult balls coming back, but it's not going to be like that. I've always enjoyed playing with good players, because even if you play not that well, you always learn something. I've been lucky, also, to beat them sometimes. So it's really exciting and I'm really looking forward to it tomorrow.
Q. Was the big thing you learned at Valderrama and the Ryder Cup was that you could handle it mentally?
IGNACIO GARRIDO: Yeah, of course. Unless you achieve something, you don't really know if you can do it. That's obvious. You can't be confident about something that is going to happen, but unless it happens, you don't know if you can handle that pressure or if you can win a tournament, because, well, you all know how difficult it is and how much you can lose your head when those things are happening under that much pressure.
Yeah, I've learned that somehow I can cope with it, and that's some experience that helps a lot, of course.
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