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COMMERCIALBANK QATAR MASTERS PRESENTED BY DOLPHIN ENERGY


February 2, 2012


John Daly


DOHA, QATAR

Q.  John, 67.  What a round of golf.  How tough was it out there?
JOHN DALY:  It was brutal.  I mean I'm pretty shocked myself shooting 5‑under.  Yeah, I had five and a half weeks off really didn't touch the clubs much, so being the first tournament of the year I'm real happy.

Q.  How hard is it for you to schedule because you kind of don't know which ones you're going to get in, which ones you're not?
JOHN DALY:  Yeah, I'm hoping to ‑‑ I'm kind of this year basing everything around the European tour instead of the PGA TOUR, so hopefully I'll get in a lot more on the European side, and my goal is just to try and get my card on the European tour and maybe get in the top 60.  That's kind of the goal.

Q.  Did you feel like you wanted to wear a mask out there?
JOHN DALY:  You really do.  It's weird.  You just feel like you're eating a lot of sand out there today.  But for me it's probably one of the best rounds I've ever played in the wind like that because it's so easy, you can hit some decent shots and it can get away from you so fast, especially as hard as this course is.

Q.  What are you going to do now, another four hours on the range?
JOHN DALY:  I don't think you can.  I don't feel like eating any more sand.  I don't know.  Hopefully it'll die down a bit and go work on something, but it's hard to work on your game in these conditions.

Q.  What's for lunch?
JOHN DALY:  I don't know.  Fixing to go find out.

Q.  Great game today.  Well done?
JOHN DALY:  Thanks a lot.  Appreciate it. 

Q.  (No question).
JOHN DALY:  The only thing I really did was just chipped and putted a little bit with my son.  We couldn't because the weather permitted.  But never really played a round.  I just put them up, but worked really hard Tuesday and a little bit yesterday getting ready for this, so I'm a little shocked, but I love the way I hit the ball and the way I managed the course as hard as it played with the wind.

Q.  How hard is it playing in the wind, not only the wind, but the sand, under these conditions?
JOHN DALY:  It's brutal.  There's no doubt.  It's absolutely brutal.  You just feel like you're ‑‑ you just feel really nasty right now, feel like kind of cotton mouth with all the sand in your eyes and your hair and your mouth and stuff, so just kind of had to hang in there somehow.

Q.  Just going to take it easy this afternoon, not push it too hard practicing any?
JOHN DALY:  I don't know if you can any.  Got sand coming out of ‑‑ looks like ‑‑ it's everywhere.  And I wasn't even in the sand today.  (Laughs).
But no, it's kind of hard.  You know, you can chip and putt a little bit, but hitting balls it's just kind of ‑‑ it would be frustrating right now.

Q.  Take a deep breath.  Relax.
JOHN DALY:  Yeah, I need a shower and a bath.

Q.  Maybe talk a little bit about the round, especially you had two birdies on the last three holes?
JOHN DALY:  Yeah, I mean seven and nine were probably playing just as hard as anything.  But it just wasn't a round where you could just ‑‑ you couldn't fire at flags.  You're just happy to hit greens.  You had a lot of 50, 40‑footers today that I was able to two‑putt a lot of them, and I hit a couple decent shots that were kind of gimme birdies that helped a lot along the way, too.
But no, it was a great start.  It was one of the best rounds I've ever played, and I mean that.  That's just how hard the golf course is playing.

Q.  And in terms of your game, what were you most happy about out there?  Was it the putting?
JOHN DALY:  I think just all around.  You know, I hit my driver really, really well today.  I hit a lot of fairways, and when I wasn't in a fairway, it was kind of in the first cut, so I had a lot of chances to at least hit the greens, and I can't say I was practicing a lot, because I took a lot of time off, which I pretty much needed, but it was real solid.

Q.  And after last year, ups and downs, to have a round like this, what does it mean for getting the year going?
JOHN DALY:  It means a lot.  You know, you can build on it.  I love the way I putted ‑‑ I've always been kind of decent in the wind, because I'm a streaky putter, so sometimes you can hit some bad putts and get away with it in the wind and make them.
But no, I was happy with everything.  The only thing I really did in the off season for five weeks, I chipped and putted a lot with my son, and you know, that might have helped a little bit, because I did chip pretty good today.

Q.  Okay.  Great.  What's the toughest conditions you've ever played in?
JOHN DALY:  I would probably say the Scottish Open a couple years back when it rained, and it was blowing about 40.  The '95 Open, every day was kind of brutal there, but we didn't have the wind and the rain like we had at the Scottish Open.  I think it was three years ago.  And that was ‑‑ the tents were falling, and that was brutal.
This is tough because of the sand.  You can't keep it from getting in your eyes and your mouth and everything.  So I'm just better off for me just keeping a cigarette in my mouth the whole round.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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