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WGC CADILLAC CHAMPIONSHIP


March 10, 2012


Graeme McDowell


MIAMI, FLORIDA

GRAEME McDOWELL:  I would really love a few more of them.  I've actually had that actual putter for three years but I've been using the same type of putter for five or six years.  I would like a new one, but that's got some magic in it, that one.  It's decent.  Still works I think.

Q.  Nice two‑ball today.
GRAEME McDOWELL:  Yeah, a lot of fun.  You know, it was obviously fun to play with him and fun to watch him doing what he was doing.  You know, when he eagled 10 and birdied 12, obviously you know it was game on for the old magic number.  He's just so impressive to watch.  Like I say, felt like I was shooting 80; I had to keep reminding myself I was 5‑under par. 
Fun pairing, greens were running this morning, we both made a few putts, and disappointed we couldn't have capitalized a little bit more coming in.  But he's playing okay at the minute.  I think he'll do some good things if he keeps doing what he's doing there.

Q.  (Inaudible.)
GRAEME McDOWELL:  It was good today.  It was a funny start because he played the first pretty badly, duffed a chip and wiggled a 6‑footer into the hole for par, laid the sod over it on 2 and chipped it in.  It's funny, playing the first two holes badly, but then kind of that little spark with the chip‑in on 2, kind of away he went.  That's just kind of the funny thing about golf.  But he was impressive out there, and like I say, a lot of fun to play with.
I played okay.  I played okay.  Just didn't hit it close enough to the hole on the back nine.  But found myself being a little bit of a spectator there for a few holes.  But that was fun.  I'm really happy with the way I'm hitting the golf ball.  Have my irons under control.  That woolly kind of bermuda is not my favorite type of stuff to pitch from.  But if I can go shoot a low one tomorrow, it will be a good week.

Q.  Do you like when you get days like this when you can just go out and shoot numbers?  Do you like that better than when you have to continue to try to just make par or 1‑ or 2‑under like you did the first two days?
GRAEME McDOWELL:  You know, it was fun.  I think the other type of format is more suited to my game.  I guess I'm a little bit more of a grinder than some of these more dynamic guys who can hit 320 and decimate a golf course.  I'm not really going to do that I suppose.  I prefer maybe a little tougher.
But the scoring, the 61s, 62s, 63s last week at the Honda; 62s and 63s here, just astounding scoring.  Just says a lot about how good these guys are and especially on a golf course like this one that we know so well, how much the attitude just becomes hit driver everywhere and go get it and score.  It's impressive stuff.

Q.  Did you think he had a shot at sub‑60?
GRAEME McDOWELL:  I think he did.  9‑under through 12, six holes to go, he needed to tick four birdies.  It was tough; it's a big ask.  This golf course, you don't have to do a huge amount wrong to get out of position here.  The fairways are premium because this rough just jumps.  It's so hard to control your golf ball when you don't hit fairways.  It's easy to make mistakes.  I'm sure he's a little disappointed.  I think he'll tell you himself, it's probably not his favorite golf course setup with this type of bermudarough and stuff.  But he still gets it around.

Q.  16 is a quirky hole.
GRAEME McDOWELL:  You don't really have‑‑ 16 is a hard hole.  Especially in that left‑to‑right wind direction.  You've just got to hit it in the fairway.
I mean, a guy like Rory who can drive it up there short of the bunkers, he wants to try and do that, leaks it a little bit today and runs through and he has no shot.  Is it 2‑iron or 3‑wood get it in play?  Perhaps it is.  It's a very, very hard fairway to hit in that wind direction.
You know, I just managed to sneak onto it today and had an easy shot.  But a couple yards further, I'm in the rough and I have no shot.  It's a funky hole.

Q.  Do you think the hole location, too, maybe dictated different than a driver?
GRAEME McDOWELL:  For sure.  You've got to give these hole locations a little bit of thought out there, because I've played the golf course pretty conservative this week at times.  I hit 3‑woods downwind just to make sure I'm in the fairway, going in with a little bit more club than guys to get grooves on it, because I get a lot of jumpers, so I can't control it when I get in this rough.  So that's just the way this golf course is set up.

Q.  Who is the favorite for the Masters?
GRAEME McDOWELL:  Tiger, I think Tiger is the favorite for the Masters.  Rory is going to have a fair bit of expectation on him going in there.  He's probably expected to win, and that's tough.  Just a case of how he handles it; with the whole world No. 1 thing‑‑ if he's still world No. 1 going into Augusta, I think it's going to be a big ask for him.
But his game is absolutely, if you can just picture a golf course and say, you know, a golf course‑‑ if Rory McIlroy designed a golf course, it would look a lot like Augusta National.  It would have a lot of similar tee shots to 9 and 13 and 10 and stuff‑‑ I won't say 10‑‑ but you'd have a lot of similar‑type tee shots.
I think Tiger is favored for Augusta with Rory not far behind him.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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