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NISSAN IRISH OPEN

May 19, 2005

Klas Eriksson

MAYNOOTH, IRELAND

GORDON SIMPSON: Congratulations today, a fantastic round with six birdies, an eagle, four bogeys. It was interesting to hear you say that on a Monty course you decided to follow Monty's example and change the way you play the game.

KLAS ERIKSSON: Normally I always draw the ball, and I thought Monty has not designed a golf course with a draw. So I thought I had to change coming in here after I had walked the course yesterday; so I did try to fade the ball all day long.

GORDON SIMPSON: Very difficult decision to make at 24 hour's notice.

KLAS ERIKSSON: It's pretty difficult, but also the wind was in favor of us on most of us to be honest. We could just sort of hit it out there and let the wind drift it back, but I suppose the scores were pretty high. The course is tough without any question. Monty has done a great job with bunkering around the tee shots. You have to hit the right line. Otherwise, you're going to end up in a trap and just hack it out.

GORDON SIMPSON: Today obviously you've eagled the 18th and dropped three shots in a row, but you managed to keep your composure.

KLAS ERIKSSON: Yeah, obviously bogeying 1, 2, 3, I had not played the course before, so I was a bit cautious on the first and the second. I didn't know where to go from there, and obviously I'm not going to complain about that; it's my fault.

GORDON SIMPSON: You didn't play a practice round at all?

KLAS ERIKSSON: No, I didn't, because I thought we were going to have the Irish summer here, so I thought why come two days only. Because we know we're going to work very, very hard out there every single day, and with the rain and wind, I thought I'd better save my strength.

Bogeying the first three holes there on my back nine wasn't too good, but I snuck in there and thought, "Everyone was going to make bogeys on a course like this." So I just had to play on.

GORDON SIMPSON: Of course your season up to now has been severely handicapped by illness, hasn't it?

KLAS ERIKSSON: I caught a virus on my liver in December and it completely took me out. I was in my bed for three months and lost a lot of muscles and a lot of weight, and obviously it didn't help me. But now I'm here and I'm happy to play. So that's the only thing I can do.

GORDON SIMPSON: Were you abroad when this happened or at home?

KLAS ERIKSSON: I was abroad. I played in Australia. I started feeling very, very weak and I didn't know what it was. Eventually they found out that it was a virus on my liver, and obviously the liver is not good to have a virus on. I've been very, very sick.

Now I feel fresh. The last month I've been regaining my composure again which is great.

Q. Did you gain all the weight back?

KLAS ERIKSSON: I haven't gained, no. Muscle wise I probably lost five kilos. Lying in bed for three months is not going to help you.

On the other hand, I feel very when you're in the bed, I finally realized that I want to play good golf and sort of started thinking about that, and when you're out here week in, week out maybe you don't think like that. That could help me, actually. I feel much more positive and happy on the golf course than I did before; maybe I could use that as an advantage.

Q. How much weight did you lose?

KLAS ERIKSSON: Probably five kilos muscle wise.

GORDON SIMPSON: Just muscle?

KLAS ERIKSSON: Yeah, it felt like everything just went. And everyone I've met, "Well what have you done"?

"Well, I've been in bed."

"Because it looks like you've lost a lot of weight."

The funny thing is I played they didn't know what it was to start with. I tried to play one tournament, and that was in Dubai, and I had to withdraw after one day. After that, I played four in a row after that; so this could be my fourth. Now it feels great. I feel very normal strength and positive in my mind which is good.

Q. What do you think of the golf course?

KLAS ERIKSSON: I think this is a fantastic competitive golf course, yes. Anyone who will win this golf course will be very proud of himself I think on Sunday afternoon, because you cannot get away with bad shots at all. Obviously four days in conditions like this, the one that wins will be very happy, absolutely. It's so fair, we see everything off the tee, nothing is really hidden, so you know what to do. And if you don't do it, you're in trouble. If you do it, you're fine. So it's completely up to yourself.

Q. Is this virus common?

KLAS ERIKSSON: No, it's very rare. Hardly even know what it is. It's called CMW. The body will take care of itself. Normally it takes six months.

GORDON SIMPSON: So you're just watching TV and reading?

KLAS ERIKSSON: Sleeping 15 hours a day. It's nothing you play around with. It's not like fever or anything. It's very bad.

Q. Did anyone else catch it?

KLAS ERIKSSON: Yes, I think, what's his name again, he won the Challenge Tour last year, he was out for two years when he got it.

GORDON SIMPSON: Lee Slattery.

KLAS ERIKSSON: Yes, that was the first tournament he started playing after his illness, and he was out for two years.

GORDON SIMPSON: What do the initials stand for?

KLAS ERIKSSON: It's nothing I don't know, it's probably Latin, I don't know.

GORDON SIMPSON: But it just makes you feel utterly exhausted.

KLAS ERIKSSON: Yes, very, very weak, and just walking 200 yards would be an extreme achievement.

But, that's the past and I'm happy to be playing again.

Q. Is it similar to glandular fever?

KLAS ERIKSSON: Yes.

Q. Is it pretty common?

KLAS ERIKSSON: I think glandular fever is common but not this one. That's why they could not find it to start with is it was not glandular fever. Everything that happened to me sort of was glandular fever, but it took too long, so it could not be that.

Q. (Inaudible.)

KLAS ERIKSSON: It would not be inaccurate at all. It would be pretty similar, absolutely.

GORDON SIMPSON: Did it make you very fearful for the future when you felt like this for so long?

KLAS ERIKSSON: Well, they took probably at least 30 blood tests and could not find anything, and we know we knew how bad I was. Of course, eventually you started wondering what it is. And, yes, I was a bit worried absolutely.

Q. Who looked after you?

KLAS ERIKSSON: A doctor in Sweden.

Q. And while you rested at home?

KLAS ERIKSSON: Yes, at home oh, my wife, yes, my wife.

KLAS ERIKSSON: No, it was after walking the 18th. It is a fantastic golf course. It's like a proper Monty design, you can see in the far distance there is some hazards on the left side of the fairway and all of the bunkering is on the right. Obviously if you hit it on left and just let it leak back, you have all the fairway to work with and that's what he does.

Q. Did you find that a simple adjustment?

KLAS ERIKSSON: Funnily, it was. It felt pretty good. But on the other hand, as I said today, the wind was in our favor. If it would be on the other, completely the opposite way, I think the golf course would play a lot tougher.

Q. (Inaudible.)

KLAS ERIKSSON: I don't know. Probably no, honestly, I don't know.

Q. What happened on the eagle?

KLAS ERIKSSON: I hit a good drive down the left and hit a 6 iron to three feet. The 6 iron was I think 183 meters.

Q. Are you on any medication?

KLAS ERIKSSON: No, there is no medication. The body has to take care of itself. That's why it takes so long.

GORDON SIMPSON: Congratulations. A fantastic round of golf, well played.

End of FastScripts.

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