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ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT SCOTTISH OPEN


July 12, 2013


Henrik Stenson


INVERNESS, SCOTLAND

Q.  You were 2‑over par for the first 11 holes of this championship, 12‑under for the last 25, what changed?
HENRIK STENSON:  I made a whole lot more birdies.

Q.  Elaborate, please.
HENRIK STENSON:  I got off to a bit of a bad start yesterday.  Didn't have the speed of the greens and missed a couple of greens.  Had to dig deep on the back nine yesterday.  It was blowing pretty hard.  I think it was flat calm in the morning and then it picked up when we started and we had a bit of a rough journey there.  Like I said, I played well on the back nine, made a couple nice birdies and came home in 4‑under to put a decent score together yesterday and then got off to a good start today.  It was less wind today, different direction than yesterday, and yeah, just kept on‑‑ it was weird, because I didn't play fantastic today but I kept the ball in play and gave myself plenty of chances and made the birdies.  So it was like it could have been even a couple of shots better but I didn't feel like I was playing fantastic, so it was a bit of a weird one to shoot 64 and feel like this was more in it, and still happy.

Q.  You have gone up virtually 100 spots in the World Ranking since last year; how different is your attitude and mind‑set going into the summer?
HENRIK STENSON:  Well, when I go another hundred it's going to be a good one, isn't it.  No, I'm working on long‑term things and giving myself more patience.  At times it's difficult when you're not playing the way you want to and try and start chasing, but I've got a few long‑term goals that I'm working on both on the mental side and with the technical side and so on.  So I just feel like it's a work‑in‑progress and I'm playing pretty good.

Q.  Fantastic round, 8‑under, give us your thoughts?
HENRIK STENSON:  It's a weird one because I didn't feel like I was playing fantastic, but I managed on my front nine, the back nine, I hit four greens in less shots than you should.  I managed to get it on two par 4s in one and the par 5s in two.
Unfortunately I 3‑putted 18 but I was bogey‑free on that nine and made a couple of nice, ten‑, 15‑footers on the front nine and had some great chances.  Still left a few shots out there, but I'm pleased because I didn't feel like I was playing 100 percent.  Sounds weird to say that after shooting 64 and 8‑under par, get me back in the tournament.  Overall I'm very satisfied.

Q.  A bit of wind out there this morning, and there wasn't yesterday.  You seemed to thrive on it.
HENRIK STENSON:  Well, I think like I said, when I missed, I missed in the right place and got myself up‑and‑down and then made quite a few of my chances.  Yeah, I think definitely we'll see the leaders on the other side of the draw for sure.  It was flat calm yesterday morning I think and we have had a tougher journey on this side of the draw, but that's the way it is.  Still early in the afternoon so we'll see.  It might pick up more again.

Q.  You're right up near the top of the leaderboard, any reason why you can't stay there until Sunday night?
HENRIK STENSON:  No, like I said even though I'm very pleased, I'm going to go have a bit of a session on the range.  I have a few things to work on.  I've been on top of the leaderboard a few times before, and hopefully I can stay there again.

Q.  What score do you think it will take to win this competition?
HENRIK STENSON:  Depends on the weather.  If it stays with the light breeze and good, clear skies like we've had the first couple of days, I would imagine somewhere 17 to 20‑under, in between there.  It's not to go out there and try to make pars, that's for sure.

Q.  Your thoughts on this round, I take it with that score it's pretty special?
HENRIK STENSON:  Yeah, I'm very pleased with the score.  Still felt like I left a few good chances out there.  Obviously 3‑putt on 18 for par and on last there, I had a lovely sand iron in on a tricky pin and hit a great putt.  That was more in the hole than a few of the other ones I made and I still managed to lip‑out.  Would have been the icing on the cake, great score.
Didn't feel like I was flushing it and some good stuff in there and when I was in the right place, I was there to save myself and make up‑and‑down.  On one occasion, I still made birdie even though it was in the wrong spot.  One of those good scoring days for me.
I played well here last year but then I've had two weeks off, so I've been busy with a lot of other things than playing golf.  So still a little bit of rust to shake off and still a few things to work on for next week, but I've got two good rounds to work on it.
It is great to play links golf the week before, because it is different, and especially some of the shots around the greens.  It's good to get these rounds in here and if you can finish off with a good tournament, it's even better.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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