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BMW CHAMPIONSHIP

May 26, 2005

Andrew Oldcorn

SURREY, ENGLAND

SCOTT CROCKETT: Many congratulations, an excellent start, memories of 2001 flooding back this morning for you, and I trust you're absolutely thrilled with that beginning to the tournament.

ANDREW OLDCORN: I am. There's no hiding the secret, it's been a tough start to the year for me. I think whenever I walk into this spot, something just changes inside me. Every bit that's been missing so far this year was there this morning: Concentration, attitude, good golf. I hit a lot of really good iron shots and still struggled a bit with my putting, even in practice, I couldn't get the greens. They are remarkably fast for the first round, and I think the wind was just making them even drier. But obviously I'm delighted with the with that start. But that's all it is, it's a start.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Even the dropped shot at the first obviously didn't put you off.

ANDREW OLDCORN: It was just indicative of the way things have been going this year. I hit my drive just barely off the fairway and it's two inches in the rough and I could hardly see it and two inches in the rough.

Q. What was the length of the putt?

ANDREW OLDCORN: Probably about 5 foot. But, you know, we talked a lot today going around, and, you know, just said five is not a bad score on the first hole.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Then it all came together. Just give us the details.

ANDREW OLDCORN: I had a super drive, 4 iron there, two putts on the fourth.

7, 3 wood, 7 iron to about 12 foot.

11, a wedge to about that was about 20 foot.

13, favorite iron, eight, ten foot.

17, on in two, two putts.

Q. Most people think that course management here, regardless of how far you hit it, that obviously is important.

ANDREW OLDCORN: I just said to the BBC there, there could not be any greater golfing difference between last week's course and this week's course for me. It was just a slog for me that course last week; whereas this is just a pure shot maker's golf course. And I felt like that's the way I grew up playing golf and it's the way I like to play golf. I don't like to stand on the tee and know you have to hit the ball 270 yards through the fairway to hit it over a fairway bunker to remain on the fairway. That's just not the way I grew up playing golf. It's not the way I like to play golf.

Q. You know you have a challenge, but because you've won here, does that help?

ANDREW OLDCORN: I think it's just a special place to me. I mean, even prior to, I think I mentioned it even prior to when I won that I've always liked it here. I just feel so comfortable here and the magnitude of the tournament just seems to at my age now, when you've played so many golf tournaments and so many golf courses, you need to get some that get your juices going, and just seems to get up for me even more than any other event I play in.

Q. Thomas Bjorn was saying that he felt that this course is actually on the short side now. Do you think they should just leave it as it is then?

ANDREW OLDCORN: I don't have to answer that. I mean, you know what I think about this golf course. You can take what Thomas says about the golf course as his opinion. I have my opinion about it and that's you don't have to make a golf course 7,500 yards long to make it a challenge. This golf course is a challenge the way it's set up this year. The rough is much higher, the fairways are tighter, the greens are fast and firm, what more do you want.

Q. Could you widen that, if you were to talk about St. Andrews, where they have suddenly introduced new tees, are you happy with that?

ANDREW OLDCORN: Well we're getting away from the story. We're talking about my golf, not talking about golf courses. I don't want to talk about St. Andrews.

Q. What is it about the course in particular then, just the placing of the ball, the bounces, the linksy feel to it?

ANDREW OLDCORN: It does have it's particularly firm begin this year, and it was firm the year I won, probably firmer than it is now. But the bounces, you can still hit a decent shot and then have to rely on the bounce; to play a hole like 16, you don't have to play it hundreds of time to know that you can hit a ball down the middle of the fairway and it's going in the left hand bunker.

Q. It's the knowledge that you know how the course is going to set up; so that's why you feel a bit better coming in here?

ANDREW OLDCORN: Yeah, I probably could walk around here in my sleep and play. That doesn't mean to say that I would play well, but I have played good golf today, which is really what I've been searching for the last few weeks obviously. And I'm more pleased the fact that I played a solid round of golf.

Q. To win this golf tournament you've got to be obviously a very, very great golfer; if you look at the winners over the last few years, and consider the players that play, Singh and Els, I wonder if you have a view on why guys who are not in the world's Top 10 have won the tournament?

ANDREW OLDCORN: I can only speak for myself, and I would say that I always felt because this course suited me from a young age. And by a young age, I mean a real young age, even before I turned professional; that I always felt confident of doing well when the PGA Championship was here.

Obviously, I was 41 years old when I won the tournament, and I thought that chance had gone by. I think I know what you're trying to say; it's been myself and Anders Hansen and Garrido and Scott Drummond. Playing with 150 of your peers, they realize what it takes to win around this golf course and the magnitude of the field. So, you know, any PGA Champion deserves the accolades that they get in my opinion.

Q. Absolutely. I just wonder if you have, if you can explain; is it just random?

ANDREW OLDCORN: I can't explain. Why there's been four winners in a row who have not been anywhere near the Top 50 in the World Rankings prior to the tournament. I can't explain that.

Q. What age were you when you first played here?

ANDREW OLDCORN: I think I was about 13.

Q. Do you remember why or why when you came here?

ANDREW OLDCORN: I think I came here on the invitation of Gerald Micklem to play at Sunningdale, and then he took me around here as well, some kids that were obviously potentially international players. That was a long, long time ago.

Q. Your efforts earlier this year, you say they were they were affected by some health; you've had some health problems this year.

ANDREW OLDCORN: I'm not going to there are mitigating circumstances as to why I've not done as well as I wanted to so far this year. I've only played five tournaments. I'm not going to go into why that is or the reasons why I haven't played so well. But as Clive Dunn says, "Don't panic, just get on with it."

Q. You haven't been healthy?

ANDREW OLDCORN: I missed three tournaments, yeah, at the early part of the year, but you know, what's new.

Q. Did you get fined in the end over that bottle thrown?

ANDREW OLDCORN: I'm not going to comment on that.

Q. You said don't panic, how difficult is it not to panic if you miss five cuts in a row?

ANDREW OLDCORN: Well, I tell you, I think sitting here now I've shot 68 the first round, so I haven't made the cut yet. So that's in my mind tomorrow is produce a decent performance and be here for the weekend and then we'll take it from there. Hopefully build on that for better form in the next few weeks.

But it's damaging to your confidence. But things I've been working on, I'm doing all right. I have good people around me who believe in me still, especially my wife, and I've just got to believe what they say to me.

Q. Is it difficult for you to actually believe in yourself?

ANDREW OLDCORN: Well, there's no denying the standard of play that's out here now. You know, I'm hardly at the beginning of my career, but I still feel that at any given week, I can compete, so it's hard when you look around here and you play guys they are blowing it past you 50 yards off the tee. It's hard not to think, "What the hell am I doing out here?" But you get home, you realize, wow, because life gives the ultimatum of, it's your job and that's the bottom line. That's what you do to keep the family unit going and you get on with it. So I've taken some motivation from my wife the last few weeks. She's been great the last few weeks, she really has.

Q. Do you still love being out here?

ANDREW OLDCORN: I think ultimately yes. I mean, well, things like what happened at the beginning of the season, you begin to lose your confidence and start thinking the wrong way, but it only takes two or three decent rounds, two or three decent tournaments to make you realize why you've been doing it for so long, why you still love it.

Q. Quite a few like yourself maybe shot makers out here who can't compete in distance but have grown up playing creative type of golf are frustrated by week in, week out a slogger's golf course. Do you see hope that that might change, that they might get more courses like this?

ANDREW OLDCORN: Well, unfortunately, from my standpoint, I obviously don't play enough golf courses like this. And even the golf courses that are not the new modern type, 7,400, 7500 golf courses, are shall we say of less quality if they are shorter. You know, I can't really say my opinion on any golf courses in the Far East because I choose not to go play there. I can only go by what I like and I like this golf course.

Q. What finishing position would you take if it was offered to you?

ANDREW OLDCORN: If it was offered to me now, you mean?

Q. Over 72 holes.

ANDREW OLDCORN: I would be delighted from this position if I could now finish in the Top 10, yeah. That would be a successful week for me.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Good luck on that quest. Thank you.

End of FastScripts.

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