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WGC CADILLAC MATCH PLAY


April 30, 2015


Paul Casey


SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

PAUL CASEY:  I played a little better.  I still struggled on these greens.  I haven't figured them out.  I still think I'm going to have to figure them out quickly if I want to get through the weekend, get to the weekend would be what I've got to focus on.
But really happy to win.  Any time you've got to play Adam Scott, it's not been an easy match.  It was a little messy between the two of us, but I ground it out and I'm happy I didn't have to go down 19.

Q.  You had a lengthy match yesterday.  When you look at it, that many extra holes, is it good or bad?
PAUL CASEY:  It ruined dinner.  It was bad from that front.  When you get a win, it doesn't really matter.  You can look back and go it doesn't really matter.  How does that affect the following matches?  Does that zap your energy?  Do you come away from it with a good attitude?  You're beaten up.  I didn't feel beaten up from it yesterday.  It was just scrappy a little bit like today.
I'm just loving the fact we've got really late tee times.  I've got no excuse to get a lot of sleep.  If I had really early tee time today, it could have affected.  But likely it didn't.

Q.  22 holes to win your match yesterday.  Today comes down to the 18.  It's not easy.
PAUL CASEY:  It's not easy.  There's no easy match out here.  A little bit scrappy.  I'll admit that I haven't quite figured out these greens yet.  Luckily I'm in control of my own destiny.  If I beat Franky tomorrow, I'll make it through to the weekend.  I do feel like I need to pick it up a little bit.  It's been okay, but it needs to get better than it is.

Q.  (Inaudible)?
PAUL CASEY:  He's an incredibly tough match play player.  He's played Ryder Cups.  He's beat Tiger Woods.  He's a gritty player.  I think the key to good solid match play, there's lots of different ways of doing it.  Certainly one way is just to wear your opponent down, grind him down.  And Franky is one of those guys who will do that.  He will have a lot of birdie opportunities.  I've got more firepower than he does.
This is a course I really don't know very well.  I played two practice rounds and now two matches in.  Probably played more holes than most other guys out here.  But we'll see.  It's difficult to judge and we'll see what I'm dealt tomorrow in terms of the golfing gods.  It will be a great match no matter what.

Q.  Talk about the round today against Adam.
PAUL CASEY:  It feels great getting the win.  It's never easy playing Adam Scott.  None of these matches are easy.  He's got a lot of firepower.  He outdrove me by a long way today on some of the holes.  It was a little scrappy between the two of us.  We both struggled on the greens.  Ultimately that's what it came down to.  He probably made one or two more mistakes, maybe just one more, than I did on the greens and that was the deciding factor.

Q.  Where is the confidence been?
PAUL CASEY:  Confidence is good.  I'll admit I'm a little off this week.  I moved houses last week.  So I wasn't doing the heavy lifting, but even the small lifting feels like it threw me off a little bit starting this week.  I feel like I've got a lot to work on which is great.  The confidence is high.  It's not busting through the ceiling, but I feel good about the game.  It's nice that I feel good about the game with stuff to work on.
This week can be such a lottery.  You have no idea what's going to happen, who you come up against.  So far keeping my nose clean and trying to stay out of trouble.  We'll see how far we get.
And looking ahead, I'm really excited about what the rest of the season is panning out.  Looking forward to getting next week.  First things first, we've got to try to beat Francesco tomorrow and get to the weekend.

Q.  You had to watch Chris putt yesterday with your fate in his hands.  When you escape that, do you pull some momentum out of it?
PAUL CASEY:  I don't know.  I've played enough of this match play stuff.  As kids in the England, you grow up playing match play.  That's what we do every weekend.  That's not the first time I've had to stand there and wait and quietly cross your fingers behind your back.  You always expect the guy to make it.  I felt like I dodged a bullet yesterday.  It was a little better today.  Hopefully I can build on that and get going.
If it had gone the other way, if he holed out, and we kept down the fifth extra hole or sixth extra hole and I lose, who knows, then you have no idea.  So I'm fortunate to be standing here right now.

Q.  You played against guys on both Tours for better the part of ten, 15 years now.  The gradual embracing of links golf with the American players, are you able to tell the more you see them play it, is it a struggle?  How would you assess that?
PAUL CASEY:  I would say actually they may embrace it more than we do because we've grown up with it to some extent.  And to some degree, I couldn't‑‑ to a big degree I couldn't wait to‑‑ when I arrived in the desert in Arizona, this is paradise.  When you've played a lot of links golf or any golf in the British Isles, it's tough.  It's different.  When I say tough, sometimes the conditions and the elements and then conditioning of the course, things like that, it can be tough to play.  And then you arrive in the States, you think this is impeccable.  When you go back to play links golf, you go it's a bit taxing or the weather is not very good.  You almost pick faults to some degree.  I've learned not to do that.  I love every time I go over there.  Almost like the American guys when they turn up, they go this is so different from what we're used to and what we've grown up with.  They do embrace it.  They fall in love with it.  I think that's why you've seen a success from American golfers over there.  It is radically different.  I think maybe we can learn from that.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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