A pleasant 67 for you on day one. How would you summarize your efficiency?
LUKE DONALD: Clearly very happy with the rating, bogey-free in a significant. Somebody simply advised me it was the bottom first spherical in a significant I’ve had since 2004 or one thing. So , clearly I’ve been trending with all of the missed cuts coming into this week.
However no, it was a nice shock. I acquired off to a very nice, regular begin. I hit a bunch of fairways on the entrance 9 which at all times makes me be ok with my recreation.
I didn’t hit a ton of greens at this time however my putter was actually good. The greens shock — not surprisingly however they had been infinitely faster this morning first group out than they had been the previous couple of days.
However I adjusted very nicely to them, and I made a whole lot of good, stable putts on the market.
Q. What’s it prefer to undergo a press convention like yesterday when query after query is about Jon Rahm’s recreation or LIV gamers’ recreation or anyone’s recreation however your recreation?
LUKE DONALD: Nicely, that’s what I signed as much as. You understand, as I mentioned, I’m right here solely as a result of I’m captain of the European Ryder Cup Crew. I wouldn’t be on this subject in any other case. It’s a pleasant invitation and a perk that the Ryder Cup Captain will get.
I perceive that. I perceive that my recreation isn’t the place it was, and that’s the focus. So it actually doesn’t hassle me one bit.
Q. I wish to understand how a lot enjoyable you had been having on the market on the course at this time, and what’s it like sustaining a wholesome steadiness between maintaining a tally of potential Ryder Cup gamers, and naturally, your individual recreation, as nicely, which is wanting actually good in the intervening time?
LUKE DONALD: Nicely, it’s at all times enjoyable, bogey-free in a significant championship on a course that you just wouldn’t have thought could be ideally suited for me.
Yeah, it was. It was good. I really feel like I’ve putted fairly nicely the tournaments I’ve performed this yr however not seen a lot go in. And to see them go in, dropping, was a whole lot of enjoyable.
However the balancing factor, yeah, I don’t discover it — I discovered it extra tough the primary go round for the captaincy for Rome. I had much less time to organize for that captaincy.
This time, I’ve had an extended time, and clearly second go-around, I’m type of conversant in what’s occurring and what I have to do and the time frames and all that stuff. I’ve been in a position to steadiness it fairly nicely. It’s been good to play a minimized schedule. I nonetheless love competing. I really like being a competitor. However nonetheless giving myself loads of time to be ready for New York.
Q. Unsure if you happen to checked the leaderboard, however Keegan is 3-under. Are you turning this into your individual Ryder Cup preview duel right here?
LUKE DONALD: If it’s tied 14-14, are you speaking a playoff? I’ll seize the trophy and return to Europe.
Keegan is high 20 on the earth. He can have one good week out right here, win, which he’s very able to, and he’s completely within the dialog of being a enjoying captain.
I don’t assume that’s fairly in my future, however Keegan, we dwell very shut collectively. I see the place he practices, and he practices very onerous. He’s nonetheless one of many high gamers on the earth.
Q. A little bit of a nuts-and-bolts query right here. If you’re approaching a inexperienced, understanding there’s a great likelihood that you could be miss it and have a chip, how are you setting your self as much as have a great chip upcoming, and making an attempt to get up-and-down on a few of these holes?
LUKE DONALD: I feel when it comes to this course, the greens, as I mentioned, they acquired fairly fast at this time. A lot faster than they had been, they usually have a whole lot of slope.
So your goal factors from the golf green — relies upon if you happen to’re attacking it from the golf green or the tough. However , if you happen to’re out of place, you then’re actually making an attempt to place your self into a spot the place you are feeling like you will get up-and-down, extra so right here than you’d most locations due to the severity of the greens.
So I feel I did a great job of that. I simply stored it type of the place the up-and-downs had been very manageable. However , if you happen to’re within the fairway, you then’re simply making an attempt to make fairly good, aggressive swings to the best sides of the holes.
Q. What in your thoughts is a manageable up-and-down? How do you outline that?
LUKE DONALD: I used to be disillusioned on 18 to hit in the best bunker. I assumed that was a foul miss however wasn’t as unhealthy as I assumed. Had somewhat little bit of breeze into me however I nonetheless wanted to gap an 8-, 9-footer for par.
You’re not making an attempt to assume an excessive amount of over the ball in your second photographs about, oh, I simply don’t wish to be right here. You’re making an attempt to be as particular is what you’re making an attempt to do and the place you’re making an attempt to hit it. I feel extra so while you’re out of place off the tee, that’s while you begin enthusiastic about, okay two, three photographs forward: This pin is right here; if I can get it to the best facet of the inexperienced, I’m chipping up the hill. One thing like that. And that’s going to present me a possibility to get up-and-down.
Q. When was the final time you performed in addition to that?
LUKE DONALD: Testing my reminiscence. Can hardly bear in mind what I did final week not to mention this week.
You understand, once more, I solely hit 9 greens at this time. So I wouldn’t say it was superb however there was positively highlights at this time that had been an enchancment on earlier occasions. Extra fairways. A bit higher driving. Iron play was respectable.
However the placing, clearly, was very key and the quick recreation. I acquired up-and-down and made good putts after I wanted to, and that was type of the important thing to my spherical at this time.
Q. There’s already just a few complaints about mud balls and the choice to not carry, clear and place. The place do you stand on that?
LUKE DONALD: I didn’t have any mud balls, per se. When it begins to dry out much more, you might get some this afternoon. It was tough. I used to be somewhat bit stunned yesterday after I heard the information yesterday night simply due to how moist it was, nevertheless it had dried out fairly nicely, to be trustworthy.
Two occasions I needed to take informal aid from the golf green, which helped. You understand, you possibly can clear it. The remainder of the time, it was simply type of a watery, muddy residue on it, at occasions. It wasn’t actually lumps of mud, which that’s when it will get very dicey.
Q. To return to the enjoying captain, simply usually talking, once we discuss Keegan probably doing it, what are the calls for of doing each of these jobs, which appear actually onerous?
LUKE DONALD: I feel it’s extra the calls for through the week. In case you’re enjoying your self, you’re going to be on the golf course and so that you’re going to, you’re going to have to present the choice-making, the decision-making, to another person.
You understand, then clearly you must instruct, I suppose, that particular person, , what to search for, what you’re making an attempt to perform. And if you happen to’re making an attempt to play as nicely, that’s somewhat bit distracting, I suppose.
I don’t assume there could be a lot distraction up till the Ryder Cup. It’s simply the week of. It’s simply you’re not watching the blokes. However you do have assistant captains, vice captains, to do all that and relay that message to you. It’s simply, yeah, an additional step in what you wouldn’t often should cope with.
Q. As a person of a sure age, you had been in all probability up in the course of the evening to go to the lavatory anyway, but when not, what time did you must set the alarm for the 7:00 tee time?
LUKE DONALD: I feel I made it by way of the evening final evening.
However I used to be — 4:40 this morning my alarm went off.
Q. How did you are feeling about being first off? Are you okay with that?
LUKE DONALD: Yeah, I used to be within the first group final yr. Received a stable pairing with two main champions. I suppose it’s a pleasant little honor to hit the primary tee shot to get the match underway. I used to be good with that. The greens had been very good the primary 9 holes, and the tempo of play was fairly good, too.
Q. This clearly is an uncommon method so that you can put together for a significant championship, however is there something which may have helped you play at this time, the best way you performed at this time, in the truth that you weren’t in a position to put together as you’d have wished to?
LUKE DONALD: Enjoying final week. Most likely the primary time this yr I had two weeks in a row. Enjoying a minimized schedule sounds good nevertheless it’s fairly tough to get in a aggressive mode. So , enjoying one week, three weeks off, one week, , all that stuff, hasn’t been very simple for me. It’s like cease, begin.
It’s nicer to play two, three weeks in a row and sort of get a rhythm. That’s at all times what I loved after I was on the high of my recreation, as nicely. So I feel simply having, yeah, consecutive weeks enjoying was useful
