getting away from having maybe 4 or 5 technical swing thoughts or keys and
getting more into the picture of the shot - just getting a bit more high definition
in what I’m seeing and then trust my swing to create that. I’ve got to the point
in my game that I don’t have to work on that too much and I can get more into
playing mode.
And really since the 2013 US Open we’re seeing you play your best golf.
Do you think that unlocked anything for you?
It’s interesting, you know you do see some players who win their first major
and then they fall off the radar, but I’m really happy I’ve managed to keep my
level up and pretty much stayed in the top 5 in the world since winning my first
major. So yeah, very happy for the most part so it’s obviously taken a little bit of
pressure off, but you want to get your second and third and fourth but majors
are intense, so I wouldn’t say I play pressure free golf in majors now but you
obviously see a lot of great players who will never have a chance, or who never
win a major - so I do feel grateful for the fact i’ve got one out of the way.
So looking at the game of golf, it’s in a great place. We’ve got these three
youngsters at the top - how do you think that’s changing the game as
opposed to the Tiger era where he dominated everything?
Yeah that’s a great question, I think golf is really healthy right now. I think
people are accepting that they might not see tiger back at his best and they’re
accepting that golf is in a great spot and I think that it’s great that the world
rankings have been trading between Rory, Jordan and Jason. They’ve been
winning, but winning in record fashion – Jordan equaled Tigers record at the
masters and we never thought we would see that again and yet 15 years later
here’s a kid doing what Tiger was doing. So it’s very exciting for golf and they’re
obviously great lads with it, they’re handling their success really well and you
know I’m 35, a few years older than them but still feel like there’s a bit of life
left in the old dog! I can give them a run for their money at times.
Absolutely! And yes they’re young, but your name is always in that top
group. Like you say over the next 5 years, do you think you can stay right
up there with them?
Physically I feel I’m getting better
and better and from that point of
view I’m competing with them, I
don’t have an element or dimension
to my game that they have that I
don’t. So from that point of view
I don’t feel like I’m giving up too
much at this point, so for me as I get
older it’s just about having to work
a bit harder at staying fit and fresh.
They probably have that advantage
but I’m willing to put in the work
and I think over the next 5 years I
need to stay focused and give it
100 percent.