Gray Bear Golf Course, Tale Ski, Golf and Hotel Resort.
Friday 28th May 2010
Pernilla Lindberg (Sweden)69-70=139 (-5)
Congratulations. That was a long day but a worthwhile day in the end.
It was. I can tell you know that I was up at 4.30am this morning and have been playing 30 holes of golf. I don’t think I’m going to practise much this afternoon.
It’s a tough course to play 18 holes as its uphill and downhill. How was it to play 30 holes?
It was tough and I tried to go in with a good attitude about it. I know this is why I put in a lot of hours in the gym and I try to see it that maybe you have an advantage over some other girls.
You got it to five under. It’s a nice place to be at the halfway stage.
Yes, absolutely. This is what you practise for and this is what you’re here for.
You’ve been a pro a year now I think.
Yes, exactly a year this week actually.
It would be a nice way to celebrate the first anniversary with a victory.
It would, absolutely, but two more days to come so I’ll keep playing like I have been and see what happens.
How do you find the professional game compared to being an amateur. Is it a different ball game now?
It is. Golf is still golf and that’s the way I look at it. I’m trying to gain more experience and I think just travelling and playing a lot of weeks in a row is the big difference but I like it.
You were playing well in your last tournament on the LPGA and shot a good final round but unfortunately it didn’t count because they cut it to three rounds. You went to qualifying for the US Open and played well there as well.
I did but unfortunately I missed out. I’m the first alternate there. I feel like my game has got better and better over the last few weeks. I came here full of confidence and it’s been paying off so far.
You mentioned you got up at 4.30am. Was that because you had to get up early or because of a bit of jet lag still?
I had to get up to make my tee time. The last couple of days I have been waking up early and I’m a little bit messed up but when I’m out playing I can’t tell.
You spent a lot of time growing up in the ski slopes of Sweden so this must feel like a second home for you.
It does. I’m from the northern part of Sweden and I said right away when I came to this course that it kind of feels like home. It reminds me of the courses I grew up on and seeing the ski slope on the other side of the clubhouse, it feels like home for sure.
Heading out to the weekend, is there anything with your game that you feel is not quite there?
My driver has not really been on but I kind of adjusted to that. I hit a few more three-woods and I hit it far enough to take my driver out of play on a few holes and hit my driver instead. If I can start hitting my driver well again that should be key.
Who is your caddie, Daniel?
I have another caddie in the US but I didn’t fly him out just for one week so it works out good.
Ashleigh Simon (South Africa) 70-70=140 (-4)
Ashleigh, a terrific round of golf and a half and a bit more!
Thank you. I was up early this morning and managed to get it going. I think the delay kind of helped me because I really wasn’t feeling that great yesterday. I managed to finish two-under for my morning round and then I got off to another terrible start this afternoon. I went drop, double and was three over after two but managed to pull it back.
You were on a birdie run. I think you had 12 birdies in total today. Did you manage to keep count?
I know I had seven this afternoon so it was a real roller coaster ride out there. I was lucky that I got it back because I knew I wasn’t too far off. I said to my caddie, I just had to play the back nine well.
How hard was it to play 30 holes today?
It was difficult but I actually said I prefer playing straight through. We used to play a lot of 36 hole tournaments as an amateur and I think that helped. Stopping and starting kind of messes you a bit more. I was in the groove today and I kept it going.
You’ve not been feeling too well of late, have you?
No. Yesterday I was feeling really bad and we got to the fifth green and I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know how much longer I can go on.’ Yesterday I was able to rest a little bit and get a good night’s sleep and I feel a lot better today.
In Germany you were leading going into the final round so obviously there is some form there.
Last week I hadn’t been in contention for about three years so it was nice to be back up there. There were nerves on the last day but hopefully I can start getting that feeling back and carry on this weekend.
What do you think the winning score will be after another two rounds?
I guess it all depends on the weather. I don’t know what the weather is going to do but nobody seems to be going that low. I know the birdies are out there so another eight to ten under should be a good score.
Iben Tinning (Denmark) 68-72=140 (-4)
You cheered at the end as if to say, ‘finally it’s over’, on the last hole.
I’m pretty happy I made it, so now I can rest. 32 holes on this golf course is just really hard.
Standing at four-under at least you know you’ll get a lie-in, in the morning.
Definitely, I can’t wait for that. I just ate and now I’m going to have a massage so you know, I’ll get taken care of and then head back to the room and have a good rest.
A 68 in your first round made you co-leader which meant three tournaments in a row now, at the end of the first round you’ve been either in front or sharing the lead. That’s impressive. Obviously now you want to finish as number one.
Well, you know, I don’t think about the result. I’m more detailed, you know, what I work on is more detail. If I win, fantastic, I would be really happy, but, it’s not what I’m thinking about right now.
What is it you’re thinking about?
That’s a secret. I work a lot with my sports psychologist to get ready for America. I’m going to go over there next Saturday so that’s what we are working on and if I can win on the way, I’m not expecting anything. I have just walked 32 holes and I don’t know how tired I’m going to be on the weekend so I’ll just take it easy.
You started the second round with eight straight pars. Is it all about staying patient?
It is. Those greens aren’t very good. They were pretty slow today and I didn’t seem to get them to the hole so for me it was a struggle on the greens in the last round but I putted a lot better in the first round so I’m still there.
You’ve had great success in the past and this year every tournament you’ve been there or thereabouts. Has your game been taken to a new level, do you think?
I think my mind has and my head so I’m happy with that. I’ve worked really hard on the mental side of the game for one and a half years now with my mental coach and I really think it’s working well.
