An Interview With:
MARIA HJORTH
Q. Your eagle, how did you do it?
MARIA HJORTH: I hit a good drive and hit a wedge in there to maybe 15 feet and made the putt.
It was a very good day. I played really solid. I hit a few little so so tee shots the last few holes, but you know, I was lucky it was in the desert on 8, but I had a perfect open lie into the green or whatever.
So, you know, you need little breaks like that, as well, if you hit bad shots.
Q. Just one bogey at the first, how did you make your bogey?
MARIA HJORTH: At the first I hit my tee shot left and couldn’t really go for the green and played up short and didn’t it hit a very good third shot and 2 putted for bogey.
Q. A lot of birdies on the back nine; did it play easier?
MARIA HJORTH: Well, I don’t know. It seems like if you I’ve been driving the ball really well and if you drive the ball well, then you’ll have good chances in there.
I hit some good irons, as well, hitting them close, and you know, I have to take advantage of the par 5s, as well. They are not really reachable but close.
Q. Overall, how pleased and do you feel you’re playing with your game?
MARIA HJORTH: I feel happy with my game. It’s been very good for a while. It’s been nice. I haven’t played a tournament for awhile now, a few weeks, so it’s nice to go out there and play well.
Q. Do you have your family with you?
MARIA HJORTH: I don’t. I have my dad with me, but my daughter is with grandma in Sweden, and my husband is actually down caddying in Australia. We are kind of spread out a little bit everywhere.
Q. Who is he caddying for?
MARIA HJORTH: Bryce Molder.
Q. How did the course play today?
MARIA HJORTH: I think it’s playing well but some of the greens are really, really fast; and some of the downhill putts and with the wind, it’s playing fast. So you have to make sure that you place the ball in the right spot on the greens.
Q. Do you think the greens is one of the toughest parts?
MARIA HJORTH: I think so, for sure. You just really have to have good pace because there are some holes where you can’t really go for the pins and you maybe leave yourself a little bit longer putt, and that’s why it’s important to have a feel.
Q. Can they be even tougher?
MARIA HJORTH: I think so. I don’t know if they are going to the water the course or the greens or anything, but if they don’t, they will definitely be a lot firmer and faster.
Q. What do you think is the key, is it the putting?
MARIA HJORTH: Of course you need to drive the ball well, too, but I think for sure, you need to get a good, nice, feel for the pace of the greens.
Q. There seemed to be a lot of new mums expecting. What will you say to them? Any benefits of being a mum?
MARIA HJORTH: Yeah, the benefits are if you don’t play well or miss the cut or something, you don’t get as low with your thoughts or you don’t go over and over and over what’s going on or why did I miss a cut. When you get home and you have your daughter there, it’s a big difference, and you forget everything about golf and just enjoy being around her.
So I think that’s really, really benefitted me a lot and just feel happier off the course.
Q. Has she been coming out to quite a few tournaments?
MARIA HJORTH: She’s been coming to most of the events and my husband has been looking after her a lot and travelling with us.
Q. He’s not caddying anymore?
MARIA HJORTH: No, he’s just been a dad, actually so it’s been very good.
AMY YANG
Q. Amy, a terrific round of golf today. What particularly pleased you about your play?
AMY YANG: I think for the start, I was still tired from jet lag and the nine hours of nine time change. So I was just worrying about how I’m going to play, because I wasn’t feeling very good this morning but I was just trying to play safe and it worked.
Q. Certainly it worked. This is a course you’ve played well on in past. Is it one you particularly enjoy?
AMY YANG: Yeah, I really like the course. Every time I come here, they always keep it so nice and it’s a good golf course.
Q. Tomorrow morning you’ll play obviously on fresh greens, do you think there’s a low score out there for you?
AMY YANG: I’ll keep trying.
Yeah, I still am kind of tired but every day getting better. So I’ll keep trying hard.
Q. When did you arrive here?
AMY YANG: Sunday morning. But I’m getting better now. Still waking up early in the morning, like 6 o’clock, 5 o’clock.
TITIYA PLUCKSATAPORN
Q. How would you assess your play today?
TITIYA PLUCKSATAPORN: I tried to play fairway, green and put. Yeah, I tried to hit as many greens as I can and make a putt.
Q. How did you approach the mental side to the game?
TITIYA PLUCKSATAPORN: I speak to my sister yesterday and she said to me I had to leave my brain at home and then don’t think too much. Think about only the target and make the commitment with myself that I can trust my swing and just roll it in the hole. That’s all I speak to her (about) yesterday.
Q. And it seems to have worked; right?
TITIYA PLUCKSATAPORN: Yes, it worked today.
Q. So what’s your goal now for this tournament?
TITIYA PLUCKSATAPORN: So I try to finish in the Top 10.
Q. How do you like this golf course?
TITIYA PLUCKSATAPORN: It’s very, very nice condition. I really like the green. The green is very fast and then you just have to roll the ball and read the good line, and it’s very, very nice greens.
Q. And how do you assess the year?
TITIYA PLUCKSATAPORN: I try to finish Top 30 this year, but I don’t know, it’s still.
Q. Just outside the Top 30 at the moment. So this could be a good week for you?
TITIYA PLUCKSATAPORN: Yes, hopefully.
Q. But you’re not thinking about it too much?
TITIYA PLUCKSATAPORN: I’ll try.
JULIETA GRANADA
Q. Is this your first time playing the golf course, the first round?
JULIETA GRANADA: My first round. I got back from the U.S. Last night we got to the hotel at 1:30. So I went by the book; the book is pretty good, so it gave me all I needed.
Q. So good yardages?
JULIETA GRANADA: Yeah, for sure. I was hitting it really good, and then on the front nine, which was my back nine, I started putting really well. I only had 11 putts, so that helps.
Q. How many in total?
JULIETA GRANADA: I think 27. So the front nine was definitely the good side.
Q. So how do you feel about this course? Do you like it?
JULIETA GRANADA: I like it. What I saw, I really like it. The greens are really fast which I love, so we’ll see tomorrow.
Q. You haven’t seen much of Dubai yet?
JULIETA GRANADA: No, literally I saw the airport and the hotel, and that’s all I got.
Q. Did you have some problems getting here with the visa at Frankfurt?
JULIETA GRANADA: Yes, they wouldn’t let me on the plane. So I had to call the LET and ask if they could fax the visa over so they could let me on the plane. So I literally got on the plane like five minutes before it left.
So, it was a little challenging.
Q. Why wouldn’t they let you on the plane, because they didn’t think you had the right visa?
JULIETA GRANADA: Because I didn’t have the visa with me. I didn’t have like a printout with me and it was in my computer and I had to get on the Internet and the Internet was really slow and not working. So I could not show her that I had the attachment. So she was like to the buying it. She was like not willing to help me in any way.
Q. So anything you’ll be doing tonight before you get back on the course tomorrow?
JULIETA GRANADA: I think I’m just going to go to sleep. I think I’m lacking a little sleep. I actually didn’t feel that bad today. I felt pretty good. The jet lag didn’t get to me yet. So tonight, I want to get a good night’s sleep, so tomorrow we play early.
MINEA BLOMQVIST
Q. Are you feeling good today?
MINEA BLOMQVIST: Yeah, feeling good today. My boyfriend was going to get in The European Tour event this week, and he was first reserve and then he decided not to go and he was caddying for me.
You know, it was just great to have him caddying. I mean, in Italy he was caddying there, and we had a tough time there.
I was hitting a little better today but using his help.
Q. Did he give you the lines?
MINEA BLOMQVIST: More with the shot, just basic thing like last hole I wanted to hit 6 and he said, it’s definitely 5, and it was a good shot but it was still short. You know, just basic things.
Q. Club selection?
MINEA BLOMQVIST: Yeah, and being clear with the wind and everything.
Q. How did you finish up in the end?
MINEA BLOMQVIST: I played 3 under at the front nine, and then even par the back nine. A couple of bogeys, No. 4 and 8.
Q. What’s the plan now? This is your last Tour event for a few months; right?
MINEA BLOMQVIST: Yeah, for six, seven months.
Q. So are you going to go home to Finland for Christmas?
MINEA BLOMQVIST: Yeah, I’m going home for Christmas and then we have to see how my boyfriend’s plans go with The European Tour schedule, if he can get in the tournaments in early January.
Q. Is he playing? Is he a Member of The European Tour?
MINEA BLOMQVIST: He has the category 13 I think, so maybe he can play like 13 events next year. So we have to see a little bit.
I might just stay I’m already feeling a little bit heavy out there. I have my coach with me and he was helping me to just, you know, hit the ball a little bit more solid, so it was just a little bit easier today.
Q. Who is your coach?
MINEA BLOMQVIST: A Finnish guy, Timo, same guy.
Q. So any things that you will change for tomorrow?
MINEA BLOMQVIST: No, just go practise now and hit a couple of shots on the range and just feel good tomorrow.
Q. What’s the key to a low round?
MINEA BLOMQVIST: What’s the key? The greens are very good. They are very fast and holding the lines very good. So, you know, putting is always but it’s quite long so just play yourself in good position.
The one thing is there is not that much rough so even if you miss it in the rough, it’s not that bad.
But you know, there are so many good holes out there that gives you a chance, that you have to hit proper, good golf shots.
MICHELLE WIE
Q. Opening round of 69, how would you assess your play today?
MICHELLE WIE: You know, a couple of loose tee shots on the front nine, but I feel pretty good. I just hung in there and grinded it out. You know, these greens are difficult, but a pretty solid round and hopefully make a lot more birdies the next couple of rounds.
Q. Breezy out there, how do you enjoy those sort of conditions?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, it got really breezy. Kind of reminded me of home a little bit with the weather and everything. It definitely was challenging a couple of the holes with the wind like that.
Q. Your first win on the LPGA Tour came recently in México, how much did that mean to you, because obviously you had been expected to win for some time?
MICHELLE WIE: It was great and so much fun and I want to do it again, and I just want to keep getting better. It was a great week.
Q. How much did the Solheim Cup do for your confidence, because you played so beautifully there?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, it’s just a lot of fun. The Solheim Cup was a great learning experience and I just learned a lot of things from a lot of experienced players and gained a lot of confidence.
Q. You were 120 floors up the Burj Dubai; what was that like?
MICHELLE WIE: Horrific and scary but one of most awesome things I’ve ever done. It was cool. I’m really scared of heights and even on the elevator, I was nervous and my hands were sweaty.
Q. Any plans before you play again?
MICHELLE WIE: No, I have to study unfortunately, so I’ll be in my room all day studying.
