What they said: Robert Allenby

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SONY OPEN AT HAWAII: Transcript archive

JOHN BUSH: We would like to welcome co leader Robert Allenby after 3 under par 67. Robert just three birdies on the board, no bogeys, just comment on what was a steady today for you.

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yes, it was pretty steady. Whenever I got into some trouble I always seem to make up and down which was nice. But just seemed like sort of difficult today to try and get close to some of the flags. Obviously it's always going to be hard when you are hitting it out of rough. Just tried to manage my way around the golf course and just try not to make too many mistakes which I didn't make any bogeys so that was good.

Q. The stretch between 10, 11 and 12, can you just talk about that? You talk about it's hard to make birdies around here, most people were looking at 20 footers and you were looking at two kick ins?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yes, 10 should be a birdie hole. But at the same time there is no guarantees. You miss hit your wedge or wedge or chip or whatever it is. First of all, you have to hit the fairway there. That's the start. I hit a good tee shot there and just, on 10 there, and just had a nice little flick up to about two feet. I hit a good shot into 11. I was obviously bordering on the short side than the long side.

Whenever you short side yourself around here, around these greens with this nasty grass around the greens, it's so hard to make up and down. You know, obviously, 12 I hit a great little pitching wedge into the green there to less than a foot. It was kind of nice. It's nice when you hit stuff like that, because it gives you time to breathe.

Q. What did you hit it on two?

ROBERT ALLENBY: 2 was a 6 iron, just a little three quarter 6 which was another nice shot.

Q. What happened on 11?

ROBERT ALLENBY: On 11, I hit a 5 iron onto the green and 3 putted. Why did you have something different?

Q. Tell us about your third shot on 18 in that gnarly rough?

ROBERT ALLENBY: It was sitting so far down, obviously, from that side of the green, you know, you would think that you could just hit like a little chip and run.

The problem is when you hit a shot out of that stuff that doesn't have any momentum into the ball, you could hit it like a foot, because it's just so wiry and nasty.

I was just trying to play more of a lob sort of shot with the 60. I was trying to land it three quarters of the way down with some loft on it and some height.

I did exactly what I wanted to do. I just landed it about five feet shorter than what I wanted to. And then I hit a good putt but it was short.

That was one thing I found hard today, I never really had the speed for the greens. They looked a lot quicker, the putting greens ran about 15, 18, and then the greens on the course were a lot different. Obviously, people practicing a lot on the putting green, it's a lot quicker, and not a lot of water on it, so it's drying out a lot quicker than the greens on the course. You can get a false sense of security really, when you get out there.

Some of the greens today looked like they were pretty quick and not as quick as what they looked like.

And then those last few holes when you are putting, when the sun is down quite low, and you go in the shade from the sky boxes and the palm trees, and you are sort of putting in and out of shade, it's hard to judge the distance and the line as well. A couple of times toward the end I had to call my caddy in to double check that I was looking at the right thing.

Q. How much does winning recently help you tomorrow, to conjure up the same feeling?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I think it helps a lot. You know, obviously I'm very confident with my whole game. It's just one element that's sort of restricting me a little bit. I did let it go a little bit more today. There was occasions where I hit some wide tee shots where I just felt pain and I just stopped. I couldn't like physically stop my swing. I wish I would have. But there were times where I just let it go, and I hit some great shots, and I tried to do that a lot more today knowing that today is the day where I need to just move up a little bit more than what I've been doing. I think 3 under today was a pretty good score. I would have like had to have had two more. But that's the way it goes.

Q. If Tuesday was like a really bad day on your ankle and Wednesday, Thursday, I would imagine there is a progression of it improving, how much better did it feel today?

ROBERT ALLENBY: If I go slightly over it, there is just like the sharpest shooting pain in world. So, obviously, I'm very, very careful of where I walk on the golf course. Very careful of where I go down on the footpath from off the tee. If I roll it now, I'm done, I'm out. So it's as simple as that.

Because of the pain, I won't be able to put up with it. And I will go back to where I was like on Monday and Tuesday.

I've done so much work to get it to where it is now. But I'm constantly, even in bed, I'm strapping it up. Because I don't I know, I know people who have twisted their ankles in bed sleeping.

Q. Who?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Doug would be one of them.

(Laughter.)

Q. Davis was relatively impressed that you played the Pro Am Wednesday where you probably could have easy taken a pass?

ROBERT ALLENBY: You though, the only reason why I played I informed The TOUR that I was of the I ankle, and I said to Mark Russell, I said I would like to give it a try. It's taped up to the point where I can't move it. I would like to try and play. More so I wanted to play because I wanted to have a feel for how I was going to try and play golf.

You know, I think it was a good thing for me because it enabled me to get in my mind that I'm going to hit a lot of crappy shots, but I'm able to accept it.

When you are feeling good, and you hit crappy shots, you can't accept it. You just can't.

But when you know that there is a problem, it's a lot easier to accept.

Q. Would it also give you a case of maybe where you might be missing to and how to adjust to those crappy shots?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yes, I just know that some of the shots that I hit, I either block it right, or I pull them left. And they're the two that I try to avoid the most. I know that if I take one more club and smooth it in, I am a lot better off than hitting a full shot.

Q. How do you avoid picking up bad habits?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I can't. I can't avoid it. It's just what it is. I've got next week off, and I am going to make the most of it tomorrow. I'm going to try to let myself go a little bit more tomorrow and hopefully I can play well enough to win.

There is still a lot of great players behind me. Look what Rory Sabbatini did last week. He nearly took it off with 10 under the last day. It's definitely out there. I believe if someone came out and fired it up, they could shoot 10 under with no problem. But that score hasn't been shot this week, so it might be a little bit tricky.

Q. Are you just taped on that ankle or is there anything else?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I've got tape that goes from underneath this bandage that goes from here all the way around the foot and back up so that I can't roll the ankle, and then I have this other tape. And then I have this final tape which is this and it's strapped in a way

Q. Who actually tapes that for you?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Jeff, The TOUR physio. He has done a fantastic job.

Q. Will you take that off, ice it, and have him tape it again today?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yes, he is there with the ice at the moment. He will ice it again. That's been the ongoing thing, ice, ice, ice.

Q. Is it a sprain?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yes, a sprain, yes. There is a lot of bruising this there.

Q. Still purple?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yes, I've got some beautiful pink tape on there as well. It looks nice, pretty.

Q. Do you have to take medication before you start?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yes, Celebrex. At least it's a legal one.

Q. If you win, there is another endorsement coming, I guess.

ROBERT ALLENBY: Celebrex.

Q. You had a couple of good saves on 6 and 7, any others that would really stand out?

ROBERT ALLENBY: 13 was pretty impressive. I hit driver off the tee and blocked it right. I was right of the trap and I got it on the green from there. I hit a 25 yard cut out of the thick rough with a 5 iron and bounced it 25 yards short of the green and then just kicked up through the furry stuff on the green and rolled it up to 25 feet.

Q. Is that a tough par 4?

ROBERT ALLENBY: The dog leg right. After I hit it to this.

Q. But that cut shot, I thought you were saying the other day was difficult for you to pull off?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yes. It helps when there is a 25 mile a wind off the left. It helped a little bit. I didn't mention that bit. (Inaudible) I open up the 5 iron a lot, in the front of it. I just really cut it a lot.

Q. They are still cheering for you?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yes, it's understandable.

Q. The Aussie hat trick, or triple crown whatever you want to call it, and obviously your play in December, does it bother you how long it's been on this TOUR?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yes, sure, definitely. I know how good I can play and a how good a lot of other people think I am. It just hasn't happened in recent years here for me. But it's all because of my putting. I just haven't putted well. I'm not consistent. I think I've addressed that situation. I'm moving in the right direction.

I may not win tomorrow, but I believe that I will definitely win this year, and when I do win I will win again and again. That's just my nature. That's just my makeup. I'm made up like that.

It goes all the way back to like '96, I won three times Europe within a space of about six or seven weeks. And then I had my car accident which obviously put me behind a good couple of years. But that seems to be I think with me it's just confidence. I get the confidence going and I feel like I can do anything. It's definitely a nice feeling to have. I have that confidence right now. I'm very patient. So hopefully I can do what's needed to maybe win tomorrow. But Ryan, he is playing well too.

Q. Given your history, are you comfortable with a tie or indoor playoff?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Well, a playoff has been very kind to me. I'm 11 and 1. If it comes down to a playoff tomorrow I will be happy.

Q. Can you talk about your second shot into 18?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Today, yes, I just didn't hook it enough on the tee shot, and then I had like a 4 iron. I hit a 4 iron out of sort of sitting down of a fluffy lie. I thought I hit a pretty good shot actually. I didn't think that it had enough momentum to get to the back of the green. Had I known that that was going to happen, I would have hit 5. But I didn't think I could get there in 5 from 200 whatever out, and obviously from that lie.

But I hit it better than I thought I would. But, yes, you know, there are only two things I've been disappointed with today, I didn't birdie 9 and I didn't birdie 18. So those are the only two holes out of all of the holes, they should be birdie holes.

Q. Just to get back to that confidence thing, where did you start with this confidence level that you brought into here in your own mind?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I think it started when I beat Angel Cabrera down in the Match Play for third and fourth spot in Spain at the end of last year. And I felt signs of some really good stuff happening. I shot 8 under to tie with him, and we made it back down the 19th and I made eagle there to beat him. And then it just gave me the confidence. And then when I got to Sun City I was in that position where I could win I felt very comfortable.

And then Australian PGA, the first couple of days I was trying to get over my jet lag, and then the weekend, I just played the golf that I was playing and ended up winning by 4 there.

But definitely when I beat Angel, obviously a two time Major winner, the U.S. Master's champion, it gave me a lot of confidence that, you know what, I can beat the best players in the world.

I mean, obviously I would like to win tomorrow, and I would like to win a Major as well. I know I'm capable of doing it. It's just a matter of getting in my way, and I sort of let that happen. I know that I'm my own worst enemy, I know that, I can admit it. I think that's the first signs of being able to maybe come through with some goods.

Q. Would who was the one playoff last year?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Justin Leonard, Memphis last year.

Q. And Trevor?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yes.