BRANDEN GRACE - VOLVO GOLF CHAMPIONS PREVIEW TRANSCRIPT

BRANDEN GRACE – VOLVO GOLF CHAMPIONS PREVIEW TRANSCRIPT

Q – How does an event like the Volvo Golf Champions, which is loaded with European Tour champions, ranks for players like yourself?

BG – It's absolutely wild; you get to an event like the Volvo Golf Champions and you know that every guy in the field is there for a reason. All 30 or 35 players that are there have all won the previous year and these guys all know what it takes to win. We're all there wanting the same thing, for our season to start off with a bang and then push on from there. Look at my situation last year. One win led to another and it's amazing what a win like that can do for you for the rest of the season.
This year Volvo have really stepped it up with the increased prize money (USD 4-million). It's one event you really want to tick off on your bucket list.

Q – You will be returning to Durban Country Club alongside Louis Oosthuizen and Paul Casey as one of the past Volvo Golf Champions winners. You didn't have the best event last year but having played the course, how do you fancy your chances for a repeat win this year?

BG – I feel that my game is really strong; I am hitting the ball very well from tee to green, but like at the Nelson Mandela Challenge on Sunday, the putter just let me down. I've got some time off now until the Volvo Golf Champions where I am just going to relax, play a lot of golf with family and friends and work on a couple of things with the putter. Hopefully when we get down to Durban, the putter will be on song.

Volvo always goes to places that you really want to play and Durban Country Club is a great venue with a lot of history. Obviously we had our first look at it last year, but I've heard that the course is in great condition already and it should be even better when we get down there in January.

Q – You enjoyed a spectacular season in 2012 with four European Tour victories, but although you didn't win this year, it was still a good season by anyone standards. How do you see it?

BG – Yes, I had a lot of good things in my season this year; a lot of highs and great memories. Getting picked for the Presidents Cup ranks right up there. I had a couple of close calls, too, missing out at the play-off for the Scottish Open and coming close at the Volvo World Match Play Championship where I lost in the semis.

It's just one of those things; I felt that my game was in good shape, but the putting just let me down a little bit. I also spend a lot more time in the States this year and that was a big adjustment. Playing there is really something you have to adapt to. The golf courses over there are not necessarily tougher, but everything is a lot slicker over there. The greens are a lot firmer, the rough is a lot thicker and the speed of the greens was something I really had to come to grips with.

I think those were the things that pushed me off my game a little bit, but other than that, I'm still where I want to be and I think things can only get better.

Q – Tell us about your Presidents Cup debut.

BG – Oh, it was great. Obviously making the team has been a goal ever since I started winning last year, so it was something I really wanted to achieve. I think making the Presidents Cup team is the biggest achievement for any South African or player outside of Europe, except winning a Major.

It was everything I thought it would be. It was amazing how 12 guys from completely different backgrounds could come together in a week and really pull for each other. Of course the South Africans knew each other, but there were a lot of guys we didn't know, like Hideki Matsuyama….what a talent. You know, a kid like that who doesn't really speak English. It was amazing how he came into the team and really rallied for the team. It was fantastic and even though we came up short, there was a lot of friends made for life.

Q – What is on your schedule for the first few months in 2014 after the Volvo Golf Champions?

BG – It's going to be really hectic, again, but then the first few months of a new season usually is.

You try to play every big event possible to give yourself a strong start to the season because there are a lot of perks to being in the top 50 in the world, like the first two World Golf Championships and the Masters. It's tough to plan around those, so the first few months are always tricky.

After the Volvo I'll be going to the Middle East for Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Dubai. Then I'll be heading back to South Africa to defend my title at the Joburg Open.

Unfortunately, due to the dates of the WGC Accenture Match Play, it doesn't allow us to play the Africa Open and to make the trip to Arizona in time to prepare for the Match Play, so we'll have to miss the Africa Open….myself, Charl (Schwartzel), Louis Oosthuizen and probably Richard (Sterne) too, maybe some other guys.

After the Match Play it's a week off and then the WGC Cadillac Championship, and then we are looking at the first Major. I hope to get a few invites on the PGA Tour. I would really like to get out there and compete, now that I know what it's like and I feel more prepared. There are a couple of things I need to work on but hopefully, by the time I get to the States, I know what to expect and I'm ready to tee it up and compete.

Q – You came pretty close to winning in Durban at the Nelson Mandela Challenge. I expect it was a very challenging event with all the rain.

BG – You know, the conditions were frustrating but I felt the guys did a great job to push us through 54 holes. Obviously the weather didn't play its part again this year. It's tough going to Durban this time of the year because you never know what the weather is going to do. I must say, the crowds and everyone that came out to support us was fantastic. I think a tournament of that stature didn't get all the players that should have played, but it was still very good. And I think it was great, and with no disrespect to the other challengers, that a South African was able to win it this year as we mourned Madiba's passing.

I think that was very special. I think this event is just going to keep growing in stature and become one of the major events in South Africa in the next couple of years.