It seems to suit me round here. I haven't been playing that well of late but I come here and shoot a low score.

Eagle on the sixth?
It is just a four iron wedge hole and I wasn't hitting the irons very well today but that was one of the few I did hit well, pitched it past the hole and it spun back in. I was delighted with that. The wedge was 109 metres.

Didn't mind the cold?
It was a bit of a contrast to last year but we have been practising in it for two days and expected the delay this morning. It is just one of those things.

Start of the Ryder Cup campaign, a timely round?
You are starting to talk about the Ryder Cup but it is the start of it. There is a long way o go. I think it shows by the strength of the field this year that it is important to get points on the board.

Coming back as defending champion, are there expectations on you?
You always want to have a decent tournament as defending champion but it is not often you win back to back. Coming back to a course you have won on, you seem to know the course. Like Jeff Remesy at the French Open, he seems to know that course and hopefully this is the same for me.

Do you look at videos of that win?
I have in the past to look at my swing as I swung the club really well then. Hopefully try and pick things up.

What have been the problems?
Mainly my ball striking hasn't been great. Missed the cut last week. Just haven't been playing great and combine everything together but you have to start playing well sometime.

Have you seen improvements in the course over the years?
Definitely. This year it is the best it has been. The greens are very good to putt on and seem softer this year. Even the firm greens like 10, 13 and 16, in previous years it has been hard to hold the greens but there seems to be more depth in the soil so you can hit some shots in there.

What are the goals for the rest of the year?
I am keeping my eye on the HSBC event., Seve Trophy. You are trying o finish as well as you can but realistically if I can secure my place in the top 20 on the Order of Merit and the top 50 in the World Ranking. I was hoping to get a bit better than that this year but had a bad run in the middle which put me back a bit.

How long did the bad run last?
July and August I don't seem to perform very well. It is a bit disappointing having those two months as historically bad months as they have majors and big events. I am trying to work on it. Everyone goes through highs and lows in the season and I seem to play well from here on in.

You mentioned the HSBC?
You want to play in that as it is a big event, Ryder Cup points, a good course and counts for next year's Order of Merit.

Has the Volvo Masters lost some of its gloss because of the HSBC?
For me, no. It is a big tournament in its own right. The HSBC starts next years Order of Merit so you want to play in that to kick start next season.

World Cup?
I have picked my friend and partner Stephen Dodd and will look forward to it but I have a lot of events before that. Hopefully I will be playing well for that week but right now I am focused on this event and I want to do well in this one first.

Seve Trophy?
I am last man in on the Order of Merit and I think Oliver Wilson is €30,000 behind me. I want to play in it again. Last played at the Wynyard.

Ends