I’m feeling very good. I’m very excited. It’s good to be around people like this, the best players in the world, so it’s very, very exciting.
Preparation has been all right. I’ve been working hard in the gym, with the physios, and doing a lot of recovery, so now I’m very excited and ready to get going.
Earlier in the week, I played a practice round with Romain Langasque, and I had a chat with Tommy Fleetwood on Monday when it was his birthday. I actually played behind Dustin Johnson as well on Monday, so I was able to watch him a bit. It’s good to see how chilled out the big names are and that they aren’t making it bigger than it is. You know, it’s just another tournament.
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Since I played in this event as an amateur, I feel like many things have changed. I’m in a better mental space right now. Physically, my game is a lot better. I’m in a better team, so I think a lot has changed and I’m a much better player. Hopefully we can show that this week.
The course is tough. You’re playing off the back tees and the rough is pretty thick, so you need to hit the fairways and the greens. If you miss and get into the rough, it’s very tough to get up and down, especially if you’re short-sided. You need to be smart about where you miss. But it’s the same for everyone, and I’ve done well here before, so hopefully I can take all the positives from the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship into this event.
Of course I want to make the cut, that’s a big one. But for me, I want to set the goal a bit higher. I don’t want to limit myself to just making the cut. I want to try to finish top 30 or top 20 and do the best I can. At the same time, I can’t really think like that. I need to take it one shot at a time, stick to the game plan, stick to the process and enjoy the moment.
It’s always an honour to represent the UAE and the Arab world, and I’ll always be playing these big events under the flag, so it’s a huge sense of pride for me.
Last year, Adam Bresnu was the first Arab-born player to make the cut here in a Rolex Series event. For him to finally break that barrier was huge, and hopefully I can continue from there. I want to move past the “making the cut” target and push on to play better.
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