In this week's Player Blog, Matthew Southgate discusses his excellent Open Championship performance, his career turning point and playing with Rory McIlroy.
Looking back on my performance at The Open it was an amazing week.The tournament is so special to me and to improve each year has been great. I’ve played three times – missed the cut, finished 12th and then sixth. Being exempt for Carnoustie next year is incredible and if I can improve on sixth next year then that would be very special. It’s my favourite tournament and it would be lovely to get right in the mix on a Sunday and really contend in it.
I’ve had a few weeks off as I had a bit of a knee injury, but it feels pretty strong now.I have still got some confidence from the way I have played over the last couple of months and it’s nice that this week is match play here in Germany. You’ve only got one man to beat and the scorecard isn’t in your hand so much.
Looking at what your opponent is doing more than normal isn’t a distraction, it’s just part of match play.What the other guy is doing can have a big impact on what you’re doing. If someone hits a poor tee shot and looks like they’re going to lose their ball, you change your game plan. If someone hits it close on a par three in match play, you’ve got to take the pin on to get your birdie. I really enjoy that side of it.
When I left school at 16 my sole focus was to get out on tour and play in big events.I’ve always been solely focused on golf. It’s never crossed my mind to do anything else. I did some bar work when I was younger and I quite enjoyed that. If I was going to fall back on anything I’d probably have a bar or restaurant, but golf is the only thing that really caught my eye.
Last year’s Irish Open was the turning point of my career.The biggest thing I reflect on from that week is that there’s a huge difference between thinking you can achieve a certain standard and knowing that you can do it. When you finish fourth in that kind of event, you think ‘I can do this’. I know now that if I turn up and play well that I can win. I can go to an event knowing that if I play four rounds of good golf as Matt Southgate then that’s good enough to compete. That week in Ireland is still one of the biggest achievements of my life and certainly where it all started.
Playing with Rory in the third round was special.He made some nice comments about my game and that had a positive impact on me. To know that he thought I was a good player built some confidence in me. I was pleased with how I dealt with the excitement of playing with him in Ireland in front of that crowd. I’ll never forget that weekend in Ireland.
If I had to take a friend to play one course for a weekend it’d be Le Golf National.We’re lucky to play so many different courses – links, parkland courses, long ones and tight ones. I always enjoy playing in China and Morocco too, but the standout course is Le Golf National. Of course, it's also ideal for The 2018 Ryder Cup! I’ve got that in the back of my mind, but I feel like I can’t force it. If Thomas ends up with a big decision to make that’d be great or to play my way in would be fantastic. Whether I end up in Paris or at another Ryder Cup in a few years, I’ll just keep improving and see if I end up in a Ryder Cup shirt.
I spend so much time away, it’s almost like I’m on holiday when I’m back in Southend. It’s almost like my little holiday home, so I just take it easy. I used to panic practice at home and hit balls for the sake of it. Now I’ll hit some balls just to keep loose and spend quality time with quality people. I’m a big Chelsea fan and my local team is Southend United, but my local amateur team is Leigh Ramblers. I follow all three closely and I’d say that’s one of my main getaways.
I’m not looking for big changes.I have a checklist of things to do, just trying to improve bunker play and putting and taking it slowly. If I look after that then five years down the line I can’t help but improve. If I do that the results will improve and everything else looks after itself. There are no secrets, I just want to improve the small things and the bigger picture looks after itself.
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