InsideTheRopes.com-Final Round Video Interviews from Buick

Gxgolfer · January 29, 2006

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Tiger Woods

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Q. Looking ahead (inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: It'll be interesting to see how he's doing. I can't wait to talk to him. I know we're playing a shootout on Tuesday afternoon. I haven't seen Easy in a long time, so it'll be good.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: Not really, no (laughter). No, he plays around the world. I know Ernie plays everywhere. I can understand it. He's got to fulfill his obligation to both Tours. Vijay has played a bunch already early in the year. He's played twice over there in the Persian Gulf, and Phil is just starting just like I am.

I'm sure once we all get together, whether it's going to be the Match Play or Doral or whatever it is, once we start making a run towards Augusta, we'll all get together and we'll see what happens.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: It's amazing when you take any kind of layoff the first day how good you hit it. The second day I'm like an 18 handicapper. I felt like I actually needed that break. My body was a little beat up towards the end of the year. I had some little knickknack things I needed to heal up, and I was just tired from playing so much at the end of the year, and the traveling and being in contention every week that I played, it definitely wore on me.

It was nice to put the clubs away and just chill.

JMO

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Q. Talk about the playoff on 18; what you were thinking, where you were aiming?

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: Well, I was aiming for the flag. Actually the line was perfect. You know, I hit a 60 degree wedge and I should have hit a 56 to get rid of the spin, and I think that was the only mistake I made on that shot. Otherwise the shot was well executed.

Q. (Inaudible).

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: I hit a 3 iron there. Actually it was not very far from being a great shot. That same line maybe two or three yards to the left would have been a perfect shot.

Q. (Inaudible).

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: This is a long golf course. But Augusta, they are making it so long, that to be honest the longer the golf course is, the better for the long hitters. It doesn't matter if it's Augusta or if it's Torrey Pines. It doesn't matter what the golf course is.

You know, the longer the golf course, the better for the long hitters.

JOHN BUSH: Let's go through your card.

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: I three putted the first one.

Then the 2nd hole I hit a driver, wedge and holed it from 18 feet.

On 5, I hit a driver, 7 iron about a foot.

On 7, driver, 8 iron about three feet.

On 9, driver, 3 wood, sand wedge about two feet.

12, missed the driver left, short of the green with my second, chipped it and two putted from about 50 feet, something like that.

Then on 18, driver, 5 wood, two putted from 40 feet, something like that.

JOHN BUSH: And each of the playoff holes?

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: Driver, 7 iron, 60 degree wedge, chipped with a 9 iron.

Then 60 degree wedge from the bunker about three feet from the hole, missed it.

Q. Do you let go of these things pretty quickly?

JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL: I think with age you have a tendency to be able to forget these things easier. And I'm getting old (laughter).

Nathan Green

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OHN BUSH: You were the one that separated that group of eight with your eagle on 13. Walk us through that and then your holes coming down the stretch.

NATHAN GREEN: I struggled with the driver a little bit today. I hit it in the bunker there and laid up to a pretty comfortable yardage. It looked good off the club. It spun around the hole a little bit and I didn't know it had gone in and I expected it to be sitting on the lip or something. That got the heart racing.

I don't know, I was trying not to make a fool of myself the last four holes.

I made a really good putt on 16. That's probably the best putt I've hit all week. I got a little excited on 17 and didn't really commit to my shot there and hit it in the right rough and made a mess of that hole.

I saw on 18 that Olazabal had got it to 10. I wanted to put it in the fairway, give myself a chance, and my caddie said, Mate, you've got to have a crack at it, and I did and hit a really good shot in there. The second putt, I hit it and just hoped it was going somewhere near the hole, and it went in. That was one of the biggest rushes you could have.

Q. Your caddie's name?

NATHAN GREEN: Caddie's name is Shannon.

Q. What was the other one, the club on 13?

NATHAN GREEN: I think I was about 76 to the pin.

Q. What was the club?

NATHAN GREEN: Lob wedge.

Q. Did you feel differently when you had that two shot lead?

NATHAN GREEN: Not really. Well, I thought I was only maybe 1 ahead at that time. As I said, I putted really tough the two holes after that. That was just the main goal, to try to play two solid holes after that. I don't know, I played 14 well and 15 just sort of I don't know, just messed up on the green there. I wasn't really feeling all that comfortable with the greens today. I was a bit nervous and that sort of thing.

I don't know, I sort of just knew there was a lot of players around about 9, 10, 11. I didn't look too much at the leaderboard until the last hole when I realized what I had to do.

Q. The second shot of the playoff (inaudible).

NATHAN GREEN: Yeah, I wasn't trying to hit it in the stands there (laughter). I hit it toward the right side of the green, and I thought it was pretty good until I got up there. It's really hard to stop that putt within eight feet of the hole. The second shot, I hit it at the pin, and if anything I thought I was going to hit it in the left bunker or long, which would have been fine. It would have been easy to sort of get up and down from there than if I had bailed out right side of the green. I just pulled it off the club, trying to give it a bit too much.

I took a bad play at the drop. I probably should have dropped it as close as I could to the fence and let it bounce back toward me and then get to place the ball. That was just a rookie mistake, I suppose.

I ended up with a pretty funky lie. I didn't know whether to clip it or play a bunker shot, and I went with the latter and it didn't quite come off. I thought Tiger was probably going to make his putt there. I wanted to give myself a bit of a chance at it, but it just didn't come off.

Q. (Inaudible).

NATHAN GREEN: Yeah, I suppose the whole last day I thought I played half decent, and if I could keep putting well then there was a chance to win. I don't know, it was easier than last night. I was pretty much shi**** myself for the last six holes out there. My head was racing and I was just trying to do things and give myself every chance I could at trying to win it. I just didn't want to lose it, that was the main thing. I just wanted to try to get in the clubhouse.

Q. What did your caddie say to you out there?

NATHAN GREEN: He didn't have to say much. I think his pulse had quickened. I know he's not an excitable kind of guy. It's great to have someone like that on the bag. He's always sort of telling jokes, and they're pretty bad, but he's just a real good bloke to be around in general. We have a good time out there and I have a crack at him every now and then. It's sort of like he can keep me level headed, he knows my game pretty well, and he knows what to say at the right time and when not to say anything.

Q. (Inaudible).

NATHAN GREEN: Not really, not at all. We kept our same routine, picked the right lines, that sort of thing. We just tried to have business as usual. It's not good to have a caddie who gets excited in that situation, and he didn't. He just kept trying to get the right numbers and helped me pull the right club. He did a great job today. I probably couldn't have gotten there without him.