88th PGA ASAPSPORTS.com Transcripts

[Gxgolfer]

See All Day 1 Interviews>>>Here

 

 

Lucas Glover

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

88TH PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

 

August 17, 2006

First Round

 

An interview with:

 

LUCAS GLOVER

 

KELLY ELBIN: Lucas Glover, ladies and gentlemen, the leader in the clubhouse at this point in the 88th PGA Championship with a 6 under par 66.

 

Lucas, comments on your round today, please.

 

LUCAS GLOVER: It was just a good opener, I guess. I was real solid, a couple bad tee shots led to two bogeys, but made all my short ones and made a couple long ones for birdie.

 

So eight birdies, two bogeys, you can't ask for any more than that out here, that's for sure.

 

KELLY ELBIN: Would you mind going through your card, please.

 

LUCAS GLOVER: Sure. Birdie on 2. Made a long putt there and that kind of got the ball rolling, 30 footer.

 

Then 3, took two pretty good shots to 12 feet and made that one.

 

5, the par 5, wedge to 18 feet and made that one.

 

6, that was one of the bad shots. Right rough to left rough to on the green to 2 putt.

 

Birdied 10. Knocked it on in two, 2 putt.

 

11 hit it a couple feet.

 

12 was another bad tee shot. You had to lay it up and didn't get it up and down.

 

15, I made a 15 footer.

 

16, a 4 footer and 18 a 4 footer.

 

Q. Well, I'll start with the thing that attracts us. Are you thinking about the Ryder Cup or is that on your mind or how do you look at your standing in that?

 

LUCAS GLOVER: Well, let's see, every day, every minute, every second for the last six months.

 

But I had decided to put that behind me this week and try to just play golf, have fun, not worry about it. But play well and let it take care of itself. If not, just, I tried, I guess. I hate to say it like I'm giving up, but it had not worked pressing the last three months, so we're going to try something else.

 

KELLY ELBIN: Lucas is currently 14th on the Ryder Cup points list.

 

Q. I know the previous majors haven't been the way you wanted. Is there anything different you did in your preparation other than what you alluded to in terms of maybe not obsessing so much about the Ryder Cup?

 

LUCAS GLOVER: I didn't stay out here all day Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday like I did the previous three this year. I think I might have worked myself into the ground earlier in the other three.

 

I got my work done, did what I needed to do and left. Went and got some rest. So I feel good this morning. And I did I was fresh and prepared and you know, I was at peace on the first tee tee, which was nice. I haven't been that way. Usually I've been tired and nervous and everything else, so it was good.

 

Q. We've all been talking the last couple hours, if the conditions stay the way they are right now, what do you think the score is going to be come Sunday, if it stays like this?

 

LUCAS GLOVER: Well, if the fairways stay soft and the greens stay soft, man, 15, 18. I don't know. It depends on the afternoon scores.

 

But, you know, driving the fairway, you can make plenty of birdies. If we don't get any rain, it's going to firm up. It's already firming up a little bit. Ball is not running into the rough and it's not bouncing over the greens, so guys are going to make birdies because the greens are so good.

 

Q. Just talk if you could about the start of your day, not so much your round, but did you know Darren very well or Heather at all, and what was that like going from there to the tee?

 

LUCAS GLOVER: I didn't know very well. I've met him a couple times. I was there for Butch. Butch asked me to be there. So I went with him. As a tribute to Darren and Heather, just Butch has told me what kind of guy he is and the times I have talked to him, he's been great. I just went because I felt like No. 1, for Butch, and No. 2 because that was the right thing to do. He plays our tour a lot and he's won a lot and he's a top ranked player and a pretty big tragedy. But that was a great deal Tom did and the PGA did. It was good.

 

Q. When they talk about the course's yardage and they say it's not playing that long, what do they mean by that?

 

LUCAS GLOVER: The majority of the length comes from the long par 3s, and the long par 5s. And then the long par 4s always seem like you're landing it on a downslope; for instance, No. 12, that's like 475 or something and it runs, and you hit the fairway, I can't seem to do that. If you get it on that left side it runs down. I played with Trevor Immelman Monday and he hit eight, nine, wedge, and 4 is the same way, it chases down and long iron hitters can have a short iron in.

 

Q. What did you take away from the final round at Buick, being in the last group with Tiger and basically going from second to no Ryder Cup points for the day?

 

LUCAS GLOVER: Well, that was tough to swallow. I had played well the first three rounds, made a lot of putts and then just it seemed to go away. Butterflies were there, playing with Tiger and all the people, something I never experienced. But it was a good experience.

 

And watching him at his best, I think he hit two bad shots all day, make every putt; and then you take away from that, I've got to improve. That's the bottom line.

 

Then, you know, I got to play with Phil the first to days at The INTERNATIONAL, so I got to see the best two right now back to back weeks and realized what they are better at and why.

 

Q. In terms of their demeanor, just to follow up on this question, is there something that you felt that you needed to do in presenting yourself? You have all these people out there, it has to be just a gripping feeling, the tension of it and just moving around, the air and everything, did you find something about yourself that you're going to do differently in standing at the tee and moving around?

 

LUCAS GLOVER: You watch Tiger and he's as focused as anybody when it's his turn, and he's relaxed as anybody when it's not. There's a happy medium there that all of us could learn from. Because when it's his play, he's as intense and focused as anyone could possibly be. When he hits, the ball stops rolling, it's just like, you know, relaxed and like all of the air is gone. And then you take Mickelson on the other side, it seems like relaxed, focused all the time, which is hard to put into words. But to me, when it's their turn, they are focused. And then they do different stuff in between shots.

 

But for me, I kind of like to goof off a little more than not. So focus as much as I can when it's my turn and then goof off a little when it's not.

 

Q. This doesn't pertain to today's round, but when you get paired with a pretty slow player, how do you cope with that, and is the fact that you do like to go up and hit it, is that just something natural that's always been there with you?

 

LUCAS GLOVER: Yeah, I've always been a fast player, and I've had to learn the last couple years to get used to slow play, because rounds on Tour take a long time.

 

Something I do is, you know, being a long hitter, hurts even more, but I make sure if I'm playing with a slow player, walk behind them, walk slower, goof around on the tee, fill up my water battle, whatever. Just anything so I'm not racing to my ball. And I've gotten better at it. My pace, walking and everything, has gotten slower and everything and that's probably helped me.

 

Q. If you could answer as honestly as possible, when you look at a leaderboard today or this week, do certain names maybe stand out more than they would? A Vaughn Taylor, J.J. Henry, a Stewart Cink, Andrade, seems like there's a fraternity of guys that are all trying to make a move this week. Do you notice those names more than you would?

 

LUCAS GLOVER: Absolutely. Absolutely. We're all chasing the same goal. It's just like looking at a leaderboard on the 18th tee on Sunday if you're in the hunt. You're all vying for the same thing, you all want it and that's the goal. So, yeah, absolutely.

 

Q. Being that this is the first time you've thrown yourself into the Ryder Cup mix like this, what's the best thing you've learned out of this chase?

 

LUCAS GLOVER: Not do what I've been doing. Not press. Last year, first part of this year, I was relaxed, playing golf, not getting beating myself up every shot. And since Charlotte, seems like I've been doing that.

 

You know, like I said, I've made up my mind this week. I was going to be a kid again, try to have fun and laugh off the bad shots. That helped today because I hit some bad ones.

 

Q. Can you explain what Butch Harmon has been helping you with, not just in terms of your technical ability, but in terms of how to be a better player?

 

LUCAS GLOVER: Well, same thing, with all the pressure of the Ryder Cup, just time to play golf. Don't worry about it and go to the tee, just play.

 

You know, we do our work on the technical stuff, and the bottom line is you've got to trust it and put it on the golf course. That's kind of what we've focused on the last couple of days.

 

Q. What is it about the Ryder Cup that has players getting so uptight about it? It sounds like it really hurts your season this year with the focus you had on it for a few months.

 

LUCAS GLOVER: Just like wanting anything else too bad. You press, you try to hard. And in this game, the harder you try, the worse you play. I don't know if that's been proven, but I've proved it and proved it to myself. But it's just a goal that every player wants to do in their career. I would think guys are crazy if they don't want to play on that team, but for me, it's been a dream forever. It's been my favorite sporting event to watch and forever. So it's just a lot to look forward to and a lot to hope for.

 

Q. How does this pressure compare to Q School pressure, and were you able to kind of have a relaxed attitude during did that get you through Q School, being able to be more light hearted about it?

 

LUCAS GLOVER: Well, the Q School thing was a little bit easier because I did have something to fall back on being in the 150 that year. I don't have a whole lot to fall back on right now, other than last week or whatever it may be.

 

So the pressure was a little different. But that 18th hole at Q School was pretty nerve wracking.

 

KELLY ELBIN: Lucas Glover, in with 66, thank you very much.

 

End of FastScripts.

 

 

 

Tiger Woods

 

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

88TH PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

 

August 17, 2006

First Round

 

An interview with:

 

TIGER WOODS

 

KELLY ELBIN: Two time PGA Champion, Tiger Woods, ladies and gentlemen. In with a 3 under par 69 in the first round of the 88th PGA Championship. Tiger, some general comments on the round and if you can go through your score card, please.

 

TIGER WOODS: Well, overall, I thought I played pretty good today. I hit the ball pretty solid all day, and I had good speed on the greens. I missed a couple over the edge but also made a couple which was nice. Overall it was just grind them out kind of round. Nothing really exciting, just kind of grind it out.

 

KELLY ELBIN: And your birdies and bogeys.

 

TIGER WOODS: I bogeyed 10, my first hole. I drove it in the left trees. Laid up, hit 9 iron right of the green. Pitched it well past the hole and 2 putted.

 

I birdied 12. I hit a driver, sand wedge to about eight feet and made that.

 

I birdied 15. I hit a 3 iron off the tee and 9 iron to about six feet and made that.

 

14, the par 5, I hit a driver just in the left rough. The rough snagged it coming out. I had a 7 iron up there to about 30 feet and made it.

 

And then the par 5, No. 7, I hit a driver and a 3 iron to about 15 feet and 2 putted.

 

Q. Can you talk about the setup and with that many low scores out there, does it change the approach where par is not necessarily a good score?

 

TIGER WOODS: Well, the greens are soft out there. The wind was pretty benign most of the day. It would come up, die down, come up, die down, but it wasn't a real big factor out there today. With the greens being soft, the guys are going to aim at a lot of flags, indicative of the scores. Any time the greens are fairly soft, you're going to get a bunch of low numbers on the board.

 

Q. Just getting back to the greens being soft, were they softer in the practice rounds and were you surprised that for a major championship, we haven't had rain around here hardly at all, that they were this soft in the first round?

 

TIGER WOODS: Well, I was pretty surprised that they had that much moisture in them. But also, then again, they are not exactly smooth, either. So it will be interesting in the afternoons, see what the scores will be.

 

You get a lot of balls that are bouncing a little bit out there. There's going to be a lot of that just because the greens are so soft.

 

Q. The atmosphere didn't seem to be as bad as some people thought it might. How did you what did you think of the fans out there?

 

TIGER WOODS: I think most of them got lost, couldn't find No. 10. (Laughter). It's way the hell out there. It's not exactly you just walk off first tee. It's a hike.

 

So the back nine was a little bit different. I think most of them waited for us to come around and took the lazier approach.

 

Q. You were talking about in the beginning, there were not a lot of fans out there. Once they did find you, for a Thursday pairing, what was that atmosphere like for the first day of the tournament?

 

TIGER WOODS: About what you would expect. With myself and Phil and Geoff, it's about what you would expect, really. Certainly not starting out, because we were so far out there. 10 is not next to the clubhouse and I think it was just a little difficult starting out.

 

Q. If these greens continue to stay as soft, where aside from the par 5s can you force the issue and get very aggressive with your approaches?

 

TIGER WOODS: It all depends on the pins. Even some of the longer holes you can be pretty aggressive if you drive the ball in the fairway down there far enough. And the easier pins most of the pins were four and five from the side and I think we had a couple of threes, but also we had a couple eights and sevens from the sides. Usually they are all four and five and three nowadays. You had a couple easier pins out there. Those are the holes that no matter what club you had, I think you're going to take probably a little bit more aggressive line at the flags.

 

Q. If the conditions stay as they are, and if we don't get any rain and it stays benign, what do you think the score is going to be on Sunday? What's it going to take to win this?

 

TIGER WOODS: It will be definitely double digits, easily. You just this golf course, it's playing soft enough right now that you can make quite a few birdies out there. And also, if you hit some bad shots, you'll be penalized. So it's the guys that are playing well, if you're playing well here, you seem to have a bunch of 7 to wedge in your hand. You know, those are pretty much our scoring clubs. You get a lot of looks with clubs like that, you're going to if you're swinging well, you're going to shoot some low numbers.

 

Q. How hard is it to start out with a bogey on the par 5? What do you tell yourself, and then on 14, you made a pretty good save, didn't look like you had a great lie on that approach. What do you tell yourself, and how big was that birdie on 14?

 

TIGER WOODS: Well, as far as making bogey on a par 5, it's my first hole. It's not going to be I'm not going to play 72 holes of a major championship without making a bogey. I just happened to get it out of the way early. So just kind of get out of the way early and go ahead and go play.

 

I wanted to shoot under par on that front nine, or my front nine. I had a little bit of work to do to get there. But I think making birdie actually at 12, that was a nice birdie to get it back early. Because, you know, 13 is not exactly an easy hole and anything can happen there. And 14 was pretty lucky. I drove it just barely in the left rough, but I had a pretty narrow lie. Just try to hack it somewhere up the hill and ended up snagging it and hit the crosswalk so I had a lie. I was just trying to put the ball anywhere on the green to the right and it came out really nice.

 

The putt was a bonus. I was just trying after the tee shot, just try to make 5, and ended up making 4.

 

Q. If the conditions stay as they are, what do you expect the winning score to be, and what do you expect to shoot?

 

TIGER WOODS: Well, hopefully low enough, and it will be as I said, it will be in double digits somewhere if the conditions stay like this. I'm sure there will be a bunch on the leaderboard, as well.

 

KELLY ELBIN: Tiger Woods with a 3 under 69. Thank you.

 

End of FastScripts.

 

Sergio Garcia:

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

88TH PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

 

August 17, 2006

First Round

 

An interview with:

 

SERGIO GARCIA

 

Q. Are you delighted to start with a 69? You got it to 4 under and then didn't progress from there.

 

SERGIO GARCIA: I was pretty happy with my round. I mean, I had a great chance on 14 to get it to 5 under, left a putt just short in the jaws. I was disappointed missing a short one on 16.

 

Overall I felt like I played well. I felt like I made some nice putts when I had to, and hopefully I can keep it going the rest of the week.

 

Q. Playing your second at 16 there seemed to be some sort of distraction going.

 

SERGIO GARCIA: Well, somebody just shouted something right on the top of the backswing and I kind of pushed it a little right with the 8 iron, but no big deal.

 

Q. I know it's early in the week sort of thing, but it looks like we might get a little bit of rain out there. How is it going to rain?

 

SERGIO GARCIA: I actually can't believe that we didn't get any out there on the course because it wasn't looking good at all. But it looks like we're going to get some, and that's going to make the course play a little bit easier. It's playing pretty fast and it's quite firm, so we'll see what happens.

 

Q. You actually made quite a few putts today and then you missed a few putts today. How would you characterize your putting?

 

SERGIO GARCIA: You make some, you miss some. No, I putted nicely. I made a nice putt on 1 and I made another nice putt on 3, and then a nice one on 5. Then another one on 8, but I hit a lot of nice putts. I had a good chance on 10 that was just a misread, and then I left a couple just in the jaws, just short. Unfortunately I missed a short one on 16. But I felt pretty good. I felt like my stroke was holding nicely, and I played pretty decent. I can play better, but I played okay.

 

Q. (Inaudible).

 

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, definitely. A lot of the shots have changed from '99. The greens are a bit different and some tee shots from the tee are a little bit more difficult than they were in '99. The course is still the same, and the memories are still there. It's always nice to come back to a place where you've done well, and a place like this for me is definitely special.

 

End of FastScripts.