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PGA Championship 2020 Collin Morikawas victory interview

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 09: Collin Morikawa (R) of the United States, celebrates with the Wanamaker Trophy alongside Suzy Whaley (L), President of the PGA of America, during the trophy presentation after the final round of the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park on August 09, 2020 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 09: Collin Morikawa (R) of the United States, celebrates with the Wanamaker Trophy alongside Suzy Whaley (L), President of the PGA of America, during the trophy presentation after the final round of the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park on August 09, 2020 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Collin Morikawa talks to the media about his first victory at a major championship after the PGA Championship 2020.

JOHN DEVER: Good evening, and welcome back to the 2020 PGA Championship here at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. We are really pleased to be joined by Collin Morikawa, who closed with a 6-under 64 today, finished the championship 13-under par with a four-day total of 267. Congratulations, Collin.

Emotionally, how are you processing winning the PGA in just your second career start in a major at the ripe old age of 23? I mean, that’s a remarkable achievement no matter what way you shies.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah I don’t even know. I’m on Cloud Nine, I don’t know about you guys, but yeah, I’ve believed in myself since day one. I’ve said it when we sat down, I specifically remember at Travelers the fours of us, me and Wolff, Viktor and Justin Suh, and I just told everyone, all four of us and obviously we’ve all had some pretty good paths, Justin has struggled a little bit, but we all believed since day one that we can do this. I haven’t let up from that.

I feel very comfortable in this position. But it was going to take a very, very good round today, and I knew with the leaderboard the way it was looking and everyone out there, you just had to play well.

You either win or you lose, and I got off to a little shaky start. Made a putt on 1, and you know, went full steam ahead there.

Q. (By Steph Curry): Question for you, coming down the stretch in the back nine of a major, everybody knows that that’s the moment that you go take it. Are you a leaderboard watcher? Did you know where you were? What’s your mindset in that moment the last two and a half hours of your round?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Steph, you mind taking off your hat? No, it’s fun to see you. I saw you out there on 9, and my caddie is a huge Warriors fan, I think you heard him — I’m not (laughter). I’m an L.A. boy at heart.

But yeah, I do look at leaderboards. I want to know where I’m at. Why not? I don’t think it affects me. I think gets to know where you’re at. I don’t want to be coming down 18 knowing I need to make par, and trying to force a birdie or doing something stupid. You know, when I looked on 12, and there’s a party of us at 10-under, and someone was going to separate themselves, especially with 16, gettable pins, 14, 15, but you know, I knew where I stood stepping on 16 tee. I knew I hit a good shot — I had to hit a good shot, tied with Paul after he just made birdie.

You know, yeah, what a drive that was on 16.

Q. Quick follow-up. I’m free for the next three months if you need a caddie or replacement. No, J.J. is a great guy, but if you need me, I’m available.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Perfect. I can’t wait. I want to see your game. Cam was talking about he played with you at Stonebrae.

Q. You upgraded his playing partner, so yeah, 100 percent. Congratulations. Can you take us through everything related to 16, what your game was all week and then just your mindset today and exactly where you were in your mind in the tournament when you got on that tee?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, by Wednesday night, I had no plans on going for 16 at all. I told Colt Knost, he saw me Wednesday afternoon practicing on there, and he asked me if I was ever going to go for it. I told him a quick no, it’s too much into the wind, why go for it. I didn’t think the pin was going to be where it was.

You know, my caddie, it was like 278 to the front, and just a good drive for me. It was going to land just short of that in this weather; it’s going to bounce on up. He looked at me, he counted off and asked me what I wanted to do and I told him, let’s hit a good drive. And I counted back from 14 at Muirfield. What’s different from 14 at Muirfield and this shot, similar numbers, wind was a little left, kind of into me, but I knew I had to hit a good one.

And stepped up, you know, and those are moments I’m always going to remember. Hit it, J.J. actually walked in the tee and he never does that and he was talking to the ball a bunch. I don’t really talk to it too much, but we were both screaming at it to get a good bounce, and we obviously got a very good bounce, and you just have to capitalize on those shots.

Q. You got in trouble early on 1, spun back into the bunker and made the long putt to save par and on 6 you were trapped in the left side in the trees to the other rough on the right side and then saved par. What were you thinking when you made those par putts? Did you feel like this might be your day? Even when you were in trouble you were able to get out?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, those are huge, especially for me when I make a putt like that, I feel like I can make anything on the golf course. So for me it was just like, let’s get the ball on the green and give myself a chance for a putt at birdie or par or whatever it is.

1 was huge. 6, yeah, it was big. But 1 was big because, you know, a bunch of guys I’m sure were making birdie on 1. I don’t want to start off with a bogey in the final round of a major championship, so I stepped up, I felt comfortable. Felt comfortable over the putter today, and rolled it right in.

Q. Can you describe the emotion of today? You talked yesterday about feeling more comfortable over these last couple months as you get in these situations. But not only did you end up in contention at a major on Sunday, but a major with seven guys tied for the lead and just sort of this very crazy, tense atmosphere. How much did you stay calm and how much does J.J. help that as a caddie who has been around before?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, this is the first time I’ve been around a leaderboard that crowded, so many guys out there trying to make birdies, we’re all tied for the lead or whatever it is, one back. Especially in the closing holes out here, they’re not easy. We got a little fortunate with some pin locations today coming down the stretch, but J.J. is huge. J.J., I am so lucky, I’m so happy to have him on the bag. Thank you, Ryan Moore, for not keeping him.

But not just as a caddie, a person I can talk to on the course and just keep it comfortable. He knows what to say, when to say it. He has figured out my game and what kind of player I am, what I need to know, what I don’t need to know, and it’s as simple as that.

I’m very lucky to have him. I brought him in for the last three holes, 16, 17, 18, to help me read them, and I think I’m going to do that all the time, especially coming down the stretch because it doesn’t hurt. He knows how my mind works and what we’re going to see together. He’s not just saying stuff just to say it. I’m very lucky to have him on the bag.

Q. On the tee shot on 16, did you hear anything? Were there any cheers, anything that gave you any indication it was close? And can you imagine what the reaction would have been on a green in normal times?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I wish — this is the one time I really wish there were crowds right there. But no, so I was just praying for a straight bounce short of the green on to the green, and then after it bounced it kind of got behind a tree that we couldn’t see around the corner. So once it bounced, I was like, okay, I will take it anywhere it is, because it is on the green, whether it’s short, long, and I peeked around right at the tee and looked around the tree, and it looked really, really good.

So I heard some claps. Obviously not a ton. But you know, the claps could mean I’m on the green and I’ve got 50 feet. But walking up, you know, I knew it was right above the tier, and you had to make it. I had to make that putt. Two strokes is a lot different than one stroke coming down 18.

Q. This PGA will be remembered for a lot of things, your win of course, but also because it was played on a public course on the West Coast with those of us on the East Coast watching at night. Can you imagine a steady diet of public courses, PGA Championships on public courses on the West Coast?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, of course. I love the West Coast. I think there’s a ton of great public courses around. I grew up playing some public courses around the area where I grew up in L.A., and yeah, you know, you look at TPC Harding Park, and winning score is at 13, and I think everyone enjoys watching leaderboards like this that are bunched. You don’t want to see — yes, it would be nice to be on the other end of leading by seven, whatever it is. But it’s exciting.

You know, this is what fans want to see. They want to see who is going to step up, who is going to hit that really good shot towards the end coming down the stretch, you know, whether it’s 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, whatever it is. And Harding Park showed its teeth. It brought every range of player out here. You saw a lot of big hitters just bomb driver out here, still in the rough. But the rough was tough. This is some of the thickest rough I’ve seen for a while. So I had to get used to it.

But you can make courses like this that have really good routes, somewhat challenging greens here and there, and make them tough. You know, we’re not shooting 20-something under par, and it shows you that there are a lot of good public courses out there that still test us every single day.

Q. Could you imagine Rancho Park in Los Angeles being fixed up like Harding Park has been?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I don’t have a really good recollection of Rancho Park, but no, I’m guessing.

Q. I want to go back to the chip-in on 14. First, what were you thinking about the iron shots that missed the green on 13 and 14, and did you think that that chip-in was a turning point for you going forward in the championship?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, 13, you know, I just didn’t hit it well. It was a really weird swing. It never really felt — I never felt the ball. I knew it was a bad shot. 15, I hit all right — or no, no, I’m sorry. 12 I hit all right. 13 — and then we go to 14 and on 14, I had 9-iron. Ball is a little above my feet, a little uphill stance, and when you don’t hit it out here, in the thick air, cold, windy, ball is even going to go shorter. I had to step on a 9-iron on that hole on 14 and never got a hold of it.

On the chip shot, yeah I think that was a huge turning point. That separated me. Going into 15, I had really good feels from it, especially from yesterday. I hit a really good 3-wood, I hit a really good wedge. So I knew I could hold up a 3-wood against a left-to-right wind. Felt comfortable it. Hit a good approach shot I would say and left the putt just short.

It was a huge turning point on 15, and it was one of those chips where I stepped over it, and I was like this is going in. This chip just feels like it’s going to go in, and actually when I hit it, I didn’t think it was going to go in. I almost started stepping forward because I thought it was going to be a little short right, and you know, you just get a couple extra rolls and there you go, you’re making birdie.

Q. You led the week in strokes gained putting. What’s behind the turnaround?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, my caddie gave me some advice after the second round last week in Memphis, and I think if you look at my putting stats, for me, normally if I’m putting around zero, I’m very happy. But the last two days at Memphis, I thought I made huge strides. This week, I just kept that going, and yeah, a couple little adjustments in the setup and that paid huge dividends for me. Just feeling a little more comfortable over the ball, getting my head where it should be, and just being able to putt and really react to the target from there.

Q. I have two questions. One, what was your number on 16? What was the actual distance with the driver there?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I want to say it was 278 front, 294 hole. My ball went 291, exactly how I played it. Yeah, I mean, it just had to be a normal driver for me. I didn’t have to do anything special. Thankfully I don’t hit it 330.

Q. You had mentioned in the award ceremony, or right after it was over, that you’ve got a taste of this now. Can you expand on this a little bit, and are you prepared, which I think you are, for the scrutiny — not the scrutiny, but the spotlight that’s now on you, having three wins, two wins this year already and a major already at age 23?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I mean, I love talking to you guys, whatever you guys say. I love hearing what you guys have to critique or whatever it is. It’s all for me to take in and filter out what I need or what I don’t need. That’s just kind of who I am.

Yeah, I feel very comfortable in this spot. When I woke up today, I was like, this is meant to be. This is where I feel very comfortable. This is where I want to be, and I’m not scared from it. I think if I was scared from it, the last few holes would have been a little different, but you want to be in this position.

And for me, like you said, like I mentioned earlier, it doesn’t stop here. I’ve got a very good taste of what this is like, what a major championship is like. I really do miss the fans. I know we all had to have some type of adjustment not having fans; when fans do start coming back hopefully at some point, it’s going to be an adjustment, but this is where I want to be. I love it.

The majors are going to be circled in, just like everyone else, but I’ve got to focus on every single week. I’m trying to win every single week. I’m not trying to come out and just win the majors. I’m 23. This is my first full year. This haven’t even a full year with everything going on.

But yeah, I love golf. I love every part of it. I love being in this position and I love just being able to come out here and play with a bunch of guys that love the sport, too, and that’s why I think I love being in this position.

Q. We saw you had your Cal golf on the yardage book cover. Can you speak to how living in the Bay Area helped shape you as a golfer and as a person?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I think growing up in L.A. and coming out to Berkeley, especially where I grew up in L.A., very different, just different walks of life, everything, every part about it was very different and that was kind of eye-opening.

It just got me to open up and have some fun, and being out here in the bay, I was very fortunate with the coaches, with the people, the people supporting, the donors, whatever it was, everyone who helped me get to the point of graduating, I couldn’t be more thankful for them because they set that foundation for me to achieve my goals.

You know, one of those reasons, you look at guys like Max Homa, Michael Kim, Brandon Hagy, they were a big part of why I went to Cal, and what they did in that 2012-2013 season was special. Yeah, they didn’t win it, but for a regular-season team, I would say they are right up there being one of the best.

Yeah, San Francisco is always going to be my second home. I didn’t realize how much I actually missed this area. It’s very crowded; I don’t like the one-way streets at all, but being in this weather, being away from, you know, 95 degrees, 100 degrees in Vegas, 95 percent humidity with just sweating before you even get to the tee, yeah, I do miss it and it’s going to be very special, winning my first one here at Harding Park.

Q. Did you participate in the Berkeley commencement on May 2019?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I was. I was there.

Q. And then two weeks later you’re in Canada debuting on the Tour?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I’m pretty sure I went to graduation, and then I had my Ben Hogan Award at Colonial where I finished runner-up three years in a row, two years with the Hogan Award, and obviously what happened this year.

Q. If you can remember all the way back to Canada that far —

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I got you.

Q. What you expected of yourself, what you thought of yourself, it sounded like from some things you said, this was all possible already?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: They are not expectations, they are all goals. Expectations are what you put on me. That is what I filter out and what I don’t hear because I have set goals, and last year the goal obviously was to get some type of status and to learn from it.

I had dinner with Justin Thomas and I was very fortunate through my agent and everything to have dinner with him that week, and he told me, “If you’re good enough, you’re going to be out here at some point.” And I already felt good enough. I just had to have the starts. I had to have those opportunities. I was like, why not take advantage of these.

I was able to have one Korn Ferry start as an amateur and two PGA Tour starts as an amateur and I learned a lot from them. I actually learned more from my missed the cut than losing in a playoff on the Korn Ferry event, just because you’re able to learn so much in a short amount of time.

You know, I was very lucky to have those starts, but starting from Canada, obviously, J.J. was on the bag, it was very new for me. We had gone through sectionals the Monday before. We didn’t even know Canada was an option. He did not have his passport, so he had to come up Wednesday and end up caddying for me and I’m sure he was wondering what kind of player I was going to be.

Yeah, Canada from the start, I felt very comfortable, but there’s a very different sense of comfort now.

Q. Along those lines, we’re 14 months out of Cal, and you’re now three Tour wins, you’re a Major Champion, No. 5 in the world. That puts you among the elite. Do you feel like one of the elite players? Did you feel that way before you even won today, or do you even think of yourself in those terms?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I think when I play my best, I’m able to compete and if not beat these guys when I’m playing really well.

You know, I think there’s like this brotherhood; there’s a family of professional golf. All these guys, you see their groups. You see the guys that they are playing their practice rounds with, and you know, yeah, I’ve got my young guys with Wolff, Viktor, Scottie, Cameron, Joaquin, whatever it is, but I wouldn’t say I’m as close to those guys as some of the other guys out here that have been able to play and travel for years on end now.

Do I feel like I’m part of that group? Yeah. Do I feel like I’m going to start playing practice rounds with them just because I’m part of this group? No, I have my own group. I want to go out and have fun and do my own thing. Just because I’m sitting near the rankings with these guys doesn’t mean I’m going to start playing every single practice round with them.

It’s cool to play practice rounds with these guys because I learn so much, just how they think. I don’t have to ask a bunch of questions, but just watching even Steve Stricker this week, just how he goes around the practice round, how he chips, how he putts. I’m always trying to pick up on what these best players do and what makes them so great because who knows what I’m going to figure out; who knows what’s going to click in my head to work for the week or the next year or whatever it is.

Q. Was there a point where you felt your mind drift?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Beautiful Dodgers hat, even though they lost yesterday.

Q. They won today.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: They won today? Good. I love to hear that.

I think after the 16 tee, having whatever it was, six, seven — I had to make it. I didn’t have to make it, but it was one that was really going to turn the tables on everyone else in the field, and that’s why I brought J.J. in to add a little more sense of comfort. Did I feel nervous? Yeah, there’s going to be nerves running through there, but can I channel that into excitement, can I channel that into focus, and I think I did a really good job of that today coming down the stretch.

Having him come in to read the putt gave me a couple seconds to get in my own head and really focus on the putt, and talking things out sometimes helps. I was able to talk those out, what the line was, everything, how we were going to feel this putt, and yeah, I think touching on that, I think that’s something that I’m going to remember and use for the future coming down the stretch, whether I have a lead or whether I’m one back or tied for the lead is just being able to communicate. Because sometimes when you’re kind of stuck inside yourself, who knows what’s going on.

Q. Did you have a chance to look at a leaderboards, especially on the back nine, when at one point there were seven people tied for the lead? Did it ever cross your mind that, I have to do something to break out of this, or did you stick with your game plan all along?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I think there’s a little of both there. I definitely looked at a leaderboard, I saw on 12, we were all having a party at 10-under. Who is going to break out? Who is going to be the oddball out to separate themselves? I hit a really good drive on 12, not a great approach shot, made up-and-down, hit a good drive on 13, and at that point, I knew someone was going to have to break out.

Does that mean I’m going to change my game plan? No. I went for 16 — was it Friday, I think they moved it up? So I went for 16. So it’s not like that game plan changed whether I was going for it, but you know, I had to step up and be fully committed that I was going to hit driver. Not be like, okay, if I hit driver, this could end up here, this could end up there, or we can chip out, make par, whatever it is. I had to be fully committed.

And you know, I think that’s why I played 14 at Muirfield so well is because I had to be fully committed. There’s water on the right. There’s a hazard on the left on 16, but that’s pretty far away. I just had to be fully committed, and J.J. asked me, you know, “Are you sure? Is this what you want to do?”

I’m like, “Yes, this is driver. This is perfect.” You know, stepped up, hit a really good drive and obviously it ended up where it did and hit the putt.

Q. This is really good news in Japan, because you’re part Japanese. I just want to ask what kind of relationship you have with Japan and what’s your history here, if you know?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I’m actually half-Japanese, half-Chinese. My mom’s Chinese. My dad’s Japanese. I’m about a third, fourth generation on my dad’s side.

So family ties back to Japan, I really, unfortunately I can’t say I have many, if any. But being able to go back to Japan, I went with my family, I don’t know, three, four winters going, and then going back for ZOZO — yeah, this past fall, it’s special, and it means a lot. And going back there, I feel like this is just — it’s home. Even though it was never home for my dad and it was never home for my grandparents, all my grandparents and my cousins and everyone on my dad’s side, they all live in Hawai’i and they have been there for awhile.

But going back to Japan, I love it. My girlfriend loves it. I love it. Obviously the food is, I think, the best in the world, and man, am I hungry (laughing). I love my food.

But you know, I hope I — I’m able to go back to Japan again. Who knows when, but when everything’s safe. Yeah, yeah.

JOHN DEVER: You told us last night about the big dinner —

COLLIN MORIKAWA: She would know this, I had udon, which is a Japanese noodle.

Q. Only Rory McIlroy and Jack Nicklaus were younger than you to win the PGA Championship during the stroke-play era. What does it mean to you to join that list?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: It’s great company. You know, it’s been crazy, because this entire start of my professional career, I see all the things comparing to Tiger and doing all this and then Tiger is on a completely different level. I think we all know that. But any time you’re in the conversation of the greats, Jack, Rory, Tiger, no matter who it is, if you’re in that conversation, you’re doing something well.

So to know that, yeah, what I’ve done, what I did my four years in college, was obviously worth it, but there’s just that extra sense of feeling good in my heart, to finish out, get my business degree, graduate, come out here knowing I’m prepared, and knowing that it’s possible.

You know, when you feel you’re ready, you’re ready, but to be in the conversation with those guys, it’s very special and yeah, you know, I’m ready for the next.

Q. Just on that history theme. Harding Park has produced Byron Nelson, Gary Player, Billy Casper, Tiger, Rory, this great list of winners. How much significance is there in that history, and why do you think Harding has produced such great winners over the years?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, it’s really cool. I mean, look at the golf course. This is TPC Harding Park, is now one of my favorites in the bay. To be honest, through college, it wasn’t my favorite. I don’t think I played it extremely well. Everyone kind of shot around even and we drove back to the campus and got our night in.

It shows the quality of golf course, I think because no one separated, but if you look at the end leaderboard and the quality of players and the players that have won majors, that haven’t won majors, they are all there. It brings all the best players and who’s playing really well together, so it shows you this is a very good course, and yeah, I’m happy to come out on top.

JOHN DEVER: Last question for you. You just won the PGA Championship so we would be remiss if we didn’t ask you about your relationship with your coach, Rick Sessinghaus, how long you’ve been with him, the rapport between you two and what you focused on the last few weeks as you got ready for the first major of the season.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, so I’m 23. I first started working with Rick I think around eight, so it’s been 15 years. I have been so lucky. He’s not just a coach. He’s a great friend. He’s a mental coach. But you talk about a person that knows what to say, when to say it and how to say it, he’s your guy.

Thank you, Rick, for everything. It’s been a crazy road and we have only been climbing up so far, and why not keep going up. I’m so happy he was here. He went home Friday. Him and my agent went home back to L.A. and they drove up early this morning. I’m very happy. I almost questioned why they drove up, but it’s really special to have him, you know, for 15 years, and there’s so much for us to keep learning.

I think that’s what’s cool is that I love to learn. He loves probably learning even more than me, but you know, what did we work on over the past month? It’s just continuing things that we’ve done really well and figuring out the things that we didn’t. You know, putting was huge. I credit J.J. a lot for what we changed in the putting.

But Rick, you know, just to keep things — I had him come at Workday. I saw him right before I left for the first event back at Colonial, I had him come out at Workday, though, and it was the first week he was out and it was feeling all right. We went to go hit balls Wednesday afternoon I finished practicing, and I normally don’t do that, and that’s when things clicked. He said one thing about just the way I turn and rotate through my backswing that I had done before, and that’s what you need as a coach. You need something that — he knows what to say, you know, things that maybe he’s said before, but maybe I just need to hear it again. Every week is different. You remember things; you don’t remember things, so it clicked, and it’s still working.

JOHN DEVER: Well, this week clicked, and we appreciate you being with us on a really memorable PGA Championship, and enjoy the spoils.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Thank you so much. Thanks, everyone.

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PGA Championship 2020: Co-Leader Jason Day interview after 1st round

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 06: Jason Day of Australia reacts to his tee shot on the fourth hole during the first round of the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park on August 06, 2020 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 06: Jason Day of Australia reacts to his tee shot on the fourth hole during the first round of the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park on August 06, 2020 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Co-leader Jason Day talked to the media after his first round at the PGA Championship 2020 at TPC Harding Park.

PGA Championship 2020: Interview with Jason Day

JOHN DEVER: Welcome back to the 2020 PGA Championship. Pleased to be joined by 2015 PGA Champion Jason Day. It’s been five years, but today you opened with a terrific 65, 5-under, no bogeys. Tell us about the no bogeys and how you saw your round go today.

JASON DAY: Yeah, it was good. I got off to a great start. Got a little bit lucky between the bunkers on 10, but got to take the luck when it comes by.

Today I drove it really nicely, and when I was out of position, I left myself on the right side of the fairways to be able to at least get somewhere around the greens, and if I did miss the greens I left it in the right spot.

Yeah, pretty sound the whole way around. I hit a lot of good-quality iron shots coming into the greens. Wasn’t overly aggressive. And there was a couple of shots on 9 and 17 where I hit it pretty tight, but overall it was very solid.

Q. Do you feel some momentum coming in, and then can you take us through the birdie at 9, what you hit in?

JASON DAY: Yeah, so there was definitely a lot of momentum coming in off the previous finishes that I’ve had, three top 10s, which has been nice. The game feels like it’s coming around. I’m pleased with it.

I’m not like excited — I shouldn’t say I’m not excited. I am excited to come out and play every day, but I know that I can improve, and mainly my putting can improve a little bit more.

I feel like I’ve been working very hard in the off-weeks and especially when I come to a tournament to be able to get my putting back to where it is because it’s always been a strength of mine, and I feel like the game is slowly coming around, the confidence is coming around because I’m starting to see the results, which has been good.

But getting back on 9, I hit a nice drive down the left-hand side, had 211 yards, and there’s a black triangle tower at the back of the green, I was trying to go at that, and I kind of just blocked it a little bit, but it was a 5-iron from 211, landed it pretty much on about 203 yards and then bounced up to the pin, and it was a very dead straight putt, so it was very hard to miss that one.

Q. I’m just curious your thoughts on the challenges of the rough. I know it’s patchy in certain areas. Could you talk about the challenges of playing from the rough here.

JASON DAY: Yeah, I mean, fortunately I wasn’t in too much of it today, and then when I did hit into it, I got lucky. Like you said, it’s very patchy. Actually when I was doing the interviews, I was watching Xander hit up 9. You obviously can tell how hard it is, and he was just off the fairway.

Looking back on it, on today, I think — I would think that the shorter guys would have a little bit more trouble out there just because if they just miss the fairways then they’re laying up, whereas if you can just kind of get up there and bomb it as far as you can, you can gouge something up towards the green. But it is very thick and patchy in some parts of the golf course.

Q. We spent a lot of time talking early in the week about Tiger and his back and the cold weather and everything. You’re kind of in a similar situation. The first three days when it’s cold, and everything that’s going on, are you a little bit more cautious?

JASON DAY: Yeah.

Q. And then when you see the sun come out today do you kind of smile a little bit?

JASON DAY: No, it’s still pretty cool. I mean, obviously it was nice to be able to have the sun for a change. I mean, it’s been kind of overcast and gray here.

But it has been cool — you’ve got to be careful. It is a lot colder; 50 degrees pretty much to be precise from last week. So it was nice to play in the hot weather last week and then this week you’re always cautious of doing certain things, bending over.

But I pretty much lather up in Deep Heat and I go — I mean, I try and burn the skin off my back, to be honest. And I feel pretty good, so I’ve been fine.

Q. Sorry, lather up with what?

JASON DAY: Deep Heat.

Q. Any examples of how strange it felt in a major to not have fans? An introduction? When you made birdies? Was there any moment where you thought, where’s the noise?

JASON DAY: Yeah, I mean, it’s — I think we’re on 11 — sorry, hold on. We’re on 12 —

Q. 12 is by the road.

JASON DAY: Yeah, 12 tee, and they’ve cut the blue tarp or the actual screen that we have up, and they’re watching through the actual fence. It is unfortunate that we can’t have fans.

I actually miss playing in front of fans because you obviously work off that, especially in a major championship. You work off that energy. Usually it’s buzzing, and it happens from Monday all the way through to Sunday. It’s just a lot of people here. There’s a big buzz going around the golf course.

And today, we’re used to it by now, but it’s still not the same. I know that we are playing the PGA Championship. It’s a major championship. It’s the first one of the year. It’s still just not the same.

Q. Is it more awkward in a major and not just a regular event?

JASON DAY: You can definitely feel the difference in intensity. I know the intensity, it was a little bit more quieter on the range than it has been in previous starts that we’ve had on the Tour, and guys know that, but it just doesn’t feel right.

Q. You talked about your confidence and gaining that, but how happy are you to actually have your mental strength back, because clearly that’s out there now.

JASON DAY: Yeah —

Q. 9 is an example. You missed the putt on 8 —

JASON DAY: Missed the putt on 7, missed the putt on 8 —

Q. And then you came out and did that on 9.

JASON DAY: Once again, I finally had enough of feeling sorry for myself, and it’s easy to do that in this game because it is so mentally tough. You can start blaming everything else but yourself. Sometimes you’ve just got to pull your pants up and just move on, you know.

I feel like the momentum that I’ve had over the last three starts has kind of seeped into this week. I’m excited about — the funny thing is that every day I’m excited to go back to the golf course and play, whereas before I was struggling to get up and going, oh, do I want to kind of put myself through this again. To be honest, I’m excited to get out and play every week now.

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Defending champion Brooks Koepka goes for the three-peat

Brooks Koepka is going for the three-peat at the PGA Championship. (Photo: Getty)

Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome back to the 2020 PGA Championship here at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. We are pleased to be joined by two-time defending champion, Brooks Koepka.

Brooks, you’re back with us in good form with some history on the line. Does all this talk of a three-peat, Peter Thomson, etc., do you look at it as a hindrance or helper for you as you go into the championship?

BROOKS KOEPKA: I don’t view it as either one. I’ve already dealt with it at the U.S. Open going into Pebble. I feel like I know how to handle it and I played pretty well there. I just got beat. My game feels like it’s in really, really good shape right now. I like the way I’m hitting it, and feels — putting it really, really well. Every day is a lot more comfortable.

I’m excited. This is a big-boy golf course. Got to hit it straight and put it in the fairway. It’s going to be quite long. I think it kind of plays into my hands.

Q.  What was the best thing you saw in Memphis that you were waiting to see, and what’s the importance of bringing momentum into a big event like this?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Just to be in contention I thought was nice. I hit it well, or a little bit better at 3M, and you know, we went back, we worked on some things over the weekend and it started to click and you could clearly see what was going on. I wasn’t getting on my left side. Now that I’ve got — it was nice to see Pete again, get more work with Claude on what’s going on and then Phil now. I feel great, but I think it was more about getting in contention again and just having those feelings back, which felt good.

Q.  I see you’re playing with Shane Lowry in the first two rounds of the tournament. Just wondering what kind of relationship you have with him; you played with him a little bit, I think, during the lockdown, and what do you make of his game generally?

BROOKS KOEPKA: I like Shane. He’s a funny guy. He’s a character. I enjoy playing with him. I played a lot with him at the Floridian during lockdown. Got to play with him and another buddy, Stephen Grant, maybe six, seven times. It was fun. I enjoyed the competition, trying to battle into something for being off for three months.

Shane is a good player. Drives it really well. He hits a tight little draw. Great short game, and he’s going to be right there come Sunday.

Q.  Given the kind of year you’ve had with three months of knee injury, three months of pandemic, PGA approaching, I don’t want to use the word panic, but was there any kind of impatience in wanting to turn things around, and did your confidence start to take a little bit of a beating?

BROOKS KOEPKA: I mean, you always want to turn it around. Even if it’s a couple holes, you’re trying to look to turn it around.

It gets frustrating. I felt like I was playing a little better. Wasn’t seeing the results, but piece by piece, it was coming. So I knew it was eventually going to be there. But as far as confidence, I got frustrated. I think anybody would. Nobody likes playing bad.

But at the same time, I knew it was only a couple swings away. Once I got the feeling, I’d be off and running, and here we are.

Q.  What’s the one thing Pete brought to you?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Pete? Just stay in the ground. I’ve done the same four things with Claude for, I don’t know how long we’ve been together, seven years, and Pete’s the same thing. Pete tells me two things. You know, sometimes it’s just a different delivery between Claude and Pete, and all it takes it a little bit of — we saw some information on one of the body tracks or whatever where it shows your weight, I forget what it was. It was pretty obvious.

So once I saw that, you know, everything made sense with what Claude was saying and Pete, and it just clicked.

Q.  Can you give us your impressions of the rough, and I guess how deep rough needs to be to be significant if you have a short iron or a wedge for an approach?

BROOKS KOEPKA: It all kind of depends. The rough out here is pretty thick. You can get some pretty juicy lies and not advance it very far. But it all depends. Is it going to be wet? I think it will be, especially in the mornings, so it could be quite tough to control your distance, spin, things like that.

But I don’t think it’s overly bad right now. Come Sunday, might be different. Might grow two inches, who knows, an inch. Anything could make a big difference. I don’t think it’s bad, but it’s not the worst I’ve ever seen.

Q.  Given the fact that there aren’t any galleries these days, there’s not going to be any galleries this week, are you going to have to kind of maybe convince yourself that this is a major and a major atmosphere, or does that sort of thing really matter?

BROOKS KOEPKA: I mean, it’s pretty obvious it’s a major when you pull in. Yeah, I don’t know how else to answer that. It’s pretty obvious it’s a major. It’s a big boy golf course. Tough place. Tough setup. I mean, I know it, so that’s all that matters.

Q.  When you want to hit driver especially hard, do you have to think of an aggressive thought?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, just hit it hard. That’s the only thought. I don’t think — my mind goes blank. I kind of, I guess, blackout a little bit sometimes while we’re out there. I don’t think of any swing thoughts. Don’t think of anything.

I don’t do that in practice while we’re at home but out here, just go out and hit the ball. Try to — whatever shape you’re trying to hit, just see it and go with it and swing it.

Q.  You always said in majors past that you mark these four tournaments on the calendar in terms of peaking for these events. What’s the challenge been like for this year peaking for these events, given the pandemic as well as your knee?

BROOKS KOEPKA: It’s just been a lot of patience. I had to — a lot of sitting around and waiting and doing rehab, and just trying to make sure we’re ready for this week. Yeah, I mean obviously things didn’t get off to a good start this whole year; basically from Korea till 3M wasn’t the start or play I was looking for.

But at the same time, I felt like I was progressing. So sometimes the results are a little bit slower than what I would like. I expect so much of myself, almost too much sometimes, and that can be annoying.

But at the same time, you’ve just got to — I knew this week was a couple weeks away, so I had no other option other than to find it.

Q.  I have two questions. One is as much of a sports fan as I know you are, do you enjoy — with regard to the No. 1 ranking, it kind of bouncing around a little bit? You had it for a stretch; Rory; Jon had it for a few minutes and now J.T. has it. How much do you enjoy having that in the balance, and do you burn to have it back?

BROOKS KOEPKA: That’s the whole goal. The goal is to be the best player. If you’re not trying to do that, then I don’t know what you’re doing. I’m not out here to just try to compete and have a good time. I’m out here to win.

You know, winning means being the best and being No. 1, so that’s the goal. And I enjoy it. I enjoy — right now, you’ve got J.T., Jon, Justin, myself, DJ all right there. So it makes it fun. It’s exciting. As a fan, I’m sure it’s exciting.

Q.  As a follow-up, when you come here or any tournament, do you walk into this place feeling like you’re the best player on the planet and that you’re the guy to beat?

BROOKS KOEPKA: I mean, I feel very confident in myself. I don’t know — I think when you start saying it like that, I think you’re putting expectations. I don’t put any expectations on myself. Just go out and go play golf exactly like I know how, and if I do that, then yeah, I probably should win.

Q.  You talk about the whole goal of being No. 1; that’s the whole idea of being out here. You held that post longer than anyone last year. What’s the sense of accomplishment in that?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, that’s a big accomplishment. That’s the goal every time you set the goals for the year, to be the best player in the world. I felt like I got unlucky with the knee and then wasn’t swinging it right because of my knee. It happens.

But also at the same time, it can make you a little hungry to go out and prove yourself, and that’s where I’m at right now.

Q.  You obviously seemed to enjoy majors. It’s been over a year since we’ve competed in a major. That’s the longest stretch since the 1940s. What does it mean to be able to compete in a major again?

BROOKS KOEPKA: It’s fun. I love it. I love the fact that it’s probably the toughest test of golf you’re going to play all year with — setup-wise and then mentally it’s exhausting.

I enjoy when it gets tough. I enjoy when things get complicated. You can really — there’s always disaster lurking, I think it something I enjoy, where every shot really means something. Every shot is so important and you can’t — you can’t lose focus on one and I think that’s something I’m really proud of myself that I can always just hang in there mentally and hit the shot that I need to hit at the right time, and don’t let off the gas pedal.

Q.  Last year at Bethpage, you said that these were the easiest tournaments to win. I don’t know that you put a number on how many guys you had to beat; if you still feel that way; and how many guys do you have to beat this week?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I still feel that way. I think I said it last year. The way the golf course sets up eliminates pretty much half the guys, and then from there, you know, half of those guys probably won’t play well, I think is what I said. Then from there, I feel like mentally I can beat them, the other half, so you’ve probably got ten guys. That’s the way I see it. If I can do what I’m supposed to, then yeah, I should.

I think that’s why I’ve played so well is I break things down very easily. I think for some reason, people make golf a lot more complicated than it should be. Worried about where shots go, results, you know, putting more emphasis on this week or the major weeks, when to me, it almost seems the most relaxing week of the year. I feel like Monday to Wednesday, conserving energy mentally, I’ve got a good routine, nine holes pretty much every day or less, and I leave the golf course feeling pretty refreshed, and then by Sunday, I’m mentally drained.

I think it’s more mentally exhausting where things — where things will take it out of you mentally before physically with a major. I think that’s one of the strengths of my game.

Q.  What’s the one thing that you have to do well this week?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Drive the ball well. If you put the ball in the fairway out here, you’re going to do — there’s a lot of long irons into these par 4s, and like today, I think I hit — played nine holes and hit three long irons in the back nine in the flags and obviously it’s a little cooler, a little windy. But still at the same time in you’re in that rough, there’s no chance you’re hitting 4- or 5-iron into these greens. You have to drive it well and put it into the fairway. A lot of right-to-left holes, too, especially on the back.

Q.  Just talking about the length and adjusting to the weather, is that something you’ll do going on the launch monitor, or is that a feel thing with you and Ricky, getting a sense of the difference in how far the ball is going here?

BROOKS KOEPKA: No. I’m not going to be a scientist and go figure it out on TrackMan. I’ll do it out myself. Me and Ricky have a pretty good idea how far the ball flies in this weather. Played golf for probably 25 years now, so I know how far it goes when it’s a little cold. From there, it’s just slight adjustments. I feel like we’ve got it dialed in.

That’s kind of why I wanted to play in the morning. Usually you do the same routine as tomorrow, tee off the same time I tee off on Thursday, and play one late, one early, just to get a feel for how different the course can play, how the ball is flying and things like that.

(FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports)

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Q&A with Tiger Woods – Press Conference at Harding Park Golf Club

Tiger Woods plays his 21st PGA Championship. (Photo: Getty)

Welcome everybody to the 2020 PGA Championship here at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. We’re pleased to be joined by four-time champion Tiger Woods.

Welcome, Tiger. This is your 21st PGA Championship, and you have a little bit of history at this golf course, winning in 2005, of course, and going undefeated in The Presidents Cup. Is it safe to say you have a good vibe with the course but also golf in northern California back to your college days?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I mean, I played it before the redo. They have come a long way since then, made it a championship site. I was fortunate enough to beat John in a playoff and then had a great Presidents Cup under Captain Freddie. This brings back great memories of coming up here playing, whether it’s here at Harding or SF Club, Olympic or Lake Merced. We used to come up here and do qualifiers all the time.

Q.  Four rounds since the restart. How do you feel coming in here?

TIGER WOODS: I feel good. Obviously I haven’t played much competitively, but I’ve been playing a lot at home. So I’ve been getting plenty of reps that way. Just trying to get my way back into this part of the season. This is what I’ve been gearing up for. We’ve got a lot of big events starting from here, so looking forward to it. This is going to be a fun test for all of us. The rough is up. Fairways are much more narrow than they were here in 2009. Don’t ask me for the routing because I’m still getting a little confused on the routing. Still trying to learn that part.

Q.  So many of your major championship wins were defined by just the energy of the crowd. Can you just talk about how weird it’s going to be playing a major without a crowd and how it will impact you coming down the stretch given that you’re someone who feeds off of that crowd energy?

TIGER WOODS: Well, that’s an unknown. I don’t know if anyone in our generation has ever played without fans in a major championship. It’s going to be very different. But it’s still a major championship. It’s still the best players in the world. We all understand that going into it, so there’s going to be plenty of energy from the competitive side.

But as far as the energy outside the ropes, that is an unknown. And hopefully I can put myself in a position where I can be in that position where I can feel what it feels like to have no fans and also coming down the stretch with a chance to win.

Q.  A lot different feeling going into the PGA this year compared to after winning the Masters last year. Can you sort of compare and contrast? I mean, is your game actually maybe in better shape now than it would have been then after all you went through winning the Masters?

TIGER WOODS: Well, after I won the Masters, it was a bit of a whirlwind. We got a chance to go to the White House, my family, and meet with our President. I celebrated winning the Masters for quite some time.

Came to Bethpage and played awful, and felt like, what, Brooks beat me by like 30 shots in two days. My game is better than it was going into that PGA and hopefully I can put it together this week.

Q.  You said last year that you were working on a book. I understand you’re working with the same writer who helped Andre Agassi and Phil Knight with their books. What’s the process like for you, and do you take any inspiration from what Michael Jordan did in “The Last Dance”?

TIGER WOODS: Well, it’s been insightful and one that I’ve enjoyed the process of looking back on some of the stories and been a lot of fun.

Q.  You talked about the crowd and the noise. When you played here in 2005, you described it as one ear was half deaf as you went back to the tee for the playoff. It was “electric” was I think the word you used. The contrast of no fans here at a public course where you’ve played two times and it’s been very loud; and my second question is just the Sandy Tatum statue and what you think of his legacy given your Stanford ties?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I knew Sandy before I even entered college because I played a U.S. Junior here up at Lake Merced when I was 14. Got a chance to meet Sandy then and knew the process when I was in college of what he was trying to do here. He is the one who single-handedly turned this golf course into what it is now.

What’s the other part of your question?

Q.  The noise.

TIGER WOODS: Well, considering that, one, it was a team event, where it was very bipartisan. It’s us against the Internationals, and you couldn’t have put two of the more, I guess, crowd-drawing people together in a playoff, myself and John Daly. So it was loud. The people were into it. It was a lot of fun. I still look back on it. I just didn’t want it to end the way it ended in that playoff; I think the way we were playing, we should have continued. It was just an unfortunate way to end it.

Q.  Obviously the weather forecast for this week, temperatures are cool. How does that impact you in terms of swing preparations and so forth, and just dealing with that in general versus normal weather?

TIGER WOODS: I think that for me when it’s cooler like this, it’s just make sure that my core stays warm, layering up properly. I know I won’t have the same range of motion as I would back home in Florida where it’s 95 every day. That’s just the way it is.

Talking to some of the guys yesterday, they were laughing at their TrackMan numbers already. They don’t have the swing speed or ball speed they did last week. It’s just the way it is. It’s going to be playing longer. It’s heavy air whether the wind blows or not, but it’s still going to be heavy. The ball doesn’t fly very far here. I’ve known that from all the years and times I’ve had to qualify up in this area. It’s always 20 degrees cooler here than it is down there in Palo Alto. We knew that coming in. I think the weather forecast is supposed to be like this all week: Marine layer, cool, windy, and we are all going to have to deal with it.

Q.  If you are concerned, what are you most concerned about your form coming into Thursday, and what are you happiest about heading into Thursday?

TIGER WOODS: Well, I think that more than anything, it’s just competitively, I haven’t played that much, but I am — the results that I’ve seen at home, very enthusiastic about some of the changes I’ve made and so that’s been positive.

Keep building. Keep getting ready and be ready come Thursday.

Q.  What changes have you made?

TIGER WOODS: Well, I’m not going to tell you that.

Q.  Okay, I took a shot.

TIGER WOODS: (Laughing.)

Q.  Every week right now there seems to be a new record on sports betting in golf. There’s more and more money going in every week. Do you ever hear stories from people about betting on you, and is it weird there’s this kind of money being thrown around now legally?

TIGER WOODS: Yes, the word you put up at the very end is different, “legally.” Sports betting has always been around. It’s been around, I remember players and coaches placing bets on players, whether the matchups they had or not.

But now, you can do it instantaneous and shot-for-shot. It’s very different. But that’s just the way the world has changed, and it’s more accepting now.

Q.  Throughout your career, you’ve made a science of peaking for the four majors every single year. Given how different this year has been, have you changed anything about how you’ve tried to build up and prepare for this one major this season?

TIGER WOODS: Well, I’ve been trying to prepare for the three. You know, trying to figure out my schedule and training programs and playing prep and the things I need to work on for each major venue. It’s just in a different calendar order and different time of year.

But this is a big run for us coming up here. I’ve been gearing up for this, and looking forward to the challenges of not only this week, but obviously the Playoffs and a U.S. Open and then the Masters.

Q.  Some players have talked about, I think Rory has mentioned it, that it’s been sometimes hard to keep your focus with no crowds around when you’re so used to having a different environment at your tournaments, especially in majors. Have you found that to be the case, and do you maybe have to keep reminding yourself this week that this is the PGA Championship; it’s a major and it’s not just the Memorial or another Tour event?

TIGER WOODS: Well, Rory has more experience than I do in that regard because he’s played more often in this part of the season. I’ve only played one time. And those four days at Muirfield was a bit different. It reminded me of sometimes on the weekend, you’d tee off Saturday morning and you’d just barely make the cut and you’re first off and there’s no one out there, but generally by the time you make the back nine, there’s thousands of people out there on the golf course waiting for the leaders to tee off. But that never happened. So that’s the new world we live in. We just have to get used to it.

As far as the focus part of it, I haven’t had a problem with that. Those four rounds, I was pretty into it. It’s different than most of the times when you go from green-to-tee, people yelling or trying to touch you. That part is different.

As far as energy while I’m competing and playing, no, that’s the same. I’m pretty intense when I play and pretty into what I’m doing.

Q.  Just two-part thing. What did you get out of those four rounds positive at Memorial? What kinds of things did you take back to Florida out of that?

TIGER WOODS: More than anything, I had not had the competitive flow. I’ve been competing at home and we’ve been playing for a few dollars here and there at home, but that’s so different than it is out here playing competitively in a tournament environment.

I had not played since, what, L.A., so it was a long time for me, and making sure that I felt the feel of the round and getting my feels organized early, and I got off to just a beautiful start. I birdied two of the first three. So I got into the flow of competing very quickly.

It didn’t help that the wind howled on my first day back and then Sunday it was brutally hard. Being patient is one of the things that I was real proud of out there, you know, fighting hard as I did to make the cut. I birdied two of the last three holes and made a huge par putt on nine. Those are all positive things I look back on. I didn’t quite feel my best on Friday and it showed, and the weekend was tough.

Q.  At a major championship week, when you look back at the Masters in 2019, did you know that week; is there a feel you have that week before, like, I got it, that kind of thing, and you know, how difficult might that be to manufacture this week with so much time in between playing?

TIGER WOODS: Well, there’s probably only been, what, two — maybe three times where I knew that all I had to do was keep my heartbeat going and I was going to win the tournament. ’97, I felt pretty good at Augusta and then Pebble Beach in 2000, and then obviously at St. Andrews the same year.

My game was clicking on all cylinders for maybe the week prior. The week of it got a little bit better and just had to maintain it the rest of the week. Those were rare exceptions. It hasn’t happened to me that often in my career, non-major or major, but those three weeks in particular, I just felt really good and had control of every single shot shape, distance, feels around the greens, putter. I had everything rolling.

Q.  Back in 2000, I don’t know if you said it in jest or not, you said one of your biggest regrets was leaving Stanford a year early, and obviously you have a lot of memories and nostalgia in the San Francisco Bay area, but what is it that makes this region so special to you personally?

TIGER WOODS: Well, I lived up here for two years. It’s the first time I ever lived away from home. And coming up here to Palo Alto and being in that environment, being around so many intellectually curious people and unbelievable athletes, and we’re all in the same bubble together trying to figure this all out for the first time, it was a very unique experience and one that I thoroughly miss.

And then coming up here, all the qualifiers that we had to play up here, whether it’s here at Harding or it’s Lake Merced or SF or Olympic, those were some great qualifying rounds. Coach would make us play in all different types of weather; if it was raining or not, go qualify and we had to qualify in our sport.

Those were great memories and great times, and ones that I thoroughly miss.

Q.  You mentioned how the course is different from when you played previously. Can you give us your impressions? It seems like not a typical major setup, old school with the trees and maybe not as long as some courses?

TIGER WOODS: It’s not as long. It’s a par-70; it’s not as long numbers-wise, but the ball never goes very far here. It plays very long, even though it’s short on numbers.

This golf course in particular, the big holes are big and the shorter holes are small. It can be misleading. They have; pinched in the fairways a little bit and the rough is thick; it’s lush. With this marine layer here and the way it’s going to be the rest of the week, the rough is only going to get thicker, so it’s going to put a premium on getting the ball in play.

I’m still a bit surprised that the surrounds are not as fast as they are and they’re not cut short and tight, but they are grainy. Into-the-grain shots, where the balls are popping in and rolling out. Downgrain you can spin pretty easily and you can spin it either way. It’s going to be a test, with the overhang of these cypress trees and the ball — there may be a couple lost balls here; cut a corner and ball hangs up there, that could happen very easily here and has happened and I’m sure will this week as well.

Q.  Have you had a ball in a tree here?

TIGER WOODS: Well, not here.

Q.  Any memorable moments?

TIGER WOODS: I’ve had a few at Lake Merced. That’s one of the tightest golf courses and most claustrophobic places that I’ve ever played. Yeah, I’ve lost a few there.

Q.  What chances do you give yourself this week? Can you win this week?

TIGER WOODS: Of course. (Smiling.)

(FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports)

Categories
Ladies Tours

Michelle Wie West Named Assistant Captain for 2021 USA Solheim Cup Team

Michelle Wie West is named for the second assistant captain at the Solheim Cup 2021. (Photo: Getty)

Wie West will join the previously announced Angela Stanford to work alongside Hurst when Team USA faces off with Team Europe at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, on Sept. 4-6.

“Naming Michelle as an assistant captain was an incredibly easy decision for me,” said Hurst. “She reached out to see if she could be involved with the team, and I quickly knew that I wanted her as one of my assistants. She’s out there playing with the younger players, and since I’ve been off the Tour for a while, that’s a crucial asset for me to have, first with Angela and now with Michelle. I can’t wait to work with this team as we look forward to our week at Inverness Club next year.”

Solheim Cup: Wie West naming for assistant captain

“When I heard that Pat had been named the captain for Team USA, I immediately knew that I had to be part of her team,” said Wie West. “Pat was my POD leader when we played in Germany and Iowa and I learned so much from her leadership and friendship. Those weeks were great opportunities to learn from one of the best players and coaches I know, and to work alongside her is going to be an amazing experience.” 

Wie has been a member of the LPGA Tour since 2009. She has five LPGA Tour victories, including a major title at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open. She has competed in five Solheim Cups, representing the USA in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017. She went an undefeated 3-0-1 in her Solheim Cup debut in 2009, when she became just the second LPGA Tour rookie in history to play on Team USA. Wie West also represented the USA at the 2018 UL International Crown.

Five-time Solheim Cup participant

“My five times playing for Team USA at the Solheim Cup and wearing the Red, White and Blue – those are incredible highlight moments in my career,” said Wie West. “This next step as an assistant captain is going to be yet another highlight moment, and I’m so grateful to Pat for giving me this opportunity. Our week in Toledo next year is going to be an absolute blast.”

Prior to joining the LPGA Tour, Wie West enjoyed a standout amateur career that saw her capture the 2003 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at age 13. The same year, she became the youngest amateur to make the cut at an LPGA Tour event when she reached the weekend at the ANA Inspiration, a record that still stands. 

Wie West is a 2012 graduate of Stanford University with a degree in Communications, earning her degree while playing full-time on the LPGA Tour. She recently joined Hurst as one of the #LPGAMoms on Tour, giving birth to daughter Makenna on June 19, 2020.

(Text: LPGA)

Categories
Ladies Tours

Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings Resume with Individual Athlete Approach

The Rolex Ranking will will resume with changes. (Photo: Getty)

The Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings (WWGR) Board of Directors today announced a plan to resume the rankings with a temporary modification which focuses on the individual athlete and the weeks when she competes.

The Rankings were paused the week of March 16, 2020, as professional women’s golf remained inactive due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No WWGR affiliated Tours competed until the week of May 11, at which time the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) resumed tournament play. Since the week of May 11, the KLPGA has completed seven WWGR tournaments, with the Ladies Professional Golf Association of Japan (JLPGA) completing one. 

New modification for rankings


With the modification, on a week an athlete competes, her individual points, average points and divisors will continue to change and age based on her performance and her overall position on the Rankings will be reflected based on that performance. 

On a week when an athlete does not compete, her individual points, average points and divisors will not change or age. However, her overall position on the Rankings could shift based on the performance of other athletes who are competing.
 

“Fair solution for the athletes”

“The WWGR Board was keen to find a solution that was as fair as possible for the majority of athletes whether competing or not during this unprecedented time. As a level of uncertainty around Member Tours’ tournament schedules continues, focusing on the individual athlete and the weeks she competes made the most sense.” said Executive Director of the WWGR Board, Heather Daly-Donofrio. “While the Board understands there is no perfect solution in these challenging times, we believe we landed on an approach that is reasonable for athletes and also protects the integrity of the ranking system.”

This individual athlete approach will begin retroactively with the week of May 11 (with a published ranking date of May 18). Rankings for an athlete will continue to be computed on a 104-week rolling period, but that 104-week rolling period will differ based on how much an athlete plays while the modification is in place. Weeks when an athlete does not compete will not count towards her individual 104-week rolling period.

Weeks between March 16 through May 11, when there was no tournament play, will not be factored into the 104-week rolling period for any athlete on the Rankings. The WWGR will be run in chronological order backdating to the start of the KLPGA schedule. Rankings for each week thereafter will be published but only recalculated on weeks where at least one Ranking tournament was completed.

During this approach, weeks of non-play for any individual athlete that happened during the pause will continue to be omitted until the player has a full 104-week period of Rankings tournament play. 

The Rankings will revert to its historical approach of running Rankings each week regardless of tournament or athlete play in due time. The WWGR will continue to monitor when this will happen based on the restart of its Member Tours and the participation of the top 200 athletes on the Rankings.

(Text: WWGR)

Categories
PGA Tour

Memorial Tournament: Interview with Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods during a practice round at the Memorial Tournament. (Picture: Getty)

After the practice round during the Memorial Tournament 2020 Tiger Woods speaks about his actual game and his time at home.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll get started here with five-time winner Tiger Woods. We’d like to welcome him into the interview room at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. Tiger is making his first start on the PGA TOUR since the season was suspended in March. If we could please just get an opening comment on the state of your game and how it feels to be back.

TIGER WOODS: It feels great to be back. I hadn’t played on a tournament venue in a while, and it’s been since February, so it’s been a long time for me. Then to get out there and to play with J.T. today was a bunch of fun. It’s certainly a different world, different environment that we’re in. To play practice rounds like this and to watch as the TOUR has evolved and started back and to see no fans, it’s just a very different world out here.

Q.  Tiger, what is your level of concern, now you’re going to start going out and traveling amidst COVID and the spiking cases. What is your level of concern dealing with COVID?

TIGER WOODS: That’s the risk that I’m taking. That’s the risk that all of us are now taking. I know the TOUR has done a fantastic job of setting up the safety and trying to ensure that all of us are protected and are safe, but it is a risk that we are now undertaking when we walk on the property and are around individuals that you don’t know where they’ve been or what they’ve been doing.

But the screening, the testing we’ve done, the protections that we’ve tried to implement on the TOUR have shown that we’ve had to make adjustments, but it’s a risk that I’m willing to take.

Q.  Last week Justin Thomas said he was giving you a hard time that you were scared to come out and play the guys. Did you get a bunch of other calls from other players during that time?

TIGER WOODS: I got a bunch of texts and a bunch of calls when he said that, and hence I’m out here. So I’m not afraid of J.T. anymore. I’ve gotten over that, and here we go.

Q.  You talked about how things are going to be different. I assume that you have talked to enough guys that give you a little bit of — have filled you in on what it is like to have no fans, everything from the rough not being trampled down to the loss of energy. What are your expectations and what have you picked up from them?

TIGER WOODS: Most of the venues that we’ve been playing at really haven’t had that much rough. The guys have — except for Hilton Head where you can possibly lose a ball in the trees, there really hasn’t been a whole lot of rough. Obviously the rough is up here, but the guys have said that it’s — more than anything it’s not really the trampled down lies or anything like that, it’s just the energy is different. There’s nothing to feed off of energy-wise. You make a big putt or make a big par or make a big chip or hit a hell of a shot, there’s no one there. That’s one of the more interesting things that it’ll be going forward. I think this is going to set up for not just in the short-term but for the foreseeable future for sure.

Q.  You’re a guy that’s had more cameras on you than anyone in the history of golf. How did you learn to deal with that, to adjust to that? Was it immediate? Did it take some time? That’s been a hot topic the last couple folks, how long they stay on you.

TIGER WOODS: Well, I’ve had cameras on me since I turned pro, so it’s been over 20-some-odd years that virtually almost every one of my shots that I’ve hit on the TOUR has been documented. That is something that I’ve been accustomed to. That’s something I’ve known for decades. But this is a different world and one we’re going to have to get used to.

Q.  I’m curious kind of building on that, when would you say is the last time you played a full tournament in the United States without a gallery?

TIGER WOODS: Not a full tournament. I don’t think that’s ever happened for me. But I’ve played a round in D.C. when I won, that Saturday we had a derecho come through there on that Friday night, and it was hazardous in the morning and we went out there with no spectators, no volunteers and just played. That was the quietest round I’ve ever been involved with in a tournament setting. That’s what the guys are saying now, that it’s a very different world out here, not to have the distractions, the noise, the excitement, the energy, the people that the fans bring. It’s just a silent and different world.

Q.  Would you have to go back to your college days to maybe find a round that it was just you and a competitor or two?

TIGER WOODS: Well, even in college I had a few people following. (Laughter.)

Q.  Given that it’s a compacted TOUR, how much urgency does that place to maximize every tournament or just approach it the way you would any other year?

TIGER WOODS: Well, for me, I’ve had to try and maximize every tournament start since I’ve had my last procedure, back procedure. I’ve had to manage that. My levels of play — I really haven’t played that much since then. I think that unfortunately over the last few years that I’ve been used to taking long breaks, long time off and having to build my game and build it to a level where it’s at a TOUR level at home and then come out and play and play a few tournaments here and there, so that’s something I have unfortunately been accustomed to. This was a forced break for all of us but also one that I’m excited to get back into playing again.

Q.  When you watch — if you watched the Workday, you saw all these young players. What’s your impression of guys like Collin and Viktor Hovland and those guys?

TIGER WOODS: Man, those two in particular have just such bright futures ahead of them. They both hit the ball great. Short game is only going to get better. Their putting is only going to get better over time. And don’t forget, when you’re a rook like those two were last year, it’s trying to get to know the golf courses. That takes a couple years here and there, and before that starts kicking in, generally you see guys start playing a little better in the second, third, fourth year after it’s gone around the rotation and they’ve seen these venues.

Q.  Given how you played at The Match you seemed to be in mid-season form, and I know it’s a very serious event, but clearly you were ready to come out. Did you consider playing before this week after the restart, and if not, why not?

TIGER WOODS: I did. I did consider playing, trying to figure out if I should play or not. But I just felt it was better to stay at home and be safe. I’m used to playing with lots of people around me or having lots of people have a direct line to me, and that puts not only myself in danger but my friends and family, and just been at home practicing and social distancing and being away from a lot of people. Coming back and playing the TOUR, in my case over the 20-some-odd years I’ve been out here, that’s really hard to say, that I’m used to having so many people around me or even touch me, going from green to tee. That’s something that I looked at and said, well, I’m really not quite comfortable with that, that whole idea. Let’s see how it plays out first and let’s see how the TOUR has played out, how they’ve started, and I feel that I’m comfortable enough to come back out here and play again, and I’m excited to do it.

Q.  Assuming you were watching golf on TV for the last five weeks or so, did you find yourself watching golf like you would, or were you observing other things in terms of the Schoop of the tournament, and kind of as a sidekick to that, if you’ve had any conversations with any of your friends on TOUR, what kind of questions were you asking them about what it was like?

TIGER WOODS: Well, I think that watching like I normally would, no, I have not. It was more of watching golf to see how it is now, see what our near future, our reality is and our foreseeable future is going to be. Some of the guys when they first played the first couple weeks, it was very different. To have no one yelling, no one screaming, no energy, the social distancing, no handshakes. Some guys are used to taking the cap off after every round and doing handshakes. That’s just part of the traditions of the game. That changed. Contacts, how close can I be to my caddie. Those are all different questions that the players are trying to figure out on the fly as we’re trying to get back into our season and participate in our sport at a high level again. These are — some of the guys feel weird about it, other guys acclimated to it very quickly. Not having family around out here, when you’re at the golf course, what kind of contact are you going to have. Some of the players — where are you going to go work out, are you going to be able to go work out at a gym? No, you can’t go to the gyms. What are you going to do here? Face masks? We’re trying to figure out all the guidelines and the guys are trying to figure it out on the fly and also compete. So it was very complicated trying to get a routine, well, for most of the players.

Q.  You’ve been in this situation before, too, but I’m sure you saw on Sunday J.T. holes a 50-footer. If there’s a crowd around like Memorial usually gets and they react to it, how much harder is it for Collin to make his putt?

TIGER WOODS: A lot more difficult. I just think that the energy — even it felt weird as I was watching on my computer at home, like 14, when Collin hit the ball on the green there, and granted, they’ve never had the tees up there during the Memorial event, but if they were and had that same situation during a Memorial event, to have someone drive the ball on the green that close to the hole, I mean, that whole hillside would have been going nuts.

So to see J.T. make that putt, he’s screaming, but no one else is screaming. And then when Collin makes it, normally — he didn’t have that much of a reaction, but the whole hillside on 18 would have been just erupted. I’ve been there when they’re throwing drinks towards the greens and people screaming, high fiving, people running around, running through bunkers. That’s all gone. That’s our new reality that we’re facing. Those guys, J.T. and Collin, both how they played down the stretch and separating themselves and the shots they hit, they got into the world of playing against each other and got into that world.

But it’s so different not having the energy of the crowd, and for me watching at home as a spectator and one that has played this golf course and have heard the energy that the fans bring to these holes and these situations, not to have that is very different, very stark really.

Q.  ZOZO proved that after a long break you can win out of the gate; should we take that as a way people should be expecting your chances being good this week or should they be more tempered?

TIGER WOODS: Well, I would like to say that I’m going to win the event. That’s my intent. That’s my intent coming in here. That’s my intent going into every event. That’s certainly the intentions. Whether that plays out over the next four — well, come Sunday, hopefully that will be the case. It was that one particular week — well, three tournaments ago at ZOZO. There’s no reason why I can’t do it again this week. I’ve just got to go out there and do my work and make that happen.

Q.  Do you have a plan to counteract what you’ve been talking about with this no fans and no energy, because you’ve fed off that your entire career clearly. Do you have a plan to sort of counter it?

TIGER WOODS: I think for me in particular, I’m going to have to just put my head down and play. But it’s going to be different, there’s no doubt about it. For most of my career, pretty much almost every competitive playing round that I’ve been involved in, I’ve had people around me, spectators yelling, a lot of movement inside the gallery with camera crews and media. Watching the players play over the last few weeks, that hasn’t been the case, and that’s very different, and for the players that are a little bit older and that have played out here for a long time and have experienced it, it is very different. For some of the younger guys it’s probably not particularly different. They’re not too far removed from college or they’ve only been out here for a year or two, but for some of the older guys it’s very eye-opening really.

Tiger about his last round

Q.  When you played your last competitive round in mid-February, how would you describe where you were physically and where you are now after these five months? And then just on the back end of that, just what it felt to be back out there today.

TIGER WOODS: Well, physically I was very stiff at LA. I was not moving that well. Back was just not quite loose. It was cold. I wasn’t hitting the ball very far, wasn’t playing very well, and consequently I finished dead last. Fast forward five months later, I’ve been able to train a lot. I’ve been able to do a lot of things that I hadn’t done in a very long time, which is spend a lot of time with my kids and be around with them. It’s been very different not to have sports, but we’ve been lucky enough to have had Medalist open at home for most of this quarantine period. So it’s been nice to get out on the golf course and be able to play and keep active that way.

But as far as physically, I feel so much better than I did then. I’ve been able to train and concentrate on getting back up to speed and back up to tournament speed, so how I was moving at The Match and being able to progress since then, being out here today and being able to play with J.T. today, it was a lot of fun for both of us. We play like this at home a lot, so it’s different being on the road, but we’ve played so many practice rounds together and have played so many rounds together in the last few years that it’s been — it was quite normal.

Q.  I’m trying to start a movement with this question. The bunker rake is a relatively new thing in golf. It’s only been around for 60 years or so. In the pandemic a lot of courses have gotten rid of bunker rakes. I’m wondering how you feel about that; could that be part of the game’s future playing without bunker rakes?

TIGER WOODS: I don’t know. That certainly has been at my home course up at Medalist, if the guys happen to be in a footprint or previous hole explosion that one of the groups ahead of them had been in, we just kick it over and move it out of there and move on and play. Whether that works at the elite level, I don’t know what that’s going to be like for golf course maintenance, what it’s going to be like habitually, we as players like you who play the game, we’re used to raking the bunkers. It’s very different.

Q.  Do you view golf as a fundamentally fair game or unfair game?

TIGER WOODS: I don’t think any sport is fair.

Q.  Tiger, so much has changed in society in general since we last saw you. Can I please ask what you made of the development of the Black Lives Matter movement and the reaction to the George Floyd incident, and maybe more importantly, what positive difference you hope that all makes going forward?

TIGER WOODS: I think change is fantastic. As long as we make changes without hurting the innocent, and unfortunately that has happened, hopefully it doesn’t happen in the future, but a movement and change is fantastic. That’s how society develops. That’s how we grow. That’s how we move forward. That’s how we have fairness. Unfortunately we’ve lost innocent lives along the way, and hopefully we don’t lose any more in the future as we move to a much better place socially.

Q.  I was wondering, people have been spending all kinds of different time at home during quarantine and lockdown. I was wondering if there’s anything that you’ve been able to do, one or two things that you ordinarily wouldn’t be able to just because you’ve been stuck at home during this time?

TIGER WOODS: Well, there’s a lot of things that I hadn’t done in a long time, and one was sport-wise and physically is that we were playing quite a bit of tennis. That was very different and something I hadn’t done in a very long period of time because I hadn’t been able to do it physically. The kids enjoyed it. We were able to do that in the backyard.

Again, at the time to have the social distancing and be away from one another, from each other, soccer has been gone, as I’ve said, for us we’ve been lucky enough to have Medalist open and been able to play and practice social distancing and still enjoy being active and being outside. But as far as a lot of things inside the house, well, watched a lot of TV, read a lot of books and just tried and passed the time at times.

Q.  What’s the best book you’ve read?

TIGER WOODS: One of my favorite authors, Dean Koontz, California guy, horror novels. So I read a few of those.

Ryder Cup is postponed

Q.  Tiger, I wanted to get your thoughts on the postponement of the Ryder Cup. Two-part question: One, do you agree with it, and two, with everything now skipping forward a year, Italy will be a few months before your 48th birthday. Is that the one you’re targeting to be captain at?

TIGER WOODS: As far as captaining, we haven’t looked that far. The world has changed so fast. The fact that we were going to play the Ryder Cup, we were in position — what we were going to do as far as the vice captains, the team, how we were going to play practice rounds going forward and gelling as a team this year, all of a sudden the TOUR is suspended, we’re not playing, and we still haven’t come up with a plan going forward how we’re going to figure out the points for not this year but next year, how many picks Strick is going to get. Is that going to change or is it still going to be the same, where is the points cutoff going to be, are we going to be accumulating points at all through this. None of that’s been figured out yet.

Quite frankly, a Ryder Cup without fans is not the Ryder Cup. As it is now, okay. When the Ryder Cup first started there weren’t that many people involved in the game or whether it was GB&I versus the U.S., but the world has expanded, the event has expanded, and as far as I can remember, I’ve always seen people involved in a Ryder Cup and the chanting and screaming and the participation, the bipartisanship that has been part of the sport and part of the event. I think what they did with suspending it for the year and moving it to next year was the right thing.

We couldn’t have an environment in which we could protect all the fans that were going to be involved and have that type of insurance. Obviously if that’s the case, you can’t have the fans. Well, if you can’t have the fans, then it’s not the Ryder Cup.

We did the right thing of holding off for the year, and now from the U.S. side, we’re going to have to figure out how we’re going to accumulate points, how many players Strick is going to be able to pick and figure that out, and build our team from there.

Q.  You must have given some thought to whether you’d like to captain on U.S. soil or on European soil?

TIGER WOODS: I did my captaincy last year, and it was a lot of work, and I’m sure that I’ll look into that in the future.

Q.  Tiger, you’ve touched on this a little bit already: Just curious as you’ve watched on TV what have been your observations from a golf standpoint in terms of low scoring, in terms of course setup and that sort of thing?

TIGER WOODS: Well, the courses have been set up a little on the easier side, lack of rough, the guys have noticed that the pins have been slightly easier. The greens have been more watered. Trying to force pace of play to kind of move around better. But the guys have just absolutely played unbelievably well, considering the fact that we’ve been suspended for a while. And to see the guys come out in that good a shape, you’ve seen players — well, initially you saw one of two things, either guys that have come out rusty and not played well at all and have not played well, or you’ve seen guys that have taken off and run away with it and have gone low.

The low scores have been low and cumulative. To see the cuts at 3-, 4-under par each and every week on the venues that I know are traditionally very hard, to see the scores last week here, Muirfield, I mean, I’ve never seen anything like that, to see that many guys that low on a golf course that I know has always been very hard and very difficult.

I think that what the players have started to figure out as they’ve come back and started to get into the rhythm of playing again, understanding the new environment that we’re now in, it’s been fun to watch and will be even better to be a part of this week.

Q.  What do you make of what Bryson has been doing, more from the standpoint of what do you think the future of the sport looks like in terms of distance?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, he’s figured out a way to increase distance and maximize his efficiency with not only his driver but all of his clubs, but in particular the driver. If I just look back at when I first started playing the TOUR or right before I started playing the TOUR, we didn’t have TrackMans, we didn’t have launch monitors. Guys were learning how to bend clubs on their knee to try and take loft off of it. That’s now changed. Now you go into — you have all these different launch monitor technologies and you can send up a whole bunch of balls, figure out the shafts, the conditions that you want to optimize carry. What Bryson has done is no easy task. He’s got to put in the time and has put in the reps, and he’s figured it out. He’s gotten stronger, faster, bigger, and has created more speed. But more importantly, he’s hitting it further, but let’s look at the fact that he’s hitting it as straight as he is. That’s part of the most difficult thing to do. The further you hit it, the more the tangent goes more crooked, more along this line. So the fact that he’s figured that out and has been able to rein in the foul balls to me has been equally as impressive as his gains off the tee distance-wise.

THE MODERATOR: We appreciate the time. Best of luck this week.

(Transcript by ASAP Sports)

Categories
PGA Tour

The Memorial Tournament Press Conference: Q & A with Jack Nicklaus

Jack Nicklaus congratulates Justin Rose at the Memorial Tournament 2010 (Photo: Getty)

JACK NICKLAUS: I’ve been hosting for 45 years, and this is the first time I’ve hosted half a group, just players. Players and press. Anyway, it’s a little different, obviously. We prepared the same way. The golf course is good. Most of the guys probably played here last week. The golf course will be a little different this week. Greens will be a couple feet faster. Rough will be a week older and deeper. Be pretty dead, as they say. And greens should be firmer unless we get too much rain.

But you know, outside of that, it’s — I know that the TOUR did a pretty darned good job from what I could see going around yesterday. They tried to spread the divots as much as they could and tried to use some different tees so they didn’t have the same landing area all the time as the things we’ll have at the Memorial Tournament. We’re looking forward to it. We’re delighted to be just playing the golf tournament.

We didn’t have live sports there for a long time. Now we’ve got live golf, and we’ve had it, what, five, six straight weeks.

THE MODERATOR: Yes, sir. It certainly is a little bit different, and it’s going to be different for you this year without the spectators at the event. Can you address how difficult of a decision that was for your team.

JACK NICKLAUS: Well, we didn’t make it. You made it. The TOUR made the decision. We didn’t have anything to do with it. We were approved by the state; Governor DeWine actually liked our proposal. He thought that we had really set out every safety issue that we could, and we were going to give it a shot.

You know, I think it’s not so much — I don’t want to put it on the TOUR’s back, but really, I think you really have to look back to the players, and the players I think had objections — if they happened to contract COVID-19, they’ve got two to three weeks mandatory that they have to leave. They’re trying to make a living, and that makes it very difficult for them.

In this particular time and what’s going on, I don’t blame them for wanting to make sure that they can stay safe and stay in a bit of a bubble and make sure that the whole world gets to watch good-quality championship golf.

THE MODERATOR: It was certainly a valiant effort on your team’s part to bring at that back to the TOUR with spectators, and we understand why that didn’t happen. We’ll take some questions.

Q.How much energy did you gain from having galleries? Did they help you? Just curious your thoughts on that.

JACK NICKLAUS: Oh, I enjoyed playing in front of people. I think that I had played in front of people since I was probably 11, 12 years old. 11, the galleries weren’t very big; 12 got a little bit bigger; 13 we actually had followings, and that just continued, so I got used to it. I played high school golf where we didn’t have anybody following. Played some college golf where we didn’t have anybody following. We played — once we started playing significant amateur tournaments, we always had people. So I grew up with it. But I did play some without it. It really didn’t make a whole lot of difference to me.

I think as evidenced at Oakmont when I played against Arnold in ’62, I didn’t know anything that was going on. I always had my mind so focused on what I was trying to do that I didn’t really hear a gallery. I was really more interested in what I was doing, my game, concentration, playing the golf course and shooting a score. That’s what I was out there for.

Did I enjoy having people out there and applauding and admiring what you’re doing and congratulating you? Absolutely, everybody has got an ego towards that. But did it make any difference to my game? Not really.

Q.Can you imagine the ’86 Masters, though, without having those fans there on the back nine for you?

JACK NICKLAUS: Well, the fans were great, but I don’t even know how much — I got a nice ovation, nice applause and everything else, but I was really into trying to play golf. The people were fantastic, there’s no question about that, as they were in ’80 at Baltusrol, they were fantastic, ’78 at St. Andrews. I mean, you’d had a few times in your life where the galleries just are unbelievable, and they were unbelievable at all those three tournaments particularly. And quite a few others.

But it’s still a game to the player, and maybe some players handle it differently. A lot of times I would walk up at about the — when I get a little bit nervous coming down the stretch, 15th, 16th hole I just stop and look around and look at the excitement that was there. There I did play to a gallery because there I could stand around and say, gosh, look at this, this is what I’m here for, this is what I play for, this is what I got myself into this position to do. I’d look around and sort of feed off of that and say, okay, now, this is why I’m here, this is what I’m trying to do, have fun, go enjoy it, go win this thing. That would sort of get me pumped up, and actually it was looking and feeding off a gallery at that particular time.

I suppose I used them at times for that kind of a situation. I just looked at a picture just before I came over here, I think it was last year on the 18th hole, and the sea of people. I mean, just every inch of the 18th hole covered with people, and I’m sitting there saying, wow. You just don’t realize it when you don’t see it how many people really actually came out and watched.

Q.  And for this tournament, did you get the sense that you were going to have fans and then no fans and that some players maybe would have been hesitant to play the Memorial if fans had been here? Were you hearing that just because of the safety or not?

JACK NICKLAUS: Well, I think it was the players’ choice and the TOUR’s choice at this point to say, we would prefer not to have fans, and because of the issue that they had, if one of them got sick, then not only were they exposed to the caddie, then exposed to players they had played with, they’d have to go sit for two or three weeks, and the TOUR is shortened already, so it makes it harder for them to make a living. I understand that, and I think that the TOUR probably made the right decision as it relates to The Memorial tournament. Maybe we are a little too early for the galleries. We didn’t have a problem with it. We would have loved to have — my goal putting on the golf tournament is to bring major championship type golf back to Columbus, Ohio, where I grew up. That’s why this whole event is being played. It’s not being played for the players, it’s being played for central Ohio.

But I understand it, and I actually think it was the right decision. When you’re not really — even the governor liked our plan and went along with it and was going to allow us to start to have a gallery and open it up to spectator sports. I applaud the governor and thank him very much for his great efforts to try to help us and the work put in by Dan Sullivan and his team here and all the things they put together to set up a plan that would work and was passed by the state of Ohio.

But in the end, the players — you know, you can’t have a dance without the dancing girls, and so you just — and I can understand where some might be very hesitant. I think we’re probably doing the right thing right now, and we’re going to have a good tournament either way.

Q.  Two questions, unrelated: One is we spoke to Tiger a little bit earlier today and he pronounced himself more healthy than he’s been in months during the period of time he’s been off. He hasn’t played in five months. Just kind of curious with your experience how difficult that is to come off that layoff and maybe what you might expect after five months of no competitive play from him this week.

JACK NICKLAUS: Well, I don’t know. I’ve seen Tiger play very well after long layoffs. I used to lay off early in my career, I’d stop playing in September, and I didn’t start playing again until January. And I played nothing in between, and quite often I’d start out and then a lot of times the Crosby was my first tournament, and I won that several times. I won three times, I think.

So I won immediately coming out of a winter of not playing golf. So you never know what to expect. I don’t think Tiger will be as sharp or as ready as he normally is, but Tiger is Tiger. He’s a pretty darned good player, and my guess is he played quite a bit of golf at home, and he doesn’t want to come here and not play well and not do his best. So he’s going to give it his best.

Q.  Unrelated, I’m curious, Bryson DeChambeau obviously has been kind of all the rage the past month and change; what’s your impression as to what he has done to his body with the working out, the distance he’s taken? I know you’ve talked about the ball a lot over the years, but is there a concern? Maybe concern is not the right word, but what’s your impression? Do you have a fascination about where he’s taken this so far?

JACK NICKLAUS: Well, I personally have not seen him in person. I’ve seen him on television, and he’s a much bigger man. But he was tall to start with, but if he’s carrying 250 pounds, that’s a lot of weight for Bryson. But Bryson, he doesn’t look heavy, he just looks big. The places that he has been hitting the golf ball — and he’s not — Bryson’s golf swing is not a fluid golf swing that really whips the club into the ball. Bryson’s golf swing is pretty much pretty firm going back and firm coming through with a lot of body rotation. It’s a little different than a lot of guys. And can you believe the power he’s getting from that? I mean, it’s unbelievable.

You know, I for one, I want to watch a little bit, watch him play a little bit. I’d like to see what he does and how he’s actually doing that because he’s obviously doing something right. The ball is going a long way. And he’s playing well with it.

Q.  This is really the first big ballpark he’s going to have faced, so to speak, comparatively. Obviously Colonial and Hilton Head are pretty tight, Travelers similar at River Highlands. This is the first place maybe he takes advantage a little more of that if he’s still hitting it straight.

JACK NICKLAUS: Well, this golf course you can only go so far off the tee before you start getting in trouble. I give you a fairly generous area to hit it into if you’re going to hit it 260, 270, but if you’re beyond that point I try to make you hit the ball pretty straight. It’s going to be a combination. There’s going to be some holes. I mean, 13 goes over the break of a hill, and the bunker is a little over 300 yards, but it’s downhill, downwind, so he probably won’t have any problem carrying that. Most of the guys carried it last year when they were here.

Q.14 and 17 would probably be similar to that?

JACK NICKLAUS: 17 is a little longer — well, it’s not that much longer. 17 is probably 320, 325, 322, something like that, to carry the bunkers. Yeah, he could probably take them over those if he’s carrying the ball that far, but both are downhill, downwind under normal conditions. Wind turns the other way, I don’t even think Bryson is going to be hitting it over those.

Q.  Did you have a chance to watch any of the action last week? I’m curious what your thoughts are on how they played 14 specifically on Sunday with it shorter, and would you ever consider doing that for the Memorial?

JACK NICKLAUS: I did not see virtually — I didn’t see much of the golf tournament. Never saw them play 14. I know they played it up three of the four days. They’ve asked me if we could play it up one day this week, and I said, sure, I have no problem having that being a drivable par-4 if that’s part of what you want to do in the round. It’s okay with me.

The hole is probably my favorite hole on the golf course because of how you really have to play it. I’ve actually made three 2s on the hole, so I’ve had a little bit of success. But I made one 2 from the fairway, two from driving the ball up off the side of the green. Not in a tournament, but I have done that.

I don’t know, I think 14, it’s a little different. And the distance these guys hit it, they’ve been hitting it at the green from the back tee, so I don’t know.

You had a two-part question, I think. Oh, how much have I seen of the guys that played last week? I had a little bit of an “oops” last week myself. We were getting up here, we scheduled our flight to get up here because I wanted to see — congratulate the winner in the locker room at 6:00, and of course then they moved up the tee times, and that didn’t work out. So we were getting on an airplane at 2:00 which is when we were coming up here, and just as we were getting ready to take off, the first hole of the playoff, Justin Thomas holes that big long putt. Well, I saw the putt. We didn’t see Morikawa’s putt.

Barbara and I both texted Justin and said to him, wow, what a fantastic putt, unbelievable fantastic super putt, can’t believe that you made that putt. Now you’ve got the chance to win two in a row. And then we got up in the air, and we picked up wi-fi after 10,000 feet, and we found out Morikawa won the tournament, and so I had to send him another text and say, Oops, a little premature.

He was good about it. He texted back and he said, All’s good, it’s okay. He was good about it, and Morikawa, what a pretty golf swing he’s got. You know, obviously to hole that putt behind Thomas was something pretty special. But I didn’t see a lot of it.

Q.Just to follow up on that, what would your advice be to J.T. to get over something like that?

JACK NICKLAUS: He won’t have any problem getting over it. He’s got his head screwed on properly and his feet on the ground. He knows that you get beat sometimes even when you play well and do the right things or even when you make a mistake. He knew he had a chance on the second playoff hole, what did he have, about an eight-footer, something like that? So he understands that. And sometimes you give your best effort and you just get beat, and that’s about what looked like happened. I think J.T. will be right there again this week.

Q.Just following up on the fans question, do you think not having fans at majors this year will or would affect the competition in terms of the pressure and who can win?

JACK NICKLAUS: I don’t know. Have all the majors declared no fans? I don’t know.

Q.Not yet.

JACK NICKLAUS: Oh, okay, because I hadn’t heard that. Will it make a difference? I think it always makes a little bit of difference. It depends on the individual. Some people do feed off of people. Some golfers do. And I said earlier, I said, it was part of me, I was so used to it. I never really fed that much off of it, but sometimes you get a gallery that sort of pushes you on like at Masters in ’86 or Baltusrol in ’80 or St. Andrews in ’78. The gallery was part of that for me.

But still, I was working so hard on trying to do what I had to do and concentrating on my golf game that that’s where my focus was. It was not on the people.

But I think fans do make a difference, but yeah, we played a lot of college golf and amateur golf where we had some exciting matches and exciting tournaments without anybody watching.

Q.Jack, a lot of the players have told me one of their favorite memories was shaking your hand after they won the tournament, but in this day and age have you thought about what you might do instead of the handshake?

JACK NICKLAUS: I’m going to shake their hand. I going to walk right out there and shake your hand. If they don’t want to shake my hand, that’s fine, I’ll give them a fist bump or an elbow bump, but I’m not going to give them COVID-19, so that’s — I wouldn’t put anybody in that position. I wouldn’t do that, and if I was in any danger of doing that, I wouldn’t shake their hands.

And incidentally, I like shaking their hand, too. I think that’s a great tradition, but it was as much fun for me as I hope it is for them.

THE MODERATOR: That’s all we have for now, so I appreciate your time coming in, and thanks for hosting us at the 45th edition of the Memorial. Look forward to a great tournament.

(Transcript by ASAP Sports)

Categories
European Tour

Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos completes three-event Iberian Swing

Open de Portugal: Another tournament for the "Iberian Swing".(Photo: Getty)

The Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos will return to the European Tour schedule as a dual ranking event on September 17-20, completing a three-event “Iberian Swing” with the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters and the Portugal Masters.

The tournament at Royal Óbidos Spa & Golf Resort in Óbidos was already confirmed as part of the European Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca for the third consecutive year and will now return to the European Tour for the first time since 2017. 

Strategy of regional clusters


Following the strategy of playing events on the reshaped 2020 Race to Dubai in regional clusters, the Open de Portugal at Royal Obidos follows the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters at Real Club Valderrama in Sotogrande, Spain, on September 3-6 and the Portugal Masters at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course, Vilamoura, on September 10-13.

The 58th edition of the historic event will be promoted by the Portuguese Golf Federation and moves to Royal Óbidos Spa & Golf Resort – a Seve Ballesteros design – for the first time. 

First played in 1973, the tournament boasts an impressive list of winners including Sam Torrance in 1982 and 1983, Colin Montgomerie in 1989, Miguel Angel Jiménez in 2004 and Thomas Bjørn in 2010. 

Matt Wallace claimed the first of his four European Tour wins the last time the Open de Portugal was part of the Race to Dubai in 2017, while Dimitrios Papadatos and Adrian Meronk claimed their first Challenge Tour victories at the event in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

Ben Cowen, the European Tour’s Deputy Chief Operating Officer, said: “In planning the reshaped 2020 Race to Dubai, part of our measured approach has been to play, where possible, in clusters in one region or territory. 

“Adding the Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos as a dual ranking event creates a three tournament “Iberian Swing” for players on the European Tour, and delivers further good news for Challenge Tour members as the event remains on the Road to Mallorca for a third consecutive season, with an increased prize fund of €500,000. 

One of the most interesting golf destinations in Portugal

“We are grateful to our partners at the Portuguese Golf Federation and Royal Óbidos Spa & Golf Resort for working with us to feature this event on both the Challenge Tour and European Tour.”

Miguel Franco de Sousa, President of the Portuguese Golf Federation, said: “We are very happy to secure another dual ranking Open de Portugal which moves to Royal Óbidos for the next three years. This region offers a variety of courses making it a very interesting golf destination in Portugal. We believe that Royal Óbidos, a Seve Ballesteros design, will be a good test of golf for both European and Challenge Tour players.

“This event shows our strong commitment to work closely with the European Tour in order to promote Portugal as one of the best golf destinations in the world, on one end and, on the other, to provide playing opportunities to our playing professionals, especially in this difficult season with very few tournaments being played.”

The European Tour returned this week with the Austrian Open, the first of two dual-ranking events in Austria, followed by the Euram Bank Open. The new six event UK Swing is next before the action moves to Spain and Portugal.

All tournaments in the reshaped 2020 season will be governed by the Tour’s comprehensive Health Strategy, which has been developed by Chief Medical Officer Dr Andrew Murray in consultation with health care specialists Cignpost and advisors in many of the 30 countries in which the European Tour plays.

They will also be underpinned by the European Tour’s new ‘Golf for Good’ initiative which aims to support communities where the European Tour plays, reward true heroes, such as frontline workers, and promote the many health benefits that golf offers.

(Press Release European Tour)

Categories
Highlights Tours

Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup rescheduled for 2021 and 2022 respectively

The 2020 Ryder Cup is postponed until next year. (Picture: Getty)

The PGA of America, Ryder Cup Europe and the PGA Tour jointly announced today that both The Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup have been rescheduled and will now be played one year later than originally planned. 

The 43rd Ryder Cup, scheduled for the week of September 22-27 at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin, has been rescheduled for the week of September 21-26, 2021. 

Ryder Cup rescheduled

Likewise, the 2021 Presidents Cup, initially scheduled for September 30-October 3, 2021 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, will now be played September 19-25, 2022.

Additionally, as a result of the Presidents Cup date change, the Wells Fargo Championship will be played at its traditional venue at Quail Hollow in 2021 and at TPC Potomac in 2022, during Presidents Cup year.

The decision to reschedule The Ryder Cup was made based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and in conjunction with the state of Wisconsin and Sheboygan County, with the health and well-being of all involved as the top priority.

“Unlike other major sporting events that are played in existing stadiums, we had to make a decision now about building facilities to host The 2020 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits,” said PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh.

“It became clear that as of today, our medical experts and the public authorities in Wisconsin could not give us certainty that conducting an event responsibly with thousands of spectators in September would be possible. Given that uncertainty, we knew rescheduling was the right call.

“We are grateful to Commissioner Jay Monahan and our partners at the PGA TOUR for their flexibility and generosity in the complex task of shifting the global golf calendar.

“As disappointing as this is, our mandate to do all we can to safeguard public health is what matters most. The spectators who support both the U.S. and European sides are what make The Ryder Cup such a unique and compelling event and playing without them was not a realistic option.

“We stand united with our partners from Ryder Cup Europe, the NBC Sports Group, Sky and our other broadcast partners around the world. We look forward to delivering The Ryder Cup’s renowned pageantry, emotion and competitive drama to a global audience in 2021.”

Presidents Cup is also postponed

Guy Kinnings, Europe’s Ryder Cup Director, said: “The Ryder Cup is rightly celebrated as one of the world’s greatest sporting occasions, made special and totally unique in our sport by the fervent atmosphere created by the passionate spectators of both sides.

“While that point is significant, it is not as important as the health of the spectators which, in these difficult times, is always the main consideration. We considered all options including playing with a limited attendance but all our stakeholders agreed this would dilute the magic of this great occasion.

“We therefore stand beside our partners at the PGA of America in the decision to postpone The Ryder Cup for a year and join with them in extending our thanks to the PGA Tour for their willingness to help by moving the date of the Presidents Cup.

“We also thank NBC, Sky and our many broadcast partners around the globe, in addition to the worldwide partners of this great event, whose support and commitment are second to none.”

With the decision to play The 2020 Ryder Cup in September 2021, all subsequent Ryder Cups after Whistling Straits will also shift to odd years: 2023/Marco Simone Golf and Country Club (Rome, Italy); 2025/Bethpage Black (Farmingdale, New York); 2027/Adare Manor (County Limerick, Ireland); 2029/Hazeltine National Golf Club (Chaska, Minnesota); 2031/Europe (to be determined); 2033/The Olympic Club (San Francisco); 2035/Europe (to be determined); 2037/Congressional Country Club (Bethesda, Maryland).

Off the momentum of the 2019 Presidents Cup played in Melbourne, Australia, the 14th playing of the Presidents Cup, will now be hosted for the first time in the Southeast United States at Quail Hollow Club in 2022. 

“These two premier international team events are lifted by the spirit of the fans,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan. “With the uncertainty of the current climate, we fully support The Ryder Cup’s decision to delay a year in order to ensure fans could be a part of the incredible atmosphere in Wisconsin, and the delay of this year’s Presidents Cup was the right decision in order to allow for that option. 

“We are thankful that our global partners, our friends at Quail Hollow Club and all associated with the Presidents Cup and the Junior Presidents Cup have approached this change with a unified, positive spirit. We are confident the move will give us even more runway as we bring the Presidents Cup to Charlotte in 2022.”

(Text: European Tour)