Category: Team USA

PGA Tour: Bryson DeChambeau Recaps T4 Finish at 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Post author By Golf Post
Post date March 9, 2020

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 08: Bryson DeChambeau of the United States checks his yardage book on the second green during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 08, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Bryson Dechambeau speaks with the media following the conclusion of the final round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in which he finished in solo 4th place, 3 strokes behind the winner.

PGA Tour: Bryson DeChambeau talks Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship Prep

Q. Gutsy shot out of the rough there at 18. I said on the air this 13-footer’s not going to be short. It was dead in the heart, the big upper cut when it went in. How much fun was that finish for you?
BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Well, you know, I was trying to hit it in the fairway, obviously, and that was my goal. Unfortunately, I blocked it right. Just lost, in the last few holes today, there was a few holes where it just went right on me and I wasn’t really totally comfortable with the driver like I was the first three days. And I was lucky enough to get a really good lie in the right rough and I said, You know, what, I can go for it. And I was trying to go over the green into the rough and try and chip it or something like that. And I absolutely blocked the heck out of it. It came out a little dead, and I’m like, This is going in the water. And luckily it bounced a yard over and rolled up there perfectly and had a 13-footer and I took advantage of the good situation.

Q. A couple notes. There’s only been five birdies yesterday and today at 18. You got two of them. You’re the first player to post an under par round today. How difficult was it again today?
BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Oh, man, I mean, this definitely tested every aspect of your game and you had to be driving it well. I think I drove it pretty well this week, besides a couple holes out here today. And for me that’s a true testament of how hard I’ve been working on my driving to get it right, and then iron play is getting slowly better, and putting, I’m still not there with. I had two 3-putts today and that really was the deciding factor for the total round of shooting a deep one out there today. But at the same point in time, I’m going to take a lot of good positives away from this and go into the PLAYERS with some great momentum.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

Q. Your confidence level, state of your game as you go to the PLAYERS this coming week.
BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: We’re going to work on some wedging stuff. I didn’t wedge it my best this week. Had a couple oopsies on the first couple rounds. And the putter, doing something pretty unique with the putter next week. Hopefully it will come in and we’ll have it ready and that will get me up to another level.

Q. Excellent way to cap off a challenging week. If we can get some comments.
BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Challenging is an understatement. It was difficult. Everybody out here, I think struggled in some facet or another, and you just had to overcome some of those obstacles. And I was able to get a couple good breaks coming down the stretch and played some really good golf and rolled it really well. When the opportunities presented itself, I took advantage as much as possible and had a couple lucky putts go in. I’m happy about that.

Q. When you take a look at the leaderboard not a lot of Americans are on there, top of the leaderboard, but you’re there. What’s been, do you think there’s an issue right now with kind of the —
BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: I don’t know. I don’t think it’s an issue. I think it’s just a different style of play. And personally, for me, I’m all about having a fair test. If you look at a situation and you go, Okay, how do you test — let’s just take this for example. Who is the smartest person in the world? How do you make a test for that, right? Well, you certainly don’t give them a test that’s 2 plus 2. And you certainly don’t give them something that we don’t understand yet, like how — what is gravity? So we need to have a fair test out there and I think that’s what we’re kind of struggling with a little bit. I think a lot of players struggled with that out there today, that just, there was some holes you just couldn’t hold greens. Like on 15 I hit a wedge shot from the intermediate or the first cut, and it bounced in the first half of the green and rolled all the way over the back. There was no way of stopping it. So at some point the physics stop working and I don’t think it’s a true test of who is better. You have to get a little lucky out there and I was fortunate enough to get lucky out there on the back nine. I was pleased with the way I held my attitude and I was able to be positive out there and just keep executing good shots.

Q. Did you kind of, you guys, the Americans, kind of talk about how just how the game’s kind of evolved? I mean, it’s always been kind of a global game but lately you seem to have more Europeans, like Sungjae Im and these younger Koreans. Do you guys kind of talk about just kind of how the game’s kind of grown, how you kind of get like the Americans involved a little bit more?
BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: I think we’re still involved. You look at the top-10 in the world, there’s still quite a bit of Americans in there. And the style of golf is sometimes difficult. If you got, if you have Europeans out there that have been playing links-style golf, this is more like links-style golf, so they’re going to be more comfortable out there. And for me I do like links-style golf, so I was able to play well out there today. But to get Americans back on the leaderboard I think is just a coincidental thing, I think we’re just as good.

Q. Do you go to Sawgrass next week looking for a bit of respite after these days or do you think it’s going to be much the same another sort of torture test?
BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: I hope it’s not a torture test. We have had some grueling tests over the last couple weeks at least the guys from Honda they told me it was brutal. And for me I hope it’s a good test, I hope it’s a fair test.

Q. How big was that shot on 18?
BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Oh, I totally blocked it. I thought it wasn’t going to get over. Look, I was a yard over the first cut and you got a wind that’s doing this, you just, you don’t know. It was complete luck and I’m happy it got over and I’m happy I was able to take advantage of the situation.

Orlando, Florida

March 8, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Tags Bryson DeChambeau, live-pga-tour

Team USA

PGA Tour: Brooks Koepka Revisits Disappointing T47 Finish at The Arnold Palmer Invitational

Post author By Golf Post
Post date March 9, 2020

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 05: Brooks Koepka of the United States reacts on the 11th green during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 05, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

PGA Tour professional Brooks Koepka speaks with the media following a disappointing performance at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational in which he managed to shoot under par in only one round, leading to a T47 finish

PGA Tour: Brooks Koepka talks to the media following conclusion of The Arnold Palmer Invitational

Q. How would you quantify the difference between today and yesterday just condition-wise?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Condition-wise it’s a lot easier today. Today’s definitely way more gettable. It was starting to pick up there on 16, 17, 18, but it wasn’t, I mean, it’s not nearly as bad as it was yesterday. Yesterday was probably one of the harder rounds I think, definitely in the top 10 you played, I played out here.

Q. How did you play today compared to yesterday?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Still shi*t. Still sh*t. Putting better.

Q. You probably can’t say that on the podium.
BROOKS KOEPKA: Well, fine me.

I found something with my putting, so my putting, the touch is back. I feel very confident with that. But still close on the swing, sometimes it’s there and then sometimes it’s not.

Q. What did you find?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Just putting? Just a little bit maybe rhythm, I think. My speed’s been terrible, that’s why, I don’t know, I’ve 3-putted every — you saw it on 1, it just wasn’t — I felt good yesterday. I felt good leaving the golf course putting and then 1 just a little hiccup there. But I mean, other than that I felt my pace and line were pretty good, which I haven’t seen some putts go in, like 16 like that putt hasn’t been going in so it’s nice to see a few of them drop. And I’m pleased the way I’m putting it, short game’s good. I just need to figure out the long game.

Q. Do you like this idea of what you’ve got going schedule-wise, playing week after week?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Not really. No, to tell you the truth. I mean, I would never play more than three weeks in a row. But obviously sometimes things happen and the only way I see getting through this is playing. That’s my way of trying to grind and work it out and figure it out. I mean, every year we have come — I don’t know how far back, to 2016 all the way through the Match Play has been terrible. So I don’t know what it is about these first three months of the year but I struggle quite a bit.

Q. Is there any concern of playing golf out there when you don’t want to be out there? Is your head not there?
BROOKS KOEPKA: No, I want to be out there. I definitely want to be out there. I mean, listen, after I’ve played here I’ve gone to Nona and gone and beat balls until it was dark. We were hitting, Rickie had the camera phone out and was shining it about 2 feet above the ground just to, the depth perception gets off when it’s so dark. And every day we’re grinding, practicing, trying to figure it out and eventually all the hard work’s going to pay off, it’s just a matter of how quick it’s going to turn.

Q. Do you remember much about Innisbrook, Valspar?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I played it, I think once out here on TOUR but I played it, I mean, growing up in Florida we played a bunch of tournaments on it. Junior amateur stuff. So I’ve played it quite a bit. I know it. It’s a tough golf course. That’s also why I wanted to play this week. I thought it was going to be tougher. Scoring is not going to be very high or very low, I guess, and that’s kind of one of the reasons why I wanted to play. I felt like — I play my best golf on tough courses, so I thought maybe I would find it there.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

Q. Do you take something away from the week that you build on? Other than the putting part, are there things you can just see?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Listen, it’s coming together piece by piece. So the way I see it, the putting hasn’t quite been there, the touch hasn’t been there, but now that I found that, I found a little bit of rhythm there, just build on that. I think I’m very pleased with short game, very pleased. And that was kind of the part that’s been, that felt really far away, where this week it was kind of a flip-flop. Long game, I don’t know, it feels so unorthodox and, but it will come. It’s only a matter of time.

Q. Can you make a lot out of little sparks when have you a run of golf like this?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, it’s amazing. I’ve been through a spell like this and I remember, I can’t remember if it was 2017, I think it was, at Match Play, and I, one swing and it was like, boom, off and running. You find that one feeling and sometimes that’s why I think it’s important to play or to get out there. You can stand on the range all day and do it, but when you get out there and start playing is when — I don’t want to say it was messing around today, but it was more of just trying to feel shots and feel different things and, okay, is this working, is this not. Not so much an experiment but kind of, if that makes sense, just to see if different shot shapes, what, am I hitting a little controlled fade, my little fairway finder, it’s a lower fade. High draw. Trying to figure out what shot shape feels good and go with that.

Q. Can you remember what shot it was?
BROOKS KOEPKA: It was during a practice round. I think it was the year — I don’t know what year I made it, maybe ’15 during the quarters or something like that. I just remember in the practice round, was it 16, the par-5? I remember that on the tee, just it clicking, whatever it was, and just found it and built a pretty good year off it. I think it was ’17, I don’t know. But, yeah, it’s amazing. Just one swing sometimes.

Q. How important is it getting back to No. 1 in the world for you?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I mean, yeah, it’s important, you would like to, but if you play like this, you got a long way to go.

Q. All the talk about distance, roll backs, all that stuff. What do the last two weeks say, given the scores and the difficulty about that whole belief?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Listen, they can roll the ball back all they want the long hitters are still going to be the long hitters. The way I see it, I remember Nicklaus hit a, I don’t remember what year it was, but he drove the green at St. Andrews at 18. Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. So how much further has the ball gone?

Q. But the difficulty down here I mean was it —
BROOKS KOEPKA: What I’m saying is, if he was able to drive the green, yeah, he probably got a good bounce and it rolled on, but still at the end of the day, I mean, we’re on that back tee with no wind and pounding drivers and still come up a little short. So I don’t think the issue of rolling the ball back — I think long hitters are going to be still long and the short hitters, you know, no disrespect to guys like Fred Funk or stuff like that, but you don’t, guys don’t have a hundred mile an hour club speed anymore, everybody’s got a 120. So obviously it’s going to go further. They roll the ball back, I think if you want to grow the game you’re not going to be able to grow the game. I mean that’s, as a little kid, trying to be interested in the game, that’s all you want to do. The reason I started playing was because you see it go 60 yards, 70 yards and, wow, this is cool I’m actually hitting it far. Because you watch your parents or you watch your friends or whatever it might be, they’re bombing it out there and as a little kid you want to feel like you’re hitting it far. But if you’re only hitting it 30 yards it’s not very fun.

Orlando, Florida

March 8, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Tags Arnold Palmer Invitational, Brooks Koepka

Team USA

PGA Tour: Arnold Palmer Invitational Leader Matt Every Speaks With the Media Following Round 1

Post author By Golf Post
Post date March 6, 2020

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 05: Matt Every of the United States reacts after his birdie during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 05, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Two-time Arnold Palmer Invitational winner Matt Every addresses the media following an opening round 65, taking a one stroke overnight lead over Rory McIlroy.

PGA Tour: Matt Every addresses the media after capturing overnight lead at 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational

THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome Matt Every to the interview room. Matt, great playing out there. What was clicking for you so well?

MATT EVERY: Everything, really. I just played pretty good. At the start of the day, I just didn’t want to shoot myself out of the tournament with the weather the way it was, but I got off to a good start. The putter actually was a little shaky. It’s always a little shaky, but it was a little shaky to start. I didn’t really make anything and then I made a nice par save on 14 and then I started making some putts after that, and it just worked out. It was a good day for me.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

THE MODERATOR: You’ve obviously had a lot of success here in the past. What about this course kind of suits your eye?

MATT EVERY: I don’t really — I actually think it’s probably a drawer’s course, but I’m more of a — I like to work it left-to-right. I think, if anything, it kind of forces me off the tee to — there’s a lot of holes here where it’s iron off the tee and so I’m going to be hitting out of the fairway and my strength is probably my irons. So, and maybe it gives me more opportunities. I don’t know, but something.

THE MODERATOR: Open it up for some questions here.

Q. So when did you kind of know it was your day? I mean, on the front nine you made, like, three putts that were, like, bombs.
MATT EVERY: Yeah. Well, I’m not apologizing for that. Probably on the second hole, I made a really long one and I wasn’t — those are just luck, especially when it’s windy out and these greens are pretty crusty already. You’re just, they’re, I mean, you know, I think it was probably like a 40- or 50-footer that broke 6 feet and the wind’s blowing and I’m just trying to get down in two. Things like that happen when you have good days and — probably on No. 2.

Q. What’s the key to, like, your mentality, just to kind of build on this? And I know you’ve had your share of struggles. How do you just keep it moving forward?
MATT EVERY: Well, my short-term memory isn’t very good, so that is a strength sometimes. And I just, I don’t know, I’ll be all right. I mean, either way it’s crazy how much this game can affect like your life — or not your life but just the way you, maybe your mindset or whatever. But it’s going to be all right either way no matter what I shoot tomorrow. But I think I’m going to be all right this week. I’m hitting it really good. We’ll see. It’s only Thursday — it’s Thursday though, I know, and there’s a lot of golf left.

Q. What kind of frame of mind did you leave Honda in? And knowing you’re coming here, did it help?
MATT EVERY: Probably a little bit. I left Honda — I actually flew up to see my coach on Saturday after Honda. Something was off and I bent my irons, like, two degrees upright, a little change in my swing, and I was back, and, you know, it was night and day. And then all week here it’s been really good on the course and on the range and those days don’t really, those days don’t count, but it did translate over and that’s nice to see.

Q. When you first came to Bay Hill however many years ago, was it a course that you always kind of felt fit your game or did it take some time?
MATT EVERY: No, like, well, when I first came here, my dad used to bring me here. I never really thought about playing it. But yeah, even before I won I probably played here a few times before it and I don’t think I like lit the world on fire here. It wasn’t — I might have had like a 30th or something, but it’s — I don’t know what it is. It just works out here sometimes.

Q. The record will show that you were 20 shots better than the last round of golf you played on the PGA TOUR. What do you think of that?
MATT EVERY: I think it’s, I think it’s awesome. I wouldn’t read too much into that last round.

Q. A little skewed —
MATT EVERY: Yeah, I mean there was a hole last week, where, the way I was hitting it, I could have just — yeah, I wouldn’t read too much into it.

Q. I mean, there’s one hole you made an 11. Just curious, what happened on that? Were you just —
MATT EVERY: No, so, okay, I’ll tell you what happened. It was a back left pin. I was already going to miss the cut. It was — the wind was off the right. I had been having problems all week holding the wind and I’m, and I normally can hold the wind. And I’m not going to learn anything by skanking one out to the right and bailing out. I know I can do that. So I wasn’t leaving that tee until I hit the shot I wanted and I flushed every one of them, like, exactly in the same spot in the water. And then finally I hit one that held it. But, yeah, that’s just —

Q. You hit, what, a 4-iron?
MATT EVERY: I hit four 5-irons and then one 4-iron.

Q. What took you four shots to go to the 4?
MATT EVERY: I think I had like two balls left and it was, I just didn’t want to have to deal with that talking about, you know, it’s just — I was ready to get out of there.

Q. But you finished.
MATT EVERY: I did, yeah.

Q. This is going to sound like a really vague question, but what’s your attitude like?
MATT EVERY: Right now?

Q. Yeah. Is it good?
MATT EVERY: It’s all right. My year hasn’t been great. I’ve had some back issues all year, really. The warm weather helps big time. It sucks having those. You know it’s there in the back of your head and some days are better than others, but.

Q. Is it low back?
MATT EVERY: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But my attitude’s pretty good, though. Like, as a whole this year, it’s been really good. I think it’s good all the time now. I mean, I get angry but who doesn’t get angry?

Q. I don’t want to take anything away from your round but when you teed up this morning, probably Rory is in the clubhouse at 6-under. What is it like when you see a guy like the world No. 1 on top of the leaderboard and like years ago we always used to see Tiger on the top of the leaderboard. Is there an extra incentive in teeing up when you see a guy like Rory up there to try and match that score?
MATT EVERY: Well, when I teed it up today, I was, I swear, I was just trying not to shoot myself out of the tournament. It was — and that’s just the truth. It was pumping and it’s not easy. But clipped Rory by one today.

Q. You had bogey-free today. You were bogey-free, I saw, at Spyglass during Pebble Beach. Do you feel like your game has started to turn the corner in a way?
MATT EVERY: Well, I always feel like my good stuff has been really, is really, really good. There’s just no, like, middle ground with me, though. That’s the problem. It’s, like, either ragged or really good. I don’t know if I’ll ever be like Mr. Consistent out here. I don’t know if I have that in me. Like, I don’t know if I have the mental makeup to do that. It’s just not really who I am. I don’t know. But, yeah, I feel good about my game right now.

Q. Do you still think of this as your home game or is PLAYERS or —
MATT EVERY: Well, probably here. I mean, I moved. I live in Jacksonville now, but I’ve had way more success here than TPC, that’s for sure. And here it feels like — like, TPC is the TOUR’s thing. This feels like, I don’t know, just feels different. There’s a ton of guys. You know what I’m saying? I guess there’s a ton of guys that live in Orlando it too, but there’s not a lot of guys that are from Florida. Like, a lot of guys move here, but I don’t know. Stop thinking so hard.

Q. I need to be more like you.
What was the best shot of the day?

MATT EVERY: 16. I caught a really big gust. It started to like really gust on the tee. I probably should have backed off and I hit a really good drive, but it just got clobbered and I had like 220-something into the hole, and I hit a 3-wood. It was straight into the wind and I hit a really good 3-wood to probably, like, 12 feet. That was the best one, I thought.

Q. Were you pissed when you missed the putt?
MATT EVERY: I expected to miss it, to be honest.

Q. Why?
MATT EVERY: Just because that’s what I do. I miss those.

Q. But it’s still interesting and I’m kind of rehashing here, but you haven’t really, since Dallas probably, I would have to look it up, which was a really nice run, done anything and then you show up and boom, 65. Should we expect it because it’s Matt Every at Bay Hill?
MATT EVERY: No, see, I don’t think that either, though. That’s too much thinking for me to do right now.

Q. I over did it too, apparently. And lastly, just kind of in house cleaning, are you at — where are you with any type of a TUE coming off the thing from last year? Are you at peace with that? Have you sorted that out? What have you got going?
MATT EVERY: Well, I think actually after Dallas, you know, that was, it’s not like — when that stuff comes out it’s not like it just happens right then. That had been going on for awhile. And it was probably in the back of my mind a little bit and affected my game a little. I have applied for one and I’ve been denied. I might a play again. I don’t know yet.

Q. Do you know why you were denied?
MATT EVERY: It’s not FDA approved. There’s a lot of reasons, I’m sure. Oh, I know. Xanax is way safer to take than THC, so that’s, that’s probably one of the reasons. But — that was a joke. But it’s not — look, I am at peace with it. I don’t, it doesn’t bother me at all. Well, I change my mind. Actually, no, that’s wrong. It bothers me that it’s even an issue out here at all. I think it doesn’t do anybody any favors that it’s even on the list for a prohibited substances. You could fail for heroin and marijuana and the penalty is the same. If anyone wants to make the argument that that is performance enhancing, they have never done it before. I promise it’s not. It’s just — I don’t know. It’s just — I think, I think it would be really cool if — I know the NHL has taken some steps and a couple other, the MLB has, the — what, the NFL just had their, what do you call it?

Q. CBA.
MATT EVERY: Yeah. And they have talked about it. I think it would be cool if we were proactive about it and made some changes. I, you know, anxiety is a real thing and the way I treat it — like, I know I treat it the healthiest way possible for my body. And but WADA doesn’t think so and the TOUR goes by what WADA says. So it’s really silly, to be honest. It’s really silly. Now I’m kind of fired up about it, so I’m going to stop talking now.

Q. A little bit along those lines, one by one states — it’s becoming legalized in states now —
MATT EVERY: Right.

Q. — so is that part of what you’re, it’s kind of part of the point you’re making, is it not?
MATT EVERY: A little bit. I think it’s — look, I don’t want — I’m not in this for attention. I don’t want to have social media, like, this is, it’s about me, to be honest. I don’t — yeah, it’s decriminalized in, like, 41 states, I think. I don’t want to be a spokesperson for it. I’m not into that. I also, you know, I’ve tried other, other options, CBD oil, whatever. Snake oil. I mean, CBD oil. Whatever. So I know what works for me. You know, I’ve had to dial back a little bit, but it is what it is.

Q. Is there anything you can — you know, what do you do, I guess, not being able to do what you want to do? You know what I mean?
MATT EVERY: Sure. So there’s levels — well geez, this got, this took, took a turn (Laughing.)

So, there’s levels — here’s the other thing that’s weird. The cutoff for THC is 150 nanograms. So you could have, you know, let’s just — we’ll use me. If I get tested and I have, and I’m at 145, good to go. If I’m at 155, I’m a drug abuser. That’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous. Yeah.

THE MODERATOR: All right, Matt, thanks for the time, we’ll wrap it up. Great playing today.

Orlando, Florida

March 5, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Tags Arnold Palmer Invitational, Matt Every, Professionals

Team USA

PGA Tour: Brooks Koepka Talks Disappointing Even Par Opening Round at The Arnold Palmer Invitational

Post author By Golf Post
Post date March 6, 2020

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 05: Brooks Koepka of the United States plays his shot from the 12th tee during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 05, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

PGA Tour professional and four-time major champion Brooks Koepka Addresses the media following a somewhat disappointing opening round 72 at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational

PGA Tour: Brooks Koepka recaps even par round 1 at The Arnold Palmer Invitational

Q. Your takeaway from today?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Even par. Nothing to get excited about. Nothing to rave about. It’s not far off, but it’s still, it’s annoying.

Q. Was it putting? Putts not going in?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Well, the par-3, 14, you got 25 feet for birdie, hit a good shot in there and then walk away with bogey, 3-putt. Just shots where I know if I’m in rhythm, it’s not, it’s going to be tight. Still not, just not capitalizing on anything. Turning what should be a routine 4 or par or whatever into a bogey and, well, it’s just not all there.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Leaderboard

Q. Are you pressing at all or feeling like you’re pressing?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I just work through it. That’s why I’m playing this week. I wasn’t going to be here. I’m trying to figure it out. So it’s close, it’s not far away.

Q. What are you trying to figure out?
BROOKS KOEPKA: How to play golf.

Q. How long a session do you figure you’ll be out here working with your coach?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Not too long. It’s windy. I felt like I hit it all right. The last couple holes just kind of got away from me, but it shouldn’t be too long. Like I said, it’s close. It’s not far away. But it has nothing to do with out here. I can hit it great out here. It’s about when the gun goes off. I played great yesterday, hit it great on the range. It’s when the gun goes off.

Q. How is the course playing?
BROOKS KOEPKA: It’s playing all right. The rough’s obviously up from what it’s been in years past. Greens are a little bit, got a little bit of trampoline affect to them, you know, on your chips. Can’t really spin them. But the greens are rolling pretty good, so the course has held up pretty well.

Q. What do you think about Florida State’s new football coach?
BROOKS KOEPKA: They got a longer way to go than I do. They got a longer way. So they’re, they have got a few years. Hopefully mine doesn’t take that long.

Q. Have you been in this position before? And if so, did you learn anything working your way through it last time?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, you can look at my results for the past three years, all the way through until about Match Play is when I started playing. I just feel like I’m playing good. That’s why it’s so frustrating. Before I felt like I played terrible and the scores have been terrible. So it’s not — last year at Honda was kind of a shock. I thought I was playing bad and ended up finishing second. That was the only good one. Years before it hasn’t been very good this time of year and I feel like I’m playing way better than what I’m shooting.

Q. (No Microphone.)
BROOKS KOEPKA: It is what it is, man. I’m still trying my ass off. I can promise you that.

Q. What’s your opinion on the new proposed golf league, the Premier League?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I said it like 10 times, I said I’m going to play where the best players play, simple as.

Orlando, Florida

March 5, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Tags Arnold Palmer Invitational, Brooks Koepka, Professionals

Team USA

PGA Tour: Brandon Matthews Speaks on Sponsor’s Exemption Into 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Post author By Golf Post
Post date March 4, 2020

LAKEWOOD RANCH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 15: Brandon Matthews watches his tee shot on the second hole during the second round of the LECOM Suncoast Classic at Lakewood National Golf Club on February 15, 2019 in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

Latin America Tour Player Brandon Matthews speaks to the media on what it means to him to receive a special sponsors exemption for his actions at last year’s Latin America event in which a special needs child had accidentally yelled in his backswing.

PGA Tour: Brandon Matthews previews 2020 Arnold after receiving special sponsor’s exemption

THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome Brandon Matthews to the interview room. Brandon, you’re competing this week on a sponsor exemption. Can you just give us some comments ahead of your first PGA TOUR start.

BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, it’s going to be a pretty cool week. Really excited. Really fortunate to be able to get this exemption, especially here. Mr. Palmer’s event, obviously, we have some ties back from Pennsylvania, and to be considered for this and then get this is pretty special.

THE MODERATOR: Going back to Argentina, can you just comment on that moment and how were you able to handle that so well?

BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, I mean, it was obviously a tough situation. I was frustrated at first, didn’t understand the full circumstances behind it. But once I did it was a pretty easy situation for me to handle because of the fact that my mom used to work in group homes and I was around that kind of stuff my entire childhood. My best friend’s little sister has Down syndrome. So I saw it on a daily basis and I just kind of have a special place in my heart for it.

THE MODERATOR: You mentioned it’s your first PGA TOUR start this week. Where would you say your game’s at right now?

BRANDON MATTHEWS: I feel like it’s pretty good. I’m really excited to be out here. I feel like I can compete on a daily basis out here. So if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be doing this. So really excited for this week and see how my game stacks up.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for some questions.

2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Tee Times and Leaderboard

Q. Just was curious what your reaction was to the reaction about how you handled everything like that. Could you have imagined that it would mushroom to the point where it got the attention that it did?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, I mean, it was overwhelming. I didn’t expect anything from it. It was funny, my one buddy Matt Ryan came up to me afterwards and he goes, Oh, this is going to pick up and stuff. And I said, No, it’s not. We’re in Buenos Aires. Nothing is going to come of this. I’m just happy I was able to make this guy happy and put a smile on his face. So I had no idea that it was going to get as big as it did.

Q. The result of that tournament still helped you advance, correct, to the Korn Ferry this year?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: No.

Q. No, it did not.
BRANDON MATTHEWS: No, it — if I actually won that tournament I would have had a chance to get back on the Korn Ferry TOUR, with a good finish at the finals. But it wasn’t meant to be.

Q. Can you then just talk about where you are and what your goals are for this year, what you’re looking to achieve, obviously beyond this week.
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, I mean, right now I have full status on the Latinoamerica TOUR. I played well down there on 2017, was on the Korn Ferry the last couple years, and, you know, I’m just trying to get better on a daily basis. Try to get my game to the point where I feel like I can win every week. And if I keep getting better on a daily basis, you know, I feel like I’m going to be pretty darn good.

Q. What’s your schedule coming up after this?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, after this, hopefully Valspar, you know, after this. But if I can top 10 here and kind of parlay that, obviously that’s the goal. But if not, like I said, full status on the Latin, so we’re going to kind of get going on that TOUR.

Q. Is this your first start since late last year?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, it is. Since the —

Q. Shell?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, since the Shell Latin American Championship there.

Q. Where was that one?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: That was at Doral.

Q. Okay. In America?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, in America.

Q. Fantastic. What have you been doing the last couple months? Have you tried any four spotting? Have you thought about it?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: A little bit. My mindset over the last couple months was just to get my game to a point that I’ve never gotten it to before with consistency. I’m working with my swing coach, Dale Gray, and it’s been really, really good. I’ve been really happy to see some of the results that I’ve seen, the consistency coming, and I really, really think I can compete out here on a weekly basis. So, excited to see how it stacks up.

Q. What are you expecting this week?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: I’m just going to kind of take it one step at a time. I’m going to focus on that first tee shot and then slowly get into the round and just keep everything right in front of me. Obviously, I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t trying to win the golf tournament. Like I said, a top 10 would obviously go a long way, but I’m kind of looking short-term here and just trying to get some good practice sessions in and focus on that first tee shot.

Q. Let me go back long-term for a minute. What are you looking forward to this week?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Again —

Q. Beside this press conference being over. I’m sorry.
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Of course, of course. Yeah, you know, this week, like I said, just trying to see how my game stacks up, see how ready it is and see where I need to clean up. It’s going to show me a lot this week and I’m looking forward to it. I love this stage. I can’t wait to compete on it.

Q. Your length is well known amongst the people that have been around you. A, where does that come from? And B, have you been trying to kind of, with Dale, trying to harness that a little bit, maybe not take anything back, but just trying to hone it in a little bit and not just be known for your length, so to speak, if that makes any sense.
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, obviously, with how far I hit it it’s a huge advantage to most golf courses that I play. Dale and I have been working really hard to getting consistency and figure out kind of a shot shape, trajectory, everything like that that is going to get the ball in the fairway the most often for me. I think we’re doing a really good job at it. From where it comes from, it’s funny, I find myself telling this story a lot. My dad set me on the red tees when I was like four or five years old on this one course I grew up at, Emanon, it’s like a 5,800-yard golf course. It’s great. And there was a little pond in front of the red tee. It was like, I don’t know, 70 yards to carry. And then I was — I had sat there with a huge bucket of balls just trying to hit it over, just trying to hit it as hard as I can. And as soon as I did, my dad moved me back a tee and then that process kind of repeated itself until I got all the way back. So I feel like that was one of the big reasons why I was blessed with my length, because I kind of grew up just trying to hit it as hard as I can.

Q. Not many people roll in here and say — that have never played on the PGA TOUR and say, I think I can compete out here. So what is it that you’ve done over the last six months, let’s say, that you feel that you can compete out here against these guys?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: I’ve worked my whole life for this. Every time I’ve gotten to, let’s say, a little bit bigger stage, whether it was college, to the Latinoam�rica TOUR, Korn Ferry TOUR, I felt like I was ready. I felt like I was good enough to compete. I have a lot of self-belief in my game. I truly feel like this is where I belong and this is where I need to be.

Q. When you mentioned Valspar a minute ago, are you asking for exemptions or, again, are you looking at any qualifying or —
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, I mean, the Valspar would be just because of a top 10 here, but my agent’s done a fantastic job, Drew Carr, and we’re reaching out to some tournaments. And I’m just so happy to be here, not looking at anything else and, you know, also at the end of the day with — I just didn’t think I was going to get any reaction from what happened, so just to be sitting here today, to be able to compete this week is something that’s really special that I’m very thankful for.

Q. And you played — why have you chosen Latinoam�rica instead of Canada, for example, when you haven’t had Korn Ferry status?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, well, this year I’m very familiar with the TOUR, familiar with some of the golf courses because I played down there in 2017. So I would say back in 2017 I chose it just because of the way people kind of told me to set my schedule. They said Latin’s a little bit better for my game, so on and so forth. Canada is a little bit different. But had success down there in 2017, so I figured why not do it again.

Q. And you played once in Europe. How did that come about?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, that was kind of a crazy little deal. I heard some things from some friends that they were trying to push for me to get a spot and I had a good spring on Latin that year, was kind of doing really well at that point. I think I was second or third on the Money List or something like that. I was fortunate enough to get that start. I mean, I really had no idea really until about the week before that I was going to get it. It was funny, I was in Omaha, Nebraska and I got the phone call, Hey, do you want it play in Germany next week? And I’m like, What? So I looked at my phone, looked on some flights, flew back home, and flew over to Hamburg and — yeah, that was a long travel day there.

Q. Wonder if you could fill us in a little bit on your ties to Pennsylvania and was wondering have you played Latrobe Country Club and have you actually seen the tractor?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Unfortunately, I have not played Latrobe. I haven’t been over to the Western part of Pennsylvania too too much. I’m from kind of the northeast part there, the Scranton Wilkes-Barre area. But like I keep saying, it’s incredible the amount of ties Mr. Palmer had to Pennsylvania, all over. The stories that I hear from a lot of people, it’s amazing. I was just saying this, you know, out of all the years you hear so many Arnold Palmer stories and it’s so amazing that every single one is so positive and that just speaks volumes to his character.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about how, I’m going to say how difficult it is to be a professional golfer now and trying to find your way on a particular TOUR, keep a card, try to progress along to the next TOUR?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah. Yeah, it’s incredible how many people are trying to do it now. It’s great. But it’s hard. These guys are good. Out here, Korn Ferry TOUR. I think almost everyone that plays on the Korn Ferry TOUR’s good enough to compete out here. It’s crazy. The talent level that I’ve seen over the last few years has driven me to work harder, and I mean, I go through a whole day. I grind from five o’clock in the morning until dark, so it’s given me the drive to try to be able to succeed out here.

Q. Two questions: You touched on it a little bit earlier, but just, I’m wondering what qualities that Arnold Palmer had do you most admire? And then the second part of the question is, he had a reputation of always being a good guy. Now you’ve got that reputation of being a good guy. I wonder what that means to you too.
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Like I keep saying, to be mentioned in any kind of light with Mr. Palmer is incredible. I’m very, very humbled by it. I mean, he was the epitome of sportsmanship. Like I just mentioned, you hear all these stories about him and all of them are so positive, it’s incredible. He’s done so much for this game, so much for a lot of people’s lives. He truly did it right.

Q. How did you wind up at Temple?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: How did I wind up at Temple? So, A, a guy, Paul Keating, a member at the club that I was playing at the time, Fox Hill Country Club, kind of mentioned me. I was kind of late — I had never really played AJGA’s or anything like that. I kind of, for whatever reason, stayed away from that. So when I kind of started winning a lot of stuff my junior year of high school, a lot of the colleges came up to me and they’re like, Well, we have already signed our guys. You can come in, walk on, whatever. And fortunately, Brian Quinn, the head coach at Temple University called me, because Paul Keating and him were very good friends, and he gave me the opportunity to play at Temple University and it’s just short ride down the turnpike. It was great. I tell people this all the time. The important thing for me at Temple was I learned how to be a kid too. The time off that I needed to take, because there were a foot of snow on the ground, needed to take off from basically December to March call it, it was good. It was nice to actually be a kid and not go full grind mode. And I got to understand how valuable time off was.

Q. Earlier we heard from Francesco Molinari about how special the Arnold Palmer Invitational is for him. I wanted to find out from you, especially as someone who has played golf from a much younger age, does the Arnold Palmer Invitational hold a special place for you in comparison to some of the other tournaments that you’ve been a part of?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: No question. Obviously being my first PGA TOUR start, this is really, really special. But again, like I keep saying, to be a part of Mr. Palmer’s tournament as my first ever PGA TOUR start is something that I actually can’t really put into words, it’s pretty incredible.

Q. (Question about Pine Valley.)
BRANDON MATTHEWS: We actually did get an invitation one time, we were fortunate enough. That place is pretty special. That property is golf Disneyland.

THE MODERATOR: All right, Brandon, thanks for the time. Best of luck this week.

BRANDON MATTHEWS: Thanks, guys.

Orlando, Florida

March 3, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Tags Arnold Palmer Invitational, Brandon Matthews, Professionals

Team USA

Rickie Fowler To Play Special Edition Taylormade PIX Ball at Arnold Palmer Invitational

Post author By Michael Pazder
Post date March 4, 2020

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 03: A flag rests on a golf bag as seen during a practice round prior to the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 03, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

It has become a yearly routine for PGA Tour professional Rickie Fowler to pay homage to one of the greatest to ever play at the Arnold Palmer Invitational via a collection of special edition Arnold Palmer themed gear including shoes, hats, and bags. For the 2020 edition of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Fowler will be seen playing a special edition Arnold Palmer “umbrella” ball designed by Taylormade. Unfortunately, for the majority of us that would love to purchase this ball, it will be unavailable for retail purchase. Below are pictures of Fowler’s ball that will be in play this week.

Rickie Fowler will begin his 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational on Thursday, March 5 at teeing off at 12:44 Eastern Time alongside Australian Marc Leishman and last week’s winner Korean Sungjae Im.

Tags Arnold Palmer, Rickie Fowler, TaylorMade

Team USA

PGA Tour: Gary Woodland Talks Long Term Success at Honda Classic

Post author By Golf Post
Post date March 2, 2020

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 29: Gary Woodland of the United States lines up a putt on the 14th green during the third round of the Honda Classic at PGA National Resort and Spa Champion course on February 29, 2020 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

PGA Tour professional and US Open Champion Gary Woodland recaps his final round 67 and his consistent success at the Honda Classic, including never missing the cut.

PGA Tour: Gary Woodland speaks to the media upon conclusion of the final round at The Honda Classic

Q. 3-under 67, excellent final round. If we can get some comments.
GARY WOODLAND: Yeah, today I played great. I hit a lot of good putts. It’s as good as I’ve putted it and not made anything, so that was a little frustrating. But any time you can shoot 3-under out here — this golf course is hard. A little frustrated with yesterday. Yesterday I actually played as good as I did all week. Got in a couple sand-filled divots there on 9 and 11 and 13 I think was the other one. I had three or four holes, and I played those holes 5-over, and it cost me the golf tournament.

Outside of that, I can take a lot of positives. Played solid last week, played solid this week, so enjoy a week off and get ready for a big stretch.

Q. Never missed a cut here; what is it about this tournament?
GARY WOODLAND: This is a good golf course. I mean, it’s hard. You’ve got to execute shots. When the wind blows like that, you can flight shots, and I enjoy flighting shots. I enjoy hitting the ball low. And today I executed great. It’s nice to sleep in your own bed. I wish I would have putted a little better overall, but I’m excited with where I’m headed.

2020 Honda Classic Full Leaderboard

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

March 1, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Tags Gary Woodland, Professionals, The Honda Classic

Team USA

PGA Tour: Rickie Fowler Talks Current State of His Game Heading Into The Honda Classic

Post author By Golf Post
Post date February 27, 2020

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 27: Rickie Fowler of the United States plays a shot during the first round of the Honda Classic at PGA National Resort and Spa Champion course on February 27, 2020 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

PGA Tour professional and 2017 Honda Classic champion previews his 2020 return to the Honda Classic and speaks on the current status of his golf game

PGA Tour: 2017 Honda Classic champion Rickie Fowler addresses the media prior to the 2020 edition

DOUG MILNE: Rickie, 2017 Honda Classic champion, tied for second last year, obviously some good memories of the place. Just some thoughts on being back at PGA National.

RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, like you said, we’ve had success here. I love this golf course. I feel like it’s very demanding of the game, not always hitting driver, but you’ve got to get the ball in play, and very much a second-shot golf course once you do get it in the fairway.

Typically we’ve got some wind, which for me I enjoy playing in, especially living down in this area. I’ve been in Jupiter for about 11 years now, and looks like we’re going to have a little cooler week than normal. We’ve got a front coming in later today. Yeah, a little cooler, a little different wind than we’re used to seeing here at this golf course. But throw some sweaters on in the morning and go play. Everyone has got to go play the same course and same weather.

Q. How are you feeling about your game coming into the week?
RICKIE FOWLER: I’m excited. I’ve had three weeks — well, off of tournament golf, but I wouldn’t say I’ve had three weeks off. A few workdays in there and I’ve been putting in a lot of time in the gym, on the course, but it’s been nice to have been at home sleeping in my own bed for three weeks, and like I say, getting good work in. So I’m looking forward to getting started back here at Honda, and as of right now, we’re looking at playing six out of the next seven weeks.

Q. Is there an element of comfort for you at this golf course, or do we just perceive that because we know you live here and we’re so used to seeing you here?
RICKIE FOWLER: I mean, I’ve had a lot of good tournament golf played on this golf course, going back to junior golf actually. I’ve always been comfortable here.

At the same time, it is challenging. I’ve had plenty of mishaps. It happens around this place. It’s bound to happen. You’re going to make bad swings, and sometimes they happen at the wrong time.

No, I enjoy what this golf course kind of brings to the table and what it demands of you as a player, and then like I said, with the wind typically being up, you’ve got to hit some shots and control your golf ball around here.

2020 The Honda Classic Tee Times and Leaderboard

Q. Does it ever become exhausting, you can’t help but see how many little ones are dressed like Rickie and they just love you and they want to meet you and get your autograph? Does it ever just become exhausting to see them all out there? Do you want to make them all happy if you know what I mean?
RICKIE FOWLER: No, it’s obviously a great position that I’m in. No, I mean, it makes your day better, if anything, to see the support and see what kind of impact that I’m able to have on people at times. I try and make that be a good impact.

But no, I’m kind of blessed to be in this position, so to be coming from when I was young, looking up to guys who played the TOUR or to riding, racing dirt bikes, something I did growing up, to now being in a position where I’m the person that kids are looking up to, it’s a cool position to be in.

It can take some time here and there to sign autographs and whatnot. Unfortunately I’ve tried it; you can’t please everyone. So there’s some people that take that better than others, so that’s one of the downfalls that sometimes we have to deal with as far as trying to make people happy, but at the same time accepting that you can’t take care of everyone because we’d be sitting out here signing all day sometimes.

Q. Do you know what the phenomenon is that has them gravitate towards you, like dress exactly like you and want to be you?
RICKIE FOWLER: I don’t know. To be honest, it’s not that — we didn’t try and do anything different or out of the ordinary as far as for who I am. I feel like kids are really good at picking apart if someone is genuine or not, seeing if they’re fake or for real, and I feel like I’ve always — as far as me knowing and the people that I’ve grown up with from friends and family, I am who I am. This is who I’ve been growing up to playing junior golf, college golf, and on TOUR.

I’d like to say I haven’t changed. We’ll go to them for confirmation, but I think that may be one thing that kids can pick up on and they see, as well, in J.T., Jordan, Rory, and guys across the board.

Q. A year ago you were top 10, you’re 25th now or something like that. You said you spent three weeks working on your game. Is that the reason, the drop? What were you working on?
RICKIE FOWLER: Yes and no. I mean, I took all fall off. We got married, honeymoon. I wanted to make sure that I was able to do that right and enjoy it. Yeah, I didn’t play as great through maybe the kind of spring and summer last year, but also with the time off, that’s been not out playing and not earning points, so that’s been part of falling back.

No, it’s been a very, I think, beneficial time off. Yes, I’ve fallen back in World Rankings. A lot of that’s just due to not having played, and now we’re jumping back on the horse right now, and we’ll climb our way back up to top 10 and go from there.

Q. With your OSU connection, do you have a good relationship with Viktor? I’m curious, watching some of these kids come right out and win, what’s your impression of that?
RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, I have good relationships with both Matt and Viktor. I probably know Matt a little bit more, him living down here now. But Viktor I’ve spent a decent amount of time with. They’re both great kids. I say kids because they’re 10, 11 years younger than I am. But it’s been fun to watch. They’re two great players. I feel like in a way they play kind of two different kinds of golf, two different swings, but they’re good at what they do.

I don’t think that especially now and especially you look at Collin Morikawa, these kids are another step above where myself and some other guys coming out of college were just because I feel like the talent level and competition keeps getting better and better. They’re just more and more prepared to come out here and compete.

Q. I’m sure you saw or heard Rory’s comments on the proposed golf league.
RICKIE FOWLER: I haven’t.

Q. Where he said that he wouldn’t be interested, basically, said he didn’t think it would work —
RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, yeah, I heard something on that, but I also heard that the transcript was kind of — the one thing was taken out of what was really said, if you read the whole transcript, versus just the one line.

Q. My question is what were your thoughts on it?
RICKIE FOWLER: I don’t really have a stance yet. I need to gather some more information and see where we’re at with all that, but it sounds like some of that stuff moving forward — but yeah, I don’t have enough information to take sides or comment on it a whole lot.

Q. You live here, you’ve had success here, you’re coming back after a few weeks off. Do you feel like you have a course advantage here?
RICKIE FOWLER: Not necessarily. You know, playing this golf course, I play it once a year. I’ve played well here, but there’s also a lot of other guys that have played well here, Brooks being — staying at home, as well. Him and I both finished second last year. No, I don’t necessarily look at it as a home course advantage. Some guys like sleeping in their own bed and take that as an advantage. There’s some guys that aren’t playing this week, just because it’s a little odd playing at home maybe for them. I enjoy it. Like I said, I’ve played well here. I look at this as it is a nice week to be at home, be comfortable, and it is a golf course where if you have a little bit more confidence on it, having played well, it definitely helps.

Q. Just talking about comparing your first couple years on TOUR to the player you are now, what do you remember about those first few years? What were your biggest challenges?
RICKIE FOWLER: I think the biggest challenges were always just time management and learning how the TOUR works, week in and week out, how many weeks you can play in a row, how to go about your Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, how to get ready for if you’re teeing off early Thursday or if you’re playing late Thursday, when to eat, how to eat, when to work out, how to get worked on, stretched, and how to get your body right. There’s a lot of stuff that goes into it. One of the biggest things the first couple years is learning golf courses. You’re playing all new places that you really haven’t been before. So there’s a lot on your plate. It’s not easy to do, but good golf always answers a lot of questions.

Q. Do you think that’s understood or not understood, that it takes all those things?
RICKIE FOWLER: I think golf at the highest level or PGA TOUR golf where you’re traveling and playing for a living, I think to me as a whole is very much misunderstood as far as what goes into it. It’s not just the glamorous life it teeing it up Thursday and finishing Sunday afternoon.

Q. (Indiscernible).
RICKIE FOWLER: Those are just the basics. There’s a lot that goes into it, and like I said, it’s learning how to manage everything, when to do it, how to do it. Like I said, figuring out how many weeks in a row you want to play. If you do play three, four, five weeks in a row, which I don’t play more than three, then is it one week off or two weeks off, then you add in workdays as far as shoots with sponsors, whether they’re still or commercial stuff. I do about 25 to 30 days a year, so those obviously aren’t in a row. You’ve got to pick and choose are those Monday and Tuesday when you get back from a tournament or mid-week, or if you’re fitting them into one week off, it kind of interrupts your preparation or your rest, so then you have to take two weeks off to fit shoot days in. So there’s a lot that goes into just picking which tournaments you want to play.

Q. You’ve had a couple weeks off and a busy upcoming schedule. What are some keys for you to get into that competitive form not just for this week but with THE PLAYERS and Augusta not too far away?
RICKIE FOWLER: Just keeping it simple. You know, working on stuff at home, at Grove, Medalist, Turtle Creek, playing, being in the gym. The big thing coming out here is we’ve been working on that, don’t try and go work on stuff on the golf course, go play golf; keep it simple. Sounds cliché, fairways and greens, but some days it’s a lot easier than others. But that’s the biggest thing is go out and play golf and go score, not try and think about what you’re doing with the swing. Go with one or two swing thoughts. So the more simple I can keep it the next seven weeks, that seventh week we’ll be in a really good spot at Augusta.

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

February 26, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Tags Professionals, Rickie Fowler, The Honda Classic

Team USA

PGA Tour: Brooks Koepka Talks Injury Recovery Prior to 2020 Honda Classic

Post author By Golf Post
Post date February 27, 2020

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 26: Brooks Koepka smiles during the pro-am round for the Honda Classic at PGA National Resort and Spa Champion course on February 26, 2020 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Four-time major championship Brooks Koepka addresses the media prior to the 2020 Honda Classic about his knee injury recovery and looking forward to the 2020 Masters.

PGA Tour: Brooks Koepka speaks with the media prior to making sixth start at the Honda Classic

DOUG MILNE: We’d like to welcome world No. 3 Brooks Koepka. Brooks, thanks for joining us for a few minutes prior to the start of your sixth start at the Honda Classic this week, coming off a tie for second last year. With that said, just some thoughts on being back here and what’s kind of a local game for you.

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, it’s nice to be back. Obviously any time you can play in front of my family and friends that don’t get to come out really any other week, it’s always nice for them to get to see me, and it’s obviously a little different sleeping in your own bed. It’s fun, though. I enjoy it. I like the golf course. The golf course has always been pretty good. It’s tough; I like that. It seems to be in good shape. Hopefully this rain doesn’t make it too soft, but we’ll see.

DOUG MILNE: I know one of the questions people want to know is how you’re feeling. You’re making just your second start in the calendar season. Just how the knee is doing and how you’re feeling.

BROOKS KOEPKA: Knee is great. I wouldn’t be playing if I couldn’t play or if there was pain or if I didn’t feel like I could come out here and compete at my best. I’ve just played bad, simple as.

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Obviously with a little bit of time off, I don’t want to say rust was the culprit of that. I felt like I was doing a lot of really good things. I was very close, striking it well, putting it well, and sometimes it’s just a matter of scoring. You can go through runs where you feel like you play great and you just don’t score very good, and that’s kind of where I feel like — out at LA I didn’t hit it very good. But everything — I mean, everything seems fine. It’s just a matter of going out there and actually making birdies. I just haven’t — it seems like I make a few birdies and then follow it up with a bogey, and it’s just kind of any momentum has been killed, which is not usually how I’m used to playing golf.

Hopefully it’ll start to turn around here. I feel good. I’m excited to play.

DOUG MILNE: Looking down the road, obviously a big stretch coming up. Just kind of what your schedule is looking like coming up.

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, obviously I’m trying to play my way into it a little bit, a week off, week off, just to kind of test everything and see where it’s at. Obviously after here, next week will be off and then THE PLAYERS and then go to Tampa right after, and then after that I believe is Match Play. It’ll be three weeks in a row for me, which will be nice to kind of have something to build on, where it’s been one week on, one week off here, where it’s not tough to build a rhythm, but it’s just been — it’s just a lot easier when you’ve got three weeks in a row to really find your game and really build off the last week. I mean, I’ve done really well when I’ve played multiple weeks in a row. Every major I’ve won, I’ve played the week before. My second week out in a row is usually my best week, second and third week. It’ll be nice to get going in that little stretch.

Q. In terms of the knee, any lingering concerns? You mentioned the three weeks in a row. Is that sort of a test to see kind of how it would hold up, I guess?
BROOKS KOEPKA: No, no, I mean, everything is fine. Everything is just how — it’s better than we expected it to be at this point in time. Like I’ve said, it’s stable. It feels good. There’s no — I can actually do a one-legged squat now, where I couldn’t even do a quarter squat two and a half months ago. It’s progressed great. Derek Samuel in San Diego has done an unbelievable job working with me, and we’ve got it right where we want it, and it’s just now about building even more strength around it and really understanding a different approach on workouts.

Q. Talk about the downtime. I know you had that unfortunate experience of having downtime before with your other injury. What was that like for you going through that? Is it just the concentration is getting better so you’re not missing the golf as much?
BROOKS KOEPKA: My days were so filled that I didn’t really have time to miss it until I started to get a little antsy right around the beginning of December is when I was like, all right, I really just want to hit balls, and didn’t get cleared, I think, until December 20th was the first day I hit balls. It’s just one of those things where you just sit around on the couch. After rehab I’d be home at 11:00, 10:00 in the morning, did rehab at 7:00 a.m., and then out here, and then I went out to San Diego and basically spent all my time in San Diego. I was out in La Jolla with Derek, where my trainer is at, and we grinded every day on the thing. There wasn’t much — there’s nothing I can do. You try to stay busy, try to walk on it. Doing more activity was actually good for it because there’s other problems that kind of come in. My foot was bugging me a little bit, and you’ve got to get out and move it, and that’s sometimes the best rehab than sitting down and — like if I still sit down for a while, I can still feel it a little bit, if I sit down for like an hour or two, but you’ve just got to keep moving and everything is fine.

Q. When do you start going into Masters prep mode? And then also a follow-up, how did last year’s Masters experience kind of affect you going into your prep in this one?
BROOKS KOEPKA: My prep will start basically whenever I get up there. I’m just trying to play right now. I’m just trying to play good golf and find some rhythm, and I feel like if I find rhythm, I’ll be just fine. As far as last year, last year I’ve said it, I think the more I’ve played that golf course, the more I’ve realized that you don’t need to be as conservative as I think a lot of people will tell you, a lot of guys that have been around there for years and years. You look at it, there might be a slope that’s right to left on a green, and they’ll tell you to play off of it, and it’ll feed right down to the cup, but at the same time, if you just aim at the flag, it’s flat down there. You just hit it right there, and if you push it, it’ll actually hit that slope and come back instead of aiming for it. Where I think sometimes you try to play for, I guess, the crowd pleaser, where it catches the slope, feeds in, and everybody is oohing and aahing, but you can be quite aggressive there, and I think that’s kind of the approach we’ve taken the last couple times we’ve played it, and it’s gotten a lot better. I like the way that we’re attacking the golf course, how we feel on it, and where our misses are.

Q. Was there confidence built last year in learning some things?
BROOKS KOEPKA: No, I don’t know if there’s confidence. It’s more of just an understanding of how to play it. I wouldn’t relate that to confidence. I felt pretty confident. I think everybody in this room knows that every player that goes to play Augusta is going to be confident. They’re there to win, otherwise they wouldn’t show up.

Q. This is kind of a two-parter. No. 16 is the Aon Risk-Reward challenge hole. Last year you had two birdies, two pars that kind of sent you on your way to winning the challenge and the million dollars. With the weather that’s forecast, will that significantly change how you play that hole? And the second part, since you’ve won it, are more players coming up to you or thinking about, hey, I need to get in on this?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Well, I’ll answer your second part. Everybody is in on it. Everybody has got a chance for it. You’ve just got to play good those holes. It’s just a correlation of how well you play that week, too. You play good enough, you’re going to birdie enough holes, and you should win the thing.

Last year I thought I played really well, and obviously it’s going to relate to things like that. You see it in the FedExCup. You’ll see it in the Wyndham Rewards. You just play good, it all takes care of itself.

But as far as 16, it’s pretty much the same thing. You’re trying to hit it about 250, 255 off the tee, hit some bullets. It could be a 3-iron, 4-iron, depending on what this rain does, whether it soaks it. You’re still hitting iron off the tee. Some guys will hit hybrid to get down there, but it’s all pin location, whether — I think any time it’s on the right-hand side of that green, it’s a little easier, or just for me, the way I shape the ball. When it gets on that back left tier, it’s obviously very tough to make a birdie. But the hole itself won’t change.

Q. Speaking of the Masters, Tiger Woods was on a conference call with reporters yesterday, and he spent a fair amount of time talking about one of his memories of last year is how fellow players were happy for him and the way he was treated and the congratulations he received. I’m just curious, next month, is all that goodwill over? Is he just another guy to beat? When you go back there, are there any memories of the previous years, or is it all about just getting past it and winning?
BROOKS KOEPKA: For me, I don’t really go off past experiences too much because then you start — I’ve hit a bad shot on every hole I’ve played out here on TOUR, so I don’t think of that. There’s plenty of good shots I’ve hit on every hole at the same time.

You can’t really think of what’s been good, what’s been bad, but at the same time, when we all get out here, we’re all competitors. There comes a time where, like last year at Augusta, when you’re done, you can kind of go, okay, listen, I gave it my all; I’m pleased with how I played. I hit shots exactly how I wanted to, and sometimes it just doesn’t work out. Then you just shake the guy’s hand and say congrats, that’s awesome, exactly what happened with Tiger last year. I did it with Gary, too, last year. I played great at both those tournaments, and just came up short. Sometimes that happens. That’s golf. You can play your best, but some guys just come out and just flat-out beat you, and you have to accept that. That’s what I think makes this game so beautiful. You can play your best and just get outplayed. And then sometimes you don’t — I felt like there have been times where I haven’t — I felt like I’ve played better in other tournaments and haven’t won, and I haven’t played that great and I’ve won.

There’s just certain times where it works out in your favor and sometimes when it doesn’t, but at the same time you’ve just got to understand that, hey, this guy played unbelievable and shake their hand and accept it.

Q. I think a lot of people when they look back at that heading into the Masters this year will be wanting to talk about what happened on the 12th hole for several players —
BROOKS KOEPKA: What happened?

Q. A lot of things happened in a short period of time. Is that your prominent memory of that tournament, or is it something else?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I’ve said it before, I actually didn’t hit a bad shot on 12. I really didn’t. I think if you go back and look at the tape, I backed off it because the wind direction came — I’ll start it off by saying this: If you’ve ever played Augusta and you’ve stood on the 12th tee, or even if you haven’t, look at the pin on 11, look at what it feels like on the tee, look at 12’s pin, and then try to look at the trees on 13 and they’re all going in different directions. So you tell me which way the wind is going. It’s very difficult. You kind of have to go with what your gut says and what it’s doing at that exact moment.

Not to throw a shade on Henrik, but he hit it in the back trees like 30 yards long. Let’s be realistic, Henrik is not going to hit a shot that’s 30 yards long anywhere. Off a tee? No, it’s just wind. If it gets above those trees, it can do anything, and that’s what I did. You see guys do it all the time. It’s just a matter of does it stay under the trees and go with the wind that’s going through funneling in, or does it get above the trees and do what it’s been doing all day. I actually hit a good shot and it just kind of just spun just a hair too much. But I hit a great shot. I’m aiming right where I should be, right at the center of the green just like everybody else, but at the same time, it’s very difficult.

I don’t think anybody is ever going to understand that, the wind on that hole, and if you do and you hit the green, a lot of times you’ll see guys let a deep breath out because it’s very — I don’t know what else to say. It’s just a difficult hole.

You look at it, four out of six guys I think hit it in on the last day, and I don’t think all four of us are that off on our distance.

Q. I’m guessing that you either saw or heard Rory’s stance last week on the proposal of a different Tour, of a new Tour, and I was curious if you’ve formulated any sort of firm opinion one way or another on what you might be thinking if the opportunity ever happened?
BROOKS KOEPKA: I’m just going to play where the best players play, simple as. I want to play against the best. I think everybody wants to play against the best. Whatever comes of it comes of it, and it is what it is. I just want to play good this week and focus at the Honda Classic. I’m not interested in anything else other than to play good this week and come out with a W.

Q. What did you think of what Rory essentially said, that he’s out? Did that sway your opinion at all or anything along those lines?
BROOKS KOEPKA: My opinion is my opinion. Nobody else is going to sway it. Nobody else is going to — it doesn’t matter. I mean, I respect what Rory said. Everybody has got their own thoughts. Everybody has got a different opinion. It is what it is. I’m pretty sure Rory wants to play against the best players in the world, too. Wherever that is, everybody is going to be playing.

Q. Just kind of an odd segue here, but going back to what you were saying about the Masters, if I were to ask you what the best shot you’ve ever hit was, what would be maybe the five-second answer?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Over at Augusta?

Q. No, just ever, period. What would come to mind?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Probably the 4-iron I hit at Bellerive on the par-3, 16. Just pressure, situational, contact, flight, everything, spin. That was the best shot I’ve hit.

Q. You saw where you recently played a round of golf with Donald Trump. Can you just talk about that experience, how that came about?
BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah. He’s asked me to play golf maybe three or four times, and it just hasn’t worked out. His schedule is kind of busy, so it’s kind of changed a little bit. I had to cancel on him I think once or twice, too, just some things I had going. It was fun. I actually had a blast. We had a good time. I guess my brother and my dad played — not my whole family, but just those two, and we had a blast. We laughed it up. It was fun. It was great to get out there. I hadn’t played that golf course in years, and it’s always funny time I’ve been lucky enough to be around quite a few Presidents and sitting Presidents where it’s been probably one of the top 5 coolest moments of my life, getting to play golf with the President.

And then when Obama came to the Floridian up there, I didn’t get to play with him, but getting to meet him, that was some of the coolest memories — when I’m on my death bed, that’ll probably be one of the coolest things I’ve ever done, getting to meet those guys. It’s so cool. It really is.

I think it’s interesting when you look back and where as a 13 year old kid, you’re going, oh, it’s so cool, because they used to come down here quite a bit, being like, oh, cool, that’s the President and getting to meet both of those guys as they’re sitting Presidents is very unique and very special, and it’s something I won’t forget.

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

February 26, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Tags Brooks Koepka, Professionals, The Honda Classic

Team USA

PGA Tour: Gary Woodland Addresses The Media Ahead of The Honda Classic

Post author By Golf Post
Post date February 27, 2020

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 20: Gary Woodland of the United States lines up a putt on the 13th green during the first round of the World Golf Championships Mexico Championship at Club de Golf Chapultepec on February 20, 2020 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

PGA Tour professional Gary Woodland speaks with the media prior to making his eighth start at the Honda Classic about the current state of his game and Master’s tournament preparations.

PGA Tour: Gary Woodland speaks with the media ahead of opening round of The Honda Classic

THE MODERATOR: We’d like to welcome Gary Woodland to the interview room. This is your eighth start here at the Honda Classic, highlighted by a runner-up in 2017. Can you just talk about why you’re comfortable here?

GARY WOODLAND: Yeah, it’s a hard golf course, and I think that benefits me. Scores are never going to get too low. Obviously it’s a lot weather-depending, but it’s one of the most mentally demanding golf courses I think we face all year. There’s a lot of shots, especially coming down the back nine, that you just have to step up and hit shots. There’s just really no bail-out.

I think that that sets up better for me. It’s more of a ball-striking golf course. The greens are amazing right now, obviously they’re new and they’re perfect, so it should be a good week if the weather holds off.

THE MODERATOR: It’s a bit of a home game for you here, being in Delray Beach. Can you just talk about competing in front of your —

GARY WOODLAND: Yeah, it’s nice. I wish it was a little bit closer. With no traffic, it’s 30 minutes, but there’s always a little bit of traffic around here. For me now with the family, it’s nice to be home, nice to sleep in my own bed, try to get just a little comfortable for the week. But fortunately, I don’t have a lot of people down with me this week, which is a good thing. Sometimes at home you can get a little bit of distractions, but should be a little quiet of a week for me, and hopefully focus on some golf and have a great week.

THE MODERATOR: How does it feel to be back in a place you’ve played well over the years?

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GARY WOODLAND: I like coming back here. I think all in all, it’s a tough spot in the schedule. Obviously coming off the West Coast and World Golf Championship last week, we’ve got THE PLAYERS in two weeks, so I think it’s tough for a lot of guys. But for me personally, I like the golf course. I like getting to be able to hit some shots, some pressure shots before leading up to THE PLAYERS and the Masters right around the corner. So it’s nice for me to get some mental confidence going on a tough golf course and some really tough shots.

I’m looking forward to a really good week.

Q. Obviously you’ve been in some high-pressure situations in the past, but can you just talk about the nerves over the shots here on the back nine?
GARY WOODLAND: You just have to execute. You have to stick with your routine. It can be, like I said, as mentally demanding of a golf course as we see all year. 15, 17, the tee shot on 6, there’s just not a lot of bail-out out there, and when the wind gets blowing and gets swirling, you just have to execute, and it really puts a lot of pressure on your short game, as well. I think this is a great week for me to kind of see where I’m at and see if I need to make any adjustments coming up to THE PLAYERS and some big tournaments coming up.

Q. Tough conditions, having to hit shots under pressure, I’m not going to say this is U.S. Open type conditions, but is there a correlation to playing a U.S. Open, playing well at a U.S. Open, having played this golf course?
GARY WOODLAND: Like I said, I think it’s huge for me to come up here early in the year and see where your game is at. The shots on 15 and 17, when that wind gets moving, you really have to hit shots, and if you’re bailing out, your short game is really put to the test, you’re chipping towards water, you’re chipping uphill, downhill. There’s really a lot going on. So I think for me, if I can execute that, I know my game is in a good spot. I’ve been doing the right things, and if not I know what I need to work on before I got to 17 at Sawgrass. There’s some other shots that demand the same attention. This golf course really tests you early in the year to see where you’re at.

Q. Where do you think your game is?
GARY WOODLAND: Getting a lot better. I played well in Hawai’i, played well at the end of the year last year, and then I had a lull there, which is a little surprising. San Diego and Phoenix are two usually pretty good spots for me, and I missed the cut for the first time in San Diego, which was frustrating, and then I didn’t play great in Phoenix. Last week was a better week for me. I struggled down there with the altitude. I like to hit the ball low, so coming here with the wind is usually pretty good for me, and with the altitude, hitting the ball low, I played with Rory, he’s hitting it 80 yards by me just by how high he hits it.

Finishing 12th last week, I was okay with how I played, and then getting here, Pete Cowan is here, my coach. I haven’t seen Pete since October, so it’s been great to work with him the last three days and work with him and tighten some things up. We should be good to go for a pretty good stretch now.

Q. Along those lines, preparing for the Masters, is getting ready for that typically different than getting ready for any other course?
GARY WOODLAND: I don’t know about that. Augusta there’s obviously a lot of local knowledge. There’s a lot of shots you need to hit. A lot of it’s distance control. You know, there you have to put yourself obviously on the right side of the pin, but you have to have the height into those holes. You’ve got to be able to work it both ways. I’ve worked on a lot of shots the last couple months leading up to hitting the ball both ways. That’s something I in the past haven’t done a lot of. Pete has changed that the last couple years. I’m starting to hit the ball with my irons both ways, which I think will benefit me at Augusta, and for me personally, Augusta is a golf course that I feel sets up well for me, I just haven’t played great there I would say. I’m excited to get back there this year. Coming back with probably more confidence than I ever have in a major championship, being a major winner, I know I can compete. I know my game can withstand that. I know the short game is good enough now, which I don’t know if it was in the past. There you can get in some spots that your short game has to bail you out, and I probably haven’t done that. I feel like right now I’m in a pretty good spot, and Augusta should be a lot better for me.

Q. Is it primarily short game, like when you think of past rounds there why you haven’t —
GARY WOODLAND: Yeah, a lot of that is distance control, as well. Like I said, I like to hit the ball low. I think Augusta you need — with the distance, we’re hitting some longer clubs in there than we were seven, eight years ago, you’re going to have to get the ball in the air. I switched golf balls after Augusta last year. I switched two weeks before the U.S. Open I believe it was. A lot of that I was hitting balls on the range at Augusta, and I wasn’t getting enough spin on the irons, so we made an adjustment from that golf course that’s benefitted me. It benefitted me last week in Mexico City, and I think it’ll benefit me a ton when I get to Augusta being able to get the ball up in the air and stop it when I need to.

Q. And the last thing about the Masters, what is your prominent memory from that last round or what transpired in that last round?
GARY WOODLAND: With Tiger?

Q. Yeah.
GARY WOODLAND: I don’t usually watch much golf, and I was — I had my family there. I was flying out Sunday afternoon. I played early that day, and we pushed the flight back. I wanted to watch that.

It was special. Obviously Tiger is a friend of mine. He’s been great to me both on and off the golf course, and I wanted to be able to share that. I think we all need to appreciate — and I think the players do appreciate what Tiger has done for all of us, and that was a part of history. That was special to watch. I was there, I played with him the last two rounds when he won in Japan, when he won 82, so it was a good year for him, but it was cool for us to watch that unfold, and we’ll see what happens with him coming up, too.

Q. Is all that forgotten when you tee it up this time around?
GARY WOODLAND: Yeah, when I’m teeing up against him, I don’t — I could care less. I want to beat his brains in. But if I’m not going to win and he’s in contention, I mean, that’s something special to watch because that’s history. You can always learn something from him. I think now especially where his game is, he’s obviously swinging great. But the way he thinks his way around the golf course is phenomenal.

Playing with him in Japan, I didn’t play great on the weekend, but watching him maneuver. Hideki was making a charge, to watch him get in the zone and think a little bit, and then spending him with him at the Presidents Cup, practicing and hanging out with him and spending time with him just the two of us, you learn how he works and where his mindset is, and as a captain the players, we got to learn how he gets in and prepares, and that was pretty cool.

It’s definitely different, and you see why he’s won 82 times.

Q. How does this work in your schedule? Obviously we know coming to a home event for you, going to API and then going to THE PLAYERS, have you had to try to work Honda in now that it’s following a WGC and it’s two weeks before THE PLAYERS?
GARY WOODLAND: Yeah, it’s tough. We have a lot of good golf tournaments out here. Obviously the West Coast, it was a tough decision for me not to go back to Pebble after I had just won there, but with Pebble, it’s a different golf course in February than it is in June. LA is a golf tournament that I will get back to soon. I haven’t played there, but I love the golf course. Mexico City, World Golf Championship, a lot of guys take it off last week, but I think a lot of guys have taken this week off, unfortunately. This is a great golf course and a demanding one, but it’s a tough part of the schedule.

Obviously Bay Hill next week has got a great field. They’ve cranked the three-year exemption up, they’ve cranked that purse money up. Guys are playing there leading into THE PLAYERS now. Tampa, I’ve won in Tampa. You’ve got a World Golf Championship the next week, and then obviously guys do different things to get ready for the Masters.

It’s a really hard spot in the schedule for me. I’ve kind of got to pick and choose. I chose not to play LA and play here. I haven’t played Bay Hill since I moved down here. I used to play Bay Hill every year. It’s a tough spot in the schedule. Everybody is different. You see some guys — I think J.T. played last year, he’s not playing this year. Guys bounce around and try to figure out what that formula is, and for me personally, like I said, I like coming here and hitting some shots and getting ready to see where me game is coming up to a big stretch.

Q. Coming off the altitude differences in Mexico City last week, it’s going to be a little windy here, does that make the transition a little easier to try to get your numbers dialed back in?
GARY WOODLAND: No, I think we’re pretty good with the numbers. With the TrackMan and everything we’re able to do with technology, and like I said, the golf ball change was huge for me last year. Going into last year in Mexico City, I was playing 10 percent, 15 percent, 18 percent, depending upon what kind of shot I was hitting and what club I was using. Last week I was pretty much 15 percent across the board. I could adjust those numbers back to here pretty quick, and when I come back here and hit balls with TrackMan on Monday, my numbers are where they should be. Last week was a lot easier, and this week will be just the same.

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

February 26, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Tags Gary Woodland, Professionals, The Honda Classic