Tag: Professionals

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?

2020 The Honda Classic Tee Times and Leaderboard

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

Team USA

PGA Tour: Tiger Woods Addresses the Media at the 2020 Masters Tournament Media Conference

Post author By Golf Post
Post date February 26, 2020

PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 16: Tiger Woods of the United States stands on the 13th hole during the final round of the Genesis Invitational on February 16, 2020 in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

PGA Tour: 2019 Masters champion Tiger Woods speaks with the media at the annual Masters Tournament media conference.

PGA Tour: Tiger Woods speaks with the media looking back o 2019 Masters Tournament victory

STEVE ETHUN: Good morning, everyone, this is Steve Ethun, Augusta National Golf Club. Hope this finds everyone doing very well. We appreciate you joining us on the call today, and especially for Tiger Woods, thank you, Tiger for your time.
We, of course, look forward to having you back to Augusta National here in just a few weeks.
So before we get started, just want to remind everyone on the call, we’ll take about 30 minutes to ask Tiger questions about the upcoming Masters Tournament, and with that, Tiger, I was hoping you could reflect a little on what it’s been like to spend the last year as the reigning Masters Champion.
TIGER WOODS: I like the sound of that. It’s been incredible for myself and my family to be a part of this and for me to be the current Masters Champion, it’s crazy that somehow it all came together for one week, one magical week, and to have so many things go right that week, and that’s what you have to do in order to win an event.
But to do it there, there’s so many little things that have to go right, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have done it four previous times, but last year was just an amazing week.
STEVE ETHUN: With just a few weeks to go, obviously your attention, I’m sure, has turned to preparations for April. How is that going, and what’s your timeline between now and the Masters?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, once we get to Florida, it feels like the Masters, right around the corner. But I’ve been thinking about this for — probably since Australia. I was so focused on what I had to do with those two weeks, in the Bahamas, as well as Australia.
But once that was done, my prep has been just like it usually is, is what do I need to do to get ready for the Masters. I’ve been fortunate to have done this now five times, and to try and have everything peak together for just an incredible week, it’s hard to do.
It’s hard to try and get all the shots and have everything dialed in, but I’ve been excited since — I’ve been a part of the Masters since I was 9 years old, and it doesn’t cease to amaze me is that once when I go back to Augusta National, just the beauty and the history and the aura around it, it’s just unlike anything that we have in our sport.

Q. I’ll start by just throwing out a general one here. Obviously your win was iconic and it stretched beyond just golf. It moved people beyond the game, and I’m curious from your standpoint looking back now, what kind of reaction did you get from people that really stood out? Was there anything, perhaps a letter, e-mail, text, what-have-you, that really struck you that this meant more than just the usual victory?
TIGER WOODS: I had just an amazing amount of e-mails and texts that were flowing in, but I was more surprised the amount of videos of people watching the Masters and seeing their reaction when I hit the shot on 16 or when I made the putt, whether it was on airplanes or in airports or restaurants. It was just — that part of it, being — I’m on the other side of it, so I’m out there hitting the shot.
But seeing the amount of reactions and the amount of people that were riveted by the Masters and that were — the amount of emotion that people were showing, that’s what blew my mind is I didn’t think that that many people were going to be moved that way. I was just trying to win the event and do something I’ve never done before, which is come-from-behind in a major championship and win.
Ironically enough, looking back on it, to have the event end a little bit earlier and to have that amount of people watch; I even had a few people here in this area that said to me, “We didn’t watch it. We went and played golf and we had it on DVR. So we were able to watch it when we got back,” and then at that point responded, because most people have mobile devices and alerts and all the different ways that people get reminded, but a few of my friends just didn’t watch it.

Q. Did you watch it yourself at all in full, the final round at any point?
TIGER WOODS: I did. The first time I watched it was about a month after the event. Joey came down and we watched it together. We were talking back and forth, and reliving every bit of it. Because we have a certain viewpoint of how we look at it, the shots, the numbers, the situations, and people are making birdies and all the different scenarios were playing out in our heads.
But it was kind of fun to sit back and listen to the broadcast and hear their take on it. You know, what we don’t have access to is what people are — how they are doing it in front of us, and you know, we hear the roars. We hear the birdies that were being made. We have the signage that people pop up and what they have done; we just don’t know how they did it. That was kind of the fun part is reliving that from a totally different perspective than what we did.

Q. The emotional reaction you had when you won became such a part of the story. With your kids, was there a moment or two later that night or after you got home or whatever, where they said something or did something that really stuck with you and really touched you about they were there to see it and fully appreciate it?
TIGER WOODS: I think what made it so special is that they saw me fail the year before at the British Open. I had got the lead there and made bogey, double, and ended up losing to Francesco.
So to have them experience what it feels like to be part of a major championship and watch their dad fail and not get it done, and now to be a part of it and when I did get it done, I think it’s two memories that they will never forget; and the embraces and the hugs and the excitement, because they know how I felt and what it felt like when I lost at Carnoustie. To have the complete flip with them in less than a year, it was very fresh in their minds.
Just watching them fight over the green jacket on the airplane was pretty funny. “I want to wear it; no, I want to wear it,” and that’s something I certainly will never forget.

Q. Couple questions about the 16th. Did you notice Michael Phelps standing there, and if so, was that weird?
TIGER WOODS: No, I did not. I did not notice Michael was back there. I was locked into what I was doing. I had just taken the lead on 15 and just trying to figure out, am I going to — I already had an idea if it was going to be 7 or 8, and that’s what I kept thinking and reminding myself that, hey, I’ve got to be committed to either shot. And then when we got over and the wind started picking up, I went in with 8-iron.
But no, I did not know who was there, and to see the reaction, to see Verne call it and to see Michael, basically, bending over in the same position that I was in leaning forward, that was pretty cool.

Q. What is the toughest pin for you on 16, and secondly, how do you approach that hole on Sunday when the difference of a good look at birdie or a potential bogey could be a matter of inches?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, well, trying to figure out, do you feed it back there or do you fly it back there. I’ve done both. I’ve hit cuts into that flag, or I’ve shaped it off the hillside. But either way, there’s a pretty big area that you can get the ball back into that hole.
Yeah, but it’s a very — it’s an easy pin to get the ball, you know, 20 feet below the hole. Now, trying to get it all the way back there, then the risk comes into play of hitting the bunker or hitting it over the back or hitting it up on the right and having virtually, you know, being in a dead position. But hitting it just below the hole 20 feet is really not that hard a shot.
The hardest pin I think there is that front right one. I know they moved the tee up to get to that front right one, but still, there’s really no area to hit to. I’ve had, over the years, two different game plans: Either go right at the flag, and if I miss, it miss it right of the flag, and I’ve got an easy little chip or right up the hill.
And I also have years where I just play short left and just putt up the hill and take my three and move on. If I happen to hit a good shot where the ball cuts over the flag, then I could have a potential birdie.
But any time that I walk away with three on that hole to that front right flag is always good.

Q. I was hoping to ask you a couple things. What was your thought as you walked up to 9 and saw where your ball was, and how big was that up-and-down and how difficult?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, that putt, unfortunately, I’ve had it — fortunately and unfortunately, I’ve had that putt before. I have left it on the middle shelf, and so that’s obviously not where you want to be, but also, then again, it’s very easy to putt the ball over the green, or actually, down the front edge of the green.
The good thing that I had going for me was that at that time, the wind was a little bit into me, so I had a little bit of a backboard with that wind being slightly into me.
But it’s being committed to hitting that ball up there into that fringe, or near the fringe. Only problem is if you get it too far right, actually, it gets a little steeper and picks up a lot of speed. The conservative approach is play it a little bit left of the hole and you know take your 10-, 15-footer and move on with a four or five.
But I decided to take a little bit more of a risk, and knowing that I had a little bit of a backboard with the wind kind of coming slightly into me.

Q. What was your thought after going bogey, bogey and walking off the fifth and now you’re three back going to that sixth green?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I made two bad mistakes there. I played 5 all for the week and played it in, what, 20 shots.
Just reset and try and see if I can get it back to under par at the turn. I know that Fran was playing extremely well. There’s a bunch of guys that have a chance, but if I’m within six of the lead — I’ve always felt this — if I’m within six of the lead starting the back nine on Sunday, I’ve got a shot at it.
We’ve seen so many things happen on the back nine. Guys have won shooting 30s and guys have lost it shooting well over 40; so anything is possible. I just need to get myself into that position where I had that opportunity, and I was able to play my way back into it and a couple guys made a few mistakes there at 12, and lo and behold, I’m part of the lead.

Q. I’m curious, you mentioned coming into Sunday, the first time you trailed at a major and went on to win that major. At what point during the round did it click for you, this is going to happen, maybe with a shot. I don’t know when it was, where you’re like, if I do this, this and this, this is going to happen.
TIGER WOODS: Once I played my way back into it and there was a bunch of guys with a chance, I made a mistake there at 10 making bogey; if I can somehow play both par 5s under par, maybe sprinkle in two more somewhere along the way, that I could get it done.
I didn’t really think the tournament was truly over until I hit that little pitch shot on the green on 18. But Brooksy had missed his putt and that gave me a two-shot lead, and I knew that bogey was the winning number and I played it extremely conservative over to the right.
But once I hit that pitch up on the green, the tournament was over. When I was walking up on the green, to see my family and friends there through the chute, I started to get a little bit emotional and I had to rein it back in and say: Hey, it’s not quite over yet. I’ve had this putt before. Let’s go ahead and make this putt.
To be honest with you, once I knocked that pitch shot on the green, that tournament was over.

Q. Is the tee shot on 16 the shot you’ve thought back on the most, or is there a different one you’ve thought about the most?
TIGER WOODS: Well, we touched on it with Steve asking the question. I think it’s the putt on 9, making par there. The guys made mistake there is at 12.
But the most pure shot that I hit was the second shot into 15, just through the forest, straight up in the air and turned it over.
The shot I hit on 16, yes, that was a nice shot, and it ended up in a really good spot, but the best shot I hit all day was the second shot into 15.

Q. You mentioned how long you’ve been playing in the Masters. I’m wondering how with the advancements in equipment and how far the guys are hitting it, but also the course having lengthened, how different does the course play now than it did back in the ’90s, namely, the par 5s, and how do you see that evolving going forward?
TIGER WOODS: Well, I’ll give you a good example is I’ve hit driver and wedge into 2. To the back left pin, I’ve hit 9-iron over the green a few times. That shot doesn’t exist anymore. Trying to carry that bunker, it was just a no-brainer to drive it down there and then I could have some kind of wedge in there.
8, just try and keep the ball left of the bunker or over the bunker, have some kind of iron in there.
13 was a 3-wood, an 8-iron.
And 15, as you saw in ’97, I hit driver, wedge in there. And so the par 5s have changed dramatically.
The shots I learned from Raymond or Seve or Ollie over the years, when I first got there, the bump-and-runs, using 4-irons and 5-irons around the greens, the fairways are so much tighter back in the nine tees. It was hard to get a sand wedge on it. Afraid of it bouncing, and so playing more of a bump-and-run shot was a little more of a proper shot.
Now with the grass height being a little bit longer and them overseeding it a little bit more, it’s a little bit more sticky than it is around the greens.
Also, we don’t have square grooves and balata balls anymore. The shots that we were able to play back in the ’90s were a little bit different. I know that the green over the years, every green has been rebuilt, and every green is a little bit flatter than it was back then, giving us a little bit more room. Just because the fact we’re a little bit further out, they are giving us a chance.
Granted, that’s not saying the greens are easy; they are far from, but they are a little bit flatter, and the areas that we have to hit to are a little bit bigger, but granted, we are so much further back than we ever used to be.

Q. You mentioned hole 5; you mentioned you bogeyed it all four days. Do you see that as a potential strategy, lengthening more holes, or do you think that the course is in a good place now as a test?
TIGER WOODS: Well, Augusta National has been at the forefront of trying to keep it competitive, keep it fair, keep it fun, and they have been at the forefront of lengthening the golf course.
Granted, they have the property; they can do virtually whatever they want. Complete autonomy. It’s kind of nice.
But also, they have been at the forefront of trying to keep it exciting. As the game has evolved, we have has gotten longer, equipment’s changed, and they are trying to keep it so that the winning score is right around that 12- to 18-under par mark, and they have.

Q. I was just curious, looking back to last year and the early start, what a different Sunday that was for somebody at the top of the leaderboard at the Masters, what your routine was in the morning and how you dealt with a very, very different situation?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, it was different. I was telling the people close to me that this is going to be different for a lot of us. It’s a quick turnaround for me with my back and the way it was. I had to wake up a little bit earlier and get into my routine.
But I think that having the guys who have never won the Masters, now get a chance to have a quicker turnaround, not have to sit on that lead and think about it far into the afternoon, it’s very similar to when we played The Open championship. We don’t tee off until like 3 o’clock. Sitting on the lead, you have to figure out what you’re going to do all morning long, try and kill time.
I thought it was advantageous to the guys who haven’t won, but I hadn’t been in this experience, either. I hadn’t been there before, and I hadn’t won coming from behind. So there was a lot of new things, and we were all having to go through it together and I’m going to have to go earn it, and being part of a threesome on that Sunday is something that I’ve never been a part of.
It was very different. Having the rounds be a little bit slower and a little bit more delayed is something we’re not used to on the weekend. We are used to sort of running around there. It was going to be a new experience for all of us.

Q. First of all, you’ve done this long enough and had enough success that you’ll be playing with your second U.S. Amateur champion from Georgia Tech as a defending champion. Any advice you might give Andy Ogletree on how to handle that experience, even comparing it to how you handled it back in ’95?
TIGER WOODS: I usually tell the amateurs that I play with, coming up that first hole — my first putt playing in the Masters, I putted off the green right in the gallery playing with Ollie. Chipped back up there and made the putt for bogey, and that was one of the most embarrassing moments that I can ever remember.
How to start off, your first major championship, you putt it off the green. I’ve told amateurs that experience before, whether it was all the way back to Kuch; that was one of the most embarrassing ways to start, but also, you know, now that I’ve been a part of the Masters, I’m able to tell that story. Usually it relaxes the amateur.

Q. A very broad question. You have a 25-year relationship with this place and this tournament. What is your personal relationship to that place, and what do you think it’s meant to your legacy?
TIGER WOODS: Well, it was my first major championship, and to have it be when I was in college, and to stay up in the Crow’s Nest, and to be up there with Tripp and Buddy and I think Tim Jackson was up there; we had just a great time. To watch Sam and Byron and Gene Sarazen tee off on the first hole, those are memories that I will never forget, and now to have been a part of it from the champion’s side, and to hear all the stories that happen in the champions locker room, to hear the needling and the hazing that happens over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of it and I will always be a part of it.

Q. You mentioned guys making mistakes on 12. What do you think it was about the situation, the weather, the wind? How do you explain all those guys hitting into the water on 12?
TIGER WOODS: Well, as we all know, the wind swirls down there a little bit, and when I hit that shot on 11 and I turned it back into the fan, I probably hit that shot maybe another — it played probably two to three yards longer than what I had thought.
And to see the guys ahead of me, whether it was Poults or Brooksy; when I got to that 12 tee, I could — the feeling was that 11 played a little bit longer, and that shot is so inviting to hit it over there. It was warm out. I know that I don’t quite hit the ball as far as Brooksy does, and I had 9-iron out, and I figured that his flight is more penetrating and he can get it back there, and he didn’t quite get it back there.
Watching Fran hit an 8-iron there, and you could see it — and I know he didn’t quite hit it right, but I played it to the left.
Tony hit the best shot to all of us and he got stood up at the very end. It was a good shot. He hit it flush, but it stalled out at the top. If I had gone at the flag, my ball would have been the same thing, because mine, I played left, and it stalled out at its apex, ended up short left, and I had a putt.

Q. How does your health compare this year to prepping for the Masters last year, and do you think you’ll prepare similarly?
TIGER WOODS: The plan is to prepare the same way. It worked last year, so yeah, I’ve got a blueprint for what I need to do and hopefully I can have the same feelings.
You know, looking back on it, one of the things, the best move I made the entire week was to not go out and play on that Tuesday when it was — rain had come in and the greens had slowed up. They didn’t quite cut them. The golf course was playing slower. I know they would speed up but Thursday, and I just stayed on the practice green. I chipped and putted, but I hit a lot of putts that were — I hit downhill putts because I knew the greens were going to be a little bit faster and try not to get myself acclimated to that pace because I knew it was going to change come Thursday, and that was the best thing I could have done.

Q. Should we expect a similar schedule then coming up before the Masters?
TIGER WOODS: It’s weather dependent. Last year we had the rain come in. The plan is to practice and prepare, and I had found a feeling right — well, after the Match Play, I started to figure something out where I felt comfortable hitting the ball high and turning it over from right-to-left and I felt like I could control it.
Going into that week, I really had amazing control of not only my tee shots but my iron shots, and the amount of time that I spent putting, getting a feel for it, and then coming in there on that Sunday afternoon and getting a nice quiet round out there with Joey and Rob, that set the tone for what I did the rest of the week.

Q. What’s your opinion on the possibility of lengthening 13, and what’s the longest club you would feel comfortable hitting into that green in two?
TIGER WOODS: That I feel comfortable hitting it in there? Probably a wedge.

Q. No, what’s the longest club you would feel comfortable.
TIGER WOODS: Exactly. A wedge. (Laughs).
That’s one of the toughest shots we’ll ever face. People don’t realize how steep that slope is, and as they have lengthened it over the years, if you hit it — if you don’t quite get around the corner, that’s the steepest part of the slope, and if you’re able to turn it over and get it down there, it’s a little bit flatter.
But trying to hit a cut off that hook lie, and some years having to start it right of the creek and hook it back over there, and if you miss it left, it’s dead. If you miss it right, you’re dead. There’s not a lot of good spots to hit it into. It’s a big commitment.
We saw what Nick did when he beat Greg there. He was trying to figure out whether to hit an iron or a wood there. It’s one of the most difficult shots, especially last year with the wind.
When I hit that second shot, that wind came off the right and it should have been off the left. It’s very easy to get fooled down there.

Q. Are you concerned about how far they will go to lengthen it?
TIGER WOODS: Well, they have done it before. You know, I think that what they do with the tee markers over the years, slagging it more to the left, and it seems like each and every year, the trees get a little taller and they have added more pine straw off the right side over the years, planted a few more trees in there.
You know, I’ve had different game plans over the years of hitting 3-wood to the corner, or hitting driver around the corner. When I first got there, it was just hit it up there, up near the gallery up on the right-hand side because we have more of an angle and the tee was more to the right.
Just for me, my length at the time was just drive it down there, and I’d have somewhere between an 8-iron to a wedge in there; take advantage of it, because the further right we can get on that tee shot, we’re hitting back into the slope.
But also, then again, the flipside is if we’re able to hug the corner, we’re playing along the creek with the second shot.
Do I feel comfortable in there with anything but a wedge? It’s one of the most difficult, underrated shots that we have to face there.
STEVE ETHUN: With that, everybody, I want to thank Tiger for his time today.
Before we let you go, I wonder your thoughts on your Champion’s Dinner menu, if you’ve finalized that yet.
TIGER WOODS: I have. Being born and raised in SoCal, having fajitas and sushi was a part of my entire childhood, and I’m going back to what I had in 2006. So we’ll have steak and chicken fajitas, and we’ll have sushi and sashimi out on the deck, and I hope the guys will enjoy it.
I’m debating whether or not to have milkshakes as deserts because that was one of the most — one of the most great memories to see Gene Sarazen and Sam Snead having milkshakes that night in ’98.
STEVE ETHUN: Thanks for your time, thanks to all the media who joined us this morning, and we look forward to seeing everybody in April.
With that, we’ll sign off and talk to everyone again soon.

Augusta National, Augusta, GA.

February 25, 2020

Tags Masters, Professionals, Tiger Woods

Team USA

PGA Tour: Keith Mitchell Speaks on Title Defense at 2020 Honda Classic

Post author By Golf Post
Post date February 26, 2020

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 02: Keith Mitchell plays his second shot on the second hole during the final round of the Waste Management Open at TPC Scottsdale on February 02, 2020 in Scottsdale, Arizona. on February 02, 2020 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

2019 Honda Classic champion Keith Mitchell addresses the media prior to the start of his title defense at the 2020 Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

PGA Tour: Keith Mitchell speaks with the media ahead of 2020 Honda Classic

JOHN BUSH: We’d like to welcome Keith Mitchell into the interview room, our defending champion here at the Honda Classic, making his third start at this event. Keith, first of all, if we can get you to take us back to 2019 and your victory here.

KEITH MITCHELL: It’s great to be back. It’s obviously my first victory on the PGA TOUR, and it will always hold a special place in my life.

2020 The Honda Classic Tee Times

Played the back nine yesterday for the first time and the front nine today for the first time, and yesterday I actually went back and tried to hit that putt again on 18, tried to find it, so that was fun.

Last year, it was a dream come true. It’s what we work for our whole lives, to try and win on the PGA TOUR, and to do it here at such a great golf course that’s held this tournament for so long is really just fun to be back, and now it’s business this year that we’re trying to get the same thing, trying to get the trophy again. So it’s been fun to see everything, but also it’s business, as well, because I don’t want somebody else taking my trophy from me.

JOHN BUSH: Comment a little bit about your season up to this point, making your 11th start of the year.

KEITH MITCHELL: I’ve always felt like this was my good stretch, I guess, because I grew up on the Bermuda greens. I grew up in this part of the country playing golf, so I’m a little bit more comfortable here. Felt like I’ve had an okay start at the beginning of the year. Got to go to Maui for the first time, which was great, and played decent in Sea Island, where I live.

I feel like we’re trending. My game is getting better. I’ve had some good finishes the last couple weeks, so really I would say this is really where the start of my year is really starting to pick up.

Q. Did you make the putt?
KEITH MITCHELL: I was actually trying to find exactly where it was. I was messing around a little bit, and we couldn’t get it exactly where it was. I have to go back on the cameras and looks for it.

Q. (On playing the back nine.)
KEITH MITCHELL: I’ll tell you what, it was fun, because I remembered where I was shot was on that back nine, exactly where I hit — however many shots it was, but I remember every shot on that back nine, and every time I walked on to the next hole, it kind of brought back what I did that day. It was kind of funny because I bogeyed 11. I remember standing on 11 tee, and I was like, man, I’ve just got to hit this in the fairway and don’t make bogey. Man, being on 15 — it was funny, the wind was exactly what it was last year when I was playing, which is going to be opposite this year. It was fun playing the same wind yesterday on the back as it was last year, but this year it looks like it’s going to be completely opposite. I mean, the whole Bear Trap looks like it’s going to be into off the left, and last year it was down off the right, so it’s going to play completely different.

Q. Last year where did you draw your motivation from as the week moved on and you got yourself in position to win?
KEITH MITCHELL: A lot of it was past experiences on the PGA TOUR, where I’d been in the last group on Saturday my rookie season and shot, I think, 74 or 75 when I was in the last group.

And then last year, my second season, I was in the last group on Sunday for the first time at Sony, and I think I shot 74 or 75, too. It was more of just kind of this internal battle with myself of I wanted to prove to myself that I could compete and handle the big stage better, and that’s really what I was — it was kind of that motivation that I had, especially after I bogeyed the first two holes on Sunday, was to prove to myself that I could handle the stage.

Q. Confidence-wise after you won, first PGA TOUR victory and holding off Rickie Fowler and Brooks Koepka, what did that do for you moving forward?
KEITH MITCHELL: You know, it let me know that I could play with those guys, but it also made me want it more because once you do that one time, it’s something you want to do every week. And so the next couple weeks I was obviously playing good, and I kind of felt that, but then when you’re going into the weeks that you don’t necessarily have your 100 percent, it’s really tough because all you want to do is win, and when you’re obviously not in position to win on Saturday afternoon and you’re in 40th place, it’s frustrating.

But last year the confidence, it built that I could do it, but I’ve got a lot of work to do to be consistent with those guys. I mean, Brooks and Rickie are consistently at the top every week, and I’ve got some work to do to stay up with those guys.

Q. You’re friends with Josh Teater; what were your reactions to seeing him come so close in Puerto Rico last week? And anything you’ve learned along the way from him as being a professional golfer?
KEITH MITCHELL: Josh and I met when I turned pro. I didn’t know him until I turned pro. But he’s very — I would say very wise about how to balance life and golf, and he’s helped me a lot in that aspect. He’s also one of the best ball strikers I’ve ever seen, and it’s a very natural motion. It’s very fluid. And to see him have that putt — he seemed to have a putt on 18 to potentially — at the time it looked like to take the lead, and his putting hasn’t been up to his standards lately, and it looked like he hit a great putt, and unfortunately it didn’t go in. That’s kind of one of those things you want to pat him on the back and say, look, you did everything you could, sometimes the cards go your way and sometimes they don’t, but to see him in the field this week and know his momentum is going forward is pretty awesome.

Q. Has he given you any tips along the way?
KEITH MITCHELL: I mean, so many. A lot of guys have. I mean, that’s what’s great about the PGA TOUR. So many guys have helped you, it’s hard to pinpoint one thing really.

Q. You were talking about how you shot 74, 75 and some of these other rounds when you were in the final group, so what was different about you last year in that situation as opposed to before? What are the mental or physical changes that make the difference?
KEITH MITCHELL: It’s definitely more mental than physical because if you’re in the last group, obviously your physical game is good enough to be in the lead or next to the lead. It’s more of trying to achieve and accomplish something instead of trying not to mess something up, so if you’re in the last group, you’re like, wow, I’m in a really good position, I hope I can stay here. If you’re in first, you don’t want to lose first place. If you ever think about it that way, you start falling backwards.

This last year here I was really just trying to move up the leaderboard in terms of under par, and I was trying to — and the way to do that is you hit each shot, you hit each putt and you don’t think about where you are. Toward the end of the round last year, I guess I bogeyed 11 and didn’t want to fall back into that same kind of thing, so I was like, look, I’m just going to make as many birdies as I can coming up, and whatever happens happens, and the cards fell my way.

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

February 25, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Tags Keith Mitchell, Professionals, The Honda Classic

Team Canada

PGA Tour: Corey Conners Recaps Round 1 at The WGC Mexico Championship

Post author By Golf Post
Post date February 21, 2020

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 20: Corey Conners of Canada checks his yardage book on the 18th 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 Rob Carr/Getty Images)

PGA Tour professional and Canadian Corey Conners recaps his round 1 68 at the 2020 WGC Mexico Championship. Connors currently sits 3 shots off the lead heading into the second round.

PGA Tour: Corey Conners speaks with the media following round 1 of the WGC Mexico Championship

Q. How would you assess the day out there?
COREY CONNERS: It was a really solid day, tricky conditions, wind blowing a little bit. But feel like I controlled my golf ball really well, hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of good iron shots, and kept it pretty simple, pretty stress-free for most of the round. Had a little hiccup out there on the 15th hole, but yeah, overall a solid day, and I felt good about my game.

2020 WGC Mexico Championship Full Leaderboard

Q. This is your first time here; I’m sure you’ve heard about the elevation, the thin air. Did anything surprise you today during the round?
COREY CONNERS: Not really. I played a number of places on the PGA TOUR Latinoamerica where there was some pretty high elevation.

Q. Altitude like this?
COREY CONNERS: Pretty close, yeah. There were a few places I think in Colombia, the Korn Ferry TOUR event, Mexico, as well. I think I played in Quito, Ecuador. I think that was high, as well. I could be mistaken. But this is probably the most. And I actually played a junior tournament at this golf course 10 years ago, so I remembered some of the holes, and I didn’t hit it as far back then and not quite as high, so I’m noticing the ball flying a lot further than it did back then, but still have some memories from that, and yeah, it’s a great golf course.

Q. Do you remember what that junior tournament was?
COREY CONNERS: Yeah, it was a qualifier for the Toyota Junior World Cup, which was held in Japan, and I was representing Canada as part of the team, and it was a qualifier. There were maybe 10 countries that were here fighting for the top two spots to go to Japan and some other — Mexico was obviously here and some other countries in South America. The Canadian team was able to make it through there and move on to Japan.

Q. How did you finish?
COREY CONNERS: I was the medalist, low individual, and Canada won the team contest, as well, so some good memories.

Q. Corey, just the one blemish out there, the putter snuck up and bit you, but other than that, fantastic.
COREY CONNERS: Yeah, a really solid day. Quite happy with how I played. I tried to keep things simple. It’s a tricky golf course, but yeah, fairways and greens, and had a little hiccup out there. But yeah, overall a solid day. I feel good about all parts of my game.

Q. You mentioned a tricky golf course. Is that because of the altitude or the kikuyu, also?
COREY CONNERS: Yeah, a mixture of the altitude is a big adjustment for us, figuring out how far the ball goes, and there’s some firm spots out there and some softer spots. It’s tricky to get the ball in some of the fairways. You’ve got to be smart, but you’ve got to make aggressive swings, and I feel like I did a good job of that today.

Q. Looks like a fun golf course to play, given all the holes that you can really attack. No. 1 you can reach it in one shot, 2 also you can get pretty close —
COREY CONNERS: Yeah, it’s pretty awesome. Like I had 300 yards into 11, and I hit a 5-wood, landed on the front of the green, gave myself a good look for eagle there. Yeah, it’s a lot of fun, a fun challenge, and played a little bit on the PGA TOUR Latinoamerica, so I’m not a stranger to some elevation, and yeah, just having fun with it.

Mexico City, Mexico

February 20, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Tags Corey Conners, Professionals, WGC Mexico Championship

Team USA

PGA Tour: Bryson DeChambeau Talks Outstanding Putting Performance in Round 1 of the WGC Mexico Championship

Post author By Golf Post
Post date February 21, 2020

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 20: Bryson DeChambeau of the United States checks his yardage book on the 18th hole 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 Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Bryson DeChambeau addresses the media following an opening round 68 at the WGC Mexico Championship. DeChambeau is currently 3 shots off the lead after round 1.

PGA Tour: Bryson DeChambeau speaks with the media following his opening round at the WGC Mexico Championship

Q. If you look at your numbers, you had 119 feet in holed putts here in round 1. That is outstanding.
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Thanks. It was a little different than last year. Again, I feel like I’m rolling it well. I rolled it well at Riv, just putts didn’t drop there, and today they dropped quite a bit, and hopefully I’ll keep that momentum going.

Q. I saw you warming up with a teaching aid on the shaft of your putter. Tell me about that.
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, shoot, I even forgot the name, but it’s essentially just a laser, and I put it on a chalk line and I just stroke it and make sure my face path is proper.

Q. Did the wind and altitude really affect the golf today?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: It’s a very difficult day to play golf. Rory shooting 6-under is doable. I didn’t capitalize on a couple of key holes and messed up on a few easy holes, but overall it was a difficult golf course to play today, and again, it’s about hitting a lot of fairways out here and hitting greens, and if you hit the driver straight and you’re hitting it long, it’s even more of a benefit.

Q. You’re putting so well. Same greens as last week. I’m sure growing up in California you like these types of greens —
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: No.

Q. You don’t?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: No, I played on perfect bent at River Bend. It’s now called Dragonfly. They were the most perfect greens in Central Valley, so I was accustomed to really good greens, actually, surprisingly. When I went over to Monterey I didn’t have the right loft or anything, and I would consequently putt really bad, and it actually made me feel like I was a bad putter growing up, and it was part of the reason why I struggled with a bunch of my stuff in college, and then I realized there was a better way to putt. I think it just allows me a little bit more comfort, and I’m putting well doing what I’m doing and have the right launch out there, and it’s nice, too, with being able to tap down spike marks. That helps a lot. So utilizing that, which is appropriate — you should be able to do that. If nobody else was there and you were just putting, you wouldn’t have that. That’s nice to be able to do that.

Made a couple good putts — long one on 3. I couldn’t believe I made it. I hit a 9-iron in the bunker, plugged that far into the ground. I did not think I was going to get out of it, go down to the green and made a 45-footer. That was a great way to start the day.

2020 WGC Mexico Championship Full Leaderboard

Q. Also I noticed your assistant holding a towel —
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: It’s just to see the line. It’s literally just to see the line. If not it’s a little difficult to see in the light. It’s an even more powerful laser but then it becomes illegal through federal law. Can’t do that.

Q. How difficult did the wind make this golf course today?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Twice as hard. Twice as hard. I felt like I played some incredible golf. I made a couple mistakes, didn’t birdie 12, didn’t birdie 1, bogeyed 16, bogeyed 10. You flip those, I’m leading.

Q. What makes putting on these greens whether it’s here or last week, what’s the challenge?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: It’s just the inconsistency of the roll, unfortunately. I think they’re better than last year, but it’s one of those things, isn’t it a weed or something like that, and so it’s just difficult. It doesn’t grow even, so you’ve got some spots that are a little splotchy. Hey, that’s the grow of the green. It’s literally the way it works.

Mexico City, Mexico

February 20, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Tags Bryson DeChambeau, Professionals, WGC Mexico Championship

Team UK

PGA Tour: Tyrrell Hatton Speaks With Media Following First Round -2 under 69 at the WGC Mexico Championship

Post author By Golf Post
Post date February 21, 2020

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 20: Tyrrell Hatton of England reacts on the 18th 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 Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Tyrell Hatton recaps his opening round 69 at the WGC Mexico Championship, 4 shots off the lead.

Q. What was your assessment of today?
TYRRELL HATTON: Overall, pretty happy with that. I’ve only been back hitting balls for the last three and a half weeks, so it was a long layoff. I’m quite happy. Obviously I’ve done well here in the past, so I know the course pretty well, and yeah, it was just good to kind of get back out there and play competitive golf again.

Q. You’ve had three top 20s here. What is it you like about this place?
TYRRELL HATTON: I kind of always enjoy short, kind of fiddly golf courses, I guess, and this is certainly up there with the best of them. And I guess it’s funny because you need patience around here, and that’s something that I don’t really have. For some reason the course has kind of been fairly kind to me, and hopefully it continues this week.

Q. Give us a sense of the conditions out there. The wind seemed to be picking up later on in the round.
TYRRELL HATTON: Yeah, the wind picked up a lot. We noticed it probably from the 7th. Definitely windier than how I remember it in previous years. You can kind of see from the scoring, it’s not really that low. But obviously there’s a few challenges this week with the altitude and the wind obviously swirling around now, so that makes it quite tough for club selection.

2020 WGC Mexico Championship Full Leaderboard

Q. Bogeys on 13 and 15, so that was a nice way to finish, wasn’t it?
TYRRELL HATTON: Yeah, I kind of struggled with the putter all day, actually. I gave myself lots of chances, but I was leaving a lot of putts short, and then that one on the last, I kind of — when I stood up over it, I didn’t feel too comfortable, so I kind of just stepped back a little bit, gave myself a tiny bit more room, and it was the best stroke I made all day, and it was nice to see that one go in.

Q. How is the wrist?
TYRRELL HATTON: It’s still not 100 percent, to be perfectly honest. I’ve still got a little twinge there, but I’m hoping that obviously now I’m back playing, kind of it’ll ease up. It is just going to take time. The recovery was a bit longer than we thought it would be. Obviously I was hoping to start my season in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, but this week is a good test for it, give myself four competitive rounds and see how I feel at the end of it. So I don’t want to kind of push it too much if it’s a little bit sensitive at the end of the week, but I don’t think it will be. It’s just a case of kind of getting back out and playing again.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Tags Professionals, Tyrrell Hatton, WGC Mexico Championship

Team USA

PGA Tour: Billy Horschel Speaks With The Media Regarding Adapting for Altitude at the WGC Mexico Championship

Post author By Golf Post
Post date February 21, 2020

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 20: Billy Horschel of the United States lines up a putt on the 11th 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 professional Billy Horschel speaks with the media following his opening round 68 at the WGC Mexico Championship about adapting for the change in altitude and distance.

PGA Tour: Billy Horschel speaks with the media following opening round at The WGC Mexico Championship

Q. This is going to sound like kind of a general question, but it seemed like it was windier today than what you guys have had. Would that be your assessment?
BILLY HORSCHEL: Yeah, I’ve never — what is it, my second or third time here, and I’ve never seen the wind blow this hard. It blew a little bit on Tuesday afternoon but nothing like this, and it was a challenge out there.

2020 WGC Mexico Championship Full Leaderboard

Q. How does that factor with the thin air? I know you guys have a hard time dealing with that to begin with.
BILLY HORSCHEL: The great thing for me I think was when I hit balls on the range on Tuesday and it was into the wind, we were still just testing some numbers out and seeing that just a little bit of wind that there was had an effect on the ball, bigger effect than what we thought. So it was a challenge because if you hit it — if you launch it higher, the ball is going to go farther, but then if you factor in the wind to go shorter and you launch it too high, then it negates the point. It’s a challenge. Ryan Fox and I were just talking about it. It was really tough to get the ball close to the hole, and then when you do get a good club in and you feel like you hit a good shot, you can land it in the right spot and the green could be a little bit softer and it could hit and not bounce the way you’re suspecting or it could bounce a little bit more. It was a very challenging golf course out there today, and I’m happy that I scrapped it together and shot 3-under.

Q. Did you have to be a little bit more patient today than maybe normal?
BILLY HORSCHEL: Yeah, I think so, knowing that the wind was blowing. There was some really good pin locations today. I think even if there was no wind, you’ve got to be patient because you know you can go low here, but sometimes you can hit a lot of good shots and hit a lot of good putts and not get rewarded for it. It’s a little bit of a different kind of patience today, understanding that par is a really good score instead of where in the past you’re just trying to make a lot of birdies.

Q. Did you and TA work on anything special this week?
BILLY HORSCHEL: No, just very similar to what we’ve been working on since Scottsdale, the putting, just same thing, getting a little bit better setup. The golf swing, the only thing we did last week to improve on Scottsdale was just trying to stay in my right side a little bit longer on my downswing to allow my right arm to get in front of the right hip. I’ve been having a tendency or I’ve been doing it for a long time of jumping up out of my backswing, and then the arm gets stuck behind me and I hit some really bad shots, and I hit one of those on No. 7 today.

But there’s been a lot of good stuff. It’s still not natural and it’s still not without thought, easy to do, but we’ve been doing some really good work, and it sort of is nice to see it pay off. We work really hard and sometimes we don’t see the results, and it doesn’t feel like we’re getting anywhere. But since Scottsdale, since the Waste Management Open, it seems like the path is clearing a little bit easier.

Q. The PGA TOUR officials have said that they’re going to limit water on these greens now to allow them to get firmer. How much more difficult will this golf course get with firmer greens?
BILLY HORSCHEL: It’s pretty difficult already even with soft greens. I’m interested to see — 3-under par is leading, 4-under par is leading. We don’t really need to make it that much tougher. The greens are tough enough as it is. This is a very tough place to make putts. I think it’s the fewest footage of holed putts on average. Yeah, if it gets a little bit firmer, I think it’ll be a little bit more predictable with the ball, understanding how the ball is going to land on the green, is it going to land soft, is it going to land firm, so I think that helps us a little bit, but then at the same time it gets a little bit tougher to get close to the hole when the greens do firm up.

Q. Is it unpredictable now?
BILLY HORSCHEL: I mean, I hit some shots today where we landed it where we wanted and it hit and it spun back, and it didn’t take the bounce, and then we hit a couple shots where it hit and took a bigger bounce than what we thought. You know, that’s what happens when you play on poa; it’s like that on the West Coast. The greens are just that way a little bit. It’s a little bit easier when the greens do get firm and the entire green is firm. It’s a little bit more, I think, predictable to understand how the ball is going to land on the green. But like I said, vice versa, it’s a little bit tougher to get the ball close to the hole, and at the same time it’s a little bit tougher to scramble.

Mexico City, Mexico

February 20, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Tags Billy Horschel, Professionals, WGC Mexico Championship

Team Ireland

PGA Tour: Rory McIlroy Recaps Opening Round 65 and First Round Lead at The WGC Championship Mexico

Post author By Golf Post
Post date February 21, 2020

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 20: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland lines up a putt on the ninth 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 Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Rory McIlroy speaks with the media following a successful opening round 65 at the WGC Championship Mexico to take a 2 stroke advantage over the field.

PGA Tour: Rory McIlroy speaks with the media following opening round 65 and talks new putting style, premiere golf league and more

Q. What was the difference between today and Sunday at the Genesis Open?
RORY McILROY: You know, I think at Genesis, I played 17 holes in 1-under par and then I obviously had a bad hole on the 5th, but I actually took a lot of positives from Sunday. I hung in there. I holed a nice one at the last at Riviera, which sort of gave me a little bit of momentum going into this week. But I changed my putter. I changed my putter when I got here. I went back to my old putter. I was sort of trying out a new putter last week and it didn’t quite work out the way I wanted it to, so I went back to the 34-inch. I was using a 35 last week. Yeah, I just felt a little bit more comfortable today and was seeing my lines a little bit better, and yeah, it was a good day.

Q. Seems to me there was a lot of figuring going on with the caddies. You had the altitude, the wind, the greens firmed up. I thought it was a hard day to play golf. Was that true?
RORY McILROY: A little bit. I don’t know if we’ve ever played this golf course in as much wind as today, especially some of the gusts that got up to maybe 10 or 15 miles an hour, which yeah, I can’t recall if we’ve played in wind as strong as that here, so yeah, pulling clubs and sort of trying to figure out how the wind is going to affect the ball up here was a little tricky, but I felt like Harry and I handled that pretty well.

Q. Switching to the slightly longer putter, I assume it was the same model, what was the idea of switching last week?
RORY McILROY: So at Torrey, sometimes with the 34, my right arm can get a little high and my right shoulder can sort of roll over, but with a 35 a little longer, it sort of puts my shoulder and my right elbow into better position, sort of more on plane with the shaft. So it looked really good on video and it felt good, but once I got out there, just that inch difference in the putter, it moves your eye line and you sort of stop seeing your lines the way you usually do, and I especially struggled last week on right to left putts because when it’s a longer putter and the ball is above your feet, you feel like the putter is up in your sort of belt.

I struggled a little bit with it last week. I wasn’t really expecting it. But I saw that the tournament threw with it and it didn’t quite work the way I wanted to, so I went back to the one this week, and did a really good session on Tuesday on the greens, did a few drills, sort of did a few things I maybe haven’t done the last couple weeks, got a little bit more comfortable, and it was nice to see it pay off today.

Q. What reaction have you had to what you said yesterday?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, some nice messages. Yeah, I mean, just sort of —

Q. Did you hope for that?
RORY McILROY: I don’t know. I wasn’t hoping for anything. I was just sort of providing my point of view and getting it off my chest, and that’s what I felt. I wasn’t trying to do anything or prove a point or try to get any sort of raise. I’ve sort of been sick of talking about it for the last few months, and I’m happy that everyone knows where I stand on that, and I’m happy that I know where I stand, certainly, on it.

Q. Did you get any nice messages from the TOUR, maybe Jay?
RORY McILROY: Maybe. (Laughter.)

Q. The height at which you hit the ball, what is that like here?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think with the fairways being so soft, as well, on a couple of the par-5s I teed it up high and sort of launched it. I had a 9-iron into the 15th. So yeah, and then even the drive on the 8th hole, getting it up and over the trees, and I hit a 9-iron in there, where Gary and Tommy were sort of hitting 6’s in, so that’s a pretty big difference.

So with the driver I can tee it up and I can launch it and maybe get a bit more out of it than some of the other guys, and then some of my sort of mid-irons I can — if I want to launch them up in the air, I can get a little bit more out of them.

2020 WGC Mexico Championship Full Leaderboard

But yeah, again, I did a good session on Tuesday on the TrackMan, and we did all our numbers and got it dialed in and sort of went from there, and felt like distance control was good today.

Q. What did you hit on your second on the 11th?
RORY McILROY: 4-iron from 275.

Q. Do you feel any different playing as world No. 1? Do you feel it changes your mindset?
RORY McILROY: Not particularly. No, I don’t think so. I mean, I’m confident because I played well. Regardless whether I have a 1 or a 2 or a 10 beside my name in the World Rankings, I’m comfortable with my golf game and I’m comfortable with what I’m doing, and that’s the most important thing.

Q. I think there was a time where you said you would check the rankings every Monday morning. Are you still doing that?
RORY McILROY: It’s funny when you’re on top that you don’t really do it that often. But yeah, I did it. I sort of last Monday I wanted to know what that putt on 18 was worth at Riviera, and it went from a .03 of the lead to .05 of the lead actually. But again, as long as I don’t think about it during my play and I track it on Monday morning, then I forget about it again, then it’s fine.

Q. With the type of grasses here, does this almost feel like a continuation of last week?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, a little bit. There was a couple of lies that I misjudged out there. That hole that I made bogey on, I felt like it was going to come out knuckly and it actually came out with spin, and a couple of lies around the greens I thought were going to spin and they didn’t, so I misjudged a couple of lies, but yeah, it definitely helps playing Riviera last week and then coming here because the ball does react pretty similarly.

Q. When you putt as well as you did today, especially with the minor equipment change you talked about, how much optimism does that give you for the rest of the week, especially on these greens?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, if I keep putting like that, I’ll be very happy. I’m not expecting to gain three and a half on the greens every day this week, but if I can keep my strokes gained numbers in the positive and putt better than the field average on greens like this, then you’re doing something right. But it was definitely validation to going back to the putter I’d been using for the last 14 months, I guess. A little blip last week, but I’m back, and I putted well today and hopefully continue to.

Q. Is it the same grip on the putter?
RORY McILROY: No, I actually changed the grip. I went to a slightly thicker grip. So the thicker grip gets your hands more facing each other and for me gets that right arm tucked in a little bit better and then gets the arm on the shaft clean, and I just stroke it better.

Q. If things had gone your way on Sunday and you had managed to win, would you have change putters?
RORY McILROY: Harry asked me that actually on Sunday night. He goes, if we won this week, would you change your putter, and I said, yeah, I probably still would have because I just didn’t feel quite as comfortable as I thought I would.

Q. Does that make you stubborn?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it does.

Q. When you got to the first and second hole, you had a long period to way there. How do you manage not to lose your rhythm and stay within the game?
RORY McILROY: Actually I had a lovely conversation with Doug Ferguson there, so that was what I did. But no, honestly, I like to talk about something else and get my mind away from the round, so yeah, we talked about all sorts of stuff over there. Actually I wasn’t quite ready to hit the tee shot, so I had to rush a little bit. Yeah, no, we deal with it every week on TOUR, and guys deal with it differently, they go and stand on their own or chat or they converse with someone. But I like to get my mind off it and sort of chat about anything else.

Q. You told Woodland and Fleetwood an anecdote on hole 2 and you had them laughing. What was that anecdote you told them, do you remember?
RORY McILROY: I don’t know, I tell so many. I’m a funny guy. I don’t know. I can’t remember.

Q. They showed your yardages on the telecast today. I’m just wondering how vast a difference are they this week from Riviera?
RORY McILROY: I mean, I was hitting little 7-irons from 155 yards at Riviera last week. It’s very different. It’s very different. Even when you get a shot into the wind here, it doesn’t affect it that much because into the wind the ball stays in the air longer and has a chance to fly further. So even into the wind there today on that last par-3 we played, the 7th hole, I pitched a 6-iron 230 into the wind. It plays a lot different. I mean, at the end of the day, it’s just a number, so if I know that this week my wedge goes 170, then that’s what I do, and I just have to trust that that’s what it goes. My 9-iron goes 180 in, my 8-iron goes 200, my 7 goes whatever, and as long as you trust those numbers and know that it is going to go that distance, it doesn’t really matter what club you’re using.

Q. What was working so well for you out there?
RORY McILROY: I putted a little better today than I did in Riviera last week, and I took advantage of how I drove the ball. I drove the ball well, took advantage of the par-5s, and yeah, I mean, I made one bogey. I misjudged the lie on the 4th hole there, but apart from that, just really solid on the golf course.

Q. Talk about the 11th.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it was a 4-iron from like 275. Yeah, it was really good. I was in between 4 and the rescue I’m carrying, but the wind just died down a touch and I was able to hit a good 4-iron in there.

Q. 275 with a 4-iron, just checking?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, that’s sort of what the 4-iron is going this week, which is nice, and it was really nice to hole this putt, see this putt go in early on. That’s one of the things I wasn’t doing last week at Riviera, so that was really nice.

Q. Last week kikuyu greens, this week kikuyu, as well. How much does that help you this week that you saw a little bit of this last week at Riviera?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it does. It prepared us. It’s a little softer here than it was in Riviera, especially at the weekend, but yeah, I went back to my old putter this week. I was trying a new putter last week that was 35 inches. Went back to my old one, which was 34, which I used all last year, and it worked pretty well last year, so going to keep it in the bag, and it worked really well today.

Q. When you switch putters, what are you looking for in that regard?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, for me it was sometimes my right arm position can get a bit high, and the 35 with it being a bit longer, my right elbow sort of tucks in a little bit better. But it just — on right to left putts, it just felt as if the putter felt a little too long, but this was really nice, a little downhiller, a little right to left, and obviously a nice way to finish off the day. Yeah, happy to have the old faithful back in the bag, and it worked out today.

Q. Last year you played so well but you got beat. There’s two ways of not getting a victory on the PGA TOUR; you either lose or you get beat. Last year you got beat by Dustin Johnson. How do you come back to a place like this with good vibes knowing you played so well here in the past?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, the first year we came here in ’17, I think I had the lead after 36. I didn’t end up winning but played well. Last year finished second, and then obviously off to a good start this year, so I like this place, and I like the golf course. I’ve always played pretty well at altitude for whatever reason that is, and yeah, as you said, I got beat last year, I didn’t lose. I played pretty well. Hopefully this year I can do one better.

Q. Big game, big field, No. 1 player in the world. How would you evaluate your performance?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it was good. All aspects of my game were working pretty well today. I drove the ball well, and I took advantage of that. I think the big thing was I putted well. I didn’t putt so well at Riviera last week. Went back to my old putter, was trying a new one last week. It didn’t quite work out the way I wanted it to, but I was comfortable on the greens today and holed some nice ones coming in today.

Q. A lot of players find poa annua greens difficult to putt on. What are you doing that’s allowing you to putt so well?
RORY McILROY: I think I just saw so many putts missed last week that it sort of — what else can happen? You’ve got to read it as well as you can and try and start it on your line, and if it goes in, it goes in. If it doesn’t — that was sort of the saving grace last week. I knew everyone was struggling on the greens. Yeah, I guess if a putt misses and you hit a good putt, then you just have to step up to the next one and have commitment. That’s what I did today. I had a really good attitude on the greens, and it paid off.

Q. What is it you like about this golf course?
RORY McILROY: I’ve always played well at altitude. I’ve played well in Crans over in Europe a few years. I finished second there last year, I obviously finished second here last year. I think I’ve got the altitude pretty figured out. I think I have a pretty good formula for it, and I can hit the ball a long way here, which helps, and then my distance control has been pretty good. That combined I’m not really guessing too much over things. Certainty goes a long way, especially around this place.

Q. Catching headlines yesterday around the world of golf and categorically saying that you were out with regards to the Premier Golf League. You explained yourself really well about your reasons behind it. We just really want to know about the timing. What was the thinking being the first player and saying what you have said around here?
RORY McILROY: Honestly, the chat has sort of been going since the end of last year, and it got to the point where I like to have certainty on things, and I sort of made a decision last week. I was like, you know what, what they’re proposing isn’t for me. I’d much rather pick and choose where I play and have that freedom and autonomy, as I said yesterday. I’d rather just get it off my chest and get it out there and tell everyone how I feel, and maybe that sways guys one way or another and makes them think a little bit, and that’s sort of what I was trying to do.

Mexico City, Mexico

February 20, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Tags Professionals, professionals-rory-mcilroy, WGC Mexico Championship

Team USA

PGA Tour: Patrick Reed Speaks on Windy Conditions at The WGC Mexico Championship

Post author By Golf Post
Post date February 21, 2020

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 20: Patrick Reed of the United States plays a shot on the 18th hole 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 Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

PGA Tour professional Patrick Reed speaks with the media following an opening round 69 about the windy conditions and the recent Brook’s Koepka comments.

PGA Tour: Patrick Reed talks wind, Brooks Koepka, and Premiere Golf League rumors

Q. You’ve played here a couple times. Can you talk about how much harder it is in wind like this?
PATRICK REED: It’s a lot harder. This is the first time I’ve actually played with wind.

Q. I think it’s the first time we’ve had it.
PATRICK REED: Yeah, I think the biggest thing is into the wind, downwind, kind of sea level at home, it’s very easy to kind of judge. But all of a sudden you come here and it seems like downwind the ball will just not stop. It just never stops, and then into the wind it seems like the ball doesn’t go anywhere. Because the air is thinner up here, it seems like at the end of the day the wind magnifies what the ball wants to do.

2020 WGC Mexico Championship Full Leaderboard

Q. So it still makes it go shorter even into the wind? You don’t get the advantage of the altitude into the wind as much?
PATRICK REED: Well, you still get the advantage of altitude, but I think the biggest thing is just like a little puff at home might be three yards difference, but here it seems to be five to seven. Just seems to be magnified just a little bit. And same thing downwind. If you get downwind and a full wedge number in your hand, the ball will never stop. It will just go.

Q. Rory talked yesterday about the Premier Golf League. Do you have any thoughts?
PATRICK REED: Honestly I have my team grabbing all the information about it, and I don’t know enough about it yet to really say anything about it, but once we get all the information, I’ll go make my mind up later on.

Q. What did you think of a guy of Rory’s stature essentially saying he’s out?
PATRICK REED: Yeah, I mean, I just heard about it probably earlier this year. I know some of the guys have heard about it for years, and supposedly this has been something that’s gone on and hasn’t really caught, and then it’s kind of been going on and off for quite some time. Rory would know more about it and kind of where he stands, and me, it’s hard for me to really say either way. I don’t know much about it yet.

Q. We haven’t had a chance to ask you, but did you see what Brooks said about the Hero and do you have any response?
PATRICK REED: Not really. I mean, I said what I have to say about what happened in the Bahamas, and at the end of the day, all I’m trying to do is go out and play good golf and trying to win a golf championship and hopefully run Rory down.

Mexico City, Mexico

February 20, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Tags Patrick Reed, Professionals, WGC Mexico Championship

Team USA

PGA Tour: Justin Thomas Talks Successful Track Record at the WGC Mexico Championship

Post author By Golf Post
Post date February 21, 2020

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 20: Justin Thomas of the United States plays his shot from the second tee 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 Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

PGA Tour professional Justin Thomas speaks with the media following an opening round 67 at the WGC Mexico Championship and in a tie for second position, 2 strokes off the lead.

PGA Tour: Justin Thomas recaps opening round 67 at the WGC Mexico Championship

Q. Justin, what is it about this course you like so much?
JUSTIN THOMAS: I don’t know. It’s a different course. Leish and I were talking about it today. I’ve never played a place — I felt like today was tough. I’ve never played this place with this kind of wind. It just doesn’t get this windy here this often. But you can go so low, but man, if you’re not playing well, you can shoot over par in a heartbeat. It’s pretty tough to manage your score, but I feel like we have a pretty good idea how far the ball goes, and that helps.

Q. When you guys teed off there was nothing and then all of a sudden it kicked up. When that happens, how much do you have to change your game plan out there?
JUSTIN THOMAS: You have to change it a lot because usually at altitude the wind doesn’t affect it too much, but when you’re hitting 6-irons from 240 over water, you’re like, well, I hope it — is it going to affect it, is it not. I hit a sand wedge today, Jimmy and I were posing looking at it, and it landed like 10 yards short of the green. Like it wasn’t even close. It took us a little bit to kind of figure out that the ball did not go very far into the wind, but man, it goes downwind.

2020 WGC Mexico Championship Full Leaderboard

Q. You’ve played all over the world. How much do you enjoy representing not only you and your brand but also the PGA TOUR, playing here in Mexico and everywhere else you get to play in front of fans like this?
JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, it’s awesome. Jimmy and I said, it’s really cool. I want to meet this kid; I’ve met him but I don’t know him very well. He’s followed us around the last two years. He knows Jimmy’s name, he yells at Jimmy, he yells at me, he looks like a TOUR pro out there, so I feel like I have some sort of relationship with this little kid just from playing in this tournament. But we get a lot of support from everybody, and it’s great that we decided to come here to Mexico City.

Q. How would you assess your round out there today?
JUSTIN THOMAS: I played well. It was a little difficult to start it felt like with this wind. It wasn’t something that we’re accustomed to out here, all of us. It’s usually very, very calm. If anything you’ll get maybe a five-mile-an-hour breeze. But took us a little bit to adjust, but when I missed the green I felt like I missed them in good spots and got it up-and-down, made a couple key putts and really felt like I did everything I needed to do.

Q. With the wind, how did that make the course harder?
JUSTIN THOMAS: It’s really tough just because I think 7 is a perfect example. For some reason that back tee, seems like no matter where the pin is, it’s just a perfect 6-iron, and my 6-iron here goes about 230 to 235 and the pin is in the back today. I think it was 230 — it was 241 and we had 208 front, and the 7-iron goes 215, and usually at this altitude the wind doesn’t do very much, but when it’s blowing that much, you’re like, is it not, because long is bad and what do we do and I can’t come up short because then it goes in the water, and it really was just a guessing game.

I hit a wedge shot on 5 that — I mean, I flagged it and it landed 10 yards short of the green. It wasn’t even close. It took a little bit to get used to, but once we did, I felt like we had somewhat of an idea.

Q. Does it help that you’ve had some success here, when you have to deal with something like that, it’s easier to figure it out a little quicker than maybe guys who haven’t played here?
JUSTIN THOMAS: I hope so. That would be an advantage for me. At the end of the day, the most important thing is hitting the ball consistently because if you hit it differently, you hit down on it, you hit it high, hit it low, your yardages are going to change, and I feel like that’s something we’ve done is we just try to stick to just playing golf and our numbers that have worked the last three years.

Q. How much is it to have validation after Genesis to come here and put a good opening round together and put yourself — seems to be at this tournament again.
JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, it’s good. It just yet again proves what a fickle game golf is. Two places that are as totally different as they may seem, I feel like are similar golf courses in terms — if you play well it rewards good golf, but you can shoot over par pretty quickly. You’ve got the zoysia fairways, the kind of kikuyu type rough, poa annua greens, so you really have to be patient out there, and it’s kind of something that I try to learn a little bit from last week. I didn’t play that poorly on Friday, I just couldn’t get the ball in the hole, so it was nice to see some putts go in.

Q. How do you define patience out here?
JUSTIN THOMAS: Just waiting for your time. I feel like at some point over four days, hopefully a couple times I might reel off four, five, six in a nine-hole span, and you just kind of have to wait for it. There’s a decent chance it doesn’t happen, but you have so many wedges, and if you have control of your ball you can get it in good spots. I mean, I’ve had two 62s here, and you can get it going. It’s just tough sometimes because of the altitude and playing the yardages correctly and making them on these greens. So many short clubs, you just kind of have to wait for it I feel like.

Mexico City, Mexico

February 20, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Tags Justin Thomas, Professionals, WGC Mexico Championship