Tiger’s Wyndham Championship press conference: Saturday
Q: I know you wanted that one badly at 18. All in all you got to take some positives out of the today.
TIGER WOODS: It was a grind today. I kept leaving myself in tough spots above the hole on every single hole. I had to putt too defensively because of it. Consequently, I didn’t make a run and make a bunch of birdies. Saw Jason and Jonas went out there and shot a number. You could do it. Just put yourself below the hole. Greens are so smooth and perfect, put it in the right spots you can run the tables.
Q: Talk about tomorrow now, the penultimate group. You’re right there playing great. What do you think about tomorrow?
TIGER WOODS: We’re going to make some birdies. It’s the nature of the golf course. Little bit faster, some more difficult pins out there. Saw some of the dots. It’s definitely getable, this golf course. With it being this warm and the ball traveling this far, you can get the ball down there where you have 8-iron on down and you can attack.
Q: Excited about tomorrow?
TIGER WOODS: Absolutely. I’m looking forward to it.
Q: Tiger, your feelings about this round today. Do you feel like —
TIGER WOODS: It was a grind today. Like yesterday, I kept leaving myself above the hole seemed like on every hole. I had to putt so defensively because of it. I couldn’t get on the run that Jason and Jonas did. I just didn’t put myself in the right spots.
Q: How are you at 18?
TIGER WOODS: I hit a good putt. Just hung there at the end and lipped out. But, overall, I thought I made a lot of putts today for pars, unfortunately they were all for par from 6 feet on in, that was my only miss.
Q: Talk about tomorrow.
TIGER WOODS: I’m looking forward to it. Jason and I go back 30 years. It’s going to be fun for both of us to go out there and duke it out. Obviously Jonas is up there, bunch of guys have a chance. Tomorrow is going to be just like today. You can get on a run and make a tear and make a bunch of birdies. It’s not a golf course in which you can sit and make a bunch of pars and expect to win. You got to go get it.
Q: Tiger, what about hanging in today, this round three weeks ago at QuickenLoans you weren’t able to do. Today you were. Still in contention. Another step for you?
TIGER WOODS: I just thought I hit the ball well. I did all the things I needed to do. I just couldn’t quite get the ball below the hole. The putts I did get below the hole I usually made. I was telling Joey, you don’t want to short-side ourselves. So, obviously, I played a little conservative at times and put the ball above the hole. Obviously Jason and Jonas didn’t do that. They went out there and played and got it done.
Q: Tiger, you mentioned Jason and the relationship you had with him for 30 years. How would you describe that relationship? He called you a friend. What are you expecting from him tomorrow?
TIGER WOODS: We go back, as I said 30 years. We’re great friends and from Junior Golf into college, and into the Pro ranks. He’s always been a great friend and it’s going to be fun for us to battle like this because we haven’t done it basically since college. We’ve been in different eras, different tournaments and unfortunately we haven’t had that opportunity. He’s been hurt, I’ve been hurt. Seems like we’ve kind of battled things and finally we are here and in a situation where we can have a little fun like we did in Junior Golf and amateur golf. The way he’s playing right now he’s playing great. I expect him to go out there and do what he needs to do.
Q: Can you still talk about how encouraging it is to make the key par putts during the day?
TIGER WOODS: I felt good. Very steady from the word go, you know. Putter just felt really good. My pace — I felt like I could be aggressive today. I took a few runs at putts and ripped them past the hole. I just never felt like I was going to miss any of them. I took a rip at them and some I made, some I didn’t.
Q: Given all you’ve been through, the FedExCup and all that stuff, can you be satisfied without winning tomorrow?
TIGER WOODS: Well, I’m not looking at it like that, Bobby, you know me. I’m two back right now. I can go out there tomorrow and make a run and get myself up there and make some birdies because there’s a bunch of guys, not just Jonas and I at 13 but like a whole slew of guys at 12, 11, 10. Anybody can make a run and shoot the score that Jason and Jonas did.
Q: How much fun are you having?
TIGER WOODS: I’m having a good time. It helps to play better and the atmosphere is incredible. The people are so nice and supportive. It’s just a lot of fun to play in front of them.
Q: Does this crowd remind of you any others in the past?
TIGER WOODS: I was telling Bobby this the other day, it’s very similar to Flint. It’s a small market and you see the same people sitting on the same greens each and every year. It’s very similar to that. The nature of the golf course in order to watch shots and watch players you got to follow them. You can’t sit there and watch three, four holes. It’s the nature of the golf course. You have a traveling kind of pack going with you the entire day.
