Tiger’s CIMB Classic press conference: Friday
Q: Tiger, you said how hot it was yesterday. That was nothing on what it was like today. How did you manage to keep your concentration today?
TIGER WOODS: That’s one of the hard things. You have to somehow do it. (Indiscernible) You have to make birdies out there. You can’t just be passive and play to the center of the greens and stuff. You have to be aggressive. Guys are taking it low.
Q: (Indiscernible) you had a lot of downhill putts that were actually difficult to make?
TIGER WOODS: You know what? They’re grainy and they’re hard. Yesterday I had some good leads on the back nine. Today it was downhill, cross-grain.
Q: You sit in a fairly strong position for the next two days.
TIGER WOODS: As I said, it’s going to be 20-plus. Right now 13 is leading with I think Robert’s got four holes to go. So we’ll see. We’ve got two rounds to go. Today we had ball in hand, tomorrow we may have ball in hand again, so if that’s the case, we have a chance to make some birdies.
Q: Tough day at the office, huh?
TIGER WOODS: It was just one of those days that I didn’t make enough birdies. I had — I didn’t really have a lot of looks, and then the looks I did have were downhill, cross-grain putts and putts that I just couldn’t be aggressive with. Just kind of the way it worked out today.
Q: Today the weather was not really bothering you?
TIGER WOODS: It was bothering everybody, I think. It’s hot out there.
Q: What is the difference between here and in Miami and Tampa? You have this kind of weather?
TIGER WOODS: We just don’t have the humidity like this. We have the heat like this, but we don’t have the humidity. This year in D.C. it was over a 100°, but we didn’t have humidity like this. This is different. In Florida, every day’s going to blow. You know it’s going to blow, but it doesn’t blow here. There is no wind. On some of these tee boxes, it’s just so still and heavy.
Q: Tiger, how much do you know about Jbe’ Kruger before today, and how did you feel he played?
TIGER WOODS: I knew a little bit about him, but I hadn’t seen him play. Today was the first time I’ve seen him. He was playing right in front of us yesterday, and he had a 7-under with one to go and made a big mistake at 18. But he’s playing well. What is he? 12-under par with a double. He made one bogey today. So he’s playing really, really well.
Q: What can you say about that ball stuck in the mud there?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I asked for a ruling. Whether or not I took the club back and hit the grass on the way back whether or not that was a penalty, because obviously you saw what happened to Carl Pettersson this year at the PGA where that was a penalty. If I didn’t touch the ground, I was fine. But I had a good enough lie where I could get on it and get it out. I couldn’t control it, but at least I know if I could get it on the green and give myself a putt, it would have been closer than chipping from probably 80 yards short of the green.
Q: (Indiscernible)?
TIGER WOODS: I feel good about it. Robert is right now at 13-under with 4 holes to go. So he’ll probably post 14 or 15. As I said at the beginning of the week, it’s going to take 20-plus to win this tournament. I’ve just got to go out there and make a bunch of birdies. The golf course can be had, especially when we have ball in hand like we did today, because just about every single tee shot I had had mud on it. It was a good call by the TOUR.
Q: Final thoughts, Tiger on your game?
TIGER WOODS: I hit a good putt. There was so much grain out there on these greens, and it just got snagged. You could hear it chattering as it was going off, and that’s just the way it goes.
Q: Can you talk about the course?
TIGER WOODS: It’s wet. It’s wet, it’s a little muddy, and it’s playing where it can be had out there. Guys are shooting low scores, a bunch of 65s and lower today.
Q: Was your driver behaving well today?
TIGER WOODS: I hit it pretty good except for a couple of tee shots I lost to the right. Other than that, I flushed it. That wasn’t the case. I didn’t hit my irons close enough or I hit them in the wrong spot where I was coming downhill, cross-grain. And I just couldn’t be aggressive with some of the spots.
Q: What exactly will be your strategy for tomorrow?
TIGER WOODS: Again, just make a bunch of birdies. It’s going to take a really low, low total. I’ve just got to get after it tomorrow where at least I’ll have a chance going in to Sunday.
