Tiger’s Presidents Cup press conference: Sunday
Q: You have clinched the Cup for the United States; how satisfying is this victory today in?
TIGER WOODS: It feels good. It was a team effort this whole week. We really played well, and gave ourselves a really nice lead going into the singles, and it was a tough day, tough conditions, rain, wind. It was tough all around.
Q: How much of a struggle was it with your back?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, it acted up on 14 coming in. On 14 on in, it just kept getting worse and worse. It’s a little tight, but I’m sure we can find some swing lube later for this.
Q: You talked about it being a team effort; how much fun do you have playing in these events in?
TIGER WOODS: Oh, we have a great time, you kidding me? This is why when you first experience it, you want to get back on these teams each and every year. It’s just a lot of fun.
It was a long week but it was worth it. We did it.
Q: What was hurting, lower back?
TIGER WOODS: It’s the same thing as it was at Barclays. Went out on me at 14 and from then on, it just kept getting worse. But, you know, hey, I got a point for our team so that’s all that matters. We played a lot of holes and a lot of start, stopping the last couple days, so a lot of guys on our team are dinged up, and unfortunately I was one of them.
Q: Coming down the stretch, seemed like you were in a lot of pain; what was going through your head, especially with the Cup coming down to you?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I was like a similar position as Freddie; where is our fourth point going to come from. I was at a point where I wasn’t feeling my best coming down the stretch, and happened to get a 1 up lead. I was just trying to just hang on to that. Problem was, I knew I wasn’t feeling good, and if I happened to mess up 18 and we had to go down we had to continue playing until it’s been decided. I was like, I really don’t want to play anymore (laughter). Just can I win, can I halve this last hole, somehow, and it ended up being that way.
To have the opportunity to win the Cup for Freddie and all the guys on the team, it means a lot to me, and to be able to have trust in the guys and be able to go out there and earn a point, it means a lot.
Q: Did the stop and start nature of this week, the weather, contribute at all to your back issues, and I take it you were probably looking at taking a few weeks away from golf now anyway. Can you just talk about that, as well? Thanks.
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, it’s been a long week for all of us. I think that a few of us are a little bit dinged up and our physios did a hell of a job this week of getting us out there and keeping us going. And especially with all of the start and stops, and as many holes; I’ve never played three matches in a day before. So that was certainly our first yesterday, and it’s been a long week and you know, I’m a little bit sore, and certainly I’m looking forward to not touching a club for a while.
