Tiger’s Wells Fargo press conference: Friday
Q: What was the challenge out there today?
TIGER WOODS: The entire week I didn’t play the par-5s well. Today I made four pars. You just can’t do that, especially when all of them are reachable with irons. I didn’t take care of the par-5s, missed a couple other little short ones for birdie, and consequently got no momentum during the round.
Q: Can you just take us through the ruling and what happened?
TIGER WOODS: Well, a gentleman saw the ball land and roll, and another gentleman verified he saw the same thing. There were about five or six people that ran over to the ball, and the next thing you know we get down there and there’s hundreds of people and no ball. You saw an area there, there’s really nothing there. We looked around for a while, and then Mark came over there and analyzed the situation and what was going on. We gave him all the information. The two gentlemen participated in the conversation, and we dropped it as close as we could to where they thought it was picked up. So that was it.
Q: Do you feel like you played with your swing a little bit? It seemed like you were obviously grinding a lot. What was the last hour and a half like out there?
TIGER WOODS: Well, it all has to do with my setup. If I get over the golf ball and I feel uncomfortable, I hit it great. It’s just that I get out there and I want to get comfortable, and I follow my old stuff, and I hit it awful. All the shots I got uncomfortable on, I just said, I’m going to get really uncomfortable and make it feel as bad as it possibly could, I striped it. I know what I need to do, it’s just I need more reps doing it.
Q: What does that mean when you’re like that?
TIGER WOODS: Well, I just know that — because obviously we’ve changed a bunch of different things, and every now and again I fall into the same stuff, old stuff. That doesn’t work with a combo platter of old and new.
Q: Given those challenges, is it hard to have fun out there?
TIGER WOODS: Well, it’s hard to have fun when you’re parring the par-5s and you’ve got an iron into each one. You know, it’s a great week. The people come out here and support this event. Everyone has been just absolutely incredible here. This is one of my favorite TOUR stops, and unfortunately I’m just not going to be around for the last two days.
Q: On 8, were you trying to power that thing over there?
TIGER WOODS: No, obviously I was thinking about the cut, but I think it was a putt that I saw Geoff go to the right, and I’m reading it just initially looking at it, I thought it was inside the hole. And then I was just seeing his putt break from a different angle as much as it did, now I’ve got to throw it outside the hole, and I didn’t feel comfortable throwing it outside the hole. I went with my initial read and I just put a little more steam on it, and it didn’t work out.
Q: Will you practice after this or get away for a day or two?
TIGER WOODS: No, I’ll practice.
Q: Why are you still uncomfortable at this point with the swing changes? Why are you still uncomfortable at times over the ball?
TIGER WOODS: If you think about it, with Butch it took me two years and with Hank it took me almost two years before old patterns are out. I played really well at the ’97 Masters, and I didn’t really do anything until May of ’99. So it takes time to get rid of old patterns. It takes hundreds of thousands if not millions of golf balls, but eventually it comes around. I’ve had my share of successes, and I know it’s coming.
Q: What do you feel mostly when you leave here today?
TIGER WOODS: Well, it’s frustration. I finished, what, 12 back of the lead, and I’m not playing the weekend where I have a chance to compete for a title. I’ve missed my share of cuts in the past, and they don’t feel good.
Q: Can you explain the approach shot at 7 and everything that happened, the tough lie afterwards?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I was trying to hit a low fade in there and stuck it in the ground, hit it to the right. It was not only up against the wall but it settled down in some sand, and that’s one reason why I turned the putter up toe down so I could get a better angle on it. If it wasn’t in the sand, then I could hit a sand wedge and blade it or something like that and play that kind of shot, but I needed more angle. Even though with the angle of the putter being toe down, I still had the concrete a little bit and ended up getting on the green and making a putt. But still, it was not a very good wedge shot in there at all.
Q: You said yesterday the greens looked fast and putt slow. Did you see that and kind of fight that again?
TIGER WOODS: I fought that all day today. It was frustrating. I mean, I try and rap it, just try and hit it as hard as I can, but I’m trying to think that way and get it to the hole, but it just doesn’t happen because they look quick.
Q: Are you pulling up?
TIGER WOODS: No, I just don’t hit it hard enough because what my sight sees and what my feel is telling me are not what it is, and they’re not marrying up. Consequently all my putts were left short.
Q: Were you thinking you needed to get to 2-under?
TIGER WOODS: It was probably going to be 2 if not 3 to be safe. With as hot as it is, the ball is flying this afternoon, I figured the cut would move at least one for sure, and it would get to 2, and I thought 3 would probably be safe.
