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PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

August 20, 2006

David Toms

MEDINAH, ILLINOIS

Q. You had four rounds in the 60s in Atlanta. How do you think this venue now compares to that?

DAVID TOMS: I mean, what would I say? I mean, obviously you can score out there. I still hit a lot of long clubs in, so I wouldn't say it's short. Obviously some of the guys that can hit it over some of these doglegs and hit it out there on the par 5s, it plays a lot easier. A couple par 5s I was hitting 3 woods to lay up, I was hitting 3 woods to get on the green earlier in the week.

But obviously the softness is what translated into the low scores because no matter what club you hit back there in the fairway, you hit the shot the right distance, it would hold right there by the pin. The fairways were playing wider than normal. Even though they were tilted, the ball is not rolling into the rough because there was enough moisture there.

I'm surprised that there were that many putts made because the greens were pretty bumpy. It seemed like we spent most of our time fixing ball marks than looking at the lines. I'm just surprised that they're making enough putts to be that many under.

Q. What theory is that, the greens that have been rebuilt didn't have near as much undulation in them as the old ones?

DAVID TOMS: That might be true.

Q. But you probably would have noticed that, wouldn't you?

DAVID TOMS: I could count on one hand the number of times I was scared of a putt out there the whole week, and not necessarily scared of a putt, but one where you could say, oh, it could get away from you. I might have had two or three all week that I felt that way over, and they were the ones that were just drastically downhill.

For the most part they were perfect speed to make putts. You didn't have to worry about running 20 footers too far past the hole. A lot of times in major championships, you have a 20 footer, you can overpower it or hit it too hard, you could have a ten footer coming back, and we didn't have that here.

Q. You've had a chance to obviously watch Steve Stricker today, played pretty well and has a chance to maybe get on the team. If you were going to make an argument to Tom why he should be on the team, what would it be?

DAVID TOMS: Well, obviously he's played well this year. He's come back from a lot of adversity where he had some down years and he's really turned his game around, and he played very solid today. His putter looks very good. That's what you need in the Ryder Cup, you need a guy that can hole putts. At least the other team always does.

He looked very good over the putter and played a good, solid round on a day when he needed to play good. He's a guy I've always respected his game. Coming out in my era, he was the best player coming out of college, and he had success early and fought his way back, and he's a great guy. I have a lot of respect for him and I think he would do well. He's got the temperament for him.

Q. (Inaudible)?

DAVID TOMS: I don't know. Just obviously it works. To me his swing always looks good when his rhythm is good. He gets out of rhythm and starts trying to swing too hard, and I don't care who you're working with on the golf swing, it's not going to look that great. To me when his rhythm is good, he's the best in the world.

Q. Do you think he's as good right now as he was in 2000?

DAVID TOMS: I think when he won the U.S. Open, lapping the field there, I was pretty impressed. Obviously the way he's played as of late, you have an argument for being just as good now as he was then. I mean, I don't know. I think the guy has got the best mind in the game, regardless of what his swing is all about. He can beat people with that even when his swing is not that great.

Q. It doesn't look like the Ryder Cup Top 10 is going to change today. Are you comfortable with the ten the way it is?

DAVID TOMS: Sure. I think we have a bunch of guys that might not have experience, but they'll be excited to be there. I remember the way I was my first time, so they'll be rearing to go. Maybe sometimes that experience thing can be a little overrated. Experience, is it a good experience or is it a bad experience? I mean, if you've had both, maybe it's not all that important. Maybe the guys that haven't had a bad experience, haven't been beat yet, might even be better off.

End of FastScripts.

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