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VALERO TEXAS OPEN


October 11, 2008


Tim Wilkinson


SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

CHRIS REIMER: Tim, welcome. 11-under par for the tournament. Obviously a good stretch there in the middle of your 18. Need to talk about the three straight birdies on 7, 8, 9, good start.
TIM WILKINSON: No. 7, I didn't really hit a good pitch but I think I holed out a 25-foot birdie putt and yesterday on 8, I was in the hazard so I hit like a 3-iron off the tee. I hit it to ten feet and made that for birdie.
No. 9, driver, sand wedge to five, six feet and made that. And then 11, hit a driver down short of the green and wedged it on to about ten feet and made it.
Then 12, hit a 3-wood and wedge to about 10, 11 feet again and made it. I holed those putts you'd like to make, you know, you think you should make them. I holed them all today so that was good.
CHRIS REIMER: Questions?

Q. Couple years ago when Eric Axley won, a lot of questions was does this course set-up well for a left-hander. Sure did today. How about yourself? I know there's some courses that --
TIM WILKINSON: Definitely there's some courses that don't feel as comfortable for a left-hander. Yeah, it does suit my eye. I like the way it plays firm and fast as well. Just a lot of comfortable shots out there. You wish more courses are like that.

Q. Is this today, were the conditions a little different today? I know supposedly they're supposed to change a little bit.
TIM WILKINSON: Wind was slightly different direction. I'm not sure what it's supposed to do tomorrow but it was a little bit different from the first two days and I think that helped me as well.
Actually some of the holes just helped the ball drift around because it was a little bit easier as well. So that was good.

Q. What happened, you're in contention going into tomorrow. Knowing that this tournament over the years everyone has had -- has gone very low when they've won, putted well, do you go in with a different game plan tomorrow, do you attack flags a little more knowing other people are going to go low?
TIM WILKINSON: There's plenty of holes out there -- it just depends on the situation. If you have a wedge in your hands, you're not going towards the middle of the green. There aren't a whole lot of long irons shots. It's a little bit easier to go at flags as long as you're in the fairway.
The rough, you can get a few flyers and things like that. I think driving in the fairway tomorrow and just being in good position, you know, to hit your shots is important.

Q. Isn't that kind of like a field for a shoot-out?
TIM WILKINSON: I haven't thought about it. I'm just trying the play my game, you know, just stay relaxed and just hit my shots that I'm comfortable with and if I'm not just in the middle of the green and take par.

Q. Tim, how has it been going for you this year? Do you feel like you're building momentum going in or is this kind of a surprise for you so far?
TIM WILKINSON: I was in the last group in Hawaii in the first event of the year so that was sort of thrown in the deep end. I learned a lot from that.
The next time I was in position to have a good chance I played in New Orleans and I haven't really played that well in the middle of the season.
But I've been working pretty hard on my game the last month or so just to try and get back to playing some good golf again. And, you know, the swing is feeling pretty good and I'm putting solidly.

Q. About that, your 63 matched the low round of the week and those birdies came on the strength of, like you, said some long putts, 25-footer, 10, 11 footers.
These bermuda greens, are they reminiscent of what you grew up in New Zealand?
TIM WILKINSON: We don't have bermuda greens. When I was playing amateur golf I played a lot up in Asia and had really similar greens to this and like I had experience doing that. I live in Florida now so you get to practice on --
Q. The last month of the season you've seen it all, probably.
TIM WILKINSON: Yeah. I won't say they're familiar similar to Hawaii, the green, the texture. They're not -- the new strain of bermuda, I don't know what it is, what it's called but don't have much grain.

Q. You're putting them beautifully congratulations.
TIM WILKINSON: Thanks.

Q. Who are you working with with your swing?
TIM WILKINSON: Andre White in New Zealand.

Q. So is it a long distance thing? Are you tuning up over the phone with him or did you go fly down and see him?
TIM WILKINSON: Well, I go home over Christmas and work pretty hard on my game then and he came over in February just before we played in Puerto Rico and New Orleans. I finished 6th. I thought it was worthwhile going over.
Then I came over in Reno and he caddied for me. Sort of spread out during the year. Every couple months I'll see him.

Q. You were just alluding to the fact you've been working hard on your game.
TIM WILKINSON: Sending some swings home on-line and getting him to have a look at those.

Q. Anything big that you had to tweak?
TIM WILKINSON: Sort of fine-tuning things. I got into a few bad habits with my setups. You know, all things -- the fundamentals are good, things are a lot easy to do.
CHRIS REIMER: Thanks, good luck.
TIM WILKINSON: Thank you.

End of FastScripts




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