home jobs contact us
Our Clients:
Browse by Sport
Find us on ASAP sports on Facebook ASAP sports on Twitter
ASAP Sports RSS Subscribe to RSS
Click to go to
Asaptext.com
ASAPtext.com
ASAP Sports e-Brochure View our
e-Brochure

THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY MORGAN STANLEY


June 6, 2010


Tiger Woods


DUBLIN, OHIO

Q. You got your four days in, but what did you get out of it as far as learning what you want to work on and what you're doing?
TIGER WOODS: Well, I'm capable of playing four rounds in a row.

Q. Congratulations.
TIGER WOODS: Thank you. I felt like this week I hit some really good shots, shots that I had been lacking. As I was able the shape the ball. I was still a little one- dimensional. I could draw the ball really well.
I was telling Peter I could hit a low fade very comfortably by getting the ball up in the air and fading it. It was a little bit of a different story. It was a little bit of a change.
Then again, like Steve and I were saying, you don't want to hit too many high fades either because the ball comes ripping off the greens. I do play one of the softest balls on Tour. It's just one of those things where I still need to work on.

Q. What do you need to do, Tiger, to get to -- I know Pebble is a couple of weeks away. There's not a lot of time. What do you need to do to get yourself into a place where you can contend there?
TIGER WOODS: As I said to Peter, I need to be able to shape the ball both ways comfortably. I was able to do that most of the week here this week, which is good. And I hit some shots that I hadn't hit in a long time.
That was something that's been lacking, and it was fun to be able to finally do that.

Q. In terms of the (indiscernible) stats weren't fantastic?
TIGER WOODS: No, they weren't.

Q. Was that just overcooking it?
TIGER WOODS: It was. I overshaped a lot of shots this week, which is a good thing. I hit two double crosses on 5, went for the green in two. But other than that, they were all overshaped, which is good. I can always tone that down.
It's when I was unable to shape the ball both ways or unable to draw the ball, like I was at Augusta. I was unable to draw the ball at all. I feel much more comfortable when I'm able to draw the ball and then take the draw out.

Q. What about tee shots? Are you happy with your tee shots?
TIGER WOODS: Not quite, no. Still not quite right. Not quite enough air. I felt very -- a little bit defensive. I was getting the ball basically too easy and just trying to put it into play instead of just going ahead and letting it go, and trying to place the ball in the correct sides of the fairway to get myself angles. Maybe I was trying to do that too much instead of just going ahead and hitting it down there and ripping like everybody else does. But I was trying to put the ball on the correct sides of the fairways.

Q. How would you describe what you're doing with your swing? What word would you use? Restoring? Retooling? Refurbishing?
TIGER WOODS: Just retracing my steps, just like what I've always done when I was working with Hank, when I was working with Butch. When you get off, you've got to retrace your steps. You've got to go back and take it step by step.

Q. But what are you going back to? What's the model?
TIGER WOODS: Just working with what I was doing with Hank, for sure.

Q. Same stuff you did with Hank?
TIGER WOODS: Absolutely.

Q. Tiger, any plans to play in Memphis at all?
TIGER WOODS: No.

Q. Too much too soon because of the spacing and fatigue and whatever?
TIGER WOODS: No.

Q. Were you running low on gloves?
TIGER WOODS: No kidding, huh. I kept getting everybody out there today. No, but thank God I get them for free.

Q. Is there a danger of trying to do too much too soon? Is that one of the things here? You're just trying to put too much into a short time span?
TIGER WOODS: I would have to say that, yes, prior to Augusta, no doubt. It's also one of the reasons why I hurt myself.
You know, you have to -- I have to take it step by step. It's a process. I hit shots this week I hadn't hit in a long time and got four rounds in. It felt good to be under the gun here, to have to hit shots. I made putts.
Just keep refining it.

Q. What's your favorite memory from 2000, if you could narrow it down?
TIGER WOODS: I'd have to say that three-footer I made on 18.

Q. I thought it was four.
TIGER WOODS: It was not four, come on.

Q. Why do you think Pebble has such mythical qualities as a U.S. Open since it's held so few of them?
TIGER WOODS: I think because of the venue, the scenery. Also the scenery just keeps capturing people and also the shots. With Jack's 1 iron and Tom's chip-in and the way I played, people tend to remember that.

Q. If someone had to pick out a shot you hit that week, what would it be? Like Jack's one in, like Watson's chip-in?
TIGER WOODS: I didn't do anything special that week. Everything was just on.

Q. Maybe the 7 iron on 6?
TIGER WOODS: No. That was just a flyer. I happened to catch it right.

Q. Why do you think Pebble has produced the top guys as winners? Even Lanny Wadkins when the PGA was played there. Is there anything about it that lends itself to the best players performing so well there?
TIGER WOODS: It's a shot-making golf course. You have to hit the ball well there because the greens are so small. I mean, they rival Hilton Head in size, and then also they have so much more pitch.
People don't realize some of these putts you have to hit the ball in correct spots. You know, an eight-footer down the hill versus a 20-footer up the hill. A lot of times I'd prefer to have the 20-footer. You don't say that very often, but at that golf course you do.

Q. So that doesn't really lend itself to the flash in the pan, flukey type player, I suppose?
TIGER WOODS: No. You have to hit the ball well there. If you look at the guys who have been either champions or who have contended, all of them have been ball strikers.

Q. Where would you put yourself in the progression you're on right now? Are you over 50 percent of the way to being back?
TIGER WOODS: Definitely, absolutely. Absolutely.

Q. 60? 70? 80?
TIGER WOODS: More the first part.

Q. What was the most satisfying shot you hit all week if there's one worth picking out?
TIGER WOODS: Probably the shot I hit on 8. It was a sweet little release fade, and it feels good to be able to let it go and hit a little bleeder like that.

Q. Short game putting, we haven't really talked to you about that. There's things that you're comfortable with right now?
TIGER WOODS: Short game, chipping was streaky, I'd have to say. I hit some really sweet shots and hit some really bad ones. Just needs a little bit of work. But I really putted well this week, which is good. I had good speed.
Really was able to control my speed all week. The way the greens were, it was pretty easy.

Q. Will you go and practice somewhere prior to Pebble or just be at home? Or will you try to go somewhere that you'll have to play those shots, similar conditions? West coast.
TIGER WOODS: Nothing you can really simulate for that. There's no place that's that hard and that fast. No matter what golf course you go to, they're not going to have it dried out like they're going to have it for the open.

Q. But no benefit to playing on poa greens?
TIGER WOODS: I know how to putt on poa. I grew up on those things.

Q. You haven't seen it since '02?
TIGER WOODS: Correct.

Q. Are you finding some normalcy in your life so you are now able to concentrate on the game?
TIGER WOODS: It's progressing. Thank you.

End of FastScripts




About ASAP SportsFastScripts ArchiveRecent InterviewsCaptioningUpcoming EventsContact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297