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THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY COCA-COLASeptember 22, 2010Phil MickelsonATLANTA, GEORGIA CHRIS REIMER: We want to thank our defending champion, welcome him to the media center here at the TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. 10th in the standings but bringing some momentum from the final round at the BMW Championship. Talk about coming to East Lake and defending this tournament. PHIL MICKELSON: Well, I'm looking forward to coming back here. We all enjoy finishing the year here at East Lake. It's a wonderful test of golf. And last year with the new Mini Verde greens, the subtleties of the golf course came out. When the course is wet, the greens are soft, and speeds aren't very quick, the subtleties don't quite come out the way they did last year. Last year I thought it was a great upgrade, and obviously I'm biased because I ended up winning. But I think that the greatness of the course really comes through. Q. Last year there was a lot made of when you won, the putting tips or work you had done with Stockton. Can you talk about where you are with that right now, how that has evolved, if you're doing the same thing as a year ago? PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, I saw him last week and spent a couple days with him, and it's very similar. I've had a good year with him now, and I feel like this year has been the first year in a while, in a few years, that I've had some good direction on the greens. And it's progressively gotten better. I mean, last year it all just clicked this week. But for the most part, it's been a slower progression into consistency on the greens, and after a year of spending time with him, I feel like it's continuing to improve. Q. You had talked earlier about you thought maybe the FedExCup had prepared you guys better for the Ryder Cup; you guys were sharper for the Ryder Cup than maybe you had been before there was a FedExCup. Can you just talk about why that is and why you think that you guys might be going over to Wales a little bit sharper than maybe The K Club or Valhalla, places like that? PHIL MICKELSON: In the past before team events, we would have six weeks off after the last major championship, the PGA, where guys would let their -- kind of shut it down. With the FedExCup it's kept our games sharp, and so the by-product has been we've had great performances in the last three team competitions, but more than that, the FedExCup has brought the best players together to compete against each other four more times a year and has kept golf in the spotlight throughout the end of the summer, and I think that's been a real plus for the game. Q. Do you feel a little bit better maybe going -- your comment, maybe going to Wales, feel a little bit better than you did going to the K Club or going to some of those other places, starting out with confidence a little bit higher, do you think? PHIL MICKELSON: Well, we have a lot of guys here this week on the U.S. Team that are competing this week that have been working hard on their game to keep it sharp and will be competitively ready. It's very easy to just continue to play one more week. It's very difficult to turn it off and try to turn it back on six weeks later. Q. Several things could happen this week. If you win you'd be the No. 1 player in the world, you'd be the only guy ever to successfully defend this championship, probably be Player of the Year, and yet still all of the stars would have to align correctly in order for you to win the FedExCup. Do you think that's right, or is there another tweaking in the system that needs to be made so that those kinds of year-long things matter more than these last four events? PHIL MICKELSON: I haven't played well in the first three FedExCup events, and so you have to have some value to those events. And you can't have it all just be -- just come down to one event. I guess you could, but I haven't played well enough in the first three events. If I had played halfway decent, I would be in a position to control my own destiny. I started out third or fourth, started out in good position, but because of my play, I am where I'm at. Q. Would you just reflect and kind of appraise this season? It started slow, you had the great win at Augusta, then you faced 1,000 questions about No. 1, No. 2, your health, Amy's, just what are you going to look back on this year? PHIL MICKELSON: Well, the last 16 months has been an interesting 16 months. As a family we've been through a lot. And the Masters made -- kind of made the year for me. It meant a lot to us emotionally, it meant a lot to me personally. And I look back at the year, and it really comes down to that one event. I mean, there were other events I played okay in, but I haven't won any other events yet. For me the year was kind of salvaged by that Masters win. That's how much that tournament means to me. Q. Dustin Johnson is coming off a year in which he had two near misses in majors. Having been there yourself and recovered, what's it going to take for him to feel comfortable again in a major setting? PHIL MICKELSON: Probably just another major. I think he's going to play well in the next major. He's going to feel comfortable, and his golf game continues to put him in contention. He's an incredible talent, and he's got a lot of moxie to him. He's got a real ability to take things head on, to try shots, to challenge himself. He's not afraid of failure, and that's going to lead to further success for him. Q. Just talking about what the Masters meant to you this year, it seemed like when you won that in 2004, it was about you and it was about breaking through and finally getting that major victory. Did it feel like last year -- this year's win was almost about Amy and about your family? From the fans' perspective, too, it was something beyond just an accomplishment for you. PHIL MICKELSON: It was a very emotional experience. It was a more emotional experience than just winning a golf tournament for me and for us, and that moment was -- it meant a lot. It just meant a lot to us to be able to share something like that, to share that kind of joy given the last year or so. But things have been going much better. I mean, we're in a much better place, and I'm excited about that. Q. I was talking to Corey Monday about the 30th anniversary of Caddyshack, and he picked you as the guy on his team this year that knew more about Caddyshack than anything else, that kept you guys going. Can you talk about why that movie has endured so much, and would you put your Caddyshack knowledge against anybody out here? PHIL MICKELSON: No, there's guys that know more useless information than I do (laughter) -- Q. That's not what he said. PHIL MICKELSON: But I will share with you a little tidbit about that movie that not many people know about, and the gentleman who created that movie, who wrote it and who I believe produced it and put it all together ended up killing himself before the movie was ever released, about a month before, because the critics had beaten it up so bad, and he was so overcome by this that he ended up taking his own life and not being able to enjoy the success that this movie has had, and I think that's too bad. Q. I was wondering if you can just kind of speak to all the different variables that are still on the table for this week. You've got a pretty big tournament in itself. You've got $10 million that looks more wide open than ever, you've got a Player of the Year possibly being settled this week, you've got the potential for world No. 1. Paul Casey has got his own little things to prove to people overseas. It seems like there's a lot of subplots even minus Tiger from the equation? PHIL MICKELSON: I could discuss all that and all the subplots, but nobody discusses it better than you (laughter), so I'll let you take care of that for me if that's all right. Not to cut you off, but it's an exciting week, yeah, you're right. A lot can come of this week, and whoever plays well has a lot to gain. Q. I wanted to ask you about two holes we're going to stream on-line this week. The first is No. 1. Can you take us tee to green your club selection, expectations for scoring on the opening hole? PHIL MICKELSON: That opening hole is a fairly tight fairway. Of course all the fairways out here to me look tight, but No. 1 looks even more so because you can't actually see the ball land. You hit over a crest. You have a pretty good idea of the definition of the fairway, but you don't actually see it land. So that makes the tee shot a little bit challenging. It also is usually slightly into the wind, which makes hitting the fairway a little bit tougher. But once you can -- if you can get the ball in the fairway, it's only a wedge or a 9-iron and you're thinking birdie. But if you're playing out of the rough, you're fighting for par. Q. And then also the finishing hole, No. 18, is that a where you're just trying to get it on and two-putt? Also, what do you think about that as a finishing hole being a par-3, which is a little unusual? PHIL MICKELSON: It's a cool finishing hole. You won't have too much turnover because the opportunity for a birdie isn't really there, but there's a good opportunity to gain a shot by making par. But it doesn't have the two- or three-shot swing possibilities like other finishing holes may. But I think it's a great hole because you can make up a shot fairly easily with such a tough par. But really you're just trying to hit the green and then make a 30-foot putt if you hit a really good shot. The ability to get the ball close on that green with such a long iron isn't really there. I mean, you need a lot of luck. So really you're just trying to hit a good shot on the surface and make a putt. Q. You said the Masters sort of salvaged this year, but if you win this week, you go to No. 1, you're Player of the Year. Does it turn magically into your best season ever? PHIL MICKELSON: Well, an additional win would add a lot, but even without the Masters it's made the year for me. If I were able to win another event, which we only have really one more, then that would certainly add a lot more to the year, yes. Q. You've been asked 100 times, but it's timely again. The No. 1; that would be a boost obviously. PHIL MICKELSON: It would. I mean, I'd love to take advantage of the opportunity. I don't follow the ranking points and so forth, but I know that I've had multiple opportunities for months, and I haven't played well enough to do it. Hopefully I do this week. Q. I'd like to jump ahead to next week for a second. None of the team has been to Wales, none of our team, and Graeme McDowell says that that is going to be a bigger home field advantage for the Europeans than it might have been in some of the other venues where they've played, weather, the course conditions, that sort of thing. Do you see that coming up, and how do you anticipate perhaps overcoming that? PHIL MICKELSON: It's always been a challenge playing in Europe. I don't know how Wales would be more difficult than any of the other places we've played at, whether it's The K Club or Valderrama or Belfry or what not. It's always going to be a challenge there. In fact, of the seven teams I've been on, I've never won a Ryder Cup over there. This is my eighth team and fourth opportunity, and I think it would be very cool if we were able to do that. But saying that and accomplishing it is a different thing. We're going to be an underdog, we're playing a very good, strong European team and it'll be a challenge. But I think the U.S. players are going to be sharp and at least make it a good match. Q. You said that the Masters was kind of the highlight of the year. Did you have a hard time -- PHIL MICKELSON: For me. Q. I understand that. Well, maybe for other people. Did you have a hard time getting up for events after that? PHIL MICKELSON: I wouldn't say that, but my performance certainly would lead you to believe it. But I was excited about playing other events. I mean, I was really motivated and excited about the U.S. Open and the other majors, as well. But I wasn't able to put together my best play. Even the Masters I didn't feel like I played my best, I was just able to work my way around that golf course. That golf course gives you a chance to recover, and if I hit some poor shots I was able to salvage pars with my short game. I actually feel like I'm playing better now heading into this week. I feel like I'm playing the best I've played this year heading into this week. CHRIS REIMER: Thank you, Phil. Good luck this week. End of FastScripts |
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