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RBC HERITAGEApril 11, 2012Tom GaineyHILTON HEAD, SOUTH CAROLINA MARK STEVENS: We'd like to welcome Tommy Gainey. You finished third here last year. Making your fourth start at the RBC Heritage. Never had a South Carolina native win this event. Can you talk about your thoughts coming into this week and playing here in front of the home state and then we'll have some questions. TOMMY GAINEY: You know, it's definitely good to be back in the state of South Carolina, especially here in Hilton Head. And Harbour Town, here, the golf course is playing really tough right now. The wind is blowing, switching, anywhere from 10 to 20 miles an hour out there. It's playing pretty tough out there today. And the only thing I can say is, I hope it doesn't blow like this the rest of the week. I'm looking forward to the challenge. Just touching on finishing third here last year, it would be awesome to be the first South Carolinian to win this tournament. I'm trying not to think about that. I'm just trying to play my game, because it's starting to come around a little bit. And hopefully by the end of the day Sunday I'll be able to put this plaid jacket on. Q. Last year you talked a great deal about how much it would mean to win this tournament, as you just said. Besides the fact that it's in South Carolina, what do you like about this golf course? Do you think it fits your game pretty well? Yes? No? TOMMY GAINEY: I don't know if this golf course fits anybody's game, to be honest with you, because the trees that they have out there, the oaks, all the moss that's on there, hanging left to right, right to left, I mean, you just have to hit all kinds of shots. This is the only golf course that I've ever played that you can hit an absolute straight ball and have no shot whatsoever. You have to pull a Bubba Watson, curve it 25 yards right to left or left to right. It's the only golf course that I can remember, Harbour Town here, that you have to work the ball like that. Q. Your game is pretty creative. You feel like you can manufacture some of those shots? TOMMY GAINEY: I feel like I've got a good imagination. And I think you've got to have that to compete out here. Because different golf courses expect different ways to play. And I think this golf course here, Harbour Town, it presents a strong, strong test. Q. When you were talking about having to curve the ball left to right and right to left and whatnot, I've played the golf course but it's been a number of years, so I have a hard time remembering exactly all the holes. What I do remember is if you're a short hitter, like I am, you're trying to go point to point, but for a longer hitter, you're trying to get past that point where the course shifts, then you have to hit the shot. Do you think that that makes a difference, maybe why this is a shorter hitter's golf course, rather than a longer hitter's golf course, or do you think the longer hitters have to stand back to be successful? TOMMY GAINEY: I agree. Just to touch on what you just asked, out here you have to play to a certain yardage, like 250 on certain holes. If you hit it past that 250, it could either run left in the pine straw or right in the pine straw. Behind a tree, you have to work that 25 yards, as I just said. But, you know, the thing that's so hard to understand right now, this equipment is so good, technology is unbelievable. This golf ball goes so much straighter, it's hard to curve the ball like that. And what Bubba Watson does to it, it's unbelievable. I don't know how he does it. But more power to him. This golf course here, if you don't hit it in the right spots, you're looking for a long day. And that's easier said than done. I'm with everybody in here. But that's just the way it is out here. This golf course has a lot of interesting shots to hit if you hit it past that certain yardage, that with as hard as these greens are and as fast as they are right now, you have no chance of holding a punch shot. If you've got to punch it out of the trees, it will not stay on the green. If it gets on the front of the green, it's off the back, no doubt. Q. I know the greens are small, so that provides another challenge? TOMMY GAINEY: Exactly. With the greens being small, I mean, that's just even tougher. It's even tougher to comprehend punching out of the trees. And even hitting shots out of the fairway, especially as hard as they are now. But I'm a firm believer that all you can do is just do the best you can, just hit the best shot you can, put the best spin on the ball that you can, and wherever it goes, it's pretty much up to it. Q. When you were here and finished third last year there was some question as to whether this tournament would even be around this time of the year. Do you recall where you were when you first learned that they had gotten RBC as a sponsor and just kind of your reaction to that and the fact that you knew this tournament was going to be around? TOMMY GAINEY: Well, actually I was at another Tour stop. I heard the governor Nikki Haley talk about that we need to keep this tournament, because it's good for the economy, for South Carolina, No.1. No. 2, it was good for the people of South Carolina, and what's good for the State is good for the people. I'm all about that. Because this is a great state to play golf in. It's a great state to live in, as well. But I have to say I think RBC here is going to make a great sponsor, no doubt. They'll do a great job. I mean, what more could you ask for? A great, hard golf course and the beach? Great places to eat. And this place is known for their food, by the way. So if anybody doesn't know that, trust me. Just ask around, people will tell you, this place is known for their food, the beaches and the golf here, Harbour Town. It's great to have a sponsor here. The players spoke out. I was one of them. I spoke out. And every other player, if you ask them, they'll say this is the second best tournament that they play in. You want to know why? Why No. 2? Because Augusta National is No.1. And the reason is it's the Major. And Augusta is a tradition, unlike any other. I get that. I would love to play in it one day. This is my No.1, I mean here at Hilton Head, it's No.1. It's in my home state. The people that I love, my family and my friends, I couldn't ask for anything better. One of these days I'll be in Augusta, but right now it's all about Hilton Head and Harbour Town and the people of South Carolina and RBC. Q. What should people be looking for if they are looking for South Carolina specific food? Should they be looking for crab cakes? TOMMY GAINEY: I would say any type of seafood. They've got some good steaks around here at these seafood places. Bonefish Grill is right down the road. There are some other really good seafood places that I don't know about, but the locals do. And I try to look into that and try to figure out where to go. But it seems like every time I try to call and make a reservation to a couple of these other local restaurants, you have to wait an hour and a half. I love to eat, (laughter) so it's kind of hard to wait an hour and a half to eat. That just goes to show you how good the food is, if it's an hour and a half wait. Q. Going back to your comments about this being the No.1 tournament for you, the gallery is known for latching onto certain guys and you were one of those guys last year. Can you talk a little bit about what the gallery was like last year, the kind of support over the last year? TOMMY GAINEY: The fans and the people? Q. Yes. TOMMY GAINEY: Just being here in South Carolina is a great opportunity for me. I love this state and the people. But you know, it's awesome, because we play so many tournaments a year, that I could come to South Carolina and play in a tournament in my home state and have the support of my family and friends and a lot of fans that I've‑‑ a lot of people I've never heard of, just support me. It's a humbling feeling for me because I had to come up through the ranks a little different than everybody else, so it's good to have the support and all the positive reinforcement that I've had through the years. I give all the credit to my fans, my family, my wife, all the people that's been behind me since day one. They deserve all the credit. All I do is play. And without them, I wouldn't be here right now. I'd be at AO Smith working. Q. You'll be at Quail Hollow next month, kind of the same area of the country. How much do you look forward to playing there? TOMMY GAINEY: I'm definitely looking forward to playing at Charlotte at Quail Hollow. But it's in Charlotte, North Carolina, even though it's just two hours away. This is Hilton Head, South Carolina. It's more Gamecock country than Charlotte. But, you know, no pun intended, I wish them no disrespect, because Quail Hollow is a great golf course. Wells Fargo has done a great job with that tournament. And you couldn't ask for a better layout than what they have at Quail Hollow, because it's a great test of golf. It's close to my house. It's like two hours from my house, which is good. So I have a lot of great support there, as well. But this week we're at Hilton Head and I'm at Harbour Town, and very proud to be here. Q. Being the local guy, when the tournament or when the Tour is getting ready to come here, do some of these other guys that maybe haven't played here as often or don't know it as well, do you get guys quiz you, where should I go, where should we hang out, do you get that kind of stuff from the out‑of‑staters? TOMMY GAINEY: Not really. I've just been out here four years. Most of my friends have been out here forever. I mean, ten years, eight years, 15 years. I mean Furyk has been out here, what, 15 years? Some of these other guys have been out here close to that long, as well. I guess I'm old enough to be a veteran, but I'm kind of like a rookie, so to speak. But I don't have too many asking me anything. But if they did ask, I would definitely give them some advice. Q. Where would you send them? TOMMY GAINEY: Well, you know, if we're talking about places to eat, which, you know, I do love to eat, Bonefish is good. Outback is good. There's this place that's called, I think it's like the Red Fish Grill, that's a great place. That's the place I couldn't think of a while ago. Hour and a half wait, when I called to make a reservation. I know the food is good, but an hour and a half wait, that's a lot to wait, especially when you're calling at 6:30, and then you have to tee off at 7:30 the next morning or 7:50. That's a lot to wait. But their food is good. It is what it is. Q. Your thoughts on Bubba Watson winning the Masters? You know Bubba fairly well. What do you think of that? TOMMY GAINEY: You know what, I don't know if everyone in here have really paid attention to Bubba Watson, but let me ask you a question, did you ever think he would win a Major, with the way he plays? Q. Wouldn't be the first person on my list. TOMMY GAINEY: Exactly. But, you know what? He's got that fire, man, he's got that desire. He likes to prove everybody wrong and he does it his own way. And you've just got to tip your cap to him because let me tell you something, he beat an incredible field at Augusta. He beat Louis Oosthuizen, he beat him, and let me tell you, he must have had, I'm going to say, 27 putts Sunday, because even though he made that two on the par‑5, he made everything he looked at except for that last hole. And for Bubba to overcome some of the things that he did, because he three‑putted the first hole from like 30 feet. To overcome that in the final round when you're down like three or four shots to the leaders, you know, that's saying something about him, about his fire and him wanting to win. And I wish him the best. He's a good dude. The only thing, he graduated from Georgia (laughter), the Bulldogs, me being a Gamecock, that's our little difference. But it's good for golf. It's good for golf. And I'm all about what's good for golf. Q. A couple of years when you were here, you were talking about getting to know Boo Weekley a little bit, who's won here twice, and you said he told you, "Get out here, we need another redneck." Would you all in induct Bubba into the club now? TOMMY GAINEY: Yeah, I mean, you know, I don't know if you can call Bubba a redneck. He hits a Ping driver. Did you ever think you could call him a‑‑ Q. Good point. TOMMY GAINEY: But I'm not knocking Bubba Watson by no means. So if he sees this, I've got nothing but love for Bubba Watson. Him and his wife, Angie, just adopted the little boy, Caleb, so congratulations on that. And I tweeted him congratulations on that. And for him to win Augusta I think shuts all these naysayers up about him not being able to compete in a Major, about him not being able to roll the rock, any good to win a Major. You know, it's not easy to win a golf tournament, period but when you win a Major, that says a lot about your character. And I'm going to just leave it at that for Bubba Watson. Q. One more thing about Bubba: He can hit a lot of different kind of shots, but his imagination seemed almost off the charts. When you look at the way he plays, what impresses you? Is it amazing? TOMMY GAINEY: It is. He flies it 350. He hits it 350. When you can hit it that far, you can bring any golf course to its knees. Because a driver flying 350‑‑ he probably can hit a 5‑iron, I don't know, 225, 230. If he needed to add a little bit, he probably could hit it to 250. But it would be perfect for this golf course, he could hit irons off every tee. But one of the best things that I see in Bubba that I don't see in a lot of players, I kind of see a little bit in myself is the imagination. And we talked about that earlier. The imagination is just unreal. He can work the ball unlike anybody else I've ever seen. Tiger, back in the days before he had the knee problems, could work the ball wherever he wanted to. But Bubba Watson now with the technology the way it is and the golf ball, it's made to go straight now, for him to work it the way he does, I've got nothing but props for him. That's hard to do. It really is. Q. Can he hit a shot straight? Have you ever seen Bubba Watson hit a ball straight? TOMMY GAINEY: I've never seen Bubba Watson hit a shot straight. That's one thing I know. I've never seen him hit a shot straight. I'm sure he has that shot. Because if he can curve it 25 yards left to right and right to left, I'm not saying that he can't hit it straight. I'm not going to say that. Q. You say you've got a lot of imagination, too, could you imagine that shot on 10, the one he hooked 40 yards out of the trees on 10 to get in the playoff? TOMMY GAINEY: That was a hard shot. That was a hard shot. Especially, I tell you, the balls now they just go straight. It's hard to curve it that much. And in my opinion I would have never‑‑ if I was in that position there's no way I could have hit that shot that far, cutting it 40 yards. I would have tried, but I don't think I could have accomplished that shot. MARK STEVENS: Thank you a lot, Tommy. Good luck this week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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