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THE BARCLAYSAugust 19, 2014Jimmy WalkerPARAMUS, NEW JERSEY DOUG MILNE: Jimmy Walker, thanks for joining us for a few minutes here prior to the start of the 2014 Barclays. Needless to say, just an amazing year for you, started off with three wins, led the FedExCup pretty much all throughout the year, and three Top 10s in three of the four Majors, top six in the PLAYERS Championship, and coming off a Top‑10 in the PGA Championship in your last start. So with all that said, just some comments on being back here at Ridgewood this week. JIMMY WALKER: It's cool to be back. I think this is the first week we've had our first child after he was born, so I remember the week well. I haven't been back on the golf course yet but all the holes are kind of starting to come back to me and the golf course, from just the looks of it so far, looks like it's in amazing shape. DOUG MILNE: You're obviously feeling pretty good coming off your PGA Championship finish heading into the week. Are you feeling particularly strong about any part of your game, or is it all just kind of still clicking? JIMMY WALKER: It's all kind of right there. I had a good week at home last week. I had a little surgery deal done on Monday and got over that for a couple days and started back to practicing and here we are. Q. What kind of surgery? JIMMY WALKER: I had a Mohs micrographic surgery done on my face. I had basal cell carcinoma that had to be removed. Just one of the hazards of being outside. Q. It's six weeks away, but as you go into this FedExCup, is the other Cup on your mind and how do you decompartmentalize? JIMMY WALKER: Yeah, it's on my mind. It's just kind of a carrot at the end of the year. I think it shows that you had a really good year to make that team; you've played well and you've played consistently. Still have a lot to play for in the next four weeks but it's definitely out there. I'm excited. I actually bought a hat off the PGA website the other day just to wear it at home and around house, so I'm excited, excited about it. Q. Going into the Ryder Cup, how do you think you will kind of respond to the underdog role, because obviously you're being touted as a very heavy favorite. JIMMY WALKER: Yeah, I don't see us being underdogs. I think we've got a great squad. I think the guys that are on the team are playing really well. I think‑‑ I don't know what it was at the PGA but about five of us were in the Top‑10 last week and a bunch of us inside the Top 15 or 20. So I think guys are playing good. Q. Is it too soon to start talking to guys who have been in that situation, because this will be your debut in The Ryder Cup. JIMMY WALKER: What's the question? Q. Talking about what it's going to be like. I've had people who were making their debut going into The Ryder Cup that sought out guys who have already been in it and asked about the situation and pressure. JIMMY WALKER: I've already talked to a couple guys and they say that win or lose, it's one of the best weeks in our profession, and that's coming from guys that have won and lost. So I think it's going to be a special week. I'm sure I will have emotions that I probably haven't had on the golf course before, which is kind of what I've gotten out of that. But it sounds fun. I'm excited to go. I'm excited to go represent. Q. On that note, you've got five of six weeks, four events in a row and then The Ryder Cup after that. How do you keep your energy level up? Is there something you might do during the stretch to make sure you're still strong by THE TOUR Championship and by The Ryder Cup, as well? JIMMY WALKER: I think these are going to be four pretty‑‑ these are four weeks that are going to require a lot of attention and you'll have one week to kind of decompress. But I think for me, these four weeks, it's about making your practice count, being efficient, making it count, just not staying out there just killing yourself; but have a purpose in what you're doing when you're practicing. That way you can get in, get out, do your job, and then get down the road to the next tournament. Just try to keep that up. So I think that will kind of help keep things fresh. On the week off, try not to get too relaxed. Definitely going to be at home playing and working and getting ready. Q. Going back to Ridgewood a little bit, what do you like about these classic‑designed courses, tree‑lined fairways? Is this the type of course you really enjoy playing? JIMMY WALKER: It is. I do. I remember it being a golf course that I enjoyed playing last time. Seems like the greens are going to be really fast. I remember you don't want to be above the hole too much here. It's a Tillinghast course. I played one in San Antonio and I really enjoyed it. I think those guys really knew what they were doing back in the day as far as being able to work with what they had. Designers today have, it seems like, huge budgets, giant bulldozers that they can do whatever they want with; back in the day, I don't think you could‑‑ a little Bobcat wasn't just hanging so you could do all the shaping and stuff; you had to really work with the land and use what the land gave you. And I think these guys really knew what they were doing. The designs up here, coming up and playing all these golf courses, especially for a guy from south Texas, it's really awesome. It's a different kind of golf, different look and different feel, and I really enjoy it. Q. Rickie has obviously played pretty well lately and had a pretty good run. You and he have in common, Butch. What has Butch done for you? JIMMY WALKER: Butch has been great. We've done just a few little stuff with the golf swing. It's just kind of helped me just in the right areas, and then the amount of confidence he instills in you when you have him barking in your ear about how good you are and blah, blah, blah, you believe it. He's great. I love hanging out with him. He's got an unlimited amount of knowledge and stories and he just makes it a good time. Q. And because your wins came early, and even though you've played really well in the Majors, do you kind of feel almost like you've slipped a little bit under the radar? JIMMY WALKER: I don't‑‑ you know, that's‑‑ I don't know. I feel like I've played well. Yeah, obviously I would have liked to have won again, but before this year, it had taken 180 times before I had one; and you wine three. But I've continued to play well. I've got a ton of Top 10s. I've played good in the big tournaments and I'm looking to win again. It's close. It's right there. It's just a matter of putting four weeks together but I've been there. Q. What do you think it's been about there year; is there a particular element of your game that's just kind of felt right this year? JIMMY WALKER: I've just felt very confident and my expectation levels‑‑ my expectation levels are higher. I feel like I should be there. I think that's been one of the big factors this year. Really start to get used to seeing your name on the leaderboard, and you've that in the past where you don't see it and you don't get comfortable; guys aren't comfortable with seeing it there. But I've come to enjoy that fact and relish it, and that's why I'm out here to play is to be up there and try to be at the top and try to win. So I think it's just a matter of, you know, you just get comfortable, comfortable seeing it. DOUG MILNE: Jimmy, best of luck this week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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