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BMW CHAMPIONSHIPSeptember 4, 2014Phil MickelsonCHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, COLORADO Q. Play tougher than expected today? PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, the greens -- actually it reminds me of Augusta in the early '90s, where the course played very short, but there were -- the greens were the defense. And the greens were very fast, and very firm, and very difficult to get the ball close. I think that was the defense of the golf course. Also, the chipping to these firm greens, you don't think much of it. But, out of the rough now, not being able to put spin on the ball, since however many years ago we changed the groove rule, it is chipping without spin, it's very hard to get it up-and-down, because you just can't stop it. You can't hit it high enough, or soft enough, or get enough spin on it, to get the ball stopped, unless it's just straight uphill. Q. Are you okay with that? PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, it's really fun. What I really like about Cherry Hills is that the easy holes are easy. You can make birdies on the reachable holes. They have some of the hardest holes on anywhere. The fifth hole is one of the hardest par-4s you'll ever see. The 8th hole is like 285 par-3. It's a long beast of a hole. There's some really difficult pars and there's some really good birdie opportunities. From a player's standpoint, it's extremely fun to play. Q. Do you like the changes they made? PHIL MICKELSON: I don't remember much of it, because I haven't been back in 24 years. The things are very subtle, and it doesn't seem too different from when I played that long ago. Q. What's the experience been like in Denver? PHIL MICKELSON: It's been a lot of fun. We have had a lot of fun here. This is -- this golf course really is a treat to play. I think we're all really having a kick and enjoying ourselves on this course. Q. Does it remind you of Merion at all? PHIL MICKELSON: Not really, no. No, because Merion, they took driver out of our hands. So, you were still hitting -- you didn't hit a lot of wedges in, you couldn't reach the par-4s, but the greens were soft, so you could make birdies. This is totally different. This plays totally different. You're able to hit driver on every single hole if you want. If you miss it, you have some real problems. And around the greens it's very difficult. The greens are the defense. Like I say, back when Augusta -- the only defense was its greens in the '90s, this reminds me of it. It's fun. It's a really fun test. Q. Players like variety in courses? PHIL MICKELSON: They do. Yes. Q. In what ways? PHIL MICKELSON: In what ways do they enjoy it? Q. Yeah. Yeah. And appreciate it. PHIL MICKELSON: I just think that the test -- it's a very great test of golf. If you hit great shots, you get rewarded. You hit poor ones, you have a real difficult task and strategy, all those things go into play. To make a course really great at altitude is a challenge, but they did a great job here. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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