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BMW CHAMPIONSHIP

September 5, 2014

Sergio Garcia

CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, COLORADO

JOHN BUSH: Like to welcome Sergio Garcia into the interview room after a 6-under par 64. He's currently our leader here in the second round of the BMW Championship. Sergio, if we can get some comments on your round, highlighted by the eagle on the par-4 7th hole.

SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, it's been a one of those years, where a couple hole outs and so, yeah it was great. Just very nice yardage from just the cut of rough, from 128 meters or 128 yards, sorry. And downwind. I hit a full lob wedge and yeah, nice shot. It was nice.

JOHN BUSH: We'll go right into questions.

Q. Could you again go through the ear thing, when did it pop up, how irritating was it and does it still bother you?
SERGIO GARCIA: Well, it happened on the 6th green. So obviously it helped, because then I made 2 on the next. (Laughter.) No, but I don't know, it was -- obviously, it was a little bit uncomfortable. It was first it was like, like a beeping sound into my ear and then it kind of popped. I mean it's happened before, but usually I kind of blow it and it gets back. But for some reason it just didn't feel quite the same. And it still doesn't, but it's definitely better. It was uncomfortable probably for five or six holes, and then it got a little bit better. But it's not quite like the right ear is or how it used to be before it happened. But I don't think it's -- it shouldn't be too big of a deal.

Q. Is there a Spanish word for it?
SERGIO GARCIA: Not that I can think of. A doctor might tell you it. I'm not that smart.

Q. Talk about the greens. I heard a lot of players yesterday talking about if they got firm, if they got fast, that this was going to be a challenge, scores were going to be down a little bit. How much did the rain affect it last night, and are they still as quick as they look when we're standing out here watching?
SERGIO GARCIA: They're probably slightly slower than we're used to, but it's normal. When you go from really firm greens like the way they were yesterday, to the amount of rain that they had last night and -- they're still fast, don't get me wrong. If you hit it just above the hole, they're very, very quick. So, obviously, the rain made it a little bit more -- a little bit easier to hold the greens. Where yesterday. Even with a pitching wedge. It was tough to hold some of the greens. But, it also made the course a little bit longer. But, usually when the course gets softer, it makes it easier for us to be able to score better.

Q. How much do you think -- you were always playing a nice day today, but how much do you think the last half hour changed. You went in the water on 17, and made a really nice up-and-down for a 5, and then the putt on 18. You could have finished 6-4 instead of 5-3.
SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, it definitely, it could have been. At the end of the day, at that time I was 7, so I might have finished 6. I don't think it's that big of a deal. It's only Friday, so we still have two days ago. But, it's obviously nice. It definitely -- it definitely helped my frame of mind going into the 18th tee, which today was playing quite hard -- into, off the left, the wind, and with water on the left. Even though the fairway looks big, you run out very quickly on the right side, and the closer you get it to the water, the more dangerous it is. So, it was nice to be able to get that up-and-down and then obviously, play 18 really well.

Q. The comfort that you seem to have with your putter, what do you most attribute that to?
SERGIO GARCIA: Well, putting is so mental. I think that some weeks you feel it. You feel it a little bit better than others, and you can see your lines, you're confident, you know what you want to do. Some of the weeks you are doubting a little bit more yourself, you know, with your reads and stuff. But, I think I've been quite consistent with my putting for quite awhile now, since I went to the claw grip. Obviously. It gave me a little bit of confidence and I'm very happy with it.

Q. Obviously there's a lot of holes left to play. But if you're to win the BMW Championship, can you describe what that would mean to you?
SERGIO GARCIA: I don't know. I have to be able to do it first to tell you that. It obviously will be really nice to do. Every time you win it's great, but it's still two days -- it's still a long ways to go.

Q. I know it might be an odd question for somebody who just shot 64, but after Wednesday's heat, the ball was going nine miles. Thursday the greens were concrete. Today it was cold and soft. Are you still trying to figure out this golf course with the elevation?
SERGIO GARCIA: A little bit. There were a couple shots in there that -- downwind the ball was still going quite far. But 10 or 11, for example, I mean, we have been hitting even into the wind, I remember yesterday into the wind on 12 we had one, 183 meters, which is 202 yards or something like that, and hit 7-iron and hit it past the pin. Flew it past the pin. So then today on 10, for example, I had 150 meters, which is 165 yards into the wind, and I thought, well I'm just going to hit like a solid three quarter 8-iron nice and low into the wind. And it went 132 meters. So what is that? 145 yards. So, sometimes it's difficult to judge some of those things. I mean it can make you look a little bit silly.

Q. You've had some pretty good Septembers. With the Ryder Cup coming up, does that get you going here?
SERGIO GARCIA: Yes, it definitely helps to be able to play well. And after a couple weeks where I didn't play my best and I didn't feel quite that comfortable, it's nice to at least put two solid rounds here this week. And I'm looking forward to playing well on the weekend too. And then, obviously, get ready for the Ryder Cup.

Q. You put yourself in position to win several times in the last few months. Do you feel any different this time or do you -- are you more confident that you can close out the deal?
SERGIO GARCIA: No, I mean, like I said before, it's nice to be able to put yourself up there as often as possible, but we still have two days to go and I need to play -- I need to feel like I played better than I did the last two days. I didn't play badly, don't get me wrong, but I feel like I was playing better at the British Open and at Bridgestone and stuff. So hopefully I'll be able to do that.

Q. The first Ryder Cup you missed, that was 2010, was it?
SERGIO GARCIA: Yes.

Q. Was it difficult for you to get involved?
SERGIO GARCIA: Difficult?

Q. You want to be there, you want to play. Was it hard not to?
SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, I still felt like I was quite involved. It was hard to not play. It was one of the hardest things I had to experience on the golf course. Because you're there, you're watching everybody play, and as a Vice Captain, there's only so much you can do. And a lot of times you feel like you want to say something more, but you can't. You're not allowed to. So -- but at the same time it was a great experience. I love the Ryder Cup and to be able to at least be there, it was already nice.

Q. Weren't you a late addition as a Vice Captain or were you always a Vice Captain?
SERGIO GARCIA: No, no, yeah, I was a late addition. Obviously, I talked to Monty, and he obviously was worried about the way I was playing, with everything that was going on. And I said, well, if you're not going to pick me, at least, if you want me to be a Vice Captain, I would love to be a part of it. So, I guess I gave him a nice way out. So, he felt good about that, I guess.

Q. What I'm asking is is there any part of you that out of your own disappointment of not being part of the team playing, that wanted to be as far away from it as you could?
SERGIO GARCIA: No, no, I wouldn't say that. I wouldn't say that because you know how much I love the Ryder Cup. So, even on tough moments like that, I still loved to be there and I loved it, every minute of it. It was hard, but it was very, very enjoyable at the same time. So it's kind of mixed emotions, but to be able to, after playing so many, to be able to be a part of it at least as a Vice Captain, it was really nice. I felt like -- I don't know, you can ask some of the guys -- but I felt like I helped some of the players kind of feel comfortable throughout the week. So that was my goal.

Q. I was wondering, as far as the rain that came down through the night last night, and the cooler weather this afternoon, and the high humidity, which is unusual for Denver this time of the year, that and the greens and the altitude and the slight breeze, how did that affect your game?
SERGIO GARCIA: Well, I think that it -- a little bit of both. Obviously, the soft conditions made it a little bit easier, because it didn't feel like you had to drive the ball as well, like you could get it on the green from the rough, where yesterday you had to figure out ways to get it on the green if you would happen to miss the fairway. But obviously like you said, being a little bit cooler, it played a little bit longer and with the breeze, it definitely made it a little bit more challenging. I think the soft conditions kind of made up for that.

Q. How much do you attribute your play to just having that week off last week and what did you spend your time doing?
SERGIO GARCIA: Well, I know myself after 15 years of running around and I know that I mean I would love to play all four tournaments on the FedExCup, but I knew that it wasn't going to be good for me to start with, I was going to get tired of it. It wasn't going to be good coming into the Ryder Cup. So, you know, if the Ryder Cup wasn't there I would have probably made an effort, but I didn't feel like that was the right thing for me to do and it was nice to spend some time with my girlfriend and some friends and in the Hamptons, we played a little golf, we enjoyed the beach, and we just had a good time.

JOHN BUSH: Sergio good pars see I can't, thank you, sir.

SERGIO GARCIA: All right. Thank you.
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