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HYUNDAI TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONSJanuary 11, 2015Jimmy WalkerKAPALUA, HAWAII THE MODERATOR: Jimmy, if we could get some comments on another great day. JIMMY WALKER: Yeah, it was nice to start off on 1 again. I had to make a nice little putt there for par. So that was nice. And kept hitting really good shots, made a couple of birdies there. Made a nice putt up on 4, birdied 5. That's a tricky pin there, that front, especially with the wind coming down. And then getting a birdie at 7 was big, too. That's a nice hole to grab a 3 on. Q. What club was that? JIMMY WALKER: I hit 8‑iron there. And then 9, hit a good 5‑wood to the bottom of the hill, 4‑iron left of the green. It's such a tough shot, especially downwind, to get high enough to get it up, but I got it left of the green, had a nice pitch across the grain. If you're short on that, there's so much grain, it makes chipping really tough. And then birdied 10, which is nice. Hit a good shot in there, made a good putt. And then hit really good shots all the way around the back, a couple of bad putts. Thought I hit a good putt on the par‑5, didn't go in; and then making that little putt on 18, that was tough. Couldn't figure if that was up or downhill there. THE MODERATOR: Questions. Q. You know, good pars are always momentum savers. The one at 14 I imagine falls in that category because looked like you were in a little spot of bother. JIMMY WALKER: Yeah. That was the worst thing I made all day, probably that was the worst thing all week. And an easier shot that we've been hitting. We've been able to ride the wind in there, kind of into the wind and riding it in there. Today it was more ‑‑ it was all right‑to‑left, and I overcooked it and it just hung onto its bad shot. And the volunteers spotted over there, which was nice. And I had these really tall spots right behind the ball, and I didn't want to give it a ton of speed through there because I just didn't know how it was going to come out, and where it came out was fine, and I was lucky that it kind of perched up on a nice piece of the rough grass and was able to put as much spin on it as I wanted to and hit a really good shot. So that was a nice save. Then the par save on 16 was big, too. We misjudged the wind on that second shot by about nine yards, I think; about five yards. And that was a tough little putt, a little 5‑footer with about six, eight inches of break on it, so it was nice. Q. Did the wind shift at all during the round, too? JIMMY WALKER: It's hard to say. Yes and no. It sure feels like it on certain parts of the golf course. It's just the way it hits these hills, and you can stand there, like going up 4, and it feels like it comes back and it kind of swirls at you this way. So you have to kind of trust where the wind direction is, look at your book and that type thing. Q. Jimmy, how big was your trip here last year, how much is that helping you this year? JIMMY WALKER: Definitely more comfortable here this year than I was last. It's a big golf course and it's a lot to look at, take in, that type thing, and getting comfortable reading the greens and with the grain, the uphill, downhill, the mountains and ocean, and it's tough. Like I still struggled on my putt on 18 today. My caddie, Andy, said it was flat. I thought it looked a little down; it was down grain. The wind's coming this way; you're putting back up the mountain, but it sure feels‑‑ there's some local knowledge still out there, I think, especially on some of those putts. I mean the putt on 17, you know, you've got this big one like this and it's just‑‑ it's tough, I think. Q. Jimmy, you're making pars, including that really nice one on 14, but it almost seemed like there was one thing on that hole that was making you maybe feel like you were losing momentum. I'm just curious if you felt that way at all. JIMMY WALKER: No, I didn't. I was more bummed that I wasn't hitting better putts, like on‑‑ like 11 I didn't hit a good putt. 12 I kind of came out of that one a little bit. 13 kind of got Zach and I both, we came up short there. 15 I hit a good putt. I didn't feel like I was losing any mo. I mean I was hitting it good. That's all I was caring about was hitting it good, getting looks, because eventually I was going to make something. Q. You mentioned how tough it is to gauge different things, and so far it's whether it's the wind or the grain or the slope or whatever, and yet, you are leading the tournament, and I'm wondering if that's just an indication of just how well you're playing, that even though you're unsure of some things and so forth, that your game is where‑‑ JIMMY WALKER: There's still a lot of guesswork out there. I hit the shots and you still gotta read these greens, and it's tough, I think. It kind of reminds me of playing in the mountains a little bit. You're like, well, there's a mountain over there, there's a mountain over here; there's a valley and a valley; where's the uphill, where's the downhill. So it's tough. Q. But your game is good. JIMMY WALKER: Yeah. I feel good. I feel good. Hitting it good. Q. (Indiscernible). JIMMY WALKER: I hit driver down there to kind of the bottom, and then we had about 233 kind of fighting back into the wind, and I hit a nice, hard, low draw 5‑wood to the shelf, the right shelf. I was directly kind of behind the hole, kind of putting back up toward the fairway, and just struggled on the speed there. I left it like‑‑ Q. Two‑putt? JIMMY WALKER: Yeah, it was just off the green, but yeah, it was a two‑putt. Q. (Indiscernible) said yesterday that he felt the course was actually relatively short compared to a lot of courses on TOUR because 17 and 18 and 1 is really where the bulk of the yardage is and they all play downhill, downwind. I'm just curious how the course feels to you. Does it feel relatively long? Short? JIMMY WALKER: It just depends on the wind, I think. You know, like today some of the holes that I was thinking were going to play a lot longer didn't. You could catch and ride the wind a little bit. You know, the par‑3s with the exception of two, they seem relatively short, just kind of wind dependent. But I think the golf course isn't playing that fast. The ball doesn't‑‑ I don't think it's rolling. I think everybody would agree it's not playing that fast. So it could be playing a lot shorter, I think. But it still feels soft out there. We were picking up some mud. I almost feel like it either rained last night or they put a little water on some of the fairways. Q. Can you compare what your comfort level will be like tomorrow in the last group compared to what it would have been two years ago, 20 months ago? JIMMY WALKER: I'm sure I'm going to feel more comfortable. Just being out here longer, mature, more mature, more experienced, that type thing. I'll tell you I was nervous driving on the first tee on Friday for the first round, and didn't eat all my breakfast this morning because I was, you know, I was pumped and amped about the day. So I'll be excited and ready to go tomorrow. It's all part of golf, being excited and excited to play and chance to win. Q. Were there any major club differences between yesterday or even Friday and today off the tees? JIMMY WALKER: Yeah. Right off the get‑go, when we teed off 1, it was blowing in our face a little bit. It's not hard, but it's just enough to make a huge difference. And that hole the ball is in the air for a long time, so it's fighting the wind even more. When you go downwind, it's in the air for a long time and the wind's helping. So the difference between the two drives is 120 yards almost. You know, it's chip and wedge yesterday and 4‑iron just giving it all I got today. So it's a big difference. Q. Do you have any good Hideki stories for us? JIMMY WALKER: You know, I think the only‑‑ I've played with him twice now. I've played with him twice since the Hero this year and he's a nice guy. He doesn't, you know, just with the language barrier, but he's a nice guy, and his caddie is a great guy and they're nice and happy and smiling and look like they're having a good time. He's a good player. Hits it good. Makes a hard move at it. THE MODERATOR: All right. Jimmy Walker, thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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