|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIPMay 8, 2015Phil MickelsonPONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA Q. What went wrong? PHIL MICKELSON: You know, it's a tough course. I was thinking to myself as I was walking around, I can't believe I've actually won here (laughter), you know, so this is a very penalizing course. I kept hitting it in spots that were impossible recoveries. Certainly the water, that's a tough recovery. But I would put it in some bad spots this week. I made nine birdies in two days; that's not bad. But I made quite a few mistakes to shoot 5-over. Q. What happened on 18? PHIL MICKELSON: I had a 6-iron in from 185, and I was trying to hit a draw into the wind, and I just blocked it and just hung it right out into the water. You know, I was going pretty good until then. I was hitting a lot of good shots, having good chances, I was 1-under for the day, and even for the tournament and was trying to draw a little 6-iron in there to see if I could get one more birdie, get a good 15-, 20-foot look at it and just shoved it right in the water. Q. Phil, you don't sound too terribly disappointed. Are you pleased with your game right now? PHIL MICKELSON: Well, I'm not overly pleased, but I'm not as discouraged as the scores would indicate just for the simple reason that, again, I made 9 birdies. I hit a lot of good shots. It's just that when I hit bad ones, it led to huge scores. Q. Did you have an opportunity to work on your game enough? I know you missed last week. Did that slow you down here this week at all? PHIL MICKELSON: It gave me a chance to get ready. I really thought I was ready and prepared. I get a little rusty mentally when I take three weeks off and I come out not the sharpest, so I didn't think -- I wasn't too optimistic about going low yesterday, but I thought today I was going to get a good round going. Then I started out birdieing the first hole. I thought that I was going to be off and running, but it didn't really work out that way. Q. When do you start preparations for the U.S. Open? PHIL MICKELSON: When they close the course down to the public, I'll go out there and see the course and then I'll play the two weeks prior to the Open to try to get my game sharp. Q. (Inaudible.) PHIL MICKELSON: No, they don't close until the 25th. Q. What have you heard about it? There's been some guys there. PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, I've seen a lot of pictures of it. It seems like there's going to be a lot of course knowledge that'll be important to know the proper shot to play and where to leave it and what the best way to make par is on a lot of the holes. It seems like there's a lot of subtleties and nuances, kind of like a links-style course, kind of like an Open Championship, where there's a lot of different ways to play certain holes and where to leave it is important. Q. Talk about what Mike Davis said about that. He really felt like guys who don't prepare more than any other course are going to have a hard time winning if they don't get out there. PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, yeah. No. I think -- and I hope that that's the case because it rewards the person that puts in that little extra effort. Q. What's the one U.S. Open course you've played that's required the most preparation? You were grinding pretty well before Merion and you and Justin Rose finished 1 and 2. PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, but it's a pretty straightforward course, Merion. It's a pretty straightforward course. I think maybe Shinnecock was a course that I found there were important areas to know where to go, where not to go, that might be surprising if you played it the first time. Q. People have said that Chambers Bay will reward the player with the best imagination. Have you heard that, and how do you fit that? PHIL MICKELSON: Well, I don't think -- see, I don't see that as imagination, all the angles and the hills and so forth. I see that as just gravity. You know, the ball is going to go down to the low areas. You've just got to kind of figure out where it's going to end up. Q. You see it as geometry? PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, I do. And sometimes it's tough to see, so when you see balls roll and you see where they funnel and collect, it's a lot easier to pick it up. Q. You don't need to be Picasso? PHIL MICKELSON: No. Q. Do you like the idea that guys are already saying negative things about it, the fact that you might be one of those guys on the sideline when you get to Chambers Bay? PHIL MICKELSON: Maybe, maybe not. Sometimes it's just a way to get you motivated, too, get you fired up. But I don't think that matters either way. We all have to play the golf course. We all have to figure out the way to shoot the lowest score, whether we like the course or not. Q. Phil, what is the schedule ahead for you now? PHIL MICKELSON: I still plan on playing Charlotte next week. I'll play Memorial, Memphis, and the U.S. Open as of now. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|