home

jobs

	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

BELL CANADIAN OPEN

September 7, 2005

Mike Weir

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Mike, for joining us for a few mines here at the media center at the Bell Canadian Open. You have great memories of last year and I know you were disappointed in the final outcome, and had to have been a great week and I'm sure you're happy to be back.

MIKE WEIR: Absolutely. Last year was pretty special, one of the greatest moments I've had in the game, I mean, as far as the whole week is concerned. Obviously, it was disappointing in the end, but just the support I had and the crowds, it was pretty cool.

And now to be back to a great city and an unbelievable golf course we're playing, I've won a Canadian Tour event here and won my first PGA TOUR event in this city. Glad to be back. The word around the locker room is one of best places we've played in a long time, not only this year, but in a long time, so I think all of the guys are excited.

Q. Can you feed off the emotion of a crowd and the support you're going to get out here, is it something that you have to temper and balance? How do you approach that?

MIKE WEIR: No, definitely you can feed off it. But you can't get too excited in this game. You can definitely feel the support when you get some momentum going and the crowd gets behind you, and you can definitely feed off that.

Q. The three holes they have turned into long par 4s here, 1 , 5 and 11, how difficult are they going to play, and which one in particular do you think is going to present the biggest challenge to the field this week?

MIKE WEIR: They are all really difficult par 4s now. You know, 1 is going to be you're going to see some numbers on that hole just because it's the opening tee shot, opening hole and it's just an awkward tee shot to get the ball in the fairway. I think 11 is probably the most difficult hole out there as far as toughness, tough drive, even if you hit it in the left side of the fairway you're blocked out by the big teal on the left. You're going to see a lot of guys going in with woods to 3 , 4 , 5 iron and that's a pretty small the green is quite small. I would say 11 is probably the most difficult of the three converted par 5s.

Q. This is a golf course that's not going to be receiving to many of the long hitters. Do you think this is a course that's going to suit your game pretty well in the next four days?

MIKE WEIR: I'd like to think so. I hit a lot of fairways. I think it's going to favor anybody that's driving it well. You know, you've just got to play from the fairway. I don't care if you're hitting it 260 off the tee or hitting 3 wood off the tee; whatever you can do to get it in the fairway, that's the way you're going to score on the golf course. It's going to be a long week if you're playing out of the rough. I do think it suits my game. I do feel comfortable. I've played it a few days in a row now and I do feel good on the golf course.

Q. I watched you on Monday hit a couple, three or four holes in a row, where you hit great, wide shots and tight, I know you said that's the key to your game, 100 yards and in with the wedge play, has that felt good?

MIKE WEIR: Yeah, wedge play is better. I worked quite hard on that last week and you're going to need it this week. There's some holes, 14, I'm probably not going to try to drive the green, hopefully get in the green. The par 5, next hole, probably not going to be able to reach that green, so probably lay back for a wedge. If I can get that part of my game sharp, hopefully I can make some birdies, which I haven't done very well this year in that range, inside 125 yards.

Q. Would you talk a little bit about where your confidence level is right now and where you are physically in terms of trying to get back to where you were?

MIKE WEIR: Physically, I feel, you know, 95 percent. I feel almost back to where I'm able to practice as much as I'd like to without inaudible but still have a bit of residual. I have to kind of get a bit of work done after I'm done, a long day on the course. I feel very confident, more confident right now than I have at any point in the year I would say. I think only because I've been putting in the time, I've been putting in a lot of work, and I think any time you're starting to put in a lot of work and you're starting to see the shots on the range, see certain shots you hit on the golf course, that kind of you start to feel more confident because what you're trying to do is you're seeing the results on the golf course. And I'm seeing that, so I feel good about it.

Q. Given what happened last year at Glen Abbey have you received any assurances or requested any additional sort of courting around you to keep you from getting mauled by fans?

MIKE WEIR: Well, I think that was just circumstantial. I know, you know, the situation, the guy probably drank a little too much and is probably fired up about the hockey. I remember he had a Team Canada jersey on. You know, I had security with me, the guys were just looking out for me and the guy came in behind me and kind of reached over and grabbed my shoulder. You know, I don't think we'll have to worry about that. I think that's just a circumstantial thing, one guy.

Q. As a general rule, would you rather be insulated from the crowds or would you rather be embraced by them?

MIKE WEIR: I'd rather well, I think that's the unique aspect about this sport is that the fans can interact with us a little more than any other sport. I would never want that taken away from the game because that's what separates us from other sports; where football players, they come out of the tunnel, in their gear and they are out of it. Hockey, same thing. Fans aren't reaching over the boards getting autographs between shifts. I that's the great thing about our sport, the fans can be right there. I think last year was just circumstantial, one guy, and it's almost like I could smell how much he probably drank was he came up there. Just having some fun.

Q. Along these lines, you've kind of been the face of Canadian golf for a few years now. We've all watched you; you've handle it pretty well. Does it start to wear on you? When it comes to stuff like that, you're doing appearances last night, everybody wants a piece of you, is this whole role starting to wear you down just a little? Do you wish somebody else would jump up and help you in the spotlight here?

MIKE WEIR: No, I don't think it wears me down. Would I like to see some guys come up? Absolutely. I think it's good for Canadian golf. And, you know, I played with three guys on Monday that I think are going to be great players coming out. I don't think my time and the number of days I do outside of tournament golf have changed in the last few years. I said that in Toronto; it seems like I'm doing more of these things, it's not. People are looking for an excuse to where I'm not playing well and all of those either things. That's not the case. It's just a case of the way it is, I've been a little banged up, a little injured, I haven't been able to practice how I want and that's as simple as it gets. So I don't think I've done anything different in the last four or five years.

Q. Could you comment on the schedule Vijay keeps, and as a pro and the wear and tear and everything, and how he's able to keep that up, and also, just what does it mean to have him at this tournament this year?

MIKE WEIR: Well, it's great to have Vijay, any time Vijay is in the field it's great. The more top players we can have in this tournament is going to make the tournament better.

Vijay's playing schedule, you know, that's what he loves to do. He loves to play golf, he's a guy who likes to practice a lot and he keeps himself in good shape and he's able to do it. Obviously he got a little hurt a couple of weeks ago, but everybody is different, and he's a guy that likes to play a lot and he kind of feeds off that.

Q. (Inaudible.)

MIKE WEIR: I don't think so. Most guys can't. Vijay is blessed with a physical stature that he's supple, he's strong and he's a good guy; I think he can handle beating a lot of balls. I think last week when he did get hurt, one of the first times I've ever heard of him being hurt a little bit, so up until this point, it has not been a factor for him.

I think most other guys after maybe playing that much, traveling, pulling your suitcases in and out of cars, doing all of the things, we don't have trainers that do, that lug our stuff around. We have to do that ourselves and that's where a lot of injuries happen; you're pulling luggage out of the car, into the trunk, into the hotel, whatever. The toll on your body week to week, I don't think most guys can keep that pace and Vijay can and he's proved that he can.

Q. Stephen suggested that the winning score this weekend would be in the single digits, maybe close to even par. Your thoughts?

MIKE WEIR: I believe, you know, the weather stays like this, it might be a little lower than that. I think around 8 , 9 under, that's just my guess right now. That's what I think.

Q. You've got different philosophies on the rough. The USGA had a lot of chipping areas at Pinehurst and I know you enjoyed that. Here, you have really severe rough where maybe it's one shot out of there. What are your thoughts on the?

MIKE WEIR: I think it's good. I think it's a good setup here. It makes you think about hitting driver, that's for sure, where a lot of courses we play on TOUR, guys don't even think about it. They will stand up there and rip it down there because if the rough is even a little bit of a factor, you're hitting 6 or 7 iron, they hit it so far, if you're hitting wedge out of it, it's not that big of a deal. Here, even pitching wedge out of it is a big deal.

I think they have done a good job setting up the golf course. The fairways pinch in at the right spots, 280, 290 yards. And I think a lot can be learned from the setup of this golf course, the setup of Lancaster a few years ago, how to make challenging golf courses without just adding 50 yards every hole. You can play a 6,800 yard course like Lancaster or this course, 7,200 yard, par 70, and is going to be as tough as anything at 7,600 yards and I think they have done a great job here.

Q. Around the greens, can you see a situation where you have to play away from the holes if you miss greens?

MIKE WEIR: Yeah, around the greens in particular, you're right, it's really inconsistent. You can be buried, you can have a marginal lie, you can have, where you see the ball, but you have a huge clump right behind it, so you have to play kind of an explosion shot. You'll see a number of funny looking shots coming out of the rough and around the greens because it's very inconsistent which makes it a little bit of guesswork around the greens.

Q. If memory serves, was it an 8 iron you hit for an eagle on 14? All of the guys are going to have wedges this time around on 14, so is it going to be a turning point shot like that on Sunday when you go to 15, 16, 17, and 18 where you think it's going to be one, and how close do you have to be to the lead on Sunday to have a shot?

MIKE WEIR: Turning point hole, well there's a number of holes up there. 14, as you said, if you can get the ball in the fairway there, if the course firms up a little bit by Sunday, there will be some guys taking a shot at the green. Even some of the longer guys can maybe get to the front of the green. So that could be someone could drive and make an eagle there.

You know, how far back, you never know. Brad Faxon two weeks ago was seven behind and won. You never know when a guy is going to go out and shoot a number like that and it can happen any time. Great players on the Tour, guy gets on a roll, you never know how far back guys can come.

Q. A playoff, that wouldn't surprise you, I guess?

MIKE WEIR: It wouldn't surprise me here. I can see it being really bunched near the top. It seems like we're getting more and more of that each and every year that more and more players near the top of the leaderboard. Used to be if you were within, you know, three or four of the lead at the end, come Sunday, you would be in the Top 10. Now you might be in 20th place and only be four off the place now. That's just the way it is.

Q. Have you thought about you and Vijay coming down to the final holes, and having a recap of last year, but maybe a different result?

MIKE WEIR: I haven't really thought about it, but sure, it would be nice if Vijay and I were right there. There's a lot of other players that are able to win this tournament, and I'm just going to put my nose in there and grind it out as hard as I can this week and see whoever is going to be there. If it was Vijay and I, it would be great.

Q. (Inaudible.)

MIKE WEIR: You'll have to ask him. He's right around the corner. You know, he might.

Q. How does the course compare the last few days when you came a couple months ago to visit?

MIKE WEIR: The course, it's holding up, the greens in particular are much firmer. The greens in particular are much firmer. The first bounce is much firmer than back in May when it was playing really soft, and it was cool that day and the ball was traveling nowhere.

The ball is flying a little bit. You can tell the difference from the time I teed off this morning to when I was finishing up; the ball was flying that 20 yards extra because of the heat. The course is playing quite a bit different, a little bit faster.

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Mike, for joining us. We appreciate your time.

End of FastScripts.

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297