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VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP

March 13, 2016

Charl Schwartzel

Palm Harbor, Florida

BRIAN DECKER: Well, Charl, congratulations. You're second win on the PGA TOUR in addition to a number of international victories.

How does it feel to be in the winner's circle again?

CHARL SCHWARTZEL: It really is a great feeling. You know, winning back in 2011 the biggest tournament in our sport, you know, your expectations go up and, you know, I figured that I would win a few times the way I played and I just -- it just never came and then I went through a bad thing where my swing was a bit off and I lost a lot of confidence and, you know, you start thinking am I actually going to win out here again.

You feel good enough because I played -- had a few wins outside of America on the European Tour so I knew it was good enough. I just needed to get over the hurdle of winning out here again and I think the way today played out with it being really difficult, you're grinding just to make pars and keep the ball in play and it was really difficult.

It takes your mind off the wind a little bit more than when you would normally be playing in really good conditions. I sort of played really well on the weekend. I felt like at Riviera I was playing well but I had a bad weekend and the same thing at Doral. I knew the game was still in good shape. I just needed to put it together on the weekend when it counted. It was nice to play well today.

Q. Where do you rate that 67 on a day like this and of all the -- couple of putts that you made, 13 and 17 will stand out but what was the difficulty of the pitch on 16.
If you can remember all that Charl, good luck.

CHARL SCHWARTZEL: I mean the putt on 13, I had a look on number 7, 25 feet and making 60 footer will improve the stat a little bit. Just getting it in the good direction and hitting it hard enough.

You don't make those very often but it's nice when they do go in. I thought the chip on 16 was the key. That was a hard shot. The ball was sitting up, my left foot was very low in the bunker and you can very easily go right underneath it and then if you do, it's definitely going to plug in the bunker. It was a concern.

But beginning of the week I thought to myself if you do get a chance to win you better not back off. Out here the guys are really good. You got to take the shots on and live with the consequence. I figured I'm going to take it on and it worked out really well.

Q. Were you at a stage at that point, how much leaderboards were helping you out? You couldn't afford to drop anything. Was that what were you thinking, anyway?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: I knew I couldn't make another bogey. I know Bill was at 8. 16 was a hole that I felt was playing really difficult, could potentially make a bogey.

So, I figured if I make a bogey and go to 5, you know, even if I make a birdie it might be too little and that was the case.

I felt like if I get it to 7 I had a really good chance and it worked out that way at the end.

Q. When you talk about your overall confidence, how much did it help you in that playoff knowing you won a couple weeks ago back in south Africa?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: No, I feed a lot off my wins. Doesn't matter where I win in the world. I always say it takes the same amount of effort anywhere you win in the world. It always comes down to those last few holes and the special putts and special shots and if you can deal with it you can deal with anything. It's what you make of it.

Just a little bit harder for me because of not winning out here again but I just kept saying you did it a couple weeks ago, you can do it again.

Q. Just a quick follow-up. You talk about mentality. Does it surprise you it's been five years since you won over here in the States?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: It does. But, you know, you get in the way of yourself or maybe year and a half after the Masters when I felt like I played well, I had a few chances here and there but after that I started getting in the way of myself and my golf swing went a little bit bad. It was a snowball in the wrong direction.

Then it took sometime to fix up again and it's been a couple years before South Africa. I new from playing South Africa with those two wins that I had that I was playing -- I was going to play as good as I played before and I knew if I come out here with a good mindset that I will give myself some chances to win and didn't expect it to be that hard.

Q. Charl, what's the difference between you this year so far and last year when it looked like you struggled, didn't get past The Barclays and what's the biggest difference in you and your game?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Like I said, maybe from the outside doesn't look like I was swinging that bad. I put it on camera. I was hitting shots that I didn't think I could hit and I looked at it and my swing wasn't in bad shape.

It took time to fix that up, to trust, to get confidence in the process. You're coming towards the end of the year and the FedExCup and that adds pressure.

All of it was a lot to handle and I was actually considering not even playing the FedExCup and just saying let's just start over, let's just get your game in the right shape and then make this year a good year, you know.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly what it was but I needed confidence.

Q. When you said that you lost your confidence a year or two after the Masters, how did you get it back?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: It's not easy. You know, if you're swinging well then you start believing in yourself again because you're hitting good shots.

If you can start hitting good shots when it feels like it counts for you and you're a bit under pressure and you do pull the shots off, that helps. That makes you grow confidence.

The wins in South Africa -- for me I felt the Presidents Cup I played some really good shots. I thought like the progress was really getting good. I started trusting it and started believing it.

Then winning in South Africa helped because there you're hitting good shots under pressure to win. That gets your confidence up.

Q. Charl, what does this do for your confidence heading into the Masters next month?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Yeah. It's great (laughter).

Q. Can you elaborate (laughter)?
BRIAN DECKER: Yes. If you could elaborate on that going back to the place where you won before and you got the Green Jacket.

What does that do for going in there with a win under your belt?

CHARL SCHWARTZEL: It's great (laughter).

Q. Brilliant.
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: There's nothing like that that gets you pumped like winning. It's a place I feel very comfortable with and for me the best thing of all of it I've actually got my fade back. I grew up hitting a fade. I can fade the ball again and on that golf course hitting your second shots into the green, it's really important to be able to do that. Putting feels better.

All over it's a really good boost to going back and starting the first year, first Major of the year. I mean it's a really exciting week and always look forward to it.

Q. When did you start putting with your fingers like that on the green?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: When I was a junior my very first putting grip was that grip. I think it's from Mark McNulty the grip. I started -- that was my first putting grip.

Obviously I went through stages, went away from it and then being at the Presidents Cup wasn't putting particularly well and just for a spark, I'll just change. I changed the morning before I was supposed to tee off. I didn't practice it. I just kept going with it.

That was one thing that helped but there was a lady that helped me with my alignment. I was aiming really poorly with the putter. She helped me a lot with alignment. That's another thing that made a big difference. You can hit the ball as good as you want. You don't make the putts, it doesn't matter.

Q. With your eyes, the same person Ernie used to work with sometime ago?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: She works with your eyes, makes them a little more responsive, and the biggest change for me was alignment.

Q. Works with you on your swing to get back to the swing you saw on film?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Always back to my dad but I fully -- when I felt like I swung well and I compete, it was that time of year I do go back to South Africa and I got to spend couple times with my dad down there and he gave me all old feelings and sort of things that we used to work on that I had forgotten to work on again and made it very simple.

Q. Is he your only coach?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Yes.

Q. And then just from an American standpoint, what was the last tournament you won? I want to know how you pronounce it.
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: The Tshwane Open. Tshwane. It used to be Pretoria.

Q. Charl, you hadn't played here in awhile.
What led to you adding the tournament to your schedule and your general impressions that you came back after four years? Have you noticed anything different about it?

CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Well, I figured I always play the Honda and last few years I haven't played very well there. I figured I always start off with the Riviera, then I come back and fly back to Palm Beach. I thought the time change was too much. Ten hour time change and back again.

So, I decided that not going to play the Honda and I was going to add Valspar and Nick Price, he's got a good friend, Hollis, we socialize quite a bit so that made it even more good for me to come out and support the tournament and when I missed the cut in 2012 I thought it's a golf course that suited me, I just played really poorly and I haven't come back.

Since all those little pieces of puzzle came into place, I decided to come back.

Q. Is your confidence, was kind of slipping away late last year before you turned it around, I don't know where your ranking was, but it was getting closer to 50th than what you would have wanted it?
Did you consider that last year was, except for the Masters, was the end of your five year exemptions? Was that any kind of motivation or do you even think that way?

CHARL SCHWARTZEL: I didn't realize that.

Q. Probably a good thing (laughter).
Just say no. That's okay.

CHARL SCHWARTZEL: No, I don't know.

Q. Have you done much painting around the house?
CHARL SCHWARTZEL: Painting? No.

BRIAN DECKER: Thanks very much for your time.

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