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

THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 27, 2005

Adam Scott

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA

JOE CHEMYCZ: We promised our defending champion we'd keep this short if we could, so maybe just a quick comment about your abbreviated play today and we'll open it up for some questions.

ADAM SCOTT: I went out and played great for a couple holes today, perfect start, so it's a shame that we got called off because I felt like I wanted to keep playing forever the way I was going.

You know, it was expected anyway. Hopefully just some good weather coming up near the next couple days and we can finish off this tournament.

Q. At this rate do you think you're going to be defending champion for a while now?

ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, I was possibly expecting to hand over the trophy today, but I've put myself into position where maybe I can hang onto it for a little longer.

Q. Have you played in many situations like this with this extent of rain delays day after day?

ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, I think about the last five weeks out here has been pretty much like this.

Q. Anywhere else in the world?

ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, the Heineken Classic this year in Australia got rained out, too. We got 72 holes in, but I think we were rained out one of the days there. The weather has been quite ordinary.

Q. How would you describe the mood in the locker room?

ADAM SCOTT: I think probably disappointed is the best way to describe it. Everyone wants to be out there playing and getting on with this tournament. It's such a great event and it's a shame it's been spoiled by rain and the course is soft, but I think we just want to be out there playing and it's frustrating because we just hang around and no one knows what's going on, so it's too bad, but hopefully the next couple days we'll get some good weather, or tomorrow at least.

Q. Are you okay with taking it into Tuesday as long as it gets 72 holes in?

ADAM SCOTT: Absolutely. I think we should be trying to get 72 holes in at this tournament, and if it means going to Tuesday, I think that's the right thing to do.

Q. Tim said there was a vote from the players and the board on Friday to go to Tuesday. Are you aware of that?

ADAM SCOTT: I was aware of that, and they said we'd play on Tuesday if we had to. I'm totally for that. This is one of the premier tournaments on the PGA TOUR, and I think that every effort should be made to take it to 72 holes.

Q. It's supposed to be really windy, maybe 25, 30 miles an hour winds tomorrow. How much drastically could this course change in that kind of conditions?

ADAM SCOTT: I think it's good and bad. It's good because it might dry out the course a little bit, and I think it needs it now. It was borderline out there today. It was pretty wet, some of the fairways, but also 25 miles an hour wind around this golf course is no fun at all. It's hard work playing in that. Any course with water and wind is not a good combination. It's very easy for shots to get away from you, and you can get yourself in a bit of trouble.

Q. Can you just expand a little bit more about what can you get out of 72 you can't get out of 54? Why is 72 such a magic number as far as you're concerned?

ADAM SCOTT: I think that determines the best golfer, and that's why we play 72-hole tournaments. It's four days of competing under the highest pressure, and especially coming down the stretch, and especially coming down the stretch at TPC Sawgrass here. When you've got the lead or around the lead with those last three, four, five holes to play, that really tests out how good you are and whether you can get it done here.

I think that's why this event, especially, should be played as 72 holes.

Q. Not doing too badly for a guy who says he's got a manufactured swing. What's going on out there with you?

ADAM SCOTT: Well, I really didn't warm up very well today. I was a little anxious, but I got out on the course and it just fell into place, and I think today, even though it was four holes, was the first day my swing felt natural this week. It's a good sign for me to just kind of hang in there for the first two days and a positive thing for me that I can hang in there even though I'm not playing my best. Hopefully when we get out there tomorrow I'll have that same feeling and just go out and play my game and hang around and hopefully have a chance to win.

Q. Do you know why it fell into place?

ADAM SCOTT: Maybe it's just the stuff I've been working on. Finally I had hit enough balls that it just clicked and felt pretty good. You know, I was expecting it to eventually. But you just never know when it's going to happen, but it felt pretty good out there today.

Q. Do you think the general public would be more likely to make fun of this tournament this week because it goes to a Tuesday or more if it were only played over 54 holes? Which would be more dubious?

ADAM SCOTT: I think playing 54 holes. I think we've got a chance now to play 72, so I think that's what we should do. It would be a shame to see it played over 54, and that's not taking anything away from the person who'd win that 54-hole tournament, but if there's some decent weather, playable weather, tomorrow we could get close to finishing tomorrow.

Q. You're one of the few power players on that leaderboard, the rest are mostly straight ball hitters, Durant, who is, guys like that. Is that because of the rough?

ADAM SCOTT: Possibly, yeah. I think hitting the fairway is premium right now. The rough is long and wet and looks like it hasn't seen a mower for about three weeks. I think hitting the fairway is key. I've scoured back a couple times on the long par 4s and hit 3-wood just to get it in play and not worrying about having a longer second shot.

Q. Are you kind of contradicting yourself, though? You won a 36-hole event and you think that should be an official title, and now you say we must play 72 holes?

ADAM SCOTT: I never said it should be an official title. I understand why it's not an official title, and that's fine with me. I never played under any pressure in the LA tournament apart from the playoff. I didn't come down the stretch having a chance to win. I didn't play the back nine on Sunday under that pressure where you've got to pull off shots and you've got to suck it up and play good golf. You know, I was fortunate, I holed a lucky putt on the 9th hole on Friday and that got me in a playoff on Monday (laughter). It was a weird deal.

But I understand that. I mean, I'm not putting the Nissan Open down at all, but this is THE PLAYERS Championship, and I think the only other one up in this category, regular Tour event is probably the TOUR Championship. We want to find THE PLAYERS Champion for the year and you do that best by playing 72 holes.

Q. You're wanting to finish 72 holes. Do you have a sense among players whether you're in the majority or the minority or are they divided on that?

ADAM SCOTT: Well, I don't know. I think probably for the guys at the top of the leaderboard, they want to play more holes. I mean, some of the guys who just made the cut probably don't. You know, it's -- I think it depends on where you stand in the event.

Q. Having said that, if you've scrapped the third round tomorrow morning and played 36 tomorrow, which you could if you cut to T60, assuming that the course would be in shape, would you be in favor of that so you could get it in on Monday and get 72 holes in?

ADAM SCOTT: Scrap what we played today you mean?

Q. Yes.

ADAM SCOTT: I'm not really in favor of that, no. I just birdied three of my first four holes. I'd like to keep that on the leaderboard.

Q. But you know how the guys felt the other day when they scrapped.

ADAM SCOTT: Well, I think they made the mistake of putting us off without lift, clean and place. We're playing lift, clean and place now, so I see no reason to scrap the holes we've played.

Q. Have you seen the Commissioner lately?

ADAM SCOTT: No, I haven't. I think he's been smart and keeping a low profile this week (laughter) and making the call from his office maybe.

Q. Do you think it would be important for him to at least pop into the locker room and allay some concerns?

ADAM SCOTT: Well, I think a little more information would be nice, not necessarily from the Commissioner. I just think sometimes we sit around and I can only compare to the European Tour where each hour we're told it's going to be another hour, guys, it's going to be another hour. But this week we've spent more time in the locker room than on the golf course, and we really don't get told until it's called off that it's going to be called off.

Q. Wasn't the word around that they were trying to at least squeeze in four more holes today so they could repair?

ADAM SCOTT: I did hear that, as well. They were going to keep us around and maybe get a few more holes in so they can repair for a final round, but again, I just heard that from another player and not from an official. I think it would be good if they came and just gave us hourly updates on what's going on because we kind of hang around -- well, hang around smelling bad.

Q. They were all watching college basketball. You don't like basketball, do you?

ADAM SCOTT: No, I didn't really know what they were cheering for unfortunately. I wish I did because that's what's on the TV.

Q. Was UNLV on probation when you were there?

ADAM SCOTT: I don't know, probably.

End of FastScripts.

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297