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WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP

August 17, 2016

Jimmy Walker

Greensboro, North Carolina

DOUG MILNE: Okay. Jimmy Walker, 2016 PGA Championship Winner. Congratulations on your victory at Baltusrol. You're making your 7th start here at the Wyndham Championship this week, had a Top-5 finish in 2012, I believe, and so with all that said just some thoughts on getting back to competitive golf here in Greensboro this week.

JIMMY WALKER: Yeah, I was looking forward to it. Two weeks off is about my max. I start kind of going crazy again at home. First week off didn't do a whole lot, kind of hung out. Did some sponsor stuff, did a little bit of, you know, celebrating kind of stuff and then last week started to getting back into it.

I caught a cold when I got back after the PGA and still kind of trying to get over that a little bit but feel good. Golf course looks awesome and the greens are really firm and fast so it's going to be a good week.

DOUG MILNE: With that, we'll jump in and take a few questions.

Q. We talked yesterday about how much you missed this or whatever but being back at this course, a course that are you experienced with, how excited does that get you to get the blood pumping again to get back on a competitive field again?
JIMMY WALKER: I'm excited to play. I think this is one of our really good golf courses out on Tour that probably doesn't get as much recognition as it should. It's just really solid tee to green.

You need to really be careful where you're out on the greens. Don't want to be above the hole because the greens are very quick coming downhill. You can get into a spot of trouble just about every hole.

So, I think you need to -- to have all your faculties in order here. I think it makes it for a really good track. The rough is up a little bit, catching flyers. You're missing fairways, it's going to be tough to hit good shots into the greens to make birdies. You definitely want to be in the fairway so you can control the ball into the greens as firm and fast as they are.

Q. We asked a few players this, where were you when Furyk's 58 happened and what kind of buzz has that created among the Tour players and does it bring 57 into play now? Is that the new goal?
JIMMY WALKER: That's got to be the new goal. I was at home and Erin, my wife, texted me and I was playing with the boys and we were busy and she texted me and she goes, "Furyk is 9-under through 11." I'm like, "This is par 70 there. Wow. That's pretty crazy."

So I flipped it on and I caught the last -- I ended up catching the last three holes and pretty cool to watch. I mean it's fun watching a guy, I mean ultra-grinding on a two foot par putt. It was really cooling to watch him.

He knew exactly what he was doing and it's pretty special. 58. I mean the best I ever shot was 61 and that feels like a long way away from there. So, cool to see. Guy shot 59 and 58. That's tough to do.

Q. Jimmy, most fun thing that you've done with the Wanamaker so far, have you and Butch shared that beverage together?
JIMMY WALKER: When Butch and I had dinner together it was kind of a center piece on the table. I've done that a few times. Just to be able to do that with your friends and have it there and for everybody to experience it, enjoy it, it's pretty special.

I think with golf, there's a lot of people that you have in your life that have kind of been on the journey with you and feel like they're a part of it and good friends and family and everybody I think feels like they've got a bit of a vested interest in what you're doing because golf is pretty personal and so just to be able to experience that and have that there and on the table or just kind of gets strapped into a car seat here and there or strapped into a plane somewhere or back seat of a car (laughter).

It's been cool. If I was smart I would take it everywhere with me. People just throw stuff at you when you walk in somewhere with that thing. It's too heavy, too big to lug around. It's parked at home now "laughter".

Q. Jimmy, along those lines, have you been recognized a lot more? Can you just walk anywhere?
JIMMY WALKER: I think my beard is keeping me from recognizing me anymore "laughter". I've just been at home. I hadn't really been out. I don't know that.

It's different this week so far. Just signed a lot of flags, lot of championship pictures, holding the trophy. That's obviously way different than anything I'm used to.

Q. Where is it now?
JIMMY WALKER: The trophy is at home.

Q. Now that you kind of catapulted yourself to the next level, you're one of the favorites here this week, knowing that eyes are on you now and it's not -- you're one of the big names that's here right now and people are excited to see you, what goes through your mind?
JIMMY WALKER: Just continuing to do just -- to keep working on the stuff that I feel like I was working on that got me to where I was and got me the win a couple weeks ago.

It was two weeks ago now, be almost three weeks since we played tournament golf. I've been just kind of thinking about the things that we were doing right and continue to do just keep work, working on that.

Don't have a -- try not to have any expectations coming in, just know that I'm riding a nice little wave of good thoughts and feelings and feel good about golf. That's huge I think when you're feeling good, then good things can happen.

Q. If you could share with us some of the sort of special messages you received since you won at Baltusrol.
JIMMY WALKER: I heard from a lot of guys. I really have. I'm talking about just about everybody. One of the coolest things I got was a handwritten note from Jack Nicklaus that was very nice, go out of way to do something like that and he actually did a video message, too, for me for a party at my club where I play at because he did the golf course there and that was very special, too.

Just to be a part of the history of Baltusrol, lot of great players have won there, Jack did it twice. I've heard from a lot of guys and it felt heart felt which was nice.

Q. As a follow-up, you talked about the Wanamaker Trophy at home. Any special places where you want to take the trophy before you hand it back next year?
JIMMY WALKER: That one is mine I get to keep it. It's mine forever. No, it looks good right where it is. We have a good spot for it and it looks really good. It was making the rounds. I was happy to get it home.

Q. Jimmy, if you never played another golf tournament, how would you sum up your career and also what are some of your long-term goals?
JIMMY WALKER: How I do sum of my career if I never played again? I don't know. I've gotten to do a lot of cool stuff, I really have. I played in all the Majors, have a bunch -- had Top 10s in Majors, won one. Won golf tournaments out on Tour. Won on every other Tour I ever played on. Played in Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup. I've gotten to do some cool stuff. Defended a golf tournament. I would think -- I would think it's pretty good. I would have liked to have done a lot of this a long time ago but for whatever reason it didn't happen and can't change that. I wouldn't change any of it, anyways.

Got to do some really cool stuff with golf and hopefully we'll keep doing it. What was the last part?

Q. What are some of your long-term goals?
JIMMY WALKER: I'd love to win -- just keep winning, whatever you win. It's funny, you don't know when you're going to play good. If you did, you'd try to do it more often but you just don't know. All you can do is prepare and if it happens this week, if it happened two weeks ago, if it happened the week before that, I don't know.

But I'm just giving it all I got to be ready to go every week I play. Like I didn't want -- I would have loved to have play John Deere last week but I just wasn't ready to go and I didn't want -- I don't like showing up somewhere and not being ready to go. So, that's the long-term goal, just keep winning, keep putting yourself in positions to win. All the big team stuff looks amazing. It is fun, the Cup events and watching -- hearing the stories from the guys in the Olympics. That would be something to shoot for.

Q. A couple questions. How did you actually prepare for this? You took basically took John Deere off.
JIMMY WALKER: For this event? It was a week off and I did catch a cold and I think you can kind of still hear it a little bit. But you just kind of battle through it. Last week started -- started back on Tuesday, I'd get out and do some work in the morning and try to get in some holes and then just kind of kept progressing like that.

I kept hitting golf balls and chipping and putting and kind of getting back into the swing of things, thinking about the stuff we were working on. It feels good. I'm excited to go play.

Q. You talked about Nicklaus and the messages. This is the first week you've been back with the guys you play with. Has there been anything interesting that happened this week?
JIMMY WALKER: Just a lot of congratulations and lot of it has felt -- I don't tell anybody congrats if I don't mean it or anything like that. I think the stuff that I've gotten from the guys has been very sincere which, to me, it feels nice, feels real and I appreciate that, I really do.

Obviously you've got friends out here, you've got friends that are better friends and acquaintances and it's tough out here. Everybody is out here grinding away and trying to beat each other but I think for the most part the group of guys that run around out here are quality people and we all, you know, we all give each other praise because we all know how tough it is and when you do something good you lose a few -- or win a few, lose a lot out here. It's tough.

Q. Where did you watch the meteor shower?
JIMMY WALKER: I watched from my house. I woke up at 4:30 and saw a few. We had a clear sky.

DOUG MILNE: Jimmy, we appreciate your time.

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