	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

WGC DELL TECHNOLOGIES MATCH PLAY

March 23, 2017

Jim Furyk

Austin, Texas

Q. Just give us a quick overview of your match today and conditions obviously pretty tough out there today?
JIM FURYK: Conditions are tough. The wind is strong. The wind is gusty. Match was kind of a give and take. I got off to a pretty quick three hole lead through 6. Only had a few bad holes in there. Got caught in the wind on a couple. Missed a little one on 6. But then he turned around, birdied 7. I gave him a hole at 9 with a three-putt and he birdied 10. So all of a sudden back to all square. And then I jumped out winning 11, 12, 13, back to 3-up.

It's a mental battle when you go 3-up in a match and it turns back to even. But I didn't really have to deal with that very long. Winning 11, winning 12, winning 13, kind of back to comfortable. And then I just tried to keep the pressure on, fairways, greens. He was able to birdie 15. But I birdied 16 to end the match.

Q. When conditions are the way they are, and even though you lost that 3-hole lead that you had early on, is it good to jump out early and kind of give yourself a little bit of a cushion out there?
JIM FURYK: It's always good to get off to a good start and a good lead. But anything can kind of happen in match play. You have to be patient.

In conditions like this birdies go a long way, and you're going to see a lot of holes won today with pars and even bogeys. So because of that, if you do get a little behind in this type of weather, I think you just don't panic, because you know somewhere along the line the other guy is probably going to make a mistake, because everyone did today. It's just tough conditions.

Q. How are you able to play such a high level with all the hats that you're wearing, as coach and player?
JIM FURYK: I haven't been playing at a high level, so I don't know.

You know, the Ryder Cup is going to definitely take some time. But something I've always looked forward to and really enjoy doing. And it really hasn't ramped up. We've had to make some decisions. And I have a lot of resources at my hand, as well. It's going to be a lot about next year. It's going to be about managing my time, and making sure that my family is going to come first. And then trying to -- obviously I'm really excited about the Ryder Cup and being the captain. So I'm going to take as much time as I possibly can and make sure everything there is done right. I've got a lot of great help. I have a lot of great captains. And the committee that I'm dealing with, the PGA of America will bend over backwards and do anything we need.

So there's plenty of time. And the rest of it is I'm going to try to play 18 to 20 events this year and next. And I've had a pretty -- I've been paring my schedule down a little bit and kind of feel comfortable in that range that probably 20 events is the max. And is just play the best I can.

Q. Do you ever turn off the faucet, though? You're out here playing. You see guys and say, man, he looks good. Are you secretly doing some evaluations?
JIM FURYK: No, we're so far ahead right now as far as picking players. Obviously there's some young guys on the radar that I may not know as well as the others. You look at -- what I'm so happy about, what you're saying, it's not really as far as evaluating everyone, it's getting to know them as people, it's getting to know the style of their play, their games, and then that will help if and when they make the Ryder Cup team, that will help me with the pairings and where those folks fit into a team chemistry.

Q. How is your mentality any different for match play versus just a regular tournament?
JIM FURYK: Oh, it's definitely a lot different. I think there's times when you play quite a bit more aggressive. There's times you play quite a bit more conservative. And the big number is not as important anymore. You go to a medal play event and make a 9, you've kind of shot yourself in the foot and you might be out of the tournament.

You do that here, it costs you a hole. You birdie the next hole and you're back to square. It definitely has a different feeling. I guess I don't ever worry about my score at the end of the day. Because there's times where you're going for broke. If you tug one in the water or try too hit one in close and it doesn't work out, it's not a big deal. You wouldn't have played that medal-wise. The score is not really reflective of how you're playing. And sometimes whether you've won or lost the match isn't reflective of how you're playing.

Q. Can we talk about your game tomorrow with Ross Fisher, whether your paths have crossed and does the prospect of playing a prospective European Ryder Cup player add anything to it?
JIM FURYK: It really doesn't matter who you're playing, whether European, whether they would be on the International Team for the Presidents Cup, one of the Americans. He obviously played very well today, won his match handily. I know my hands will be full. I know Ross, he's fun to be around, solid game. I would expect that he's a guy that doesn't make a lot of mistakes, doesn't really -- is not going to give you a bunch of holes. And you've got to play a good round to beat him.

Q. How much can this become a grind, the format, the weather, the hills on this golf course if you get to the weekend?
JIM FURYK: It's not easy to walk. It's not a flat golf course. For the guys that go deep into the weekend, the last time I played, two years ago, I was able to -- I made it to the weekend. I won both matches on Saturday, and then of course by that time you're going to play both matches on Sunday, even if it's a consolation match.

Seven rounds is a bit of golf for five days. I was a little bit worn out at the end. This weather, this wind, the walk on this golf course will definitely add to it. But everyone is excited about -- it's the goal. Everyone wants to make the weekend. Everyone wants to go as deep as they can, as far as they can. You get through on adrenaline.

I'm not even playing next week. I'll be home and hopefully -- I've got a tough match tomorrow. If I'm fortunate enough to get through that one and play I'd be excited as I could, just like everyone else would be, to go as deep as they could on the weekend.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297