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MASTERS TOURNAMENTApril 3, 2017Jimmy WalkerAugusta, Georgia MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. It is my pleasure to welcome the winner of the 2016 PGA Championship and reigning Par‑3 Contest champion, Jimmy Walker. This makes Jimmy's fourth appearance at the Masters, with his best finish coming in 2014 when he placed tied for eighth. Jimmy had five Top‑10 finishes in 2016 to accompany his first major title victory. With a strong season, Jimmy made his second consecutive Ryder Cup appearance as part of the victorious Team USA. Before we open it up to questions, how do you feel about the state of your game, going into your first major since the PGA Championship victory? JIMMY WALKER: I feel like it's not too bad. I've been‑‑ I feel like I'm just real close. Just haven't quite put it together, but everything feels close. I've been putting some good scores together at home. Had a couple of good events there. A couple, two, three, four weeks ago, L.A. was good, Honda was good. So it's close. I think it's right there. I was very excited to get on the plane to fly in this morning. Q. Two questions for you. If you had to have one part of your game that was absolutely essential for this week, which one is it? JIMMY WALKER: I think it's putting. I think you can kind of get away with a few loose tee shots out here, but if you're putting well out here, I think you're getting up‑and‑down, and you're making birdies when you need to, I think it can really‑‑ I know when I played well here, it's putts. You're really putting well and the greens get so fast and you have to match line and speed so well, I think it's a huge part of playing this golf course well. Q. The second one would be, we talk about tradition at the Masters all the time, I'm just curious if you have any traditions here? Something that you have to do every year. JIMMY WALKER: I try to get an egg salad sandwich in me as quick as possible. Q. Try to get a what? JIMMY WALKER: I try to get an egg salad sandwich in me as quick as possible. I've already had two and I was requested to bring some home for dinner tonight. So that's about it. It's just a fun week. I think it's a week I always try to slow down and enjoy it, because it's so cool to be here. It's such an experience and it's fun to watch the people and running around or not running around and it's just fun. Try to slow down and enjoy. Q. Wondering if you could weigh in on the debate about viewers at home, or wherever they may be, calling in rules violations, especially in the event of what happened yesterday, and not just yesterday but it's happened many times before on TOUR, and whether they should be able to do that and should there be a cap when an infraction like that is even applied to a player's scorecard? JIMMY WALKER: I didn't actually see what happened yesterday. I kind of heard about it, sounded like it was a really, really bad raw deal. But I don't think people should be able to call in like that, especially with as many cameras that are going on and some players have so many more cameras on them, it's just‑‑ I think it's unfair. There's no other sport where anybody could call in and say, oh, that was a foul. It just doesn't happen. I mean, I don't know why we're the exception, you get to do that. Nobody gets to call in ins and outs in tennis. It just doesn't happen. I think we need to change that. Q. Justin Thomas was the subject of, I think it was in the Wall Street Journal where they broke down the swing, and saying how somebody 140 pounds dripping wet could hit it so far. Everybody knows Dustin could hit it a long way, but he looks like he can. But when you see a guy like Justin or a guy like Rickie, they are not the biggest guys in the world, first of all, do you ever get jealous? And second of all, where is all this power coming from, without turning this into a physics lesson? JIMMY WALKER: I'm don't get jealous because I can hit it by both of them. Dustin not so much. Anyways, I think anybody that's out here playing golf anymore is an athlete. Are they big enough to play basketball, are they big enough to play football? Probably not. But they were all just as good athletes, eye‑hand coordination second to none, speed, power, all that. A lot of these guys just aren't that big. And it doesn't take a lot‑‑ I've known a lot of guys, smaller, that are shorter and smaller stature that don't weigh anything that could really hit it far. Just look at one of the long drive guys, Sadlowski, he's big now but he wasn't when he first hit the scene. I don't know what he weighed, 160, 170 pounds or something. He's not that big. The speed this guy can generate was insane and now he's even stronger. It just doesn't take up a lot‑‑ if you've got good mechanics and you've got good speed, all those guys I know can throw a basketball really hard and can get their body moving fast. Then there are some guys that just can't. It's just the way you're made, but there are those guys and those exceptions that do that and those are two of them for sure. Q. You mentioned putting being so important this week. I'm very curious to know what your thoughts are on using local caddies for whatever benefit here at Augusta National, whether it's in preparation or on rare occasions for the tournament itself. Do you think there's greater reason perhaps to avail of their skills? JIMMY WALKER: I think we've come here in preparation and when we come, we have to use a local caddie when you come play; you can't use your own. You just kind of start picking their brain a little bit and have them read a putt, see if what you're seeing is what they see, and see if they don't know what they're talking about, see if you don't know what you're talking about when you're reading these putts. I think through a couple years of just being here and asking the right questions, you kind of get a sense of how the golf course likes to roll, where it likes to go, where it doesn't like to go. I think one thing that makes all this really good out here is the ability to pick a completely different place in the country, world, state, whatever, and be able to pick apart a golf course and figure it out. We all kind of think of things we know to look for and things to, we've just got these little tricks that we have that make us good going from place to place. I think we are all pretty good at that. But still, there is local knowledge at a lot of golf courses and this being one of them for sure. Q. Along those same lines, when you look at the past couple years, whether it's Charl or Jordan or Danny last year, where do you think it is getting easier for players to perform well when they do have limited experience here? JIMMY WALKER: I don't know. If you're on, you're on. When you're playing well, you're playing well. I think more guys are playing well more often. This place is a place that as a golf fan growing up, I think you've watched a lot of golf. I know when I played here for the first time, I felt like I played it a hundred times just from watching on TV. I really remember standing out on 14 the first time I played it, and it was a back, left pin and I knew that if I was short and right of it, it was going to roll back down the hill. It was like you wanted to draw it in left of the flag because that green caroms to the right. And sure enough, hit the shot just left of the flag, rolls down there, and, man, feel like I've played here before. So there's a lot of that out here for everybody that's played, just a lot of history. I've been watching this tournament since I was a little kid and I've even lots of golf shots. You know what's what. But I think sometimes, I'm still new at it‑‑ you can find yourself in a spot out there and you go, wow, I wish I would have practiced this putt. Because you get a little bit of that. Q. There's some egg salad sandwiches upstairs. JIMMY WALKER: They are everywhere. Q. I know you remember this, but I ran into you at the drugstore across the road one night during tournament week, you were buying diapers or something like that. How has your life changed since winning a major championship and in ways that you've expected and in ways that you didn't expect? JIMMY WALKER: It's opened up some more opportunities golf‑wise, to be able to do a few more things. I think you can let it create as much‑‑ you know, you can let it create whatever you want it to create. If you want to go hog wild, I think you can let it. If you want to chill out and keep doing your thing, that's kind of what I did. I have two young little boys and a family and I try to keep it pretty close to home. Not big on going overseas. I did one this year and wish I wouldn't have‑‑ not this year, last year, and one I told a buddy I'd go do with him. But I like being here. I like being at home. I don't like‑‑ you know, it's just, it's afforded me the opportunity to go do things and you have to pick and choose what you go do. I've got a lot of advice from some of the other guys to say no a lot after doing something like that. Because there's a lot of things that come your way, and you can roll with it or you can kind of keep shutting down and keep doing what you're doing. And you know, maybe the reason you were winning stuff is because you were doing things a certain way and there's no need to change. It's cool. It's fun when your friends talk to you about it and you're recognized as a major champion and stuff on the first tee. It's cool. Q. What do you know about major championship golf that you might not have known prior to winning the PGA? What kind of‑‑ what do you think you're going to be able to recall if you're in the hunt again? How is that going to help you? JIMMY WALKER: I think you've done it once, I think it's easier to do something again after you've done it one time. You know, it's kind of foreign to you if you haven't ever done it before. But you know, winning at Baltusrol was huge last year and I played really well. I played 36 holes on the final day. Kept it together. Played really solid. Just kept hitting quality shots and was feeling good about everything I was doing. It was a great week. Like you know, physically felt good. Mentally felt even better. Just was super confident about everything that was going on. So you know, just a great week. There's no reason you can't go do it again. Q. From your perspective, from a player's perspective, if you took the top four guys, Dustin and Rory and Jason and throw Henrik in there just from a power standpoint, what's the difference between them? Which is the last guy you would want to see on the first tee Sunday morning in the afternoon? JIMMY WALKER: I mean, as of right now, Dustin is playing so well, and he's making it look pretty easy. Then you've got Rory who has won more majors than all those guys put together. So he would have I think more experience to get it done. You know, this is one that I think that he's missing, so he's probably got a lot more going on with this one than any of the other ones probably. So they are all really good. And you guys have seen it happen here; it's a tough golf course to kind of finish it up on, I think. There's so much that can happen. There's so much that can happen on the back nine. Just depends on how everyone is playing and are there eagles being made. It's really fun to watch. That would probably be my answer; not to say anything about Jason or Henrik, like I said, I think they are all good. They all have a shot. Q. Along those lines, Jordan made a comment about last year in his final round of, when he got through 10 and 11, he got the hard holes behind him. That was kind of his way of thinking. Have you ever fallen into that trap, out here, of looking at a hole as somewhat of a breather? JIMMY WALKER: I don't want to slam the door on myself, but yeah, I think there's parts of this track where you can say, okay, I've got to take advantage of this, or this I need to really buckle down and I can breathe easy on this hole. I think it just depends where you are in the tournament. I know when you're on the last couple‑‑ if you're in the last couple groups on the last day, I don't think you want to be letting your guard down at all because it can jump up and bite you at any point. Definitely there's holes where you're like, you can kind of cruise on this one. You know, I know when I won at Baltusrol last year, I remember the last shot that I really didn't want to hit was the tee shot on 13, the par 4, along with the creek on the right. Because it's an awkward tee shot for me. When I striped it there, it feels‑‑ okay, now I like everything coming in. Everything feels good. So that was kind of like my checkpoint. It was like, I get past this tee shot right here, I feel really good about finishing this off. So yeah, I think we all kind of have that. You play a place, last week, Houston is a tough track for me. I just visually have a hard time with that golf course. I know the meat of that golf course for me is like 4, 5, 6, 7, and I just struggle with it every year. Some years I do better than others. I think we all have those spots at courses. Q. After the win at the PGA Championship and the first major championship and staring down the world No. 1 and bringing it home, which obviously is a great validation of your practice, your efforts, I'm curious as to the need perhaps then to organize yourself in even a stronger way going forward to become a multiple major champion? Have you made subtle changes or do you take it as business as usual? JIMMY WALKER: No, I've been trying to just keep grinding as hard as I can. I haven't had like the best year or anything so far. But a couple of chances to have some good events. But I've still been banging away, working hard, and yeah, definitely would like to win this week. That's why I'm here. I know I have the game. I mean, there's no doubt. I don't have any doubts about that at all. It's about going out and hitting the shots. I know I can putt as good as anybody out here, I can chip as good as anybody and I can drive it as good as anybody. So it's just about going out and doing it. That's all it really boils down to; can you do it, are you going to do it. And I'll just be as prepared as I can to tee it up on Thursday and go see what happens. Q. What are your thoughts on Amen Corner, 11, 12, 13, your goals as you approach the corner? JIMMY WALKER: Yeah, it's a really good shot‑‑ especially with the way the forecast is looking for Thursday and Friday, the winds look like they're going to pretty gnarly, and that's a section of the course that gets really tough, especially if the wind swirls. You know, I think if you get through there‑‑ honestly, I think you get through there even par, you're doing really well against the field. Everybody thinks 13 is such a cake walk. It's really not. It's kind of one of those trick holes. You think you should birdie it every time and then you walk away with a five, and you're like, I just gave one back. You know, you make a quick bogey there, too. So it's a really good hole. You know, 12 and 11 are just hard. It's long and it's hard. Q. When Hogan played, he always said that if you saw him on the green on 11 in two, you know he pulled a shot because he was trying to chip‑and‑putt in most cases. Do you want to play it right? JIMMY WALKER: I don't think so anymore. I think the green so usually so firm and fast, I don't think you want to be right of that green anymore. I think you want to be right in the middle of that sucker with a putt. I don't think you want to be chipping, I really don't, especially if that pin is anywhere on the right side of that green. You miss right, you're playing some kind of a bump‑and‑run and the green is fast. It's just a really tough chip. I think you've kind of just got to muster up some courage and knock it in the middle of the green. I think that's the safest place there is to be in golf is the middle of the green. MODERATOR: Thank you very much for your comments and congratulations again on your victory at the PGA Championship. We wish you all the best for the week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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