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VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP

March 8, 2018

Tiger Woods

Palm Harbor, Florida

Q. Tiger Woods, swirling winds, conditions. What was it like out there?
TIGER WOODS: Really brutal out there. We as a group got fooled a lot today. Into the wind it felt like you just hit walls and downwind it was you couldn't pick an angle.

Q. It's been a long time since we've done this together, highlights. Go to your 3rd shot at the 1st. What did you see here?
TIGER WOODS: I was just trying to get anywhere where I could putt at it. It came out perfect, sitting into the grain and can't believe it almost went in.

Q. This golf course is in such great shape, really took advantage of that one. Very nicely done. Go to your tee shot at the 8th. What did you see back there?
TIGER WOODS: 6-iron. Blowing downwind. Get it up in the air and let the wind do all the work for me. Worked out nicely. Nice little putt which I got to the hole and made.

Q. It's a small sample. Your putter is really working well for you.
TIGER WOODS: Yeah. Well, I actually hit the putt too hard. It was going downhill. It could have gone four, five feet by but crashed in the hole.

Q. No. 11, 3rd shot from not necessarily a great lie.
TIGER WOODS: Toe down there, trying to hit the toe and came out nicely. Used my 56 and trying to hit into the hill on the right.

Q. Errant tee shot at 16. This is going to be the back. What did you see from that position with all those things?
TIGER WOODS: If I went over that sign right there and the water, I turned it, it would be all right. The problem, I had to put a little speed into it.

Q. We were talking about this before we came on the air. Look at your left arm and the club. What did that feel like?
TIGER WOODS: It didn't feel very good. I moved all the people even and warned them in case the club breaks and gets over there. I had a little 60-degree sand wedge and pitched it up the hill and came out nicely.

Q. Really good save there at 16. Fast forward, what looked like from our vantage point the best shot you hit all day, tee shot on 18.
TIGER WOODS: Nice little 5-iron. Henrik hit 6, Jordan hit 5. I took something off the 5. I like it right there.

Q. Where are you in the process right now?
TIGER WOODS: Still working on it. I'm getting a little better piece by piece and today was -- this was a very good test of all my things that I tried to hit. Wind's out there, it's howling and swirling, it's tough and felt like I really controlled the ball well.

Q. You seemed very easy out there, smiling a lot when you're out there inside the ropes. How much are you (inaudible)?
TIGER WOODS: They're definitely all revved up. I love competing and being with these guys. I got a great pairing this week, Jordan and Henrik, two great guys. Very competitive and they've had great years. Today was a tough day for everyone.

Q. Last thing, you know the huge crowds are here and everybody is here to see you play. What is it like to be back here in the Tampa area for the first time in a long, long time?
TIGER WOODS: Well, 22 years. I barely remember this golf course. I believe we finished 2nd. "Inaudible." I don't remember a lot. I remember most of the field was using persimmon. It was a different era and different time.

Q. You come into this week about how challenging this golf course was. 1-under par. Got to feel pretty good after today's round.
TIGER WOODS: It feels great. Today was tough, man. I don't know if these people really understand how hard it was out there trying to pull a club, trying to figure out the wind direction, the gusts.

The wind was up and down and into the wind and just hit walls up there. We hit some shots and the whole group, the whole group got fooled a lot today. That's rare. But it happened today. It was just a tough day all around.

Q. You made yourself a bunch of birdies out there, maybe the only -- couple of iron shots that struggled, kind of figure out what to do with them?
TIGER WOODS: It's hard, hard to commit to it. If it blows one direction, it's one club, if it blows another, another club. We got caught in between on probably about three, four clubs today, for instance, like the 4th hole was a great example.

The gallery didn't see my golf ball. It went flying over their head. Henrik hit his. He thought it wasn't enough and it went over the green. It was a tough day.

Q. Well played. Hopefully be a little warmer in the morning.
TIGER WOODS: I doubt it.

Q. Tiger, how bad is your hand after 16 and any damage to the club and can you just take us through that?
TIGER WOODS: The hand is fine. I didn't hit my hand. My forearm hit the tree a little bit. I tried to warn all the people there, move them out of the way because I didn't know if I was -- if I pulled back on that at all and tried to really use my hands and flight that ball down and if that club catches and breaks, it's going to be right over there. I was worried about that.

Once they got cleared out I figured I could put some speed into this thing and I was going to feel it. But I pulled it off.

Q. Of the three of you, you looked like you were enjoying the grind the most. Is that just a factor, you're so glad to be back out here in the mix?
TIGER WOODS: Karen, I enjoy when par is a good score, it's a reward. There are some tournaments when about four holes you don't make a birdie you feel like you're behind. Today, you know, made a couple birdies, all of a sudden that puts me 4th, 5th, right away. That's how hard it is. It's the reward to go out there and make a couple birdies here and there and I like that type of challenge.

Q. What did you hit on 17?
TIGER WOODS: 17 I hit 5.

Q. Talk about the way you got off to a good start on the back.
TIGER WOODS: Yeah. You know, I hit a nice little wedge in there, that putt I hit a little bit too hard on 10 and got away with it. Went in the middle but a little bit of pace.

On 11 I got a good break there. Thought I hit a good tee shot. The wind got it at the end. Didn't go in the bunker but I had a shot. I was able to make 4 from there.

Q. Of all the rounds you played today, now 11, how would you rate this in terms of your feeling after being on the course?
TIGER WOODS: This was the hardest of all the tests because the wind was all over the place. You just couldn't -- I'm -- we, me, Joey and I really had a hard time today figuring out what to hit and lot of the time many of them, what the trajectory is, am I going to hit it above the tree or around tree height? Those are all different distances the ball travels. Couple times I got it just above the trees and it got smoked.

Q. What happened on 18?
TIGER WOODS: Wind was supposed to be in off the right and switched to in off the left. I hit a perfect 3-wood down the middle. Pick up the tee. All of a sudden it starts going way right.

Just the way it goes. My second shot it was bouncing from right to left, left to right and finally decided it was slightly off the right and go with it.

Q. A guess?
TIGER WOODS: Total a guess.

Q. Given the conditions, what part of your game are you sort of most pleased with after today?
TIGER WOODS: I think I feel like I'm pleased with every aspect of my game. I drove it well, I hit a lot of good iron shots today and I had some good speed on the putts. Greens are a little bit grainy and I hit a lot of good ones. Spanked a couple here and there. I thought I really did well today, overall.

Q. Is this course more impressive (inaudible)
TIGER WOODS: Both. This is a tough golf course. Not too often in Florida you find elevation but there is some. Great driving golf course. Got the rough up a little bit, even though a little sparse here and there but still up.

These greens are firm. Downwind it's really tough to stop the golf ball and into the wind -- asking Henrik what do you do around this golf course when there's no wind here. He said still a hell of a test. We can all see that. It's a really, really good grind out here.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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