	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

May 13, 2018

Tiger Woods

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

Q. Great round today, phenomenal performance this weekend. You've put yourself in the mix here in this comeback a few times, but what's it like and what's your big takeaway to have done it at a tournament of this caliber?
TIGER WOODS: Well, I played really good today. I hit it so good. It was nice. I had control of it from tee to green; I made some putts; I felt good on basically every facet of the game, and it's weird, not to really mishit a shot today and only shoot 3-under par is just weird, because I played much better than that. I think I got within four or five of the lead at one point, and if I would have played I think the last five holes maybe in 4-, 5-under par, I might have had a chance, and just didn't do it.

Q. You birdie 12, get to 14, you are four back. Did you know where you were then?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I think I was -- yeah, as I said, I think I was at one point within four of the lead, maybe five, but I figured I needed to shoot probably 10 for the day to have a chance, and I needed to get four more coming in. And I shot 8 at 15, I figured it was going to skip if it was blowing downwind, and it rips back off the green and made bogey there. Hit a good putt. Like at 16th the ball skips and I'm well past the hole, and then at 17 I got a puff that came back in my face. And that's just the way it goes. I hit good shots all day long, I mean this is one of the -- I hit the ball better today than I did yesterday, and I obviously didn't end up with the score I needed to.

Q. Analyze the week. You grind to make the cut, play great on the weekend. This has really got to be a big positive.
TIGER WOODS: It really is. I didn't play particularly well in the first couple days, but I turned it around this weekend and I got it rolling. I hit the ball well, I controlled it and I made some putts. I knew my putting was right around the corner, I knew I was close because I hit good putts that just didn't go in. It was just a matter of time, and this weekend was it.

Q. Did you hit the wrong clubs on 14 and 17? You just said basically you didn't -- you hit it well all day, so did you just --
TIGER WOODS: No, 14 is blowing downwind and it's off the left and it's on top of that crown, and I thought it was going to skip. I thought I was going to have a hard time keeping it up top, and I spun it off the ridge. Left it short and hit a good putt. Just didn't go in.

Q. Was that a sand wedge?
TIGER WOODS: That was a sand wedge, yeah.

Q. And 17 was?
TIGER WOODS: 17 was a sand wedge. It was blowing downwind, and then unfortunately it switched in my face.

Q. To get in the position where you win a tournament, what do you think has to change? Does much have to change?
TIGER WOODS: No, if I would have got off to a better start this week, if I would have had the game I had this weekend the beginning of the week, I would have gave Webb a little bit of a run. But this week, the scoring was so low, I just didn't do it the first two days. I didn't take advantage of the conditions, it was warm, it wasn't that hard, and most of the guys were going low and I just wasn't.

Q. Looking back on the end of the round yesterday and the end today, is there anything can you work on to try and close these out, or is it just a matter of putting yourself into position and eventually they're going to fall your way?
TIGER WOODS: Well, as I said, I didn't really miss a shot today, and so I'm not that disappointed with it. It's not like what I did at Bay Hill on 16; I hit a terrible tee shot there. I hit it good all day long, and it's just the way it goes.

Q. The birdies yesterday and today were really flowing. It was kind of a struggle the first two days. Was that just a function of making more putts?
TIGER WOODS: No, no, I hit it better. I put myself in more positions and I felt like the worm was going to turn with my putting because I felt good the first couple days, they just weren't going in. I was hitting good putts, and just stick with it. It wasn't like it was last week. I didn't putt well at all. But I felt good, and it's just a matter of seeing a couple go in, and all of a sudden the lid pops off.

Q. How encouraged are you by your driving today? You were pounding the driver it seemed.
TIGER WOODS: I felt very comfortable with every facet of my game today. Everything felt good. I had control, I was hitting it high, low, right, left, didn't matter what it was. I felt like I had control of it today.

Q. What's your thought process on the second shot on number 8, when you took it off that hill and back toward the hole?
TIGER WOODS: If I try and play the cute one just over the lip of the bunker, it's probably going to go 12 feet past. I didn't have a very good lie. The ball was sitting down a little bit. If I was a little bit more on the upslope up, up closer to the lip, then yeah, I would have played that shot, but my ball was sitting down and I couldn't put spin on it, so I had to play long and have it come back off.

Q. Big picture, eight tournaments in, what can you say about where you put yourself now a few times and actually the adrenaline and having these good rounds like you did here today?
TIGER WOODS: There's no way I would have predicted I would be at this point the beginning of the year, the way I was just coming back and just trying to get a feel for it and then hopefully have a schedule. Didn't know. But now I feel like I've got my playing feels and I'm playing tournament golf and I've got it -- I'm not that far off from winning golf tournaments.

Q. Any doubt in your mind you can win?
TIGER WOODS: What's that?

Q. Any doubt in your mind that you can win?
TIGER WOODS: No, no. After what I did at the changes I made after L.A., and how I played at Honda and how I played at Valspar and Bay Hill, I knew I was close to winning golf tournaments. Hell, I was one shot out of Valspar.

Q. Jordan said he thought he might have messed you up on 17. Did watching his shot impact at all your club selection?
TIGER WOODS: No, no, no. I had 27 cover, 33 hole. If it was blowing down off the right, then it's a sand wedge. I just happened to get that wrong turn. What are you going to do? I hit a good shot.

Q. What's next between now and the U.S. Open for you?
TIGER WOODS: Not a whole lot. Go home and start training again and build on what I've done this weekend. This weekend was extremely positive. I hit a lot of good shots, and I'm very excited to see some putts go in too this weekend as well.

Q. What is your excitement level for the stretch coming up with Memorial, U.S. Open, majors?
TIGER WOODS: This summer is -- there are some big events to be played, and one of my goals is to get into Akron, one last time, before we leave there. I've won there eight times and I would like to get there with one more chance. But I got to do some work between now and then, hopefully put together one good event.

Q. You added Valspar, and something good happened there.
TIGER WOODS: I did, yeah.

Q. Any plans on maybe adding something, if you're not in Bridgestone?
TIGER WOODS: Not really, no. Just because -- I added Valspar because I missed the cut at L.A. I needed more tournament rounds in before Augusta. I felt like I've got the tournament experience now. I got my feels and I know what I'm going to do in a tournament. This weekend was more like it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297