	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 NORTHERN TRUST

August 23, 2018

Tiger Woods

Old Westbury, New York

TIGER WOODS: Just didn't have the situations where I had the full club and I could go ahead and take a rip at it and start being aggressive and going after these flags. I kept having to play a little defensive because I was taking more club, trying to shape it and take spin off. One of those days

Q. Is that where the frustration came in? A few times it looked like you had wedges in your hand where you just felt afterwards, frustrated?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, because I -- as you know, I play a spinier ball, probably the spiniest ball on TOUR. Some of these shots from 95 yards, I'm hitting a pitching wedge in there trying to take the spin off because I know if I hit sand wedge it's going to roll back 40, 50 feet. That's where the frustration came in for sure. Didn't quite fight it and have the feel to hit those really, really soft shots.

Q. If you knew before the round, you would miss nine out of 14 fairways, would you have figured you would be a couple, few under, just looking at that stat?
TIGER WOODS: I don't know. Depends on -- you've still got to hit the iron shots in there. Still got to make the putts. One of those days where I just kept having the half-club and was never able to fully swing at it and having to hit little softies in there, control my flight, maneuver the golf ball. One of those days.

Q. You've had a lot of slow starts this year, not that par has been bad, but you haven't been under par many times in round one. Is that a coincidence or do you find it difficult to get into the round starting tournaments?
TIGER WOODS: I would say early in the year because I had not played competitive golf, but midway through the year on, it hasn't been an issue, and today, pretty much since The Open Championship, I've felt pretty good about my starts. Just right now, I think there's 40, 41 guys, I think at 1-under par through 5-under par. Just a very bunched board right now and I think that's going to be that by the end of the week.

Q. Is it easier, the fact that you're in-between clubs, that you weren't mis-hitting it, and nothing in your game you weren't unhappy with?
TIGER WOODS: Just one of those days. For example at the PGA on Sunday, I had the perfect full club and I could go after it. At The Open Championship on Saturday, I had, again, the perfect full clubs. Those are days when you take advantage of them, and then there are days when you just don't have -- you're kind of in-between clubs, and given the conditions, as soft as they are, you can't take the low club. You have to take the high one.

Q. There's a bit of banter already started about the match in Vegas. What do you think at this stage, who will be the favorite?
TIGER WOODS: Right now, Bernie, it's 18 holes, so anybody can win an 18-hole boat race. We're going to have fun doing something that's never been done before and have on Pay-Per-View and doing something, trying to showcase golf and showcase golf in a different way.

I've been able to do something similar to this under the lights, as you saw at Battle of the Bridges and Sherwood, just trying to do something different. This is definitely going to be that and it's going to be -- I think it's going to be fun for everyone because we're in a different era than we were then in those days. We're able to showcase golf at a different time and different platforms and I think this will be fun.

Q. Is there any concern you won't be able to showcase it to the average fan?
TIGER WOODS: I think they can afford it and I think it will be done differently. You know, how many times have we all purchased fights, whether it's MMA or it's boxing, whatever it may be. We all purchase those fights.

As I said, this will be different. It's fun to do something different in our sport and something that's never been done before, because I remember DD and I talking about this when we first played at Sherwood. It's never been on -- we never had golf under the lights before. That was a first.

You know, this is going to be something very similar to that done on a different platform that's never been done before.

Q. Will there be any fights between you and Phil to add to the value?
TIGER WOODS: Here we go.

Q. Looked like you had a lefty driver -- was that you tweaking or just a mistake --
TIGER WOODS: That was a mistake in the advertising. That was not -- no, I would say something, instead of showcasing stuff like that.

Q. Can you play left-handed?
TIGER WOODS: I can hit tee shots left-handed. That's not a problem. But I would have a hard time getting the ball in the air left-handed but hitting a tee shot, I don't have a problem with that.

Q. From the out-of-bounds area --
TIGER WOODS: I've hit a few pitch shots left-handed, yeah.

Q. What's it mean to you to have a chance to play in front a whole new generation of young fans, like eight-year-olds and 10-year-olds?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, it's hard to say. When I first came out here, it was the same thing. When I first came out here, golf was getting a little bit younger in the gallery.

Now I'm a little bit older. The players are younger. I think that there is certainly more of a youth movement in the sport at the professional level. We're just trying to translate that into the junior golf level. We're seeing a lot more kids out here, especially since the TOUR has gone to more free admittance to juniors, servicemen and women and retirees and vets. I think the game is getting younger for sure, the audiences. But our participation is certainly something we can improve on.

Q. Phil started the smack talk early, saying that it's going to be the easiest 9 million that he's made. Do you see a press conference with some smack talk back and forth? How is your smack talk game?
TIGER WOODS: I think I'm minus 180 right now. That's all I've got to say.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297