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DELL TECHNOLOGIES CHAMPIONSHIP

August 30, 2018

Tiger Woods

Boston, Massachusetts

Q. Comments about being back in Boston for the first time?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, it's been a while since I've been back. And looking forward to getting out there. I know they've made a few changes since the last time I played. Really looking forward to getting out there. I know I've really played well on this golf course over the years. Hopefully it will be one of those weeks again.

Q. What is it about this course that suits your eye?
TIGER WOODS: Well, I think that in general it sets up for a guy that hits it long and high. And I've done that pretty much my whole golf career. It's just one of those -- especially when this golf course gets firm and the greens get hard, then the high ball hitters have an advantage. And that's been one of my trademarks over my career.

Q. How what have you been doing the last three days since we saw you in New Jersey?
TIGER WOODS: Golf-wise, hardly anything. I've just been with the kids and with them, doing all their after school curriculum and all those activities, so I really haven't done much golf.

Q. Are you at all watching the projections, trying to map out a plan?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I saw that even though I've played -- I thought I played well last week, I fell in places. So some of the guys who skipped last week, it might have been a smart move, whether it was Rory or Henry. Rickie had a different reason why he did it. But it's a long stretch. If you have the Ryder Cup on the backside for the Europeans or the Americans, the international guys are not probably going to skip it, they'll probably play all of these, because you know you have a break. You don't have to travel to Paris to play in another event. So it's different philosophy for the Americans versus the Europeans, trying to get through this, as well as trying to get ready for the Ryder Cup.

Q. It's been 22 years since the Hello World, does it seem like that long or going by faster than you might have thought?
TIGER WOODS: Well, the last few years seemed like it took centuries. I was struggling a bit. But just looking back on it, I remember so many shots from my early start either in Milwaukee or Canada, BC, I remember all that. But hardly that it's been 22 years since then. And it has gone by more fast than I would have imagined.

When I first turned pro I felt like I was going to be out here -- I would never get to, at the time, the Senior Tour. I had three decades to go. And now I'm eight years away.

Q. You've given yourself actually a good problem with playing so well, but when you're looking at long-term, how important is making it to The TOUR Championship this year when it's creating such a concentrated playing schedule for yourself with the Ryder Cup? Would it be the worst thing -- how important is it --
TIGER WOODS: I'm guaranteed a week off, either case. It's taking advantage of that week. And I know that my golf is not going to be much, if anything, post Ryder Cup. And not just myself, but for a lot of guys. We're just pushing it to that point and then shutting it down. And just trying to get to that point so that when I shut it down I'll be able to shut it down.

Q. How difficult has it been to manage, not just physically, but mentally, especially being in contention?
TIGER WOODS: The hardest part is I didn't have any inkling of what this year might be. Normally if I have a good off-season or a good practice or feel healthy I can reasonably expect what might happen the following year. This year was a complete unknown. I didn't know if I was going to play. I didn't know how many events I was going to play. What swing I was going to use. I didn't know any of these things. And a lot of adjustments on the fly.

Adding an event -- I've added two events throughout the year, one being the Valspar and one being the Bridgestone. Those are nice options to have, because the beginning of the year, going into this year, I had no clue what was going to transpire. So it's been all positive.

Q. You've always appreciated competition. Obviously you want to win. Do you have a new level of appreciation for your game, for what you've built up this season from where you started this year?
TIGER WOODS: This has been one of my best years, considering that I didn't know what I was going to do. I just didn't have a clue. And the fact that I've been able to make it this far is very exciting to me. I have a bright future ahead of me because at this point last year that wasn't the case, didn't know. But now I know that I sort of have a bright future.

Q. I just want to ask, I spoke to a man whose house you stayed at about 25 years ago, he said you were playing in a junior tournament, you got sick with mono and got stuck in his guest room for about a week. Do you remember anything about that or can you share anything you remember about that?
TIGER WOODS: I remember I had mono at the Northeast Amateur. I struggled, I remember going -- getting back to California and I really had a hard time at the U.S. Junior, even though I got to the finals and ended up winning the finals. I slept in between each match up in the clubhouse. I was just sick. I was just tired. I didn't have any energy and anything I could do to get rest. I didn't really warm up, just went out and played the afternoon match. Went home and crashed and woke up and hardly warmed up for the morning session. Anyone that's ever had mono, not a lot of fun.

Q. What do you remember about the first FedExCup battle with Phil here in '07? Are you going to be sad next year when this isn't a stop?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, this has been a regular staple for us. Our foundation was a part of this event. Jay was our tournament director. He ran Deutsche Bank at that time. It has a lot of fond memories for us. That battle with Phil was a lot of fun, even though I didn't come out on the good side of it. We had some battles throughout the front nine, back nine. But I think we both made birdie at 16. And that was kind of a turning point, because I was still trailing at the time. I needed make, miss there to get momentum for the last two.

Q. Did you do much putting work the last few days?
TIGER WOODS: I putted a little bit. Not a lot. More than anything was just getting rest, doing my lifts. And then driving the car a lot.

Q. (Inaudible.)
TIGER WOODS: Before I had kids I didn't have these injuries, so, yeah, I'd be running for probably six to ten miles a day, doing two lifts, practicing probably four or five hours. That was preinjuries. I had a different body then.

Q. What do you think about no tournament here next year?
TIGER WOODS: Well, at least we have a future, at least we're coming back. The people here always supported this event. They come out in droves and they're loud. And it's been fun. I've had some nice runs here where I've played well, and they've gotten into it. You can hear roars go up around this golf course. I know it's spread out, but you can hear the echoes, so it's really neat. It's a shame we aren't coming here annually. But I guess bi-annually isn't bad. It's better than nothing.

Q. You've always been credited with raising the bar in this game. And now with this new body of yours, and you sort of say you're going back to the old ways and things you've done in the past, how important is it to try to find the competitive edge that would distance you from all the young guys?
TIGER WOODS: The thing is for me it's just to keep getting there in the mix, keep getting there on the back nine with a chance to win. I responded well at Valspar. I made a mistake there at Bay Hill and The PLAYERS, even at The Open Championship. But learn from those and really did well at the PGA. So it's just a matter of giving myself enough opportunities. I'm not going to win them all. In order to win them you've got to be there. And I've been there enough this year and obviously want more of it.

Q. (Inaudible.) Do you remember the first time you met him? Secondly, what do you think about his game?
TIGER WOODS: Well, I don't remember the first time I met him, but we've played a number of practice rounds this year, and talked to him at the Ryder Cup back in '16 at Hazeltine. He was riding in the cart with us for a little bit. To see how smart he is, what are our odds or percentages of X and X, if you put this pairing, in this session, what are the odds of us winning. And he said I'll give you half the hole. And he came back with the answer. That's one of my recollections of Bryson.

But he and I playing together would be fantastic. He's competitive. He's fiery. He's got all the things you'd want when you play a team match. I know that we think about the game completely differently. I'm very much a feel oriented guy and he's very much a numbers guy. But for some reason we get along great and we work. I understand what he's saying. And he understands what I'm saying. And that's been fun.

Q. Given your recent injury history, at this point in your career, obviously the majors are over, is it more about winning majors or more about enjoying being on the course?
TIGER WOODS: It's both. It's about enjoying being back. Enjoying being able to play golf again. And now competing at this level. I would have taken this in a heartbeat. You have a chance to win two major championships, you'll be in the playoffs, and you're right there to be on the Ryder Cup team. All of these things at the beginning of the year were all unknowns. As I said, it's been one of my best years as a whole.

Q. What was it like playing a practice round with Matt Parziale, the firefighter, at the Masters?
TIGER WOODS: He was great. Super nice. He and his dad were talking about what they do for a living, looking at their shifts, how many days on, how many days off. And he took the summer to play golf and enjoy it. And hats off to him. He puts his life on the line for his community and I think that he's earned the right to go out and play a little golf this summer and enjoy it.

Q. You talked about unknown. Your body is new, everything is new. Are you still using the feels from the past or are you stepping in the unknown --
TIGER WOODS: No, I trust my hands. And I always have. My hands have always been the thing that I've always trusted the most. And that stems from baseball. Playing so much baseball. Your hands are everything. Obviously your body follows, but you do everything with your hands. So I've been one -- you had to work on different body parts and different things in the golf swing, yes, absolutely. But at the end of the day it's about what my hands are doing.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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