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TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 20, 2019

Matt Kuchar

Atlanta, Georgia

THE MODERATOR: I want to welcome Matt Kuchar here to the media center at the TOUR Championship. Obviously, a lot of connections to the Atlanta area and to East Lake, Matt. Just some opening comments about being here at the season finale.

MATT KUCHAR: Every year I look forward to making the tournament and being part of East Lake. Last year I missed for the first time in a number of years, and that was frustrating. But to be back is always a thrill, always a feather in the cap. It's a place that feels like home to me. It's special. Georgia Tech was a member here. This was one of our home courses. Every time I go in this club house, I get goose bumps walking around. It's just a spectacular club house.

I always take the stairs because of all the newspaper clippings, all the things, and I always pause and kind of reminisce about all the amazing things that Bobby Jones accomplished. But there's so many rooms with so many great historical artifacts -- the Charlie Yates room, the Watts Gunn, the Charlie Harrison. Every year I really enjoy getting into the history that East Lake has.

Q. Matt, I guess, first of all, what kind of communication have you had with Ogletree since the Amateur and about the company he now keeps with you and Bobby Jones?
MATT KUCHAR: I think that's so cool. I didn't have his number, so I asked -- I was on a text chain of some friends texting when Andy was playing. So I finished Sunday at Medinah and saw this big text chain. So I looked up the scores quickly, got inside, and I was told -- I think Chris put me onto -- I had to do a teleconference with the Australian media, making the Presidents Cup team.

So I told the folks onsite at Medinah, I said, you have to put me in front of a TV with the U.S. Amateur on. So we're doing that, and we're doing this teleconference, and there's a couple of times I had to take the phone away and celebrate, getting out of my chair. I was so excited for Andy.

So I was able to track his number down and sent him a congratulatory text with a quick nice back-and-forth. I'm sure he was inundated, but had a nice quick back-and-forth with Andy. And I was just so, so happy for him, so excited for him. I think that's so cool. I know for me, when I was able to bring the Havemeyer trophy back to Atlanta, that was the first time it had been back since Bobby Jones had it here. The reception I got, I never could have imagined how cool, how great the reception was going to be bringing a U.S. Amateur trophy back to Atlanta. I was blown away. I still to this day am amazed at how special that trophy is to Atlanta, how much it means to Georgia Tech and the city of Atlanta. And for Andy to bring it back again, it kind of allows me to relive it just a little bit. It's an awesome, awesome thing that Andy's done, and I'm so proud of him and happy for Georgia Tech, happy for Atlanta, happy for so many reasons.

Q. And one question about the present now. What -- how do you come here and win this thing now? What kind of approach do you have to take? Anything change as far as aggressiveness, to make up the strokes?
MATT KUCHAR: No. The way I look at it, I kind of see it a bit like a five-round tournament. It's not far off of the old Q-school. If you were to tell me -- presently I'm six shots back -- if you were to tell me I'm six shots back going into Sunday, I still think I've got a chance. Six shots back with four rounds to go, I definitely have a chance.

So, no, there's 72 holes of golf. Six shots is small when you think of 72 holes. Sure, I'd love to be at 10 under and leading. You'd want the biggest lead you can get whenever you can get it, but to me, with 72 holes to play, it's still -- you know, there's no need to force things. No need to make mistakes. You keep kind of plotting along and hope that you can just keep treading in the right direction over 72 holes.

Q. Matt, I was curious, when you first heard about the starting strokes format, what was your reaction? And do you think this will help clear up some of the confusion from the previous format where guys maybe didn't know where they stood during the course of the tournament?
MATT KUCHAR: When I first heard of it, it was different for golf and thinking it doesn't make a whole lot of sense at first. The more I thought about it and understood the -- God, I don't know why I'm looking at that crazy photo of Bubba Watson right now. I don't understand what that's doing in here. He's got such a puzzled look on his face.

THE MODERATOR: That's nothing new, right?

MATT KUCHAR: It captures Bubba perfectly actually.

Back to the points. The points for strokes, as a player and I think even as a fan, the points were hard to figure out. Players certainly had no idea. It was way too much math to do when you're trying to figure out if somebody three groups away -- and not even that close to you, but happens to get within a stroke and points vary -- nobody could do the math. So you really had no idea where you stood or what the outcome was potentially going to be.

This is very simple. I think it makes sense. I wouldn't be surprised if it gets tweaked a bit here or there, but I think the general concept is really good, and I think it will be easy for everybody to understand. I am sure guys will try to make it confusing when guys try to tell you, well, this guy would have won because he shot 280. He only hit it 280 times versus this guy really hit it 284 times. But because he started with an advantage -- I'm sure there will be people who try to make it a bit confusing, but it shouldn't be. It should just be let's figure out -- listen, Justin Thomas is 10 under, I'm 4 under, leave it at that and figure it out from there.

Q. To go back to the U.S. Am winner for a minute, what's it like playing with the defending Masters champion? You know, you're a kid, and you're playing with a legend.
MATT KUCHAR: It's amazing that Andy will be teeing it up with Tiger Woods who is defending. I teed it up in '98 with Tiger Woods when he was defending Masters champion. You can't, as a kid, dream up a better opportunity, a better pairing than to play with Tiger Woods at the Masters. That was just so exciting to me when I was a kid. I'm sure it's still the same for anybody, for Andy in particular.

I could remember, as an amateur, you're nervous playing in the Masters, and then playing alongside Tiger Woods, the amount of eyeballs, the amount of fans, everything's magnified. I remember making that walk from the putting green to the tee, and Tiger had walked before me, and he made the entrance into the tee. And at the time, it was a shorter walk, but much more of kind of felt like a tunnel through people and then a right-hand turn onto the tee box. And it almost felt like you were entering a boxing ring with just everybody from all angles on top of you.

Tiger had this amazing ovation when he stepped on the tee box, and I was, let's call it, 20 steps behind, and I figured I might walk on to two or three claps and be it, and it had a huge ovation. When they announced me to actually tee off -- and Matt Kuchar, play away please -- I remember trying to tee the ball up and shaking so badly. I was so glad the ball stayed on the tee. I was just that nervous.

When you have those sort of feelings, you remember them forever. I'll never forget that. I'm sure Andy will hopefully do a better job of easing the nerves teeing the ball up, but you never forget that moment. Being announced off the 1st tee in Tiger Woods' group will be something that we'll have forever.

Q. Matt, being from Georgia Tech, you've played this course every month of the year. Last year, average temperature September 81 degrees. Now they moved the TOUR Championship up a month. 88 is the average temperature in the start now. How is that going to impact you, as well as the rest of the field, in terms of the heat and the humidity and even a chance of thunderstorms every single day?
MATT KUCHAR: We get pretty good at adapting to weather. Some people are better than others. I think -- I grew up Central Florida. I live in south Georgia. The heat and humidity is part of what I'm more accustomed to. We do get a bit spoiled. We tend to chase the good weather. So it's not a day-to-day or week-to-week thing where we're always dealing with heat and humidity and thunderstorms, but all of us are used to delays on a golf course. There are probably some guys a little softer when it comes to dealing with heat and humidity than others are. But, listen, we've done it enough, got enough experience, enough help with caddies, enough help with water on every hole, the additives. Everybody will have some form of electrolyte additives they'll be drinking every round.

I think the guys are pretty smart about it. You've got a caddie there to help as well, making sure you're eating, drinking, staying hydrated, got a towel to towel off when you need it. I think it won't be too challenging for anybody, I don't think.

Q. Matt, I have two Tiger-related questions for you. From that moment in '98 of shaking like a leaf on the 1st tee playing with him, you are now going to be part of the first team that he captains. What is that like for you to just have him leading you for the first time?
MATT KUCHAR: It's really cool. I've been a part of a number of teams playing with Tiger as a teammate, with him as an assistant captain, been part of his -- what's he call them? Fire squads?

Q. Pods.
MATT KUCHAR: He doesn't like the pod word. He calls it something else. I think it's a fire squad.

So I've been part of his fire squad, been a partner of his. Listen, any time you're alongside Tiger Woods, it's awesome, and being part of his little fire squad, he was so excited to help out any way he could. Listen, when Tiger Woods offers you advice, you're all ears. Here as captain, he'll be that guy that's standing up, giving advice, giving the team talks. I mean, the players just are all ears, can't wait to hear what he has to say and rally behind him.

I personally really hope he picks himself. I don't know how you don't pick Tiger Woods. I mean, if you're not Tiger Woods, you're picking Tiger Woods. I mean, to have a chance to play alongside the first potential playing captain, it's got to be since Jack Nicklaus, right?

THE MODERATOR: Hale Irwin.

MATT KUCHAR: Hale Irwin was a playing captain. There's not that many that have done it. I think it would be awesome to be on a team with Tiger Woods as a playing captain, I think it would be even cooler. I'm still so excited. When Tiger was named captain, we figured he'd just be captain and not playing captain. To have won the TOUR Championship last year and having won the Masters, that is a cool, cool opportunity. So I hope to see him as a playing captain.

Q. And then my second question, you spoke a couple of years very poignantly about having your kids waiting for you after you were edged by Jordan in the British Open. As a dad, what was it like for you to look at that scene with Tiger meeting his kids off the 18th green at Augusta?
MATT KUCHAR: So the last few years, I've played somewhat late on Sunday and finished doing the scoring, finished doing the interviews, and then it had only been another group or two before it was the final group. And I'd gone out with my kids to the back of 18 and just watched the leaders come in and, you know, somewhat dream that someday it's going to be me, but my kids are into golf. They kind of know what tournament golf is, what the Masters is. To see, to be part of that history and see the guys come up and win the Masters has been really cool, and this year to watch it be Tiger Woods and to see his kids there, it's so, so touching to see that.

I'm sure Tiger's got a houseful of trophies. I know his kids know exactly what he does. My kids know exactly what I do, but it's rare that you get that moment where, you know, it really sets in. I mean, it's special when you've got a newborn baby that comes out and gives you a hug because there's nothing sweeter than a newborn baby, but when you've got a kid that's properly impressionable, an 8-year-old, a 10-year-old, a 12-year-old, whatever those ages are, man, that really means a lot when you are able to do that and have your kids see you do something special like winning a golf tournament, and for Tiger, winning the Masters has to be such a thrill.

Q. Just wondering, you're the oldest guy in the field here. I know that makes me feel ancient. How does that make you feel? And I don't know what that says about the upcoming waves of new players here.
MATT KUCHAR: I did not know that. I don't know that I wanted to know that. Certainly, there's got to be some sort of pride in that. It's funny, I still -- here we are back at East Lake in Atlanta. I honestly feel like I'm closer to 25 or 26 years old, four or five years removed from college, still excited to be out playing golf. Every week's a chance to do something great, and I still have that excitement for it here to be at East Lake playing for the FedExCup. I mean, if I'm not excited to be here in a field of 30 with the best players in the world with a chance at the FedExCup, I mean, this is an exciting time.

I still feel like I have that youthful excitement and energy and love for the game, that I don't feel like I'm the oldest guy in the field, but I guess I'll try to take some pride in being the oldest one to qualify.

Q. Matt, you were talking about you didn't get a chance to play here last year. Do you remember, were you watching on Sunday with all the Tiger stuff?
MATT KUCHAR: Oh, yeah. I actually -- I had flown up from Sea Island. We were getting ready to go to Paris. I was one of the assistant captains. Zach Johnson, myself, Davis Love all flew up, and then we were meeting at one of the airport hotels. We sat there, must have been nine holes to go, Tiger had a lead. We got in, now there's probably five holes to go. We said, we need to go out and be part of this. This is kind of historic for Tiger to get a win like this.

So we made our way kind of just in time to see Tiger play 18 and never seen anything like that. I thought it was so cool to see the -- all the fans come up around the 18th like they did, to have the rope line come right up to the green and just to see that many people with that big of a buzz and that much excitement for golf was awesome to see, awesome to be part of. So not only did I watch, I watched.

Q. And after this tournament, two of your next six starts were wins. I'm just curious if not being here was more of a motivational factor going into the new season or not?
MATT KUCHAR: I'd like to prove it wrong by getting off to a great start next year and not needing the extra motivation. Every year there's motivation to do something great. I was frustrated to not make -- I think I missed the final two playoffs. I missed out on Ryder Cup. There were a lot of things I was bummed out about. I can't tell you that I changed my attitude or my makeup or my thought process. I've basically stuck to the course. I've basically just -- golf is a game where, when you're playing great, you can't wait to go out and play and make as many birdies as you can. And when you're playing bad, you can't wait to fix it. I was probably in that mentality. I was in that mentality for a good portion of the year. Couldn't wait to fix it and kept working to try to fix it.

So I think the persistence probably paid off more than anything, but maybe there was some motivation. I'm definitely glad to be back. This is always a big goal of mine.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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