100TH WESTERN OPEN

July 2, 2003

Tiger Woods

TIGER WOODS: I knew that if I kept my heartbeat going I was going to win the tournament, and at the time it was my fourth win of the year, so my first full year on Tour, that was pretty cool.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: It's frustrating because I've got to answer it all the time now, so the people who don't know about golf who write it now convey it to the people who don't know anything about golf, and as I'm walking around people are asking me that question, when are you going to start playing good again. I haven't been playing poorly. Golf is very difficult, and to be honest with you, I'm pleased at the way I've been playing. I just need to get a few more putts in the hole and I'll be all right.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I think so. As far as a Tour event, I think these are some of the best stops that I think every one of us looks forward to because of the history behind it. Because I've won these events just make it that much more special.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: It's a step in the right direction. I know they're trying to protect the integrity of the game by not forcing us to have to do it, which I completely understand, but I wish they could do a little bit more, but we'll see what happens. We'll see how it goes. I think there might be some pressure from you guys in the media for everybody to test.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: That's the thing. I think a lot of guys will get questioned about it and it will probably force them to go ahead and get tested.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: If you get one that's .831 versus .830, how are you going to tell the difference?

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I think you might see some players go this route, but if this testing goes well next year, and hopefully it will, I think you might see some real positive signs.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: Well, you've got to play the par-5s well here because if you don't, the way the weather forecast is supposed to be for the week, you're going to have to go low, and if you play the par-5s well -- if you drive the ball in the fairway you'll be able to get there in two and make birdie. For the guys in the past who have played the par-5s well here, they usually win.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: A little bit of it is because I didn't play the beginning of the year when we played at Mercedes where the guys were hitting it 350. I didn't play the Bob Hope when the fairways were fast there, I didn't play at Sony when the fairways were fast. At the beginning of the year when the fairways were fast I didn't play.

When I came back, ironically it's rained at every single event I've played at this year. It's kind of skewed a little bit in that regard, but also, too, that I haven't really pulled out the driver that much. The times that I have hit it may not be on good driving holes, so you may see me hit -- for instance, I hit 2-iron off the tee at No. 2 at Sawgrass, that's one of the driving holes there. So I'm hitting 2-iron down there about 240 off the tee, so that kind of skews my numbers.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I thought if anything it would go the reverse, flip it around and make No. 9 the par-4. I think it's just a better driving hole with the trees there. It forces you to have to turn the ball down there and fit it in there, and I think it's a better look for a par-4 than No. 5 is. If you move the tees up on 5, now there's no bunkers in play anymore.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: Last time I caddied for my buddy when he tried to qualify for the Mid-Am. He didn't make it.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: It felt good. When I'm at home in LA I usually carry my bag just to stay in shape, so I don't get fat.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: Depends on how the hole is playing. As far as I hit my 3-wood, some of the holes, when I don't need 300 yards, why take the chance of hitting driver when I can hit it 280 and I can give myself all the room in the world to hit the ball into. That's one of the things I'm doing this year is because of how the golf courses are playing and how they're set up and how far things are going these days that you don't really need that driver that often.

Certain times like at Augusta I've hit more drivers this year than in past years. That's how the golf course is set up. They moved the tees back where they force you to hit driver. A lot of the golf courses that haven't been lengthened, I hit my 3-wood 280 and I have 9-iron or 8-iron into most of the par-4s.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I haven't thought about that at all, no. I have the same faults. It's the same thing every time. I don't have to reinvent the wheel. I know what it is, it is just a matter of getting the reps in and trusting it. Butch can say that until hell freezes over. It's the same thing we work on is trying not to get stuck. When I get the club out in front of me just by speeding up my arms and slowing down my body, I hit good shots. I can actually play this game pretty good.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: Everybody says the same thing. They see a different way of curing it, and I think that's where -- that can be good, also can be detrimental, as well.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: Knee has been great, yeah. It's been a lot better. Thank you.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I don't know anything about it, just that they have blind holes and that's about it.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: Next week.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I think it's more than anyone really realizes. I think it's very important because that shows that you've had a very consistent and solid year, on top of that you've played well in the bigger events. So far this year I've done all right, I just need to keep plugging along and keep going well.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I know one person.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: Well, I think if you start looking at how -- if you're on the range, I don't know if you understand the game of golf or not, but if you see a golf ball take off, one that's conforming and non-conforming, you'll see a difference in how a ball flies. You'll see the difference in how the guy is able to shape the golf ball. You can tell in the first 100 yards how the golf ball is taking off and how it's flying.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: It's changed. It has changed. I think that of all golf courses to change and add length, you would think that St. Andrews wouldn't do it, but they had to do it for the British Open 2000. Every year we seem to play golf courses that are longer. Guys are getting bigger, they're stronger, they're working out, but also equipment helps a lot, too. I've gone back to some of my older equipment that I used to play in college, and I can't hit it that far anymore with that stuff, but the stuff that we have out nowadays, the difference, it's amazing how much further the ball is going with the drivers as well as the golf balls. The golf balls are a lot faster now.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: We're going to get to a point where you're going to either see really low scores every week or you're going to have to see all the old traditional golf courses be lengthened, and that's where Jack has really made his point with the golf ball. He wants to preserve some of the great golf courses. We'll never, ever play Marion again because it's too short. You've got to hit 4- or 5-iron off of some of the tees, and that's just the way the game has evolved.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: Well, if it's voluntary go ahead and subject your driver to it.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I think everyone will, especially if you guys in the media pressure them and ask them.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: Well, you just watch the ball come off the face and you can tell.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I have. He's just playing golf. He's playing the equipment that the manufacturer has given him.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I think that's where all of you guys don't really realize is it may not be the player's fault, it may be the manufacturer who is providing the equipment to the players. Say you hand me a driver and I hit it 20 yards further, hey, I'm happy I'm hitting it 20 yards further. I'm not going to ask you why I'm hitting it 20 yards further. I'm hitting high fades, high draws, low fades, low draws. I'm hitting everything I want with that driver and 20 or 30 yards further. There you have it.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: Well, I think it's the players and the manufacturers to go ahead and do that. The PGA Tour is taking a step in the right direction. I'm happy about that. It's a matter of making sure that the game is preserved, is policed, and on top of that, it's the greatest game in the world and I want to see it stay that way.

We've always placed ourselves -- if we hit a shot or let's say the ball moved in the trees, we call a penalty on ourselves. Every player has done it. I think that's what makes golf so unique and so special, and I don't ever want to see that change.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I had a little gap about a foot and I hit it right through. I got lucky basically.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: 9-iron.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, putting is good. I feel comfortable about my lines and my stroke. I think my lines got a little bit off. My speed was good, I just wasn't making the putts. When you hit a good putt on the line that you thought you were looking at and it's still not starting off on the correct line, then you start thinking is it my stroke, and I felt like I made a good stroke, I stayed steady, released the blade, the arc was good, and it's not going in, then you've got to figure something else, probably in the setup. That's where it was. My mechanics were just a little off and my lines weren't lined up right.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I don't understand, changing my driver for?

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: No, I'm very pleased with it. I've played this driver -- I've gone through two drivers this year. I played a driver at the beginning of the year when I first came out from surgery, and then I played another one from Memorial to here and have been pleasantly surprised with this driver. It's going back to the driver that I had last year when I won my two Majors.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I did. I tried it for one round.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I was hitting it on the range and it was just hot, and I found out why.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I think the biggest change for him is not going to be on the golf course, it's trying to deal with all of you guys and the responsibilities that come with that, with being a Major Championship winner. He's going to have a lot more demands on his time. His practice sessions are going to be interrupted more often than it used to be in the past. For a guy who likes to be very focused and very dedicated to his practice sessions, if you watch him out there working on his game, he works, and when you have a lot of those distractions, it becomes a little bit more difficult to prepare mentally and physically, not like you used to in the past.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: You know, unfortunately we have to say no. We don't like to say no, but it comes to a point where we're trying to get ready to win a tournament, and not everyone appreciates that or understands that, that sacrifice that we have to make in order to do that. I'm sure that he's already learned that.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: I'm still down from what I normally am.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: Not as much as I thought it would, but more than anything I've had to be more focused on my practice sessions than I used to in the past. In the past I could go out there for three, four hours and just bang balls, but now I've got to be more focused on what I'm doing, and because of that I come out fresher to play tournaments because I'm not out there beating balls before I get here. So mentally I'm more fresh, but physically I wish I could have hit more golf balls to engrain a few of the things I'm working on.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, take it easy for the whole year basically. I'm taking the most conservative approach. If I was a basketball player, you couldn't do anything about it, you've got to go play. In this game we can be a little bit more conservative. Don't forget our longevity is a little bit better than most athletes, so I'll take the conservative approach to it and not do any more damage.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIGER WOODS: It's not the hills. I can walk up-and-down Mt. Everest if you want me to. It's the swinging and the torquing of the golf swing, and because my left knee is where my knee goes into rotation and extension at the same time with the forces that I generate, yeah, that's when you start having problems.

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