WGC EMC WORLD CUP

December 6, 2000

David Duval

Tiger Woods

DAVID DUVAL: It was exciting to get out today. First time down here. Feels great to see so many people to come out to watch so early. And the course is in perfect condition. I look forward to starting tomorrow.

TIGER WOODS: Just like what David said, the golf course is in fantastic shape. It was nice to get out there and play and kind of clear the cobwebs a little bit, try to get a feel for our games. And we hit it pretty good today.

TIGER WOODS: Well, it's an interesting layout. There are a lot of high mounds and greens that are very undulating. It is ggoing to be a very good test. We have played golf courses like this around the world. We played a golf course not too long ago in Thailand like this.

DAVID DUVAL: I thought they were really good. We both commented early on when we first started that the speed was just perfect. You feel like you can make a lot of putts, and they really rolled very true.

TIGER WOODS: The greens, I thought, were in fantastic shape. They are really smooth. They are a great speed to hit putts. You just have to hit the ball in the right section so you don't have to come up and over some knobs.

TIGER WOODS: Well, I think it is fantastic that anyone who watches the game, for whatever the reason may be, whether it is me or someone else, whatever it is, if they are interested in the game, it's really neat to be able to be part of that growth, and it can only help the game of golf in the end. You know, as every player wants to do, when they are all said and done with their playing career, that they left the game a better place than when they first came in. That's what a lot of us try and do out here on Tour.

DAVID DUVAL: My injury has healed for the most part. I have had a little bit of lingering soreness and stiffness, but that is more from just -- probably just from playing a lot the last few weeks. And right now, today was actually the best I've felt in a while, and I don't think it will be a problem. And after this week, I have a few weeks off to get completely healthy.

TIGER WOODS: Well, I played well last week. I shot 20-under par, and usually 20-under par wins. But, it was tough. Davis went out there and played well; shot 64 in the final round. And any time you do that, you deserve to win; and he did.

TIGER WOODS: Well, I'm looking forward to playing with David. I've played with David before. We played together in the Ryder Cup at Brookline. We enjoyed playing with one another. We've played numerous practice rounds together. I thoroughly enjoy hanging out with David and playing golf with him, and I'm looking forward to it. The Argentinean team is going to obviously go out there and play hard. They have got a wonderful team -- a team that has an inordinate amount of talent. And hopefully we can go out there and compete and really play well.

DAVID DUVAL: I was really excited when Tiger asked me to play earlier this year, and I jumped at the opportunity, and I look forward to a good week. We have fun playing together. I think we complement each other well out there. And as far as the Argentinean team, I believe I've played Angel Cabrera a couple years ago in the Match Play event in La Costa, and that's my only experience, and he was a tremendous player. And I've had a little bit of experience with the Big Cat, you know. I've seen him on our Tour a little bit. But we all know that they are well world-traveled; they have played everywhere, and it is going to be a formidable team to beat.

TIGER WOODS: I would love to meet him. He is obviously a world-class athlete. And any time you ever get a chance to meet a person like that, it is definitely a benefit. And so far, there are no plans as of right now to meet him, and he has a busy schedule, as well as I do. If things work out, then great. But if not, hopefully we can meet each other in the future. We both represent Nike, and hopefully that, one day down the road, our paths will cross.

TIGER WOODS: Well, to be honest with you, obviously, in our country, soccer or, as people would say, "futbol" is really not that big a sport. I do follow a little bit, but I follow mostly the Leagues in Europe, probably more the Premier League in Europe than I do anything else, that's involved in soccer.

TIGER WOODS: My plans for next year are the same as they were this year, to go out there and play well and put myself in position to win golf tournaments. You know, that's the key to winning golf tournaments. You have to be there, in position. And the more times you are in position to win, the better your chances are at winning. Hopefully, next year, I can duplicate, if not better, what I was able to do this year by just putting myself there more often. You're not going to win every tournament. That's just a fact to reality. You just have to be there enough times, and the odds will be in your favor.

DAVID DUVAL: I think the Irish team is pretty strong. Spanish is very strong. Swedish team seems to be very strong. Scotland, Argentina, obviously; they are the strongest.

TIGER WOODS: Exactly what he said. (Smiling).

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I have a lot of ambitions, a lot of goals that I want to hopefully try and achieve in my career. I'm not going to tell you what those things are. I've always felt that my goals are very private. I'm trying to achieve them. I'm doing the best I possibly can. You know, one thing that I have always tried to do is just get better as a player; and so far, I have been able to do that each and every year.

TIGER WOODS: I don't think we talked about golf hardly at all today. We didn't really talk about fishing. We just kind of wandered about, just trying to get our bearings right. But, we'll talk about fishing. He's trying to get me into boarding (snowboarding). Hopefully, I'll be able to do that this winter.

TIGER WOODS: Do I realize?

TIGER WOODS: I've changed it a little. I guess I've got more kids involved in the game. I think that's probably the extent of it.

DAVID DUVAL: Well, I think what Tiger has managed to achieve beyond what some of the other top players have managed to achieve is the sustaining of that level of play day-in, day-out. That's what I feel like when I play well, I can compete with him and I can beat him. But I don't think I have played -- I don't think I've achieved that point where I play that way every day. I think I play a lot of stretches of golf that way, and I would say the majority of the time that way, but not to that extent where it is day-in, day-out. Even the bad days you have 68, 69, and I think that's the thing that lacks in my golf game.

DAVID DUVAL: Well, he is. It's not -- it doesn't bother me. It's not -- you know, if I had won ten golf tournaments and three majors this year, they would be talking about me, they wouldn't be talking about Tiger. But I didn't do that. You can't begrudge a guy for success. I'm not that type of person. But you'll be damn sure they will talk about me next year if I win ten tournaments and three major events. (Laughing.)

DAVID DUVAL: Maybe you've read something that I didn't, because I thought we won 7 out of 8 matches in alternate shot. I thought we did pretty good at the Presidents Cup.

DAVID DUVAL: I believe we won both of those. We're holding both Cups, so how could we have done too bad? (Laughing).

DAVID DUVAL: But he didn't play with me, though. (Applause).

TIGER WOODS: If I could have made any changes this year? Well, maybe things might have been a little bit different if I would have not made double and a triple on 10 and 12 on the first day at Augusta.

TIGER WOODS: Did I make any changes?

TIGER WOODS: I changed a lot of things. A lot of it is real technical in my swing, but I made quite a few changes.

TIGER WOODS: All of them.

DAVID DUVAL: I like the 18th the best, because that means that you're done.

TIGER WOODS: It's really not that complicated. I just go out there and I try to do the best I possibly can. It may sound oversimplified, but that's it. All I can do is the best I possibly can that day. I can't do any more than that. That's what I try, to go out there with the mindset to try and give it absolutely everything I have. And whatever happens from there, happens. If I can walk off that golf course knowing the fact that I tried the best I possibly could on each and every shot, whether I shoot 80 or whether I shoot 60, I won't be disappointed, because that's as good as I possibly could do.

TIGER WOODS: I have a friend who does live here, and he's told me a lot about Argentina. Overall, it has been a long trip. That's one of the things that he told me; it was going to take a while to get down here. He was right. 12 hours later, and you're here. But so far, I haven't really seen a whole lot of Buenos Aires; and unfortunately, we don't have a whole lot of time to see much, what this beautiful country has to offer. So I won't be able to fully enjoy what Argentina really has to offer.

TIGER WOODS: Sometimes it has its moments where it can get a little bit difficult. Sometimes the fans, as well as the press, can be very aggressive. And sometimes they have either hit me and cut me or knocked down people and hurt kids, and that's when it gets out of line. You've just got to understand that if everyone can just calm down, everything will be all right.

TIGER WOODS: Any special training? No special training. Just try and get better and improve. I'll try and get ready for Augusta, and hopefully, starting in the Florida Swing, and work on a few shots, and hopefully my game will peak at that one week in April, the first full week in April. And hopefully, that will happen. And I do plan to get married, and it will be in the future. (Smiling.)

TIGER WOODS: Well, I think when I used to hit my normal drive, when I first came on Tour versus now, it is probably maybe 10 to 15 yards in length. If I hit one hard, I can get it out there almost to where I used to be, but not quite. A lot of that is from the changes I have made in my swing plane. I can't load the club like I used to. I can't get the ball out there. But, I'm hitting more fairways.