THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDE

July 16, 2020

Tiger Woods

Muirfield Village

Quick Quotes

Q. Tiger, your general overall feelings of the round?

TIGER WOODS: Well, it's been a while since I've played. Got off to almost an ideal start and got a feel for the round early. I just didn't make anything today. I had looks at birdies, but I really didn't make much.

Q. What were you happiest with and what were you not as happy with?

TIGER WOODS: Well, I was very pleased the way I drove it, my feel for my irons. I just didn't quite hit the putts hard enough. Most of my putts were dying, didn't quite have enough oomph to it.

Q. How difficult were the conditions?

TIGER WOODS: Well, I would like to have started with easier conditions. Wind pumping and swirling all over the place, and it was different. It was hot, the ball was running, it's getting down there. When I watched last week it wasn't doing that, and certainly the practice round it wasn't doing that. But the golf course has changed. It's gotten faster, and it's only going to continue to get faster.

Q. How did it feel to be back after five months on the PGA TOUR?

TIGER WOODS: It felt good. I mean, it felt good. I was a little bit rusty, but felt like overall it was a good start.

Q. Your expectations about playing in front of no fans, did it compare to what you thought it would be, and what was it like to play out there with 30 people instead of thousands?

TIGER WOODS: Well, there were still a lot of moving carts and a lot of media that were moving around, but the energy wasn't the same without the fans. That certainly was noticeable, mostly different. But there were still a lot of moving parts with camera crews.

Q. You haven't had a quick turnaround in at least five months. Any concerns about that for tomorrow?

TIGER WOODS: No, I've felt good about my training over the last few months, and I've gotten ready for this.

Q. Is it more difficult when there isn't fans because there isn't that built-in energy? Did you find it difficult to muster your own?

TIGER WOODS: No, no. I definitely didn't have any issue with energy and not having the fans' reactions out there. I still felt the same eagerness, edginess, nerviness starting out, and it was good. It was a good feel. I haven't felt this in a while.

Q. This was an unusually long layoff obviously as we talked about on Tuesday. Did you have any butterflies at all even though you've been preparing at home and whatnot? What was the vibe like getting out there after a long layoff?

TIGER WOODS: Oh, certainly, as I said, I was certainly feeling the edginess and nervousness and anxiousness of playing, and getting out there and feeling something I hadn't felt in a while, and it felt good.

Q. On the routine of being back, was there any -- what's it like going to the range, to the green, on to the tee -- Rory made a point about a month or so ago about how much quicker you can get from point A to point B without people around. Did you notice any differences in that regard?

TIGER WOODS: I hadn't taken these lines off some of these greens.

Q. You mean walking?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, ever, because usually we have marshals and ropes. Like for instance, today, 16 and 17, it was nice walking off the 16th green going straight to the tee instead of walking around. It's certainly different around here with some of the walks. But you get from point A to point B very directly. I hadn't felt this ever here. Usually I'm meandering roundabout, so it was a good feeling.

Q. Warmup quicker? Just getting there and getting settled and all that?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, you don't have -- for me, I don't have the marshaling and the crowds and people moving. Certainly it's a different feel, one that's a new reality, and we're going to have to get used to it.