PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

August 8, 2020

Tiger Woods

Harding Park Golf Club

Flash Quotes

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JOHN DEVER: Good afternoon. Welcome back to the 2020 PGA Championship here at TPC Harding Park. Pleased to be joined by Tiger Woods who posted a third round 72 today, and is currently 2-over par for the championship.

Tiger, tougher conditions out there. Not as much sun, significant wind. It was a little bit of a challenge, wasn't it?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, it got windy. The greens are starting to get a little crusty. They are not really that quick but they are definitely crusty coming in with the approaches, and the wind is definitely moving the ball on the greens when you're hitting putts. Keith hit a number of good putts today that the wind grabbed a hold of. It's going to be tough for the guys out there today unless it calms down towards the evening.

Q. Seems like one of those days going out you couldn't find that spark. Why was that?

TIGER WOODS: You know, I didn't make anything early. I had a couple opportunities to make a couple putts, and I didn't. They were burning edges. I had a couple lipouts, and just nothing really got -- got the round going. It's just like yesterday. I just didn't get anything going, and had to claw and fight to get my way back, and didn't really get anything going until the last few holes.

Q. Did it feel like a stroke thing, or was it kind of the same as yesterday where you couldn't really read them well?

TIGER WOODS: I definitely didn't hit them hard enough, that's for sure. Again, the putting green is a little bit faster than the golf course, and I made sure I hit a lot of uphill putts to make sure that I try to counter that going out there. I just didn't trust it.

I had a couple putts where I should have hit it a little bit harder, and I didn't do it, and consequently, the ball died off at the end.

Q. What were you happiest with and what were you most disappointed with?

TIGER WOODS: Well, I was frustrated that I didn't get anything going early. Wish I would have made the putts I did at the end, at the beginning. I was putting for pars, it seemed like, on a lot of the holes or try and lag putt it. I got a couple bad angles where I missed a couple shots in spots that you just can't play from. Just didn't have correct angles. Made bogeys because of it.

Q. Happy with anything?

TIGER WOODS: Happy the way I finished. I made some putts on the last five holes, but that's about it. It was just a fight all day, and unfortunately just didn't get anything going.

Q. You've made putter changes before. Can you wrap your mind around the idea that it isn't a putter issue and it's more about reading the greens?

TIGER WOODS: It is, it is about reading the greens. I just haven't hit the putts hard enough. My feel and what I'm seeing just aren't matching up.

Getting committed to hit the putts a little bit firmer when I feel they look a little bit faster; as I said today, I did a lot more works on uphill putts on the putting green to make sure I off-set the golf course, and still the same result.

Q. Would you put that then down to more about the course and playing here than lack of competition or lack of reps, whatever you would call it, in terms of the putting? In other words, if you had played a bunch, would it still be a challenge for you out here?

TIGER WOODS: You know, I've always struggled my entire career when the greens look fast and they putt slow. That's always been the case, and sometimes I'll add lead tape to my putter to make sure I get a little more weight to get the balls to the hole, but it's about feel, what I'm feeling in my feet and what I see, overall awareness of how I'm reading the putts; sometimes just don't matchup.

Q. So you're not blaming the putter, per se; it's the person swinging?

TIGER WOODS: I'm not. If I hit the putts hard enough, I'm making them. I'm just -- it's hard for me to hit the putts hard enough, and because of feel, and I putt so much by feel, and unfortunately it's been a touch off.

Q. You've had some cases, but not very many in your career in this position, is it hard to get up for tomorrow?

TIGER WOODS: No. Last day and we still have another major championship to play and get ready for the Playoffs and we have the U.S. Open after that. We have some big events to be played, and hopefully tomorrow I can shoot something in the red and get it to under par for the tournament, and hopefully I can do that.

Q. This extreme outlier of a year, is there any way when you go around -- that seven competitive rounds in six months --

TIGER WOODS: Well, unfortunately I've been there before throughout my career. You know, we were talking about that today. Saturday of a major championship it's usually pretty rowdy. This is a little bit different. As I said to you guys the other day, this is our new norm. We are going to have to get used to this, no matter how big the event is, it's just different without the fans. There's not as much movement. There's not as much energy.

The distractions are different. I've heard a few guys yelling at the cameramen or photographers who are 60, 70 yards away, just not moving. Normally we have thousands of people and you don't really see that. It's almost like white noise. But this is a little bit different.

Q. As you chase Jack, and as you get older, do you feel a sense of urgency as one major maybe slips away, and knowing there's a finite number probably left in your career?

TIGER WOODS: There is. There's not as many as when I first started playing. The reality is that the golf courses are getting bigger. They are getting longer. The margin between making the cut and the lead is a lot smaller than it used to be. Used to be sometimes 12 to 15 shots.

Now, we had, what, nine shots? It's just different. It's getting tighter and it's getting harder to win events, but you look at the leaderboard of most major championships, you see the same guys. May not be always the same winners, but you see the same handful of guys are there. They understand how to win major championships, how to win the big events, how to plod their way along, how difficult it is to win these big events.

Q. How much different would that Masters win have been last year with no spectators, and would no spectators with you in contention be a negative for you?

TIGER WOODS: I've been accustomed to playing with a lot of people, and a lot of sounds and a lot of movement for my entire career. Some of the guys were joking with me at Memorial saying, "Now you know how we feel." You go around play 36 holes, sometimes 72 holes in peace and quiet.

It is different. But I just think that big events, you see the same guys, and we see Brooksy up there again. Guys who understand how to play tough golf courses and tough venues tend to be up there, whether there's crowds or no crowds.

Q. All of the questions have been about your putting. How does your swing feel? Do you feel like you're hitting it well enough to contend?

TIGER WOODS: I felt like the first day, I needed to sharpen up my driving a bit. Yesterday I drove it great. Didn't hit my irons quite as good and didn't make anything. Today, I didn't quite drive it as well and I put myself in -- left myself in good angles and when I missed the fairway, I made sure I missed on the correct side so I had the correct angle.

But sometimes I then would make mistakes, short-side, and again, I didn't make any putts early. So hence, I didn't get any momentum going.

JOHN DEVER: Tiger, we appreciate your time. Have a great day.