GTE BYRON NELSON GOLF CLASSIC

May 12, 2000

Tiger Woods

TIGER WOODS: It was a little hot and humid out there. Yeah, it was very close to Florida. The only difference is at home I wear shorts and ride in the cart. Here you've got to actually walk and be out there all day. It makes for a very difficult day.

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I was thinking about it on the back thin. My streak is a little longer than what the book says. They count Pebble as where I missed the cut. I withdrew there; so I'm not counting it.

TIGER WOODS: I do. Because that means you fight all the time, and even when you're playing bad, you're still fighting and you have the mental tenacity to hang in there on those bad days and get it around where you make cuts. You know me well enough where I'm not going to dog it out there. That's just not my style.

TIGER WOODS: You know, today, I was telling Don over there, I turned a wonderful 62 into a 67, and that's just from some -- I guess some rust and just making some sloppy mistakes, mistakes I don't normally make when I'm playing all the time. And that takes time for that to tighten up and play it up a little bit, start playing like I normally will.

TIGER WOODS: No, Justin and I are good friends. So even when you're struggling -- he's played with me when I'm not playing well. You know, we talk, it's just part of being friends. And I try to offer some encouragement whenever possible, but it's tough seeing one of your friends not play well. Unfortunately, that's part of the game.

TIGER WOODS: No. No matter how good you play or how bad you play, what really counts is your friendship, and we're great friends. Notah and I are great friends, too, as well, and I was talking to Notah as well as Justin, and no matter how bad you're playing or how good you're playing, you're always going to be good friends.

TIGER WOODS: Well, I know Justin well enough that I've played with him when he's really played well, and you know, he's not -- obviously not hitting the ball like he normally does. He's always been one that controls his ball flight awfully well, and right now, he's hitting some high ones, some low ones. If he tries to hit it high, he's hitting it lower than he normally would or vice versa, and Justin has always been one that controls his ball flight. However high he wants to hit it, he's going to hit that high. Today he hit some double-cross, some shots that he doesn't normally hit.

TIGER WOODS: If I play good tomorrow, get myself back into this tournament, we'll see what happens. In order for me to be in the hunt, I'm going to have to shoot a good round tomorrow.

TIGER WOODS: On 1, yeah, I hit a wonderful 3-wood, pull left up in the trees, and in with a few spectators. I tried to move the spectators back and one of the security guys, part of the TOUR, stepped on my ball. And so we had to call for a ruling and got -- he came back and I had to place it, because we knew exactly where it was, in a similar lie. Did that. Hit it up on the green, popped a 3-wood. I replaced it back to its -- somewhat of its original lie, is what the rule is.

TIGER WOODS: Well, I wish I could have played it yesterday (Cottonwood). But that's just the way it goes. Luck of the draw. And I think that's the rotation, the best rotation to have was to play this one yesterday and then TPC today.

TIGER WOODS: It does change a little bit, but that's just part of playing out here. San Diego, we play two courses and generally I play the South Course first, North, and then back to the South on the weekend. That's part of the game and you can't get frustrated. You've just got to go out and play one shot at a time. You know the golf courses; so it's not like you go out there blind.

TIGER WOODS: What are my thoughts on Mother's Day? Well, I'm sending her flowers. I'm doing the good thing so she's not mad at me.

TIGER WOODS: My mom has always been there, wonderful support. She never really -- she always got on me when I would always hang my head a little bit. She's always felt that you've got to carry yourself proud, and sometimes that's a little hard when you're not playing well and you don't know where the ball is going and you're not feeling too well about the way you're swinging or the way you're putting or whatever it may be. But that's something she's always believed and still does.

TIGER WOODS: In person? Good question. Maybe the Open, if she comes out, but I don't think she's coming to the Open.

TIGER WOODS: Well, after that debacle on is 1, I felt it was nice to get something, just get some kind of momentum going. I made a couple putts right there in a row, and just to get some kind of feeling of stroke. I kept pulling all my putts, and I'd block a few because I'm afraid of the pull, and it's just a mental game. And I finally found something in my stroke that I was able to go down the line and release the blade down the line with the correct roll and spin. So it felt pretty good to make that one, and I kept it going all the way in.

TIGER WOODS: A lot. Over the last two days?

TIGER WOODS: I have to look at it realistically. I had two 3-putts and a couple short irons, a couple mid-irons. The mid-irons you hit in there tight, you're supposed to make those after you hit a mid-iron in there tight, and I didn't make them. I probably missed about five or six in there, probably about 12 feet in. If you make them, you go low, and if you don't, then you kind of shoot what I shot today.