|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
MASTERS TOURNAMENTNovember 14, 2020Bernard LangerAugusta, Georgia BERNHARD LANGER: That's life. Q. You had one massive one. BERNHARD LANGER: That was true. I actually got a mini cheer from the 12 1/2 people walking with us. Q. How long was it? BERNHARD LANGER: I'm guessing 65 feet, something like that. Not so much the length, it was up and down and over and round about. It was going in like a train. Q. Some people might be genuinely surprised that you're making the cut because of your age here, but I imagine you're not. You expect to make the cut. BERNHARD LANGER: Yeah, I hope to make the cut, but it's getting longer and longer, let's put it that way, especially this year. I don't think the course has ever played this long. It was really wet, and I don't remember hitting 3 woods into so many par 4s and hybrids. Yeah, hopefully in April it will be a little firmer. Hit it about 10 or 15 further or 20 off the tee, that would help Q. Share what it means to have the champions always come back. Did you realize, when you won, how many years you'd be coming back here? BERNHARD LANGER: No, I had no idea at that time. At that point in time, it's whatever, '85‑‑ what's that? Many, many years ago now. When I won before, 35 years ago, I guess. Obviously, I knew I'd be invited back, and I could play every year without having to wait for the invitation kind of thing, which is cool. That's what every pro wants to be in the Majors, to have a chance to win the Majors, and to come back to this place is especially nice because it's always the same place, same tradition. We're not moving around golf courses and venues. What they've created here is pretty amazing. They continue to make the tournament better and better, and my hat's off to their foresight and all the wonderful things they have done in the past and will continue to do for the tournament but also for the game to grow worldwide. Q. Tell us what you think golfers at home can learn about playing golf themselves watching the way you navigate around this golf course, even though it's not necessarily something because of distance. BERNHARD LANGER: Well, if you have a keen follower or somebody that's really interested in the game, yeah, they can learn stuff. I have to miss the greens in the right place. Like say, for instance, 18, I hit a really good drive, and I had 226 yards to the pin. So I'm hitting 2 hybrid, and I know, if I hit it right, I'm probably dead, if I hit it in the bunker. So I have to guard against that and hopefully hit the green, but if I miss, I need to miss left. I missed left, and it wasn't a particularly good shot, but I had a chance to get up and down. I played a beautiful chip to about a foot and made par. That's how I have to play several of the holes, especially the long ones, but it doesn't always work out that easy. There's a lot going on, let's put it that way, and this year the grass isn't quite as thick, let's put it that way. So you get some lies that are not quite as beautiful as usual. It makes chipping and pitching a little bit tougher. Yeah, I paid the price for that a couple of times. I hit a chip shot and just kind of duffed it or whatever. It's not easy. It's much easier to hit fairways and greens and have a birdie putt, but that's hard to do when you come in with those kind of clubs. I mean, 17, I hit a beautiful drive, and I hit 2 hybrid. Rory hit driver and pitching wedge, I think. That's what I'm competing against. Q. What do you make of Rory's round, game? Do you think he's got a Masters in him? BERNHARD LANGER: He should. I mean, maybe not this year. He's probably too far behind. He put himself too far behind, but he certainly has the game. He hits it far. He hits it high. Today his putting was tremendous. I mean, he missed one putt that lipped out, but he made everything that he possibly could make. If you have the length and you putt well, why wouldn't you win around here? Q. How far ahead of you is Rory on most holes? BERNHARD LANGER: I don't know, sometimes 40, sometimes 80 or 100. It depended on the hole because he‑‑ like here, I landed in the upslope, hits and stops. He lands it on the top, and it runs a few, and there's a few of those. Number 2, he lands on the downhill. His ball runs. I land on the top, my ball stops. It was anywhere from probably 40 to 100 yards at times just depending on the situation. Q. Bernhard, we saw you had an exchange with a spectator on the 8th hole crossover. Could you just comment or tell us about that a bit. BERNHARD LANGER: Rory teed off first and then John‑‑ or John and Rory, I don't know which order. So clearly we're on the tee. They make a lot of noise when they hit the ball. He was like 50 yards away from us, and he just‑‑ so is now I tee it up, and I can see him coming. He's already 10 yards into the fairway, and I'm thinking, well, should I stop now? I just figure, what the heck, I'll just hit it over the top of him. He wasn't in danger, but he was clearly in my view, let's put it that way. So I just hit right over the top, and I said, hey, wake up. What? What? Oh. It's like, where are you? You don't see that very often that people are walking somewhere across the fairway. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|