PNC CHAMPIONSHIP

December 18, 2021

Nick Faldo

Matthew Faldo

The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club

Press Conference

NICK FALDO: For rusty but that was fun. It was good. He holed some great putts. That was the key, and you know, we hammed and eagled, used each other well a couple of holes. I did one hole on my own and Matthew took over at 17, great 2 there. That was good. That was nice. You've got to putt well. He putted great. I think I holed one so I'm very happy with my one.

Q. How does it feel to be back after a couple years?

NICK FALDO: Well, you should talk.

MATTHEW FALDO: It was great. Great to come back, yeah. Obviously missed the last couple of years from being away and myself being stuck in England from COVID. So yeah, it's really great to be back and absolutely loving the week and playing some good golf as well could keep it going tomorrow.

Q. The goal out here I'm sure is just to have fun this week, but at some point do the competitive juices start going?

NICK FALDO: We've done it enough times to know that you've just got to keep rewarding yourself. You've got to brush them in and we did that. Was really nice and you've got to hone in. Everybody plays great shots. We've been here and seen it in the past. Guys hit it in from everywhere, so you've got to try and join in.

Q. From a broadcast standpoint, your thoughts on Tiger being back, playing?

NICK FALDO: It's pretty amazing, isn't it. I know most of the rumours, I heard his ankle was dust. I heard he needed 19 hours of surgery. You guys probably know more facts than me. To go from fearing that you can't use your foot to standing; he's gone through every stage and ticking every box I guess with sheer hard work and amazing determination. Maybe this was a goal. This was a great goal for him to come and play with his boy.

I do remember having five painkilling injections one year so I could play this. We'd do anything to tee it up here.

Q. I may have misheard you, did you say that the media has all the facts?

NICK FALDO: Close, yeah.

Q. Just want to make sure we had that on the record?

NICK FALDO: Not sure how you spell "the facts" -- yeah, maybe f-a-x.

Q. If not for broadcasting, would you be playing more or do you lose interest?

NICK FALDO: Some time ago, 25 years, it was literally 25 years ago when I felt my game, it wasn't great in 2000 and then TV came along. In hindsight, yeah, if you'd gone back, I did so much transition, going from Persimmon to metal, we went through the learning curve of metal and graphite shafts and now it's the science.

I mean, anybody, a 15-year-old kid, these kids can have the best clubs in the world, same as a top pro uses absolutely fit to perfection and all that makes a difference. I probably went through that era when you have guys that lose their touch with boardroom handles, think they have lost it, and somebody says, oh, here is this claw thing, who cares what people may. Maybe I would have stuck at it a little bit differently.

I was happy. I played 28 really good years of golf, so I deem that as my window, and no regrets on anything.

Q. Have you ever found yourself missing it in the last five or six years?

NICK FALDO: You miss it all the time. If somebody had some pixie dust and say you can stay an athlete, I'm sure you ask Jack or anybody, if you can remain an athlete, but we don't and the body tightens up and the brain doesn't help. So you know as an athlete you have a window, and then that's kind of it.

So you're grateful that you had a window. So that's my bottom line.

Q. Did you have a chance to look at any of Tiger's swing yesterday?

NICK FALDO: Yeah, I've been watching it. Love to ask him, he seems like he can't push. When he commented earlier in the week, he said he can't really do this with his foot, can he, so walking flat courses is a possibility. Everybody wants to talk about Augusta but that's the toughest walk of the year, isn't it, downhill; you get shin splints being fit.

Look what he's done to his upper body. It's just kind of dragging or pulling the right leg around. I'm not sure how much drive or thrust he's got from that right ankle. But he's certainly decided, well, I'm physically strong enough up top to swing it that way or muscle it that way because it looks good.