ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL

March 6, 2022

Gary Woodland

Bay Hill Club and Lodge

Quick Quotes

Q. Can you just take us through the emotions of 16 and 17.

GARY WOODLAND: I'm glad I'm off that golf course. I'm glad I'm done. That's where I'll start. I'll take the positive from that.

I didn't drive it very well today all day. 16, I got a fortunate break over there and hit a great 6-iron cut in there. Then made a great putt. I'd hit a lot of good putts that hadn't gone in, so it was nice to see that go in.

I felt good about 17. It was a good number. I tried to hit a cut in there and just got eaten up by the wind. A little unfortunate with the lie. The lie came out of the pitch mark, but it was still plugged a little bit. So I tried to chunk it, and I chunked it, chunked it too much.

Frustrating. I played a lot better than the score showed. I can take a lot of positives, but it stings right now.

Q. Can you talk about, if you hadn't got that break at 16 in the bunker or in the rough, would you have been able to have done anything close to the same thing?

GARY WOODLAND: I don't know. Yesterday I had a shot that was similar. It would have just been a little more risky. Butchy talked me out of being conservative. I knew I was one back. I knew they got a chance to play 16, so they would have a chance to make birdie and eagle as well. At that point, it was time to be a little aggressive.

Obviously, it was lie depending. With the wind off the left, you have all the room in the world right. I think I could have bailed out pretty good. I would have played pretty aggressively.

Q. What was the club in at 16? Can you speak to just the total roller coaster of the day for everyone.

GARY WOODLAND: It was a roller coaster. The last two weeks, it's just a mental grind.

16 was a 6-iron. It was a really good number. I could have hit 7, but I was trying to hold it against the wind, which is came out perfectly.

All in all, I need a day off. It was just a mental -- just beats you up out there. The wind, the conditions, and the greens, there's just not much grass on them. You're trying to hit good putts, but every once in a while, if you don't hit it solid, it can squirt on you like it did on 17.

Q. Think you made it on 18?

GARY WOODLAND: I did. I thought I made a lot today that didn't go in. Feel good on the putter, which is nice. Will tighten up the driving a little bit, but all in all, I'm doing the right things.

Q. (No microphone)?

GARY WOODLAND: This is as hard as I've seen in a long time. Conditions were brutal. The golf course is hard enough, and then you throw out the firm greens and the wind and not much grass, ball is oscillating a little bit, it's as tough maybe since Winged Foot, I would say. It was tough.

Q. You, at least what NBC said, you had never eagled 16 before. Is there something about that hole? Because of your length you think you would have.

GARY WOODLAND: I left it an inch short of making eagle on Friday. You would think it would set up perfect. It's a fade off the tee box. The wind off the left the last couple days is tough for me. So I tried to hit little stringer shots out there, and I just bailed out both times to the right.

I think a lot of it wind depending, but I don't know why I hadn't made eagle out there. I'm glad now I have.

Q. 8-iron into 17, coming over --

GARY WOODLAND: It was tough. I wanted to hit 9, but with the wind off the right, if I started into the wind, it would get killed. I tried to hit an 8 iron in and just got it up a little bit too much. To be honest, I thought it was perfect. I was surprised it came up a little bit short. The wind just eats it up.

Looking back, if I had hit it straight and not cut it and hit it back over the green, probably would have had a better chance coming into the wind.