THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 21, 2001

Mike Weir

MIKE WEIR: Oh, definitely.

MIKE WEIR: I played two rounds. Today was much colder than yesterday so the course played very long. It was very windy, and it is such a demanding course. This being THE PLAYERS Championship, obviously in the top three tournament fields as far as strength of field, with the U.S. Open and British Open, probably the strongest fields of the year. So, it's a very important tournament. I'm excited to challenge this golf course. It's a real difficult golf course. You've got to be on top of all aspects of your game, and that's a real challenge out here.

MIKE WEIR: Yeah, I'm a much better player than I was. You mentioned Vancouver -- even from a year ago at this time at this tournament, I feel like I'm a much better player. More experience. My game is more solid, a little bit more well rounded and much more consistent. All together, everything is -- all of the work I've been doing the last four or five years is starting to come together.

MIKE WEIR: I would say mentally I'm more than anything much stronger. That's what carries me through. When I am not swinging as well, I'm still able to score well; whereas, in years past I might have missed a cut or struggled with a round or maybe trying to -- now I shoot a 70, maybe not a good round. Back then, maybe it might have been a 75. That's just managing my game better and being a little bit mentally better.

MIKE WEIR: It's such a difficult hole because of the way the wind swirls around there, with the grandstand and the trees behind. It's difficult to pick the ball back up on the tee, exactly which way the wind is going. It might feel a certain way, but it swirls around, and when it swirls around just enough, a 5- or 10-yard difference, it can mean in the water or being close to the hole. That's what makes it so difficult is picking a club and trusting yourself. With the wind blowing left-to-right, it sets up really well for a lander. The right-handed guys I played with today on that hole struggled on that hole, but for me it set up really nicely. As the week goes on, on Saturday and Sunday, it becomes a little more intimidating with the pins tucked kind of in some precarious positions.

MIKE WEIR: I don't know if I would or not. The way I would design the course, I probably would, my design would be probably more of a linksy type because that's the kind of golf I really enjoy the most. But it definitely adds a lots of flavor to it down the stretch of this tournament, and I don't mind it at all. It's a real challenging hole. It's just different than other courses we play.

MIKE WEIR: I think it's very fair, because it really tests your resolve and your nerve, and if you have everything together mentally. Still, if you hit a solid shot and you are on top of your game, you're going to be okay. I think the real challenge is when -- if you're a couple behind, you really have to fire at the flag. That's when it really becomes interesting and you can make a 2 and really get back in the thick of the tournament. I think that's really exciting.

MIKE WEIR: I've been approached before about it. I've thought about it and that's why I mentioned that, because the type of golf courses that I'm really drawn to are, you know, British Open-style type golf courses. I just like that. If I was going to have my first choice for my first design sometime down the road, that's what I would kind of like to do and that's what I have in mind. Probably some day.

MIKE WEIR: For me, it was important to play two practice rounds. Maybe I play nine holes and then a Pro-Am during a regular tournament. This week, we don't have a Pro-Am, so it gives us the opportunity to play extra practice rounds and really get a feel for the place. And that's really important down here because it is such a demanding golf course. And visually, it is demanding because you really can't see the fairways and it is -- or you can on some holes, but some holes are very deceptive off the tee and they are difficult visually. Not only with the rough and everything else, they are difficult visually, so you have got to be specific on your targets. That's why I want to play a couple practice rounds and get all of those set before the week starts and get a solid game plan for the golf course.

MIKE WEIR: Not particularly. I like playing with most guys out here. I don't really have a preference. You know, they are the same guys I usually play practice rounds with, but I don't feel like it feeds off my game.

MIKE WEIR: Every once in awhile I play with Justin Leonard or Notah. Yesterday I played with Carlos and Steve Flesch and Harrison are good friends of mine. Today I played with Sergio, who I play with quite a bit, and Jesper and John Daly. So a lot of different styles there.

MIKE WEIR: Well, definitely the quality of golf here is at its highest level. You are not going to have a champion who wins here, it is not going to be a fluke, because the course is so demanding and it tests all aspects of your game. So the player that wins here is obviously going to be playing well. This is obviously a week to be very focused this week or the course will eat you up.

MIKE WEIR: I never really looked at it like that. I think they are two totally separate tournaments and totally different golf courses. I think that, you know, a player that plays well is obviously going to be playing well going in through Augusta. But a player playing well here doesn't necessarily mean that he's going to play well at Augusta. It's totally different. You could be off your game and still score well, I think. Where here, it tests everything, because Augusta, obviously there's no rough. Here, there's rough. You have to chip the ball well. The greens were -- I guess the greens are pretty similar in the contours and the speeds and stuff.

MIKE WEIR: Exactly.

MIKE WEIR: (Smiles).

MIKE WEIR: I think for me, obviously a lot of the -- I draw the ball a little bit so the left-to-right holes, No. 1. 11 a little bit off the tee. 12 sets up pretty good for me. The course sets up pretty well for me. 15, 16 is a little bit difficult and 18 is a difficult tee shot for me. So I think it balances out. Dogleg-lefts are my favorites.

MIKE WEIR: Being a left-hander, you are starting the ball down the left side and bringing it back. That's a more difficult shot.

MIKE WEIR: 7-iron. Pretty close.

MIKE WEIR: Yeah, about the same. Probably about four feet.

MIKE WEIR: 14, today I hit a 3-iron, I believe, on 14. Yesterday I hit 3-wood. 15, I hit 4-iron again. So those holes --.

MIKE WEIR: Really playing long, as wet as it is out there. But then, the greens are receptive to those clubs right now. I would not want to go into those holes with really firm greens. It would be difficult.

MIKE WEIR: I think I found aqua one day. It was a quick trip for me.

MIKE WEIR: My coach and I came up with that a few years ago as a drill on the range to kind of stop a little bit of lateral movement that I had on my swing. Keeps my right arm against my chest and I set the club face open with my right hand. To get a little technical, I cut my right wrist, which gets the club face a little bit more open and I try to maintain that in my backswing. So, it is a technical thought, but it gives me the feel for what I want to do on my swing. So it is very feel-oriented, so I just try to repeat that when I make my full swing.

MIKE WEIR: It's a little bit of both. It does a lot of things. It also does set the club on plane on the backswing, as well. It's just almost like a rehearsal swing.

MIKE WEIR: No. Mike Wilson is my coach.