	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 21, 2006

Tom Watson

HOYLAKE, ENGLAND

Q. 17 kind of jumped up and bit you?

TOM WATSON: Yeah, I'm not playing particularly well. It was really it was a struggle the whole day. I put the ball in play most of the day. And when my swing finally did what it was supposed to and I wasn't feeling very good with the golf swing, it was going to go sideways sometime. And it went sideways at 16 and 17 and made a couple of 6's there. I finished with a birdie on 18 so made a pretty good day out of it. But the game is not very good right now.

Q. Really? There was still a lot of reception out there. A lot of putts were going in?

TOM WATSON: Yes, I made a couple of putts there through the middle of the round and that was that's always nice to happen.

Q. With 2, you ought to still be here this weekend?

TOM WATSON: I'll be playing this weekend it looks like, yeah.

Q. Is it still as fun as it's ever been?

TOM WATSON: Sure it is. It's disappointing the way I'm playing. I'm glad I'm here on the weekend but I'm going to have to change something to get the golf swing to work a lot better than it is.

Q. You said you started figuring some things out on Wednesday.

TOM WATSON: Yeah, it gives you something and takes it right back. You never know. My body is not in very good shape right now, sore, and I'm favoring my back a little bit. So anyway, it has been a struggle, but at least I had enough at least I planned my play pretty well today, and I made the best of it.

Q. Strategy wise?

TOM WATSON: Yeah. I didn't hit the ball very well, but at least I kept the ball in play most of the day.

Q. What does it say about your style of golf? You feel like you're playing badly, but you can still make five or six birdies in a round?

TOM WATSON: This golf course will yield some birdies. You look at 12 under par leading the golf tournament, it's going to yield a lot of birdies out there if you keep the ball out of the bunkers. I didn't keep the ball out of the bunkers. I was in three bunkers today and that was I make three bogeys out of those three bunkers, a double bogey out of one. So I was 4 over par the three bunkers I hit into.

Q. Was it the fairway bunker at 17 that you got into?

TOM WATSON: I hit a fairway bunker at 17. I hit a fairway bunker at 16 and a greenside bunker at 2.

Q. You played with Retief?

TOM WATSON: He's playing well. I think he's due to have a real low round. He shot a good round today. He's due to have a real low round. He didn't putt very well yesterday, went back to his trusty putter and now he's good on the greens again.

Q. Chris DiMarco was talking about the state of the course, and compared to the courses in the U.S., the courses in the U.S. are so soft; you can hit a driver and no way it's going to stop. And hit a wedge over here, you can't hit a driver?

TOM WATSON: You have to think on this golf course. You have to think where you want to put the ball. And there are certain holes where length really is important, length that I don't have. But there is a game plan that everybody has to have, that everybody uses on this golf course. The number one game plan, stay out of the bunkers.

Q. Do you think courses like this are the way to tackle the greater length that players are getting at?

TOM WATSON: Well, I think so, I do. I think to a degree. But if you're a little bit off on a golf course like this, it can eat you for lunch. You don't recover from the fairway bunkers. That's the leveler in this golf course, the bunkers.

Q. Chris was saying it's the first time in a long time he can remember hitting 3 wood off the tee. Normally on the PGA Tour he hits driver 14 times out.

TOM WATSON: This is different golf. This is a hard, firm golf course. That's the way The R&A would like it to be. When they had the greens like they had on Monday, we were really seeing some funny scores out there. They were tough on Monday. They decided to soften those greens up a little bit.

Q. Did the rain hurt you at all?

TOM WATSON: No.

Q. I saw Jack Nicklaus was out there earlier today speaking on TV. Have you seen him?

TOM WATSON: No, I haven't seen him. I'm sure he's here.

Q. Do you have plans for dinner tonight?

TOM WATSON: He hasn't asked me. If I run into him I'll see if he's going to stay around.

Q. Are you looking forward to next week at the Senior British Open?

TOM WATSON: I am. I hope I can get my game back in shape to compete well. It's been a good run. I was lucky last time to win, Carl Mason making double on the last hole. That was a gift. You don't get gifts like that very often.

End of FastScripts.

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