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BUICK INVITATIONALJanuary 27, 2007Brandt SnedekerLA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA JOAN vT ALEXANDER: I know you're disappointed in that 74, but you hung in there and you're still in great position. Make just talk a little bit, it's been an exciting week for you, are just tired today, is that possible? BRANDT SNEDEKER: I wish I was, but I got ten hours of sleep last night, so I was pretty well rested. I really don't have an excuse for why I played the way I did. It was kind of I guess people who know me say it's a Brandt Snedeker ride: Shoot every way and try to get up-and-down and make a few putts. But it was fun. The crowd was phenomenal, got crazier from yesterday to today and really got me through it. Q. Can you talk about the position that you're still in, are you surprised considering the way you've been hitting the ball that you're still in the spot that you are? BRANDT SNEDEKER: Somewhat, yes, but I mean that course is playing extremely difficult today. I did make a lot of putts. At the end of the day, I think I made five birdies or something like that. That's a lot of birdies on this golf course. Unfortunately I made seven bogeys I guess or something like that. But it was fun. I gave myself a lot of chances and kind of survived a bad day of ball-striking. Q. Can you take us through the stretch after the hole-out on 5, those three holes and how you kept your head together, if you did? BRANDT SNEDEKER: I tried to, at least. I believe 6 was the par 5, great. I had a good break. My second shot was -- first tee shot in the rough, I had a good lie. Rough caught my clubface and shut out to the right and didn't have that bad of a third shot, just misjudged the lie. The rough even though it's not that thick, the lies are very hard to judge. Can either come out really fast or come out real slow, and should have probably hit a little bit softer shot and went for the home run ball and it came out like a home run ball. Went in the bunker and made a bogey, but it could have been worse, you know, could have made a double and completely lost it. The next hole, just a bad break, you know. I hit it in the bunker, plugged, never had a ball shoot -- lineup at the pin and the ball came out about a 30-degree angle over to the right and back in the bunker again and made a great -- that putt right there really saved the round, to make that 6- or 8-footer for bogey. The next hole, yeah, I was really disappointed the next hole. I hit a great shot eight feet right of the pin and the ball, it was a 190-yard shot uphill, I hit a 7-iron. I can't hit a 7-iron that far but for some reason it went that far and made a bogey and that's what happens. Over four days of golf, you are going to hit good shots that come out bad and bad shots that turn out. Just sucked it up. The next hole was huge, making that long birdie putt on that par 5 was -- really steadied my head, got me smiling again and looking at the crowd and having some fun. Q. Kevin Sutherland made the birdie on 18 to join you instead of Tiger, would rather have seen -- BRANDT SNEDEKER: Yeah, I need to send him a thank-you note. That's very nice of him. (Laughter) No matter what anybody says, I would love to play if the last group with Tiger, I think that's where everybody wants to be. But as a rookie, I'm kind of glad the way it worked out, you know. Like it a lot. Q. Wondering if you've ever seen a periglider before and did that distract you? BRANDT SNEDEKER: I can't believe, those guys are insane. They look like they are going to fly in the trees the whole time. I had more fun watching them today than I did watching myself play golf. They are some great people. I don't see how they land those things and take that jump off the cliff. It's kind of borderline insane to me. Q. What do you know about Andrew Buckle and what do you know about Kevin Sutherland? BRANDT SNEDEKER: Andrew and I played the last year on Nationwide Tour, great guy from Australia. We hung out quite a little bit, so a good friend of mine and we'll have a great time, great ball-striker, really has a ton of game, talent. Kevin Sutherland, I played with his brother on the Nationwide Tour a little bit last year. I know he won the Match Play a couple years ago, and I know he's a great player and I know he always plays great on the West Coast. So looking forward to it. It going to be a fun day. Q. How do you account for being able to sleep ten hours and how many do you expect to get tonight? BRANDT SNEDEKER: About the same. It amazes me how worn out I am by the end of the day. I guess playing a golf course that tough really does it to you. I hit the ball 74 times and felt like I hit it 110 out there, because it was just all over the map and every hole I was in trouble or close to being in trouble. It will be nice to get should rest and relax and get refreshed for tomorrow. Q. Talk to your dad last night? BRANDT SNEDEKER: Briefly, briefly. They were watching the replays, so they didn't want to talk to me. But they were pretty tired and I gave them the heads up of what might happen if things went well and they were getting more nervous than I was about it. So I'm sure they watched it on TV and had a great time and I'm sure they love it down at the Gulf Shores and not being in the crowd. Q. Why are they watching the replay and not watching it live? BRANDT SNEDEKER: I think by watching the replay, it kind of -- you know, it kind of just softens the blow of what happens. I don't think they want to take the finality of seeing it the first time. To be honest with you, I don't know. He's just one of those kind of guys that gets too nervous to watch it unfold live, I guess. Q. Is it true your brother and girlfriend wanted to come out and you asked them to stay home? BRANDT SNEDEKER: They both did, yes. I love them both and wish they were both out here with me but I'm semi-superstitious. So I'm going to do the same thing I've done last three nights, not change anything up. And as hectic as it's been, I want them to be there, but it's just, you know, they live in Nashville and Gulf Shores, it's a long way to come for a day and a half. I would rather go somewhere for a week and have fun with them both than have them fly out for the day. Q. Did you watch "The Departed" again last night? BRANDT SNEDEKER: I watched Ice Age II, a real mature movie, real good. Q. Are you thinking anything about, but win tomorrow, as a rookie there's that temptation, if I finish in the top five I'm going to make six figures anyway or just win? BRANDT SNEDEKER: The money is great and everything, but I think if you ask everybody what they are out here to do, it's to win titles. It's not to make a lot of money. That's at least my thought process on it. Yeah, it sure would be great to finish second or third and make all that money but I'm here to win, especially when I put myself in such good position going into Sunday. Go out there and play well, everything takes care of itself. Q. Does the staff at the Hampton Inn know who you are now? BRANDT SNEDEKER: No, I'm pretty low-profile. I kind of slide under the radar which is perfect, just the way I like it. Q. Can you elaborate on your superstitions, will you wear red on Sunday? BRANDT SNEDEKER: No, I believe somebody has a trademark on that one. So I will not be wearing red. No, nothing too superstitious about me. I mark my balls with the same quarter every time for the last year and a half, that's about it. Just don't want to mess up the routine. It seems to be working. So why, you know, if it's to the broke, don't fix it. Q. Same restaurant? BRANDT SNEDEKER: Yeah, pretty much, just been kind of grabbing something on my way home and getting a snack later on. No big meals, no extravagant meals. A little bit of everything, drive-thru windows, convenience stores, whatever it may be. I'm kind of a simple McDonald's kind of guy, so pretty easy choice for me. Q. (What year is the quarter you mark your ball with?) BRANDT SNEDEKER: It's always in the 60s, 65,66. I think most golfers have that superstition, I don't know why. By seeing 65 or 66 on the quarter makes us think we are going to shoot that. Shows you how smart we are. It's something I have always done for some reason. Q. Why in the world Ice Age II? BRANDT SNEDEKER: Only movie I haven't seen. So tonight I'm going to be in trouble. I'm going to have to watch something I've already watched twice. I liked it, I saw the first one and the second one is pretty good, too. I'm not real fast. I'm kind of a slow-witted person, so that kind of humour is perfect for me. Q. And more seriously, given the fact that the ball-striking or mainly the driver have been all over the map, you're going to need probably better than a 74 tomorrow. So what are the plans for getting it fixed? BRANDT SNEDEKER: It's not that far off. You know, I hit -- I am missing fairways by five or six yards one way or missing my targets by five or six yards the other way. So not like I'm just blowing eight yards off line, so sometimes it's better here to do that than to miss it by four or five. So I know it's close. I did it on Thursday and Friday. Go out to the range and try to work on a few things that I know I'm doing wrong and only thing is just kind of slow down. I get so fast-paced out there, I kind of get myself into some bad habits and just kind of slow down, stop and enjoy the walk. Q. Was that last year when you broke your collarbone, and how did that happen and were you concerned that was going to hurt you as far as being on the Money List and getting on the big tour? BRANDT SNEDEKER: It was -- tripped on a root on the way to the car, fell on the shoulder heard it pop and knew I messed it up pretty good. Went to the hospital and my agent actually took me to the hospital. He thought I was playing a joke on him the whole time saying wasn't hurt because it was just literally two weeks after I had won. It's kind of a -- on the Nationwide Tour, if you make $200,000 you're pretty much secured your PGA TOUR card; the last five or six years that seems to be the number, and I had 187,000, so close halfway through the season. Going to the hospital I literally had tears in my eyes thinking I'm going to have to surgery and miss my card by $10,000. It didn't work out that way. Everything ended up being okay. But it was definitely a stressful night's sleep worrying if I was going to have that surgery or not. Q. How many weeks did you miss and where did that happen? BRANDT SNEDEKER: I missed six weeks. It happened actually on Sea Island, Georgia. I was working with my trainer Randy Myers, and one of my teachers, Todd Anderson. So it was just kind of a fluke accident. It happens, two years in a row. I guess a nice, healthy year would be nice. Q. What else did you break? BRANDT SNEDEKER: I broke a rib in West Virginia hitting out of the rough. Q. A more manly injury? BRANDT SNEDEKER: Exactly. Broke a rib playing golf. That's real manly, isn't it. (Laughter) Don't ask me how that happened but it did. Q. Did you see any leaderboards today as you were going up and down? BRANDT SNEDEKER: Not really. I was too busy trying to find my golf ball I hit it so off-line. But. I saw a couple of times out there, but nothing that really -- I saw Tiger was playing well because I could hear people saying, "Tiger is coming after you." I expected that. I expect him to shoot another 4- or 5-under tomorrow. It's going to take a low one tomorrow and if I play well I can do it. Q. Obviously you hope to be in this position going into Sunday, are you still surprised that you still are hanging around after these three days, after the first day, all of the excitement and everything? BRANDT SNEDEKER: Somewhat. I'm not going to lie. I want to be here. This is where I envision myself being, but if you would have asked me on Wednesday or Tuesday what my odds are of being here, pretty slim. Probably the bookmakers in Vegas would say a slot slimmer. It's nice to be here. I know I have the talent and game to be here. It's just a learning curve, and hopefully I've adjusted pretty fast and learned what I need to learn for tomorrow. That being said, I've done it for the last two and a half years. It's not like I'm a rookie in professional golf. Nationwide Tour is a great place to learn how to play. I've won twice out there, so I know what I'm doing; it's just a matter of putting it to a grander scale. Q. Have you met Tiger, and are there prominent players who have introduced themselves this week who you had not previously met? BRANDT SNEDEKER: Tiger said hello to me on the putting green today which is pretty phenomenal. I didn't think he knew who I was and he said "great playing" which is super nice of him to do that. He said Brandt -- it's been great. Charles Howell, I've grown up watching all of these guys I've been playing with, a guy like Charles, an unbelievable ball-striker and just a great guy today was awesome. Any time I've been watching CBS for the last, you know, ten years of my life watching golf on Saturday and Sunday, it's neat to see myself in that group where they are following you. Q. You said some fans were generously reminding you that Tiger was gaining, imagine it's one thing to be in contention like this on Saturday, and another thing to hear Tiger -- what was it like when you heard that? BRANDT SNEDEKER: You know it's coming. I think everybody out here knows he's going to play well and you expect everybody to play well. It was not a shock at all. I think everybody out here, you want to beat somebody when they are playing they are best. You don't want to beat them when they are not playing good. I hope he goes out there and shows a great round tomorrow, and I hope I go out there and beat him by one. That would be the best scenario ever. He's going to be there tomorrow. He's proved it. Somebody told me he's had 41 more wins than I've had starts on this tour. I think he's got me beat in that aspect, in the experience aspect. I know he's going to be there down the stretch. It's just a matter of keeping my wits about me and learning how to play golf. Q. A follow-up to that, what do you think it will be like when you guys are going to be following his group to hear the kind of roar, you'll know when he's birdieing, how do you prepare for that and what do you think that will be like? BRANDT SNEDEKER: Not really. Won't really bother me at all because I can't control it. It will be fun to watch him play golf. I've never actually witnessed him hit a golf ball in a tournament before, so I'm just going to enjoy it. I get a front row seat to watch the best player in the world playing right in front of me. I think that's a great scenario to be but once I put the ball in the ground, it's my turn. I don't care who is playing in front of me. 1, got a great break and had a wide open shot hit a 7-iron in there about two feet, three feet right behind the hole, one of the best shots I've hit all day. Then bogeyed 4, hit it in the fairway bunker like I did yesterday. Hit a pretty good shot out, just short right of the green and next to impossible chip shot to get close. Kind of squigged it a little bit and chipped up and made the putt for bogey. 9, I hit a great third shot in there from the rough, kind of caught the slope and came back about 35 feet and just got lucky with that putt. Any time you put that distance up the hill and it goes in, it's a little luck. Went right in the center exactly what I needed to get me going. 11, I hit a bad bunker, 3-iron in the right bunker and the wind moved it over there and bunker shot came out, chunked it, didn't come out very good and hit a good putt that just didn't go in. 13, I made a mess of that hole. Hit an 8-iron in the middle of the fairway, perfect number for a sand wedge and just caught a little heavy off that upslope and came all the way back down the hill. Hit what I thought was a good pitch shot but it rolled 25 feet by, what I thought was a good putt and missed it and shows you what I know sometimes. 14, I hit a great drive there, better wedge shot to about eight feet and rolled the putt in which was huge. 16, I hit a good rescue into the wind and came up short, hit a good pitch shot to about six feet and hit a putt that I thought was perfect and it broke up the hill and missed it. 17, hit driver, great drive right down the middle of the fairway, probably the best drive of the day and hit a another wedge in there about 25 feet by the hole and drained it. Hit a great putt right in the center and never moved. JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you. End of FastScripts |
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