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WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

February 21, 2007

Sergio Garcia

TUCSON, ARIZONA

RODDY WILLIAMS: Okay, Sergio, well played, extra hole victory over Darren Clarke. It was always going to be a tough match, and sure enough.
SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, it was, it definitely was. I think we both played pretty solid. Darren didn't get many things going on the front nine, but then he got quite hot on the back nine. Made a good eagle on 10 to get back to all square, then I hit it over the green on 11 and lost that hole with a bogey.
Then I came back, made a nice birdie on 12 to get it back to square. I made a beautiful birdie on 14, the par 3, to go 1-up. I had a good chance on 15 to get it back to all square, unfortunately didn't make it.
Made a great up-and-down on 17 from the left bunker to square the match, and then I thought I hit a great putt on 18 and unfortunately just missed it low. I hit two good shots on 1. Had two putts for a birdie.

Q. What was it like playing against a good friend in match play?
SERGIO GARCIA: It was good, but at the same time you kind of feel bad after everything is said and done, no matter who wins or who loses. I guess you can take a look at it both ways. You know, even if you lose, you feel happy for him because he's a friend of yours and he goes through. But you never want to lose.
But we played pretty decent. He played very nicely on the back nine. It was nice to see the way he was striking the ball and everything. You know, hopefully he'll keep it up in the next tournaments.

Q. Just talk about the road from here now and how you approach the rest of this week now that you got through the first one.
SERGIO GARCIA: Well, you've just got to go one step at a time and keep trying to win your matches. Today it was a tough match. It was good for me to test myself under pressure, test my putting. I thought it was excellent. I hit a lot of good putts and made a couple key putts when I had to.
But I have a really tough match again tomorrow against Charles. There's no easy match. There's no easy matches. Everybody seems to be playing well, so I've just got to go out there and keep doing what I'm doing.
I feel like my game is coming around. I feel like my short game is in pretty good shape, so I've just got to keep trusting myself and hopefully keep winning matches.

Q. You didn't play last year in Match Play. Why didn't you play last year? What made you want to come this year?
SERGIO GARCIA: Why didn't I play? Mainly because it just didn't suit my schedule. This year it was a little bit easier decision for me because I was going to play Nissan, and I love that course, and it was a good tournament for me to start the year here in the U.S. And then if I'm here already, why should I leave?
I like this tournament. I enjoyed this course a little bit better, and it's in a little bit better shape than La Costa has been the last couple of years, so I'm looking forward to keep going and hopefully get a lot of runs on this course.

Q. Can you expand on your thoughts about the golf course and talk to me specifically about the drivable par 4s, 7 and 12?
SERGIO GARCIA: Well, it's -- I'm sure if it was a stroke play tournament we'd be playing them from the back tees. But that's the beauty of match play. You know, you want to challenge the guys and you want to give them options to go for the green.
Two great little holes that if you hit a good drive you're probably going to make birdie. But if you don't hit a good drive you're going to struggle to make par -- birdie, of course, but you're going to struggle to make par.
You know, very tricky greens, a lot of movement on them, and it's just a good mixture. You know, you have some long holes. You've got some -- a couple of drivable par 4s, then you have a couple par 5s that you can get to, a couple others that are a bit tougher to get to. So it's a good mix for this kind of format.

Q. A lot of the current players are designing courses now, and I see you're involved with Greg on designing your first course.
SERGIO GARCIA: Greg and Pete, too.

Q. Greg and Pete, I apologize. Are you walking around a golf course differently because our --
SERGIO GARCIA: No, I still walk with both my feet. You know, I don't try anything weird (laughter). No, it's pretty much the same. Of course you do kind of look and try to get things that you like and get them in your head so you can later do something similar in some of the designs you do.
No, it's still -- when I'm out there I'm not thinking about maybe I should put this in my design. I'm thinking about let's get this up-and-down or let's get this putt or focus on what you're doing.

Q. Where does your golf architecture, your beginning golf architecture career, rank with your priorities? Could you talk about why you are doing it?
SERGIO GARCIA: Well, I rank it in -- I don't know, 300 in the world. I haven't started, so I'm brand new. But I love it. I really like it.
The thing is people have to realize that sometimes you think about golf course design and you think about making the drawing and making a hole like this. Geez, it's a lot more than that. There's a lot of things that go underneath the course that you have to take care of, all the routings and all the hills and everything.
And one of the most important things, I guess, like Greg Norman taught me, is not -- it's very easy to make a very tough course. It's very easy to do it. You just go overboard and you -- but the most important thing is to make a course that is challenging for us, and at the same time the amateurs can play and finish the round and say, You know, I want to come back and play here, not finish the round and say, Geez, this thing is unplayable for me.
So that's the most challenging thing about it.

Q. Just to get through the first round and make it to the second, I don't know if the pressure is the same as it is in the stroke play, but are you breathing a big sigh of relief just to finally get through to the second round?
SERGIO GARCIA: It is. First round is always tough, you know, because it's just like that. You can have a good round, you can shoot 4- or 5-under par, you feel like you played nicely and you go home. And it's just that way, it's that simple.
Unfortunately you've got to try hard to get through the first round and then probably it loosens up a little bit because at least you feel like you've won one already, you've got some momentum going on your side. But if not, you lose on the first round, you're out of here.

Q. Does Mar still live here and is she pursuing golf as a career?
SERGIO GARCIA: No, she doesn't. She graduated about a year and a half ago. But she wanted to come with me when she knew that I was playing here in Tucson. She came with me for LA and this week to see some of her friends and kind of get a nice walk and stuff. It was nice for her.

Q. Is she still playing golf?
SERGIO GARCIA: A little bit, but not -- not thinking professionally. More for fun than anything else.

Q. Do you have a specific strategy that you employ for playing match play versus first round of a stroke-play event?
SERGIO GARCIA: Play better than the other guy. That's all you can really do. Play your own game, at the same time take a look at what you're opponent is doing.
If you go out there and play your best, you know, that's all you can try. That's the key, and hopefully it's good enough. If not, just congratulate the other guy and move on.

Q. Do you have a range for gimmes, inside two feet, give them often, never give them?
SERGIO GARCIA: Depends on if it's a friend or -- (laughter).
RODDY WILLIAMS: Sergio, thanks and good luck tomorrow.

End of FastScripts

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