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VERIZON HERITAGEApril 16, 2007Boo WeekleyHILTON HEAD, SOUTH CAROLINA JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Congratulations, Boo Weekley, 2007 Verizon Heritage champion. How does that sound? BOO WEEKLEY: That sounds awesome. JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Just give us your emotions at this point. BOO WEEKLEY: I just want to talk to my family. I just want to give them a shout, and look forward to seeing them, and next week they're going to meet me in New Orleans. JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: You earned a spot into this tournament through FedExCup Points. You obviously picked up a lot of points this week to move into the Top 10. Talk a little bit about that. BOO WEEKLEY: I can't figure out the points (laughter). I've tried and tried and tried. The ladies at the competition, Kelly and all that, I think they're tired of me calling. JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: At least you're trying. BOO WEEKLEY: I'm trying to understand it, but I ain't figured it out yet (laughter). Q. I notice you wore red today to match the jacket. Was that all you had left or was it planned? BOO WEEKLEY: Actually it wasn't neither one. I mean, I'm an Alabama fan, and I like wearing red, and I just happened to put it on today. Q. Talk about the two chip-ins obviously were the big shots of the day. BOO WEEKLEY: Well, I just thank the good Lord they went in. I mean, it's unreal, back-to-back chip-ins. I don't know how often that's happened out here on the Tour for a win, but it was pretty dramatic for me because I thought the first chip, you know, on 17 I was just trying to land it just barely on the fringe and let the wind push it to the hole. I just flubbed it a little bit. Then the next one, I was just like, all right, I ain't even going to worry about it, just get up there and chip it on, two-putt it and make my bogey and go to the next hole and give myself another opportunity. (Laughing) but I did it again on 18. Q. What kind of lie did you have on that first chip on 17? BOO WEEKLEY: Oh, it was perfect. It was sitting perfect. I mean, it was sitting high. Flops ain't my favorite. I mean, that's just not a shot I've really gotten good at. I like to bump-and-run it around the golf course. Luckily this week it set up perfect for me because I can bump-and-run it around these greens. Q. Now that you've won, I mean, thinking back to the Honda, and you handled it pretty well at the time, but how much did that really affect you wondering whether you'd ever kind of win out here? BOO WEEKLEY: Well, it never stopped me from thinking I was going to win because I knew in my heart I was going to win. It was just a matter of time of getting -- I reckon my stars lined up in the sky. That putt, still to this day, that three-footer, they still give me a little bit of a jitter. Q. Were you thinking about that on 16, you had that short par putt and all? BOO WEEKLEY: No, no. I was just trying to stay steady there because the wind was blowing so hard. That was the last thing on my mind was what happened at the Honda. Q. Have you been able to process yet what all this means, exemptions and getting into The Masters? BOO WEEKLEY: It might take me another year to figure out all the exemptions. I don't keep up with golf. I call them and they say, all right, you're in this tournament, and I just go and play -- call my agent and say I need a ride over here, I need a ride over there; I'm in this tournament this week. That's how I go about it. Golf is just -- this is where I work at, you know? Q. How much scoreboard watching did you do out there? Did you watch every step of the way to see what guys behind you were doing? BOO WEEKLEY: I think I looked up over there on 15, and as I was walking off, I saw a glimpse. I think I was tied or one up or something like that. I don't even remember actually. I asked my caddie on the way to the next hole, what do we need to do. He said we need to stay focused right here and hit this shot, and one more birdie would do it in. That's what we was concentrating on. Q. What was your reaction? Did you watch Ernie's approach shot? BOO WEEKLEY: I didn't see it, no, sir, but I heard them awwwwing. It's like the worst sound in golf, "awwww." I wish people wouldn't say that; just say, "wow." Q. You go by Boo. How about maybe Chip now? BOO WEEKLEY: I'm going to stick with Boo. Q. You talked about the other night you didn't get any sleep, stayed up too late playing cards, things like that. What did you do last night? BOO WEEKLEY: Me and Glen Day and Steve Elkington and two other guys, we all went down to someplace just right out the gate -- not even out the gate here, just down here on the right, ate there and went back home and ate about a handful of jelly beans and called it quits. Q. Did you stay with Glen this week as you did the week of the Honda? BOO WEEKLEY: No, I just stayed the night with him, just last night because we got kind of evicted out of our place over there on the beach. Q. He had a house here? BOO WEEKLEY: I don't know, he's been renting it or leasing it from the same people. Q. Give us a little background again on your allergy to cotton. BOO WEEKLEY: I mean, it's polyester/cotton is what I've got on right now. I haven't had no problem with it, which it ain't really got me playing in hot, hot weather yet. I was curious to see how it's going to act. I'm hoping that I won't have no reaction to it. Q. What happens to you? BOO WEEKLEY: It just looks like I got ringworm. Have you ever had ringworm? Q. No (laughter). BOO WEEKLEY: Ringworm, it's like little pus pockets pop up on your skin there. I mean, it itches, I can tell you that. Bad case of poison ivy is about what it's like. Q. Poison ivy I've had. BOO WEEKLEY: It's about like that. Q. Have you ever considered a comedy club maybe? BOO WEEKLEY: No, sir, I ain't good at that. I ain't good at it. Q. You seemed to be feeding off of Zach a little bit, and also you were pointing at -- did you have some homeys in the gallery there, some buddies? BOO WEEKLEY: Yes, well, I had the guys off the Nationwide Tour that run the truck -- Q. They were all here? BOO WEEKLEY: Three of them, Patrick and Goose and Tom were here. Q. And Zach and you seemed to be hitting it off good. BOO WEEKLEY: Yeah, me and Zach, I mean, I never got paired with him when he was on the Hooters Tour. I played behind him a couple times and we played in the same Hooters events a bunch, and then on the Nationwide Tour we played a bunch out there, and then we got paired together this year, or today -- yesterday and today. Q. When was your last win? BOO WEEKLEY: (Laughing) you got me (laughter). I'd have to say it was -- well, it had to be 2002 on the DP Tour in Atlanta. Q. The guys from the Nationwide Tour, did that kind of keep you grounded, calm a little bit, having some familiar faces around? BOO WEEKLEY: Yeah, like Brandt Snedeker, Johnson Wagner, a bunch of guys we played with out there became real close friends. It's more of a -- feels like a family out there more than it does -- like this is my first year back out here, so I don't know everybody yet. I'm pretty sure it feels the same out here, you know. Q. How do you plan to celebrate? BOO WEEKLEY: We're fittin' to fly home first and drop Joe off, Durant. We're going to kick him out of the airplane (laughter). We're going to fly over to New Orleans, and I don't know yet. I might go to the casino tonight (smiling). Q. The way the conditions were, you knew there were probably going to be some bogeys on the back. Was the mindset kind of just try not to back up too far, don't make any doubles, don't do anything real dumb? BOO WEEKLEY: No, I wasn't thinking about no doubles, I was just thinking about -- center of the greens, these greens are small enough if you hit them in the center of the greens you've got a decent chance at birdie and a good chance at par, and that's all I was focusing on the last couple holes, just try and hit it in the center of the green. Actually from about 12 on is when the wind picked up for us and that's what our goal was, just focus on the fat part of the green. Q. It wasn't terribly easy to do with the way the wind was blowing out there. BOO WEEKLEY: Some shots were. The thing was just pulling the right club, getting the right club. That's the whole key when you play in the wind is pulling the right club. Q. Have you ever been to Augusta, Georgia, the city, and have you ever been to Augusta National? BOO WEEKLEY: Yes, sir, I have been there. I was there in '93. Q. In the city and got to the golf course, as well? BOO WEEKLEY: Yes, sir. Q. For the tournament? BOO WEEKLEY: No, sir, just out there goofing off. Q. Have you played it then? BOO WEEKLEY: I have played six holes there, yes. Q. And what are your impressions of it, and watching it on TV what are your impressions of the tournament? BOO WEEKLEY: I don't know. I mean, I couldn't answer that until I get there, you know? Q. Do you think this is going to change you at all, or are you going to act any different now that you're a PGA TOUR winner or anything like that? BOO WEEKLEY: I'm going to let you answer that one (laughter). No, I ain't going to change. I ain't got no reason to. Q. Can you sort of take us through what went through your mind when you're playing 18, you know, from the tee on up there? BOO WEEKLEY: From the tee on? Q. From the tee all the way to -- BOO WEEKLEY: The main thing was just trying to -- they had us moved up I think 20-something yards from the back of the tee box where we normally play, and it was trying to get the right club to get me where I could have about a 6-iron -- about a 6-iron is what I was looking for, and we both decided just go with a 5-wood and lay it back a little bit further just in case the wind switched and pushed it a little more down. Get down there, and we had I think 191 or 190 hole, something like that, and we just -- he wanted to hit it right at it and I wanted to hit it over the rocks and let the wind just push it back, and I ended up taking his advice, and thank goodness I did probably. And then had a chip and the wind took the chip a little left, plus it got going downgrain and downwind and just pushed it right off the green and just had a real easy chip. Q. Were you worried about that first chip going into the hazard? BOO WEEKLEY: No, sir, I really thought the wind was going to hold it up, stop it more than letting it run out. But it got going downwind or kind of like across wind there and downgrain, it just kept pushing it. Q. Can you tell us about Abraham Baldwin College that you went to? BOO WEEKLEY: Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, yes, sir. Q. Did you play golf there? BOO WEEKLEY: I played one year there. I don't even think it was a full year. I was there for about a year and two months I think is about my longest stint of college. Yeah, we played there and I had a good time, and they did away with the golf program I think for the bull riding or something like that (laughter). I couldn't tell you what it was. They did something. They did something with the money. Q. Was that right what I was hearing on TV? Did you like punch a hole in your golf bag or something? BOO WEEKLEY: I didn't punch it, I smacked it with a golf club. Q. What were the circumstances? BOO WEEKLEY: I was a little aggravated in Texas. I just happened -- it didn't happen this week. It happened in Texas. I got a little aggravated. Q. What did you hit on 17? BOO WEEKLEY: 6-iron. Q. You kind of jumped right into the mix early today. At what point did you start thinking about winning and how did that kind of play on your mind all the way through? BOO WEEKLEY: I didn't think about it until I got to about 16, honest with you. That's kind of when it like -- it just kind of like started hitting me then. It was like, all right, let's start focusing a little more on tighter positions where we want this ball to come down at, which at the same time we started hitting it a little more into the wind, too. Q. You haven't been out here all that long. You've won already, you've played well on the Nationwide Tour. A couple guys you know said you're kind of like the undiscovered guy out here, that people don't know enough about you, but they're about to learn. Do you think this is going to do that? BOO WEEKLEY: It might, you never know. If it does, it does. If it don't, it don't. It ain't going to change anything for me. Q. Does finishing a shot ahead of one of the best players in the world, does that add to the satisfaction? BOO WEEKLEY: No, sir. I mean, I just didn't beat Ernie, I beat however many people was in the field this week, 130 people. I know, and I beat the golf course. That was the whole key, just playing the golf course and then beating them. Q. Can you tell us what's the difference between Milton and East Milton? BOO WEEKLEY: A river. Q. How big is Milton? BOO WEEKLEY: I'd say anywhere close to about 20,000, give or take. Q. And East Milton? BOO WEEKLEY: East Milton, maybe about close to 5? Q. Thousand? BOO WEEKLEY: Yes. I don't know, I don't keep it up. I don't know, man. All I know is we got a couple gas stations and a dirt track and a river and a prison. Q. We heard a story about a county fair and an orangutan? BOO WEEKLEY: No, sir. No, sir. Q. How hard was it to choose your clubs for the approach shots because I know Zach was switching a lot? Did you feel pretty good about club selection? BOO WEEKLEY: It was hard. It was really hard because luckily on 16 there, I mean, I think we had like 130, something like that, right there, and I want to say it was about 130 or something. I hit a 7-iron, and it came up short. So I thought on the next hole we had 136 or something close to that same number again. I'm thinking, all right, it's got to be a 6-iron this time, and actually it stayed a little lower than the 7-iron did, which happened on 16. 17 it didn't balloon up like it should have. JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Let's go through your birdies and bogeys. No. 2, what club did you hit to the green? BOO WEEKLEY: I hit a 4-iron just short of the green, had about a 15-foot -- actually about -- yeah, about 17, 20 feet, just a little chip right up the hill right at it, chipped it about six inches short of the hole. Eagle on 5, hit driver and a 4-iron in there I'd say about 13, 14 feet. Birdie on 6, 9-iron, about 25 feet, right up the hill. Bogey on 7, just made a bad swing, hit a 6-iron short right of the bunker and chopped it out onto the green. Birdie on 10, driver, 9-iron. Bogey on 16, I blame that one on the wind. It was blowing too hard. It was hard to judge. I couldn't tell if the wind was going to blow to the left or stay where it was. I pulled it a little. Q. 15, the ball that came back off the front, you chipped it probably -- your chipping was obviously good all day, but that one seemed to be the one before the two big ones. BOO WEEKLEY: Yes, sir, well, I thought I hit a good shot. We had 182 front edge, and I thought I hit it about right at 185 to cover that front edge, but I reckon the wind was in a little bowl right there so it was swirling and I reckon the wind got it and knocked it down right there. I hit a real good chip. Q. Did you use the same wedge on all four of those? BOO WEEKLEY: Yes, sir, 58° Cleveland, shaved off the back a little bit. Q. You were out here in '02 and it didn't go quite as well for you. What was the difference or what in the intervening years kind of got you to this point? BOO WEEKLEY: I learned a little bit more about myself and my golf game, what I can get away with and what I can't get away with. A lot of it has got to do it confidence, too, knowing that I belong. I feel like I belong now. I didn't know that when I first came out. You came off the mini-Tours, the greens are soft, they ain't rolling that fast, and all of a sudden you get thrown out here and everything is so fast out here. People don't understand how fast it really is. It moves fast, the week does. Q. How difficult was it out there today with the wind? BOO WEEKLEY: 16, 17 and 18 are probably the most difficult I've played in a while. I mean, you had to -- I reckon it's what we call grinding. You just had to grind. Grind was what you was thinking. You had to pick a better line than what you normally would just to -- if you miss it into that wind it's going to eat it up, ain't no telling where it was going to go, so I had to work real hard at it. Q. As a kid would you play in wind this hard, or if it was this windy would you just do something else? BOO WEEKLEY: I probably would have did something else. I mean, I didn't -- I mean, it blows, but on average I'd say around the house, it can get up to 20 miles per hour, 30 miles per hour, but that's very rare. But on average I'd say it's probably about 10 to 15 miles per hour. But I wouldn't have played in this, no. JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Thanks, Boo. Congratulations. End of FastScripts |
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