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ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANSApril 18, 2007Boo WeekleyAVONDALE, LOUISIANA DOUG MILNE: Boo, thanks for joining us. Congratulations on last week. Wasn't exactly the most traditional tap-in for par for the win. The win moves you into the eighth spot on the FedExCup points list, a total of 7,563. It's obviously been a crazy few days, a lot of media requests, a lot going on. Bring us up to speed. BOO WEEKLEY: It's been a whirlwind. It's all been good. It's all new, to me especially. I still ain't caught up on my sleep or none of that. It's like I replay every shot coming down the stretch again and again. It's unreal. DOUG MILNE: Talk a little bit about the wind conditions and how that may have given you either an advantage or some of the other guys a disadvantage. BOO WEEKLEY: I wouldn't say it was to my advantage. I just hit the ball -- I feel like I hit the ball pretty solid about every time that I hit it, and I'm just fortunate enough that the wins ones that I hit, I hit real solid. I got lucky on 16 there, or 17, excuse me, when I flew the green there. I thought it was in the hazard, and they said it landed just short in the thicker stuff there and it bounced and stopped. But the winds was tough over there. It was different. DOUG MILNE: How about the reaction from your fellow players? What's it been like these past few days? BOO WEEKLEY: It's been amazing. It's kind of like a lot of the veterans out here kind of come up and say, hey, how you doing, congratulations, which that makes me feel good to know that they do care and they do want to talk to me and get to know who I am. Q. Did you see this coming? Did you see last week's win coming? BOO WEEKLEY: I saw that I could win. I mean, I know I could win. That golf course sets up to my eye, sets up real good, where you've got to shape the ball a little bit, you only hit it so far. It's one of my top five golf courses I've played. The first year I was out here I didn't get to play it, and I wish I would have because maybe I would have made my first cut early in the year. But it was coming, my win was coming, it was just a matter of time. Q. How difficult is it to win that first one, and then obviously to try to come back and prove it wasn't a fluke, so to speak? BOO WEEKLEY: Well, I wouldn't say I'm coming back and proving it was a fluke. It's just a matter of time I'll win again, just getting my confidence back. I've got good confidence coming into here, it's just I'm a little tired this week because it's all new. I wasn't expecting to be pulled around as much as I have with the media. It's part of my job. You win, this is what you're supposed to do, and it's all new to me. I'm just a little wore out. Q. How difficult is it to win that first one? BOO WEEKLEY: (Laughing) I've been trying to win for the last -- let's see, since '02. It's tough. I mean, from the Nationwide Tour to this Tour here, it's tough to win because at any minute, any one of these guys can catch fire and win. Q. You touched on it a little bit. Did Honda come into your thought at all on Monday at Hilton Head? What happened there? Or had you put that behind you? BOO WEEKLEY: That was behind me. I mean, I thought about it a couple times earlier that week, you know, when I was hitting three-footers, four-footers. I was like, you know, let's just focus on this. Still to this day when I was out there playing yesterday, still practicing, I've still got the jitterbugs a little bit over them three-footers. But, you know, I tried to stay focused and pick a good line and just roll it. If it goes, it goes. If it don't, it don't. Q. With the victory under your belt do you feel any different heading into this week, more comfortable, more confident, more self-assured? BOO WEEKLEY: I try to play the same way as if I hadn't have won. I'm a little more calmer knowing that I am locked up for sure for two years. That's a great feeling, guys (laughter). That is a great feeling. I'm still going to go out there, and if I hit a bad shot I'm going to beat my bag still. It ain't going to change who I am and the type of person. Every time I tee it up I want to win. I ain't going to go out here and slap it around. Q. Do you have any idea how many phone calls or text messages you received in a 48-hour period after you won? BOO WEEKLEY: I'd say close to about 60, but that's because I changed my number. That's crazy, I changed my number exactly two days before I left to go to Hilton Head just because I was just tired of everybody calling that other number, and I've had it since '02, and I was like, look, I'm just going to change my number. People call now, and it's like why did you change your number? I was like, I didn't give it to you. Who gave you this number? DOUG MILNE: What was the number you gave me 20 minutes ago (laughing)? BOO WEEKLEY: That's my new one (smiling). Q. Were you at all surprised or taken aback that being so honest or genuine about how you had collapsed at an earlier event increased your popularity, and I wonder with golf being such a psychological game, do you think that helped you going forward to not be in denial about what happened? BOO WEEKLEY: I wasn't in denial. We're only -- let's see how you put this one. You can only take care of your actions, how's that? I mean, I'm a firm believer if I do something wrong, I'll stand up and show you that I did wrong. That's me. Ain't nobody else to blame. You can't blame nobody for what your actions are on the golf course or what happens, you know? You've got to go out there and play your game. If you're aiming at a certain spot and it don't go there, well, it ain't meant to be to go there. You get up and hit the next shot and hope you do better. Q. How fine a line is there between the Top 10 golfers, the next 50, and the Top 125 on the Money List? How fine a line is it between those group of players out here would you say? BOO WEEKLEY: I don't know, I haven't got to play with all of them yet, you know? I'd say it ain't that fine of a line. I mean, it's just a matter of who's hot and who's not, you know? That year it could be your year. Look at Paul Goydos; he played good finishing up the last part of the year and he played good early this year. It's just a matter of time when who gets hot and who don't. Q. Do you believe anybody can win on a given week out here? BOO WEEKLEY: Yes. We wouldn't be here if we couldn't, if we didn't believe that. But I believe you've got certain people out here that they tee it up, I think there's maybe 20 people out here on a given Sunday, they can win it. If you've got the guys that are right there, they can win it. Q. Based on what you did last week, do you think you'll have a few more vocal fans out here in the galleries? Is that something you'll look forward to? BOO WEEKLEY: Probably so, it'll be fun. I like to smile a lot if you ain't noticed (smiling). It would be fun to hear people holler. We thought about trying to change my name to something else because you hear, "Boo," and after a while it gets old. But it's fun still to hear. Q. What do you think of this course? BOO WEEKLEY: It's a good golf course. I mean, I didn't get to run through it but yesterday afternoon, just kind of tinkered around, which I was kind of tired so I didn't get to really practice the way I wanted to practice if I wasn't so tired. But it's a good golf course. It's pretty long, especially if that wind don't blow. Q. Is the setup good for you? BOO WEEKLEY: I couldn't tell you. I was just hitting in the water, hitting it in the bunker. I didn't care, I was just walking the golf course more or less. Q. Everyone has made such a big deal about you being such a great ball-striker that Monday really helped under those circumstances. Can you define what a good ball-striker is beyond how the TOUR defines it? BOO WEEKLEY: I think it's just you hit it solid. I mean, if you hit it solid, you're a good ball-striker, whether it goes right where you're pointing it at or what, where you're aiming at or what. If you hit the ball solid every time, you're a good ball-striker. Your distance control, that's the whole thing with ball-striking. If you can control your distance, control how hard you hit the ball, so if you're hitting it solid you can control all of it, if you understand what I'm saying. I reckon your lines, when you bring it all in, you might hit it solid, I might hit it ten yards right of the hole, but I know I hit it solid, you know? That's what I consider it. For me, that's what I consider a good ball-striker, somebody who hits it solid every time. Q. What's your schedule for the rest of the day? What do you have planned? BOO WEEKLEY: I ain't got that far yet. I mean, I don't know. I know I'm taking off next week and then -- I don't know. Q. I mean, like later today. BOO WEEKLEY: I'm going to go out here and practice, just goof off for a little bit and try to go home and get some sleep. Q. You're not going to see New Orleans very much? BOO WEEKLEY: I've been here a few times growing up. I don't live but three and a half, three fifteen from here, so I've been here. Q. Did you have a chance to look at the 9th hole, and do you think that could be a pivotal hole in this tournament, a make-or-break hole for some people? BOO WEEKLEY: The par 3? Q. Yeah. BOO WEEKLEY: I couldn't tell you. Like I said, I just ran through the golf course yesterday. It's a good par 3. I mean, it's a long one. I wish they'd move it up a little bit, about 175, 180, but that's me right now. It could be. Q. I've heard some people describe the way they did it with the cypress planks is kind of an intimidating sight line. I don't know at the professional level if it really is intimidating or not. There's no room for error on the left side. BOO WEEKLEY: That's why they made all that room on the right. Either you hit it where you want to hit it or the bail-out on the right over there. Q. With all the media obligations and the tournament running into Monday, was there ever a consideration that you wouldn't come here? BOO WEEKLEY: No, sir. I love New Orleans. Q. I just didn't know if you were tired, you've got all these obligations and stuff, that maybe you would have just -- BOO WEEKLEY: No, I love New Orleans and I love my family, and like I said, we don't live but three, three and a half hours from here. I made an obligation to the tournament I was coming and I made an obligation that I was going to play, and I'm going to come here and play. Q. How much family do you have coming over? BOO WEEKLEY: I'd say friends and family, I'd say close to 50 that are coming from Mississippi, Texas and Alabama and Florida. Q. After your win you're putting them up, aren't you? BOO WEEKLEY: No, sir (laughter). DOUG MILNE: How many family members did you have in Hilton Head? BOO WEEKLEY: I didn't have none. DOUG MILNE: How was that phone call back home? BOO WEEKLEY: Very teary-eyed. Talking to my little boy was awesome. DOUG MILNE: How old is he? BOO WEEKLEY: He's five. DOUG MILNE: What's his name? BOO WEEKLEY: Thomas Parker. Q. You probably dreamt of winning that first one. Has it matched your expectations, what you thought it would be like? BOO WEEKLEY: No, sir. Q. Better? BOO WEEKLEY: I'd say a little worse because my family wasn't there. Wasn't nobody there. I wanted to be able to walk off the green and hug my wife, hug my little boy, hug my parents. But everything don't always meet up to expectations anyway. It's just part of life. Q. Since this event -- and the return of the course is being held up as symbolic as part of the progress and recovery. Do you feel your victory last week was very timely in that your surging celebrity might actually help raise the profile of this event, which is missing people like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and so forth? BOO WEEKLEY: I think David Toms does a pretty good job (laughter). You know, really, he's a good guy. He's from these parts, you know, and if I can help this tournament that would make it even better, you know? We want more fans out here to come watch us anyway, I promise you that. That's what keeps us going, that's what keeps our bills the way I look at it. If Tiger and all them would come, it would be even better. Q. If you weren't playing golf, what would you be doing? BOO WEEKLEY: Hunting and fishing. There ain't no question. Q. For a living, though? BOO WEEKLEY: I don't know about that now (laughter). I can tell you what I wouldn't be doing. I want be doing no hydroblast. I wouldn't be playing with no electricity. I ain't playing with too many things that's going to kill me (laughter). Q. You'll get off a golf course if the lightning strikes, right? BOO WEEKLEY: I'm first to go. Q. How long did you do the hydroblasting job? BOO WEEKLEY: I did it on and off for about three years. Q. And that one could have killed you? BOO WEEKLEY: There's a lot of things there that could have killed you. I could have cut my big toe off with that water as fast as it was running through that hose. There's a lot of things. DOUG MILNE: So you've got to be excited that THE PLAYERS has moved to May because you're now playing Sawgrass. Have you thought about that, crossed your mind, playing THE PLAYERS? BOO WEEKLEY: I wanted to get in, but that's all I was looking forward to doing was getting in. I'm waiting to go see that 17th hole. That's what I want to see. Me and my caddie has got a bet on that one, whether he hits it or I hit it. DOUG MILNE: Boo, thanks for coming in. Congratulations. BOO WEEKLEY: Thank y'all. End of FastScripts |
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