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THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY MORGAN STANLEYMay 30, 2007Phil MickelsonDUBLIN, OHIO Q. How are you feeling? Just happy to be back, I'm sure, but going into tomorrow where it counts for real? PHIL MICKELSON: I'm excited to be here. This is a wonderful event. The golf course is in impeccable shape. The greens are fast. This is a great tournament. But also, the speed of these greens are going to be very similar to what we face in two weeks, and so it's great preparation for lag putting and chipping, trying to get the ball close on this golf course. It's difficult. Q. Like your chances this week? PHIL MICKELSON: Well, I'm looking forward to it. I've had a good couple weeks off. I've been working on my game, and I'm looking forward to putting it to the test again. Q. It's Memorial weekend, a good time to reflect on the troops overseas. I know you and your wife have some efforts over there, as well. PHIL MICKELSON: We've been fortunate to do some cool stuff, and just recently right here in Ohio, Bronson Arroyo, big fan of his, joined in something that my wife and I have been doing, Birdies For the Brave. He's been doing Strikeouts For the Brave, and we're trying to help out with some of the soldiers that come home wounded and so forth. It's been a cool weekend for us. Q. After THE PLAYERS there seems to be renewed interest in your ability to challenge Tiger, make a rivalry again. What's your view an that as far as how ready you are with the work you've been doing with Butch to get to that level? PHIL MICKELSON: Well, we're -- it's a tough feat. I mean, we're talking about probably the best player of all time. I'm working hard. I think that it's going to take some time for me to get ultimately where I want to be as far as where I want my swing to be, as far as where I want my ball-striking to be and my misses. But I'm certainly optimistic with the early success that I've had. Q. Where are you then? PHIL MICKELSON: I'm right here in Ohio, Columbus (laughter). Q. Where are you in regards to your swing? PHIL MICKELSON: Probably halfway through. I think that we have one or two more things I want to implement, but it's just taking a little bit of time to feel comfortable with a couple more swing changes to put it in play, and especially in competition. Q. How much did you see Butch over the break that you took? PHIL MICKELSON: I went up last week to Vegas to his little area there at the back of the range, and we had a good day together. It was good. It started to come, got it on film, saw where I'm at, ultimately where I want to be, and it's coming. Q. Are you cognizant of all -- do you look at the World Ranking numbers, and are you cognizant at all of how long this would take? He's got a -- he's got twice the numbers of anybody else in the World Ranking. PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, that hasn't been my focus. Look, I'm just trying to drive the golf ball better (laughter). I feel like if I can drive it better and get the ball in play, I have a chance to make birdies from the fairway. That's where I'm at. And certainly the first three weeks of having some success has been fun. But again, it'll take a while for me to get to where I feel comfortable with the changes and get them all implemented, and it'll certainly be a while before anybody has a realistic chance at taking on Tiger because of the success that he's had. Q. You've had four runner-up finishes in the U.S. Open. How do you view that? PHIL MICKELSON: Well, I've played well in a tournament that theoretically shouldn't be my strength, shouldn't be the tournament that I play best at. I played very well there a number of times, so I feel it's a tournament that I should be able to win, that I can win, but I haven't done it yet. I relish the chance in a couple weeks to go back to Oakmont and see if I can fix that. Q. Is the positive side of it the fact that you're going somewhere where you've had a lot of chances? Does that outweigh the frustration? PHIL MICKELSON: I don't think so. I think it's like THE PLAYERS. I hadn't played well there in years, but I felt great about going back. I'd rather have no good finishes as long as I had just a win in the U.S. Open. Q. When you played in '94 at Oakmont -- PHIL MICKELSON: I did play in '94, yeah. Q. Do you remember the status of your ski injury? Were you all the way back from that or still bumping around, so to speak? PHIL MICKELSON: I think I was back. I think I had played Colonial and here and had two Top 10 finishes. I think I was starting to play well. It probably took me a little longer than I thought to have the full strength in my hip. Q. When you went back last week, what was that like not seeing the trees? PHIL MICKELSON: It looked great. I thought it looked really cool. I don't really remember it that well with the trees, but I think it blocked a lot of the -- I'm a big fan of cutting them down, whether it's golf or skiing (laughter). But I thought without the trees, it had a very cool look. You saw a lot more of the course, you saw a lot more of the fescue, the rough, the fairway, the sand, and so there was a lot more colors on the course, character on the course, and just thought it looked great. Q. So you said you're halfway through your swing. Is there a simple way to tell us what the other half is? PHIL MICKELSON: I'd rather not get into the details of it, but hopefully in the next couple of months, I'll feel 100 percent. Q. If conditions are fast at Oakmont, how difficult is it going to play? PHIL MICKELSON: It's a very difficult golf course obviously, and when the USGA gets a hold of it, well -- (laughter) it's going to be a very tough test. I think that Oakmont's greens are probably the toughest greens in America because the pitch where the hole is is more severe than the next toughest, which is probably Augusta. I think Augusta's greens are as tough as you can handle, and around the hole at Oakmont, it's even more severe than Augusta. It's going to be a very difficult test on and around the greens. Q. When you go there, do you look at the course as much as get a feel for the course, a feel for the place? PHIL MICKELSON: It's a little bit of everything, trying to get a strategy, what clubs you're going to hit off of certain tees in certain situations, shots into the greens, putts, stuff like that. Q. As you made your way around today, did you feel more forced to hit the golf shots, as Jack continues to tweak with it, that he's intending the way for it to be played? PHIL MICKELSON: I have found at Muirfield Village that you have to maneuver the ball both ways. And I thought the change at 15, moving the tee back a little bit, brought the trees on the right in play more, forcing you to hit a left-to-right shot off that tee. And in the past you could move it either way. There were some holes there where you had to move it right to left, like No. 3. You really can't start it left and get it in the fairway because of the trees there. Same thing on 5; you have to move it left to right. So I thought there was a great mixture of shot-making throughout this golf course. It's a wonderful test. Q. Where does it fit on your desire to get this one on your resumé, having Jack hand you that -- PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, a lot of great players have won this tournament, I have not. I think it's one of the TOUR events that I would very much like to win. Q. The fact that this year's tournament is loaded, a lot of the top players in the world, and the U.S. Open a couple weeks away, even though the course doesn't play out like a major, does the competition have a major feel to it? PHIL MICKELSON: It is getting like a major field. We have one of the best fields in golf, we have a golf course that's a great test, difficult rough, tough bunkering and lightning fast greens, so I think it'll play difficult. With that being said, if the greens are somewhat receptive, I think we can still see a lot of birdies. The scores won't be like a U.S. Open. That's not the intent. I think the fun thing is to watch guys make birdies, and I think there's still some out there. Q. A few years ago when you won The Masters, you did what you needed to do mentally and physically to get your driver under control and then it got away from you again. Are you doing anything different this time, or do you have any reason to believe this time that it's going to stick longer than the last one did? PHIL MICKELSON: I'm certainly hoping it does, yeah. Q. Why would -- can you explain why or what you're doing? PHIL MICKELSON: Probably not, no. Q. One other thing on Oakmont, having been around there in '94 and recently, does it give you any more appreciation for what Miller did for his final round, 63? PHIL MICKELSON: That's an amazing round of golf. Q. What's amazing, that it was Oakmont, the last day of a U.S. Open? PHIL MICKELSON: Just a combination of it all, how tough it is to get the ball to the hole with those greens, and what a perfect ball-striking round you have to have to get around that course in that many under par. I don't think anybody will come close to that this year. Q. In the last 20 years I don't think anybody has shot 68 or better. PHIL MICKELSON: It's a different course now. There are a lot more bunkers, and they are very penalizing. They're wedge-out bunkers. They're not a chance to get on the green. Q. Do you find it hard to drive because there's no sight lines anymore, no trees to aim at? Do you find it more difficult there now? PHIL MICKELSON: I didn't. I felt like the rough, the fescue, the different colorings of the grasses gave it plenty of definition to know where to hit it. There were probably two or three blind shots that I didn't expect, but nothing that was -- like No. 9, it's expected. Q. Did you play 8 from all the way back? PHIL MICKELSON: Yes. Q. What did you hit? PHIL MICKELSON: Well, I hit four different clubs. I tried them all. What will I hit? Most likely a 3-wood or a hybrid into the front part of the green. It's a tough hole, really tough. I mean, the stretch of 7, 8, 9, 10 is one of the toughest stretches I've ever seen. Q. Is it a fair hole? PHIL MICKELSON: They're all fair, yeah. I love the hole because in architecture, and I've been slowly getting into architecture, the longest par 3 you ever see is about 240, 250, and the shortest par 4 is about 330. There's 80 or 90 yards there where you don't know what to call them. I don't know what you call it par-wise, whether it's a tough par 3 or easy par 4, but if you're the USGA you know which way you're going to go. Q. Par 31/2? PHIL MICKELSON: That's probably about what it'll play, about a par 31/2. Q. Was 7 a blind shot, or did you get it to the crest? PHIL MICKELSON: You could see the pin for the most part. But 7 is one of the toughest holes. 9 is now a par 4 instead of par 5, and 10 is I think the hardest par 4 in America if I'm not mistaken because of the green. That stretch of four holes will probably knock a lot of people right out of the tournament. That's the stretch you need to get through. Q. It sounds silly, but is 12 reachable by anybody, even in perfect conditions? PHIL MICKELSON: Maybe, but it certainly isn't the play. Q. This venue here has been really friendly to Tiger in the past with three wins. Does that create any additional psychological barrier at all for the field or for you in specific? PHIL MICKELSON: No different than any other tournament. He's probably won other tournaments more than three. Q. What do you make of people in the public forever making this comparison between the two of you and trying to create this rivalry? Do you think it's fair to both of you? PHIL MICKELSON: It's flattering. To me, anyways. Probably not to him, but it's flattering to me (laughter). Q. The short par 4s at Oakmont, talk about how tough it is not to just go for it each time, like the enticement of the pins and all that on the short par 4s. PHIL MICKELSON: Have you been out there in the past couple weeks? It's not enticing. The rough around it, the penalty for a miss, not really enticing. Q. Are you prepared for the scrutiny you'll get at the U.S. Open? Here we are two weeks away, a lot of U.S. Open questions, and I'm sure that's just going to build once we get closer. PHIL MICKELSON: It's not much different than the last 10, 11 months (laughter). Q. Will you change equipment up at all there? Will you put something else in the bag? PHIL MICKELSON: I'm a Callaway man (laughter). Q. I understand that, but your regular setup -- you introduced the 64-degree here last year in preparation for the U.S. Open. PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, the first time. I hit some good shots with that club last year. Bunker shot on 16 was nice, the shot on 10 was nice. Q. Zach talked about that, thought you had a future. PHIL MICKELSON: No different clubs than what I currently have, no. Q. Do you look forward to your meeting with the Doblers? PHIL MICKELSON: I am, yes. But that's not really something I want to go into. But yeah, I really am. Q. When you mentioned Tiger being the No. 1 player in the world, you still have to believe you can beat him. You don't want to get him on an off day; you have to believe that you can beat him if you're playing your best, don't you? PHIL MICKELSON: That's a cool logo on your shirt. Very nice (laughter). Q. We have been talking to some college players about their college careers and how it prepared them for the TOUR. If you could just for a second take a step back to your college days and what you still draw on from your college days and your successes. PHIL MICKELSON: College golf in the United States has been a great way to prepare for the TOUR, but more than that, it gave me a chance to be on my own and to learn life skills, learn to set my own schedule, to pay my own bills and to manage my own time. I think the four, five years that people spend in college is invaluable, and I think to short-change yourself or to give up a couple of those years to turn pro is a short-sided decision because the PGA TOUR isn't going anywhere. There's a lot of time in life to make money and to play golf for a living. But those four or five years are limited in college. I just think those are invaluable years that you always look back on. Q. A lot of the guys we've talked to talk about the camaraderie and then they come out here and they feel like they're alone, out on an island. PHIL MICKELSON: I don't know if that's the case. There's a lot of camaraderie on TOUR. You might feel that way at first, short-term, but long-term this is a great way to make a living. Q. Did you learn anything studying psychology that's helped you in playing pro golf? PHIL MICKELSON: Probably. Q. Care to say how much weight you've dropped since the start of the year? PHIL MICKELSON: No, but I'm working on it. I have a few more to go before I'll be happy. Q. Lightest you've been since when? PHIL MICKELSON: No, I'm actually trying to get some more muscle, too. I need to get a little stronger to support some of these swing changes I'm making and to be able to maintain the same club head speed with a smaller arc. Q. When did this all start? PHIL MICKELSON: Probably the start of the year. Q. In the past -- you slowed down after the last major. Now with the FedExCup coming up, do you think you'll try to peak and play the FedExCup like a major? PHIL MICKELSON: I'm not sure yet. This is the first year that we're doing that. I don't really have a great answer for it. I think as the summer wears on and the majors end, it'll be interesting to see how guys look at it. I don't really have a great answer for you, though. End of FastScripts |
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