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U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPJune 12, 2007Sergio GarciaOAKMONT, PENNSYLVANIA RAND JERRIS: It's a pleasure to welcome Sergio García to the interview room this afternoon. Sergio is playing in his eighth United States Open Championship this week at Oakmont. Sergio, you've had a chance to see the golf course a little bit. Obviously we had a difficult golf course last year at Winged Foot. Can you talk about the golf course at Oakmont and compare it to Winged Foot last year?  SERGIO GARCIA: Well, I guess this one is not too bad for a par-78, it's pretty good. (Laughter). No, I think -- I definitely think it's tougher than last year's. And it's just going to get firmer. The weather is just absolutely beautiful. So greens are very, very tricky, very slopey. There's going to be a good amount of times that you're going to hit a good shot and you're not going to end up in a good spot. So you've just got to deal with those things. I think that's, you know, the main thing in the majors, but in a U.S. Open, it's even harder. So you've just got to deal with those things and try to make the fewest amount of mistakes possible. RAND JERRIS: You've collected a couple of Top-5 finishes so far this year. Could you talk about your year and how you're feeling coming into the championship? SERGIO GARCIA: You know, I still need to work a little bit on my game. I don't feel as good as maybe I felt at TPC or some of the other weeks. You know, I'm working hard and I'm getting there. But I need to straighten up a little bit my driver this week if I want to have a chance of contending. Q. The church pews bunker between 3 and 4, have you dropped a ball in there to practice and see what it's like, or do you not even want to drop a ball there because you don't want to visit it? SERGIO GARCIA: I hope I don't. I did hit it in that bunker off the tee on 4, but I didn't play it. It's different. It's nothing like I've ever seen. We've got two of them here this week, one big one, one little one. I think it's on 14 or something like that, or 15. No, it's interesting. You know, you can get some really bad lies there. I mean -- Q. Why didn't you play it? SERGIO GARCIA: I felt like hitting out of the fairway. That's the neat thing about practice rounds, you can pick it up and put it back in the fairway. Q. Two questions. What holes out there do you feel like you can attack and maybe look at maybe as birdie holes? SERGIO GARCIA: The eighth looks pretty good. It's probably our best chance of making birdie, short par 4, you know. (Laughter). You see, the problem is, there are some holes that you can birdie, but it all depends on where the pins are placed. I mean, you have a hole like 2 where you say, you know, it's a short hole, you're hitting like a 4-iron off the tee and a wedge to the green. So you think, you know, that's a birdie hole. But depending where the pin is, it can be even hard to make par. So I think that's the beauty of this tournament; that you can really change a hole from one day to the next just by putting a pin position here or there and, you know, moving the tee back or something. But I don't know, I mean, there's not a lot of birdie holes out there. Of course, you have, you know, the fourth, if you hit a good tee shot, you probably have a chance of making birdie there. And you know, if you hit good tee shots, you can make some birdies, but you have to be in the fairway. You have to hit good shots and put it in the right spot on the greens. If you finish in the wrong spot, you might have a 10 footer, and you're hoping not to 3-putt. It's quite difficult out there. Q. The other one is, they feel that 7, 8, 9 and 10 is the meat of this golf course. Would you agree with that? SERGIO GARCIA: How about, 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15. (Laughing). It's one part of the meat, but it's not the whole meat. It's not the whole, you know, chicken wing or whatever you want to call it. I mean, you have 12. 12, it's a par 5, but it's not an easy par 5. I mean, you have a very difficult tee shot. If you miss the fairway, you're probably going to be hitting something like a 4- or 5-iron into the green, into a green that runs away from you, so it doesn't become a birdie hole anymore. But yeah, definitely, 7 -- 6 is a tough par 3, even though it's not too long. The green is very slopey. 7 is very tough. 8, of course, you know, hitting woods into a par 3 is never fun. And then you have 9 and 10, quite difficult, too. As I said, 12 is not an easy hole. There's a lot of tough holes out there. 3, I think it's a very difficult hole. Just very, you know, treacherous green and not a lot of room to hit it. So you know, you're going to have to be very patient this week. That's the only chance you have. Q. The par 3, 280, 290 No. 8, does the length of a hole like that concern you and other golfers, or is it more the positioning? How do you approach a hole like that? SERGIO GARCIA: Well, there's nothing you can really do about it. You just play it, try to hopefully make a 3. You know if you make 4 you're not really losing a lot of ground. There's not going to be many 2s there. But hopefully, you know, you make your 3 and run to the next tee, get out of there as quickly as possible. Q. When you are playing such a stressful golf course, what is going on differently in your head than when you're playing a standard course? SERGIO GARCIA: Well, the thing is that's one of the things about the U.S. Open. There's not really much room to bail out. So it is quite -- it is quite nerve-wracking on the tee. Even though the fairways this week are not as narrow as we're used to seeing in U.S. Opens, they don't need to be. But you know that you have to hit the fairway to have a chance of hitting a decent shot into the green. You know, it just puts a little bit of extra pressure. So you've just got to deal with it and be positive, be aggressive. Sometimes it's not going to be easy, but you've just got to try your hardest. Q. What do you hit on 17, do you hit a driver, 3-wood or do you try to miss it left? SERGIO GARCIA: It's pretty difficult to hit on the green in one, mainly because the little bit of fairway that you have kind of runs sideways to you. So if you hit it on the perfect line, it's probably going to bounce in the rough and not get to the green. And if you bounce it on the fairway, it's probably going into the right bunker, or, you know, on the side slope of the bunker. You know, just to the left, even if you're in the rough, is not a bad play. You're playing straight into the green. It's still not an easy chip because you're playing from thick rough. You know, if it gets firm, it's quite difficult to lay up and hit a lob-wedge and be able to stop it, because you're hitting -- you're hitting on a bad angle into the green. It gives you a couple of different options, but like said, I guess it depends on how you feel that day. Q. You speak of the difficulty of the course and holes that are not fun to play, but are there actually any holes out there that are fun to play? SERGIO GARCIA: Yeah, for example, 7. Seven is a hole that if you hit a decent shot, you can probably birdie it. Then you know, you have holes like 1 where you can hit driver and then hit your putter for your second shot and run it down 150 yards if you want to. So you know, there's some funny things that you can do on this course if you really think about it. You know, there are a couple of holes out there that you can maybe loosen up a little bit. But at the same time, you've still got to realize that there's still not a lot of room to miss. It's still a little bit tight. Q. You've been close to winning your first major on a few occasions. Has your stress level increased with each passing major that you haven't won? SERGIO GARCIA: Try not to. I wouldn't say so. You know, some I've played better than others, but I try to take it every week the same way and hopefully give it my best, and sometimes I play better than others. At the end of the day, that's the only thing I can do, give it my best shot and hopefully have a good chance and come out on top. If not, you know, just keep working hard on it. Q. With all of the attention going to the eighth hole, how do you feel it's difficulty compares to that of the 16th, the way 16 is surrounded by the bunkers? SERGIO GARCIA: All of the par 3s are pretty tough. Probably the shortest one you might think, which I think is 13, you might think, wow, you're only hitting like a 7-iron or something like that into the green. But the green has got a lot of movement to it. So if you miss the green, you're going to struggle, as you're going to on most of the holes. I think 16 is a great par 3, too, quite difficult. You can play it -- you can go straight for the green with a high shot or you can hit actually like a little knock-down shot and bounce it short of the green and run it up if it gets really firm. So it gives you a couple of different options. That's another hole that is quite difficult, but at least you are hitting a 4-iron or something like that, it's a little bit easier than a 3-wood or maybe a driver. Q. I apologize if somebody asked already, but about the rough, how thick is it and how does it compare to what you saw last year at Winged Foot? SERGIO GARCIA: It's very similar. It's very similar to the way it was set up last year. I guess it's a bit more consistent here because we have no trees. You know, you have the first cut, and then you have like a rough where you can probably, if you get a decent lie, you can probably hit up to maybe a 6- or a 5-iron. Then you have a little thicker rough which probably you're going to be chipping out most of the times. Then you have the really tall stuff which hopefully you won't see too much of it, because then you're going to be in trouble. But no, the course is set up nicely. You know, you could say that some parts of some of the greens are maybe a little bit too much, but you can't do anything about it. Over all, I think the course is looking in great shape and it's set up nicely. Q. Is there a hard and fast reason why European players have not fared well in not just the U.S. Open but all major championships recently? SERGIO GARCIA: I don't know. No, I've got no answer for that. Q. Could this course, because of the removal of all of the trees and now that it's more like a links course, could it be more beneficial to a European player now? SERGIO GARCIA: I hope so. I don't know. You guys are always asking about that, but if I had the reason why, you know, I'm sure we would have fixed it. The only thing you can do is play and, you know, try and win it. If you don't, the only thing you can do is keep trying. But I don't know why. I can't give you like an exact reason why that's happened. Q. When you come in and see the greens like they have here, how long does it take for to you work out how to play them, and what do you work on in practice? SERGIO GARCIA: I don't think you ever -- I'm sure some of the members still are trying to figure them out. I don't think you can ever practice them hard enough. You have so many different options, so many different putts, depending where the pins are, so many different chips. You know, you get an idea of what's going on, and then you kind of try to figure out as the tournament goes on. But I don't think it's possible to figure exactly every single green on this course. Q. You joke about this being pretty good for a par-78 and a par-4 eighth -- SERGIO GARCIA: I wasn't joking. (Laughter). Q. When a course is this tough, is it still enjoyable for you to play it? Do you enjoy the challenge or is it just too much? SERGIO GARCIA: I guess you have your moments. There are moments where you will enjoy it. But you know, there's going to be a lot of moments where you're going to struggle. It's not much fun. You know, making bogeys is never fun. But you've got to try. At least at the end of the day, that's the only thing you can do. So hopefully take it positive and, you know, just try to do your best. That's all you can ask for yourself. Q. This is going to be the first major since the 1991 PGA where there is not a player in the field under the age of 30 who has not won a major; why do you think nobody under 30 has been able to win majors recently? SERGIO GARCIA: Well, one of the reasons is because Tiger has just turned 31, so that doesn't help. Just not good enough, I guess. We have been giving it good shots, guys in their 20s, trying to win majors, and we've been really close. But it hasn't happened. There's a lot of high-quality players here this week, and only one guy can win. So, you know, I can't give you an exact reason why, but it's just one of those things. Q. There's quite a few blind tee shots and blind approach shots out there. Does that take some getting used to? SERGIO GARCIA: A little bit, yeah. You've got to pick your lines nicely. You've just got to trust. You don't see where the ball is going to land, so you have to trust your line and commit to it. But once you kind of figure it out, then it becomes a little bit easier. But it's always a little bit easier when you can see exactly where the ball is going to land so you can pick your spot a little easier. Q. As you've been working your way around this course, is there one particular aspect of your game that fits your eye and is suiting you on this golf course as you've been working your way around it? SERGIO GARCIA: Like I said before, you know, you have to drive the ball well. If you drive the ball well, the course becomes a little bit easier; not a lot, but a little bit. You know, every part of your game has to be on here this week. You have to drive the ball well. Your irons, they have to be good, because if you miss greens, then you're going to struggle quite a lot to get up-and-down in some of these greens. You're going to miss some greens, so chipping's got to be good. Hopefully you need to get a little bit lucky with some of the lies you get around the greens. And then putting is going to be tough. I don't think it's possible that somebody comes out this week without having a 3-putt. I absolutely think it's impossible. As big as the greens are, there's going to be moments where you're going to have a 60-footer with four different breaks on it, and you know, I don't think it's possible to do that. So, you know, every part of your game has to be on. Q. It's Father's Day on Sunday, just curious, what role did your father play in your career choice and how does it still factor into your relationship with him? SERGIO GARCIA: Well, of course it does. He's still very much into it, into golf and into me playing golf and helping me out. You know, he's been great. It's been a fun ride with him, not only with him, but also my mom and my brother and my sister once in awhile when they come. It would be nice to give them a good week by Sunday so we can celebrate something on his day. RAND JERRIS: Sergio, thank you for your time today. We wish you luck this week. SERGIO GARCIA: Thank you very much. End of FastScripts |
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