|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
JOHN DEERE CLASSICJuly 11, 2007Woody AustinSILVIS, ILLINOIS STEWART MOORE: We'd like to welcome this year's Stanford St. Jude champion Woody Austin to the interview room here at the John Deere Classic. Woody, coming off another good finish a couple weeks ago at the Buick Open, near miss there. Obviously having a great year so far. Talk a little bit about it. WOODY AUSTIN: Well, it's just been a matter of finding the problems that I was having at the beginning of the year in my golf swing, and now it's starting to click. I'm looking for some consistency, and obviously in those two weeks or four-week stretch there was a little bit of consistency, so that's what I'm shooting for. STEWART MOORE: We talked at the Buick open a few weeks ago, you talked about getting your start on mini-Tours before getting out here and the grind and kind of parlaying that into what I'm going to say next, you're taking next week off, you're not going to the British Open for which you're eligible, and you referenced the fact that the John Deere Classic has always been good to you and you're going to support this tournament. Talk about what this tournament means to a lot of younger players coming out here. WOODY AUSTIN: I mean, let's face it. I'm not -- my career hasn't been based on the British Open, my career has been based on Buick Opens, John Deere Classics, Hartford, Memphis, everything like that. So for me to think or act like I don't need to play the John Deere Classic anymore is ridiculous. I definitely would have played the British Open if I hadn't played so many in a row. This is eight weeks in a row, and I'm thoroughly exhausted. I proved it last week. I played like an idiot last week. But I've had four days off. I'm hoping that will at least suffice through this week and then I get two weeks off. The big reason for not playing the British is it's just a long way to go, and it would be nine weeks in a row, and I just don't want to go over there for a major and just be so unprepared. Q. You haven't played a lot of British Opens. WOODY AUSTIN: I've only played one, so that's what I'm saying. It's just like everybody talks about how well-prepared Tiger is for every major every tournament he plays, same thing for Phil. They're going to be over there middle of this week preparing, not only fresh but prepared. I've played one British Open, so I'd have to go over there and learn how to play British Open again as far as learning how to play that kind of golf, do it all after being out for nine weeks, and I know I just wouldn't be prepared. I also go into a British Open wanting to win. I'm not just going to go over there just to play, so why would I go over there when I know I'm not at all ready to play. Q. Do you have some of the feelings Scott Hoch has on British Open setups? WOODY AUSTIN: I've only played one, so like I said, I can't say that I'm not going over there because it's Carnoustie, because I didn't play the other one, so I don't know anything about the golf course. I'm strictly -- the fact that I didn't know I was in the tournament until a week ago, well, I had no preparation. Now, if it would have been a week ago and I didn't play a couple weeks before that or I wasn't playing this week or something, if I could prepare, then I would go. But it's an awful far place to go when you're already tired. I mean, Tiger hasn't played more than two weeks in a row. This is eight. I'm exhausted. Q. Why did you choose to grind it out for eight weeks? WOODY AUSTIN: I didn't plan to, it's just the way -- I usually play three in a row. That's usually where I stop and then I take some weeks off. Well, I got in last minute into Memorial off an alternate list, so I wasn't planning on playing there, and then I qualified for the U.S. Open. So I had a couple weeks off. So it was going to be three and then three and then -- well, those two tied in. And like I said, as far as playing here, I'm never going to withdraw from a tournament that I've committed to just because I -- let's say I am tired, but I remember where I came from. And for me to just say I don't want to play to a tournament that got me where I am today is just not me. That's just not going to -- I'm not going to do that. Q. Is that a prevalent attitude out there or do you think it should be more prevalent? WOODY AUSTIN: I can't speak for other people. I do know obviously when you're top player in the world and only plays 19 events a year, I don't know if that's very prevalent, is it? And when you add up to which ones are that he plays -- it's fine. It's hard to say. Q. A moment ago you said that you're trying to chase some consistency. Obviously you've had some great finishes. When you get your game to that level, suddenly it all comes, you get a win and a second place, is it almost something you don't want to mess with it? When you go to the range do you not want to tinker too much? WOODY AUSTIN: Well, I'm not a big range guy anyway. I grew up without a driving range so I didn't hit a lot of balls. When I learned the game, I learned the game on the golf course itself. The golf course I grew up on doesn't have a driving range, so I would play 54 holes a day just to -- that was my practice. So I'm not a big tinkerer as far as hitting balls. I marvel at Vijay and all the other guys who -- if you ever see me on the driving range after I play a good round of golf, then you can go ahead and shoot me (laughter). I don't understand; if you go out and shoot 65, why go hit balls? Q. Well, that was my -- WOODY AUSTIN: You just shot 65. What could possibly be wrong where you need to go to the driving range after spending five and a half hours -- especially this week, if you sweat your butt off for five and a half hours and you shoot 66, 65, why do you need to hit balls? Q. That's where I was going with that question. WOODY AUSTIN: That's my take on it, as well. I don't understand it. I'll shoot 73 and not hit balls. If I felt like I played good, if it was just the putter, you'll see me on the putting green, but I don't hit balls when I think I've got it because I don't understand the rationale. Everybody says, well, they want to keep the rhythm. Well, you can go over there and lose it because you've overdone it or what have you. I've always said that the way I learned the game -- I'm self-taught, I don't have a teacher or whatever. I learned by reading about Jack Nicklaus. If you go back to his books, one of his readings is he never -- once he finds what he's looking for, he's done. They used to ask him about his practice, how long. He goes, it could be ten minutes, could be an hour. He goes, I go to the range with one idea, one thought, and when I get there I'm done. If I get there in ten minutes, great for me. If it takes me an hour, it takes me an hour. But he's one of those who doesn't harp on it. I totally agree with that. Q. Well, in that case -- that's where I was going with the question. What are you trying to do to achieve consistency without -- WOODY AUSTIN: Well, I'm trying to get my -- being a feel player, I'm trying to get the feel of my golf swing back to where it was when I was younger as far as the club getting into a certain spot. Now, since I am not a technical guy and I don't have a teacher over my shoulder every five minutes, I have to work on getting it to -- it's just a matter of I found the glitch at -- I figured out where the club was going all haywire at about Colonial. It's been working real hard on the swing plane. It's just a matter of swing plane for me. My swing plane is where it's supposed to be, and by doing that, I've gained -- I think I've gained like ten yards off the tee without swinging harder or changing clubs or whatever. It's just I've got everything where it's supposed to be for me. Q. When you play eight weeks in a row or something along those lines, are you still having fun or are you grinding? WOODY AUSTIN: Well, no. Like I said, last week I was -- I looked like an idiot. I was so exhausted last week. It was such a good golf course and such -- and it was my kind of golf course, but it was a grinding golf course. I was already ground out, so I couldn't get through last week. If there was a tournament to take off, obviously last week would have been good. There were no ties or whatever. But I played last week because my kids had a couple trips into the White House and stuff. So I did it for them. I wasn't going to play, but the wife -- they had a White House trip on Thursday morning and some other things, so I just bucked it up for them. Q. What comes to mind when you think about the John Deere Classic? What do you look forward to about making this stop? WOODY AUSTIN: Well, it's just a fun tournament for me. I am a casino guy (laughter), so I spend the week at the Isle of Capri. Like you said, even though this is eight weeks in a row for me, this is a relaxing weekend that I'm not going to be grinding it out. I'm going to be having fun as far as off the golf course, whereas at most tournaments if there isn't enough activity off the golf course, you're still worrying about -- this week I've always been able to go to the casino and relax and enjoy it and everything. Since I did play the seven weeks in a row leading up, this is actually like a week off to a point. Q. Not a grinding golf course, either. WOODY AUSTIN: No. Q. Do you feel like your game is in -- that you can play -- WOODY AUSTIN: The game is obviously not too bad. Like I said, last week wasn't much fun. I know it's there. All I've got to do is just mess with it a little bit and find it, which I think I can do. And then it's just like anything. If you don't putt well, it doesn't matter how you play. It all boils down to how the ball goes in the hole. Q. You haven't seen the golf course yet? WOODY AUSTIN: No. Q. From player input, they've shrunk a number of fairways at the landing areas. But I haven't heard guys talk about that. It doesn't seem to really make a big difference on this particular golf course. WOODY AUSTIN: Well, that's because most TPCs' fairways are pretty big. So if they shrunk it and you're coming off -- anybody that played last week at Congressional, those fairways are pretty narrow, so I'm sure they're not going to look too much different. Usually most TPCs are pretty wide open, so when they narrow the fairways, it doesn't look like they're all that narrow. Q. You mentioned the mini-Tour grind. As I recall you won the Waterloo Open, Doug Dunakey was your buddy? WOODY AUSTIN: Uh-huh. Q. What do you remember about that week? WOODY AUSTIN: The funniest story about that week is I borrowed -- the bank that I worked at, I borrowed the $2,000 for the Dakotas Tour. There was eight tournaments -- it was a seven- or eight-week stretch. I think it might have been seven. Every tournament cost $300, so it was $2,100, and you had to pay a month or so before you traveled. So I borrowed the $2,000 from the bank I worked at, paid my entry fees and was going to use my money off the mini-Tours that I played the next couple weeks as my spending money. I won a tournament in Orlando, Florida, won like I think first prize, like $1,500, $1,200 or $1,500 the week before. That was going to be my spending money. We left two weeks before the Dakotas Tour started. We tried to Monday qualify for two Nike events and then we had the Waterloo Open and then the Dakotas Tour. By the end of the first week, that check bounced from the mini-Tours. That Tour went under, so I had no money. So by the end of that second week, I had a choice of -- I wanted to play the Waterloo Open but had no money, and I had to go home. Well, Doug was nice enough to lend me the $300 to get in the Waterloo Open, and I won. So I went from on my way home with nothing to back into playing. And not only did I win the Waterloo Open, but I won the first tournament on the Dakotas Tour, so I won twice. That gave me that -- that at least gave me that start, and then from there I had the money to get into qualifying school, made it into Q-school, got to the finals for the first time, got on the Nationwide Tour, made it to the finals of Q-school through the Nationwide Tour and won Q-school. So it was just a nice culmination. So it was from almost back to nothing to finally making it. Q. Is that as much pressure as you've ever faced as a golfer, having to win? WOODY AUSTIN: As I say, there's -- I've said all along, there's only so many people whose -- especially when it comes to careers, there's only so many people whose lives kind of go as planned. The majority of us in any sport and any endeavor have to bust our butts a lot harder or go through a lot more adversity than the so-called superstars who just are kind of innate by it. Let's face it, Tiger was built to play golf. He was born to play this game. I wasn't born to play this game. I'm the quintessential guy who is really good at everything but not great at anything. There's not a sport I can't play, but I'm not great at any of them. So I've had to bust my butt to get wherever I've had to go. Q. Is the green hat kind of your answer to Tiger's red shirt? WOODY AUSTIN: My what? Q. The green hat. WOODY AUSTIN: Well, that came out at Stanford, so I went ahead and brought it out. You know, so I tried to do it again at the Buick obviously just to see how it would go. But no, I strictly wear shirts just how I feel. Now, as far as a red shirt or whatever, I'll bring a red shirt out when I need to shoot a low number. Now, it may be on a Sunday, it may be on a Saturday, it may be on a Friday to make the cut if you're going in relation to stuff like that. So if I wear a red shirt during the week, it's because I need to shoot a low number, not because I'm trying to be like him on Sunday. Q. I just noticed you had those hats. WOODY AUSTIN: Oh, I match everything up. I try to match my hats with my shirts, so I have all the colors. STEWART MOORE: The very fashionable Woody Austin, thanks so much for coming in. Best of luck this week. End of FastScripts |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|