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DEUTSCHE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP

September 1, 2007

Mike Weir

NORTON, MASSACHUSETTS

DOUG MILNE: Mike, thank you for joining us. Not the ideal finish, last two holes. Just a couple general comments about the day.
MIKE WEIR: Thanks for that (laughter). It was a good day. I was happy with the way I played today. It was a lot different conditions than yesterday morning. Wind was tougher, and obviously the greens were still good, but when you're first off in the morning they're perfect. It was a good day. I was pleased with the way I struck the ball.
As I said, it was just tough judging the wind. The wind was really swirling around out there, and it was really tough to pull a club on five of the last six holes. I hit some really nice shots and didn't even hit the green. I was on the fringe about four times. You're playing for a gust and it lays down, or vice versa, the opposite. It was just a little tougher day than yesterday morning.
DOUG MILNE: You certainly are in great position as we head into the last few rounds. We'll open it up and take a few questions.

Q. Curious, not to get too direct here, but how did you birdie 7? Would you talk about that for a minute? Big cross-bunker?
MIKE WEIR: Oh, I hit a -- I was thinking the front side. That was my 16th hole. I hit a really good drive into the wind and hit two really good ones about 30 yards in front of the green. I was kind of in between clubs, tried to play a little bump-and-run and ran it by about 20 feet, made a nice putt off the fringe there.

Q. I'd be curious what you had to carry the cross-bunkers into the wind, what you hit and how you approached it.
MIKE WEIR: The left side was about 215 and the right side about 230, but uphill into the wind with the right side was playing more like 255, so I knew I really needed to hit it solid. Hit a nice hard draw and carried it. But I needed all of both of them actually. I hit the tee shot really well and smashed both of them just to get over.

Q. As you stood over that shot did you ever consider laying up short?
MIKE WEIR: Yeah, I thought about it. I was thinking about it, but I thought if I just hit a good solid one, I can clear it.

Q. As a final question on that thread, do you like it? Do you like that -- well, you don't know the change, but what do you think of the placement of that cross-bunker there?
MIKE WEIR: I would say it's not ideal. I mean, that's not -- me, I haven't been a designer yet on a golf course, but that wouldn't be my pick to put it there.

Q. Because?
MIKE WEIR: Well, it's just an awkward -- just the way the ball runs down. If you want to lay up to a number you can't do it. If you're going to lay it up, you're laying up with like an 8-iron. It's just a little odd.

Q. Leaving you what? If you had laid up, what would that have left you in?
MIKE WEIR: You know, I don't know, probably 125, 130, maybe a little more, 140.

Q. With that back pin and wind you could have had a 7-iron or something?
MIKE WEIR: Exactly.

Q. When do you feel is the last time you played back-to-back rounds this good? How long has it been?
MIKE WEIR: British Open probably.

Q. So not that long?
MIKE WEIR: No. You know, I was I think a couple off the lead after two rounds of the British and played well there.

Q. If you have any urgency about yourself right now, is it more toward you as the golfer or you as the FedExCup position number whatever you are?
MIKE WEIR: Yeah, it's more -- I just want to play well for myself. It's been a while since I've hoisted a trophy, and more than anything, that's what I'm concerned about. With that, you know, that would get me into next week. But more than that, I just want to get back in the winner's circle.

Q. You talked about the wind this afternoon. How did the greens change from the morning yesterday until today, and how do you think that will affect the conditions for the weekend?
MIKE WEIR: Yeah, they were much firmer by a longshot, compared to yesterday morning. And then the wind was very difficult. It did complete 180s out there a number of times. It's very blustery. It would gust up for a minute, then lay down, then gust back up twice as hard, then lay down. You're going to get some shots that don't turn out pin high like you hope to compared to yesterday morning when there was hardly any wind and you were able to control it a little bit better. When it's playing tough like that, it makes it more difficult.

Q. Going back to last year, you were talking about looking ahead to what a grueling stretch it was going to be from the British on through The Presidents Cup. In the middle of it, how do you feel physically and what's been the biggest challenge of it?
MIKE WEIR: You know, myself, I'm feeling better than I was a few weeks ago. But I think the biggest challenge for all the guys is probably not to overwork. It's been such a long stretch from say starting the British Open through here. If you're hitting a lot of balls and practicing every day, by the time these last few weeks roll around, you can be physically fatigued and mentally fatigued, and you're not going to be at your best the last few weeks. That's what you have to watch, I believe, is just overworking too much.

Q. Is it a bigger challenge physically or mentally?
MIKE WEIR: I think most of the top guys now obviously work hard physically. I think more mentally I would say, trying to keep that edge week in and week out.

Q. Can you tell when you're mentally fatigued? Are there signs? Do you lose your temper quicker? Do you become frustrated?
MIKE WEIR: Yeah, those things happen.

Q. Do you kind of watch for that?
MIKE WEIR: You can kind of notice that. You can just kind of notice. Certain things bother you a lot less when you're patient, and just kind of after a break or something, you get back, maybe after a few weeks in a row, and little things -- four- or five-footers missed once in a while kind of agitate you a little bit more.

Q. Do you have a dog at home, and is it limping?
MIKE WEIR: (Laughing) no, but I think it is more just mentally demanding week after week trying to -- if you're playing a long stretch like this, I'm sure when it's all said and done, this FedExCup Series, that will be the telltale sign of who wins the thing, the guy that's really mentally stayed with it all the way through.

Q. Talk about your chip shots on 5 and 6. Was it utility or 3-wood?
MIKE WEIR: Yeah, I used that rescue club. I hit a great shot into 5 and just rolled over the back into the fringe and almost rolled that in with the rescue. And then same with the next hole, just went through the green and rolled it down there.
I've been practicing that shot a little bit. I knew today -- I practiced probably an extra 20 minutes on my short game because I knew there was probably a good chance of some balls just barely missing greens today with the blustery conditions. You can hit some good shots and just be off the edge. That probably saved me a couple.

Q. What makes you decide to go with a rescue versus a wedge?
MIKE WEIR: I just feel how it's going through the grass. A couple of those were right against the collar behind, and you try a sand wedge and see if it's going to get caught, and same with the rescue. I practiced more with the rescue. I felt like if it wasn't going to get caught I'd practice a little more with that, so I used that.

Q. You've clearly enjoyed the greens this week. When did you last feel this comfortable with the putter?
MIKE WEIR: You know, I could say maybe the British again. And AT & T the week before that, I putted well. But these greens are very, very good and very, very fast.
You know, I think the last couple weeks another reason why I may have been putting better, I've had Brennan [Little] helping me out reading greens. Brennan has caddied for me, this is the ninth year, and he's probably read a total of a dozen putts in his career for me. I made it a point last week to ask him to help me read greens a little better because I felt like maybe that was what was missing; I wasn't quite reading them right.
I putted pretty well last week, and this week he's corrected me a few times and we've done it a little different. He's been right on, and most of the time we've been seeing the same thing. So it's maybe that little bit of reinforcement. Yeah, it feels good, putter feels good.

Q. How does that work? Do you go first on the read and then call him over or what?
MIKE WEIR: Yeah, usually I tell him what I'm thinking, and then he usually agrees with it unless he thinks I'm way off, and then he'll say it's a couple more inches or it's going to break more. If not, he agrees with me.

Q. What prompted you to ask?
MIKE WEIR: Well, as I said, I think that I've been putting -- I always felt like I was stroking the ball pretty good but not making many of them, so I thought maybe I'm not reading them right. He's out there with me, so I might as well --

Q. He's getting paid?
MIKE WEIR: He's getting paid.

Q. Is he good at it?
MIKE WEIR: Yeah, he's good at it. He's a good putter. Yeah, he's a good reader of the greens.

Q. Was there a point this year where you felt like you were back to playing Mike Weir golf again, or has it been such a gradual progression that you can't really pick out a time?
MIKE WEIR: Yeah, there's been a number of times where I felt good about it on a real consistent level. I would say the last few months just my wedge game and everything feels much better, and that's kind of been my hallmark, really, is wedging the ball well.
A number of times I saved myself yesterday, and today I hit some great wedges. It feels more like my game, keeping it in the fairway most of the time and wedging it well and making a few putts.
DOUG MILNE: If we could just run through the birdies and bogeys.
MIKE WEIR: Yeah, 10, I started off, hit a nice 3-wood and 8-iron to maybe 15 feet, made that.
14, I actually hit it in the right rough on 14, hit a good 6-iron, chased up there about six or seven feet, made that.
And then 18, it was in the greenside bunker and hit it out maybe four, five feet, birdie there.
Hit it in the greenside bunker on 4 and hit it six feet, made that.
I talked about 7.
Then 8, I was trying to hit a low cut and I caught the low part but didn't get the cut, chipped up about eight feet and missed that.
Then 9, I hit a nice drive and a 6-iron and it just released through the green and rolled it by probably about eight feet and missed that coming back.
DOUG MILNE: Second round 68, you're currently tied for the lead going into the proverbial weekend. We appreciate your time, and best of luck. Thank you for your time.

End of FastScripts

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