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THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY COCA-COLASeptember 16, 2007Steve StrickerATLANTA, GEORGIA Q. What were you thinking when you made that putt? STEVE STRICKER: Where? Q. On 18. STEVE STRICKER: That it was over (laughter), get to go home for a week. Q. Did it put any kind of finish on the year, allow you to think about where you were, how far you'd come? STEVE STRICKER: Yeah, it kind of did make a little definitive end to it, and a good one. I mean, I was wanting to come out and play well today to kind of cap it off and make sure that I stayed in second place on that point list. Yeah, I'm glad I did. You know, I think I'm going to stay there. I saw Phil, he was, I think, 1-over for the day. So yeah, I wanted to make sure that I could stay in that position and play a good round. Q. That's $3 million for Izzie's college fund. STEVE STRICKER: That's right. It's a long way away, but money is money. Q. Is this the most significant set of tournaments you've played in your career? STEVE STRICKER: No question. The run that I've been on, heading all the way back to the U.S. Open, really, each week it seems like I've gotten in contention, had a lot of opportunities maybe, except for the Bridgestone and PGA, but -- and then this stretch of four right here has been a little bit of a whirlwind, but it's been so much fun. I've enjoyed it. You know, I feel like I've grown as a player and I've learned a lot again. It's been great. Q. We can put you in the camp of the people that likes the way this series is set up now, or would you like to see some modifications for next year? STEVE STRICKER: I don't know if there is going to be any modifications. The schedule is set. I think if one thing could be changed it's the amount of tournaments in a row and the amount of big tournaments played in a row. But I don't know if that can be changed. I think that's the only drawback so far that I've seen. To ensure the quality of the fields, to make sure Tiger and Phil and everyone are there, I don't think they're going to play four in a row, especially next year when the Ryder Cup is the week after. Q. Is that to the advantage of people who maybe aren't, though? STEVE STRICKER: Yeah, I mean, that always gives us another chance. Tiger taking that week off allowed me to get up in there. Too bad he didn't take another one off, really. It gives other players the opportunity. But obviously he knows what's best for him, and it surely didn't hurt his chances. I mean, he's doing what he's doing. Looks like he's going to win it. I guess he got away with taking one off and played well in the other three. Q. Jim Furyk said he was more mentally tired than physically tired. Is that your experience? STEVE STRICKER: Yeah, I was starting to feel a little physically tired the last few days. But it's just a mental grind every day. You start watching the ball do some funny hops, then you start thinking the whole world is against you all of a sudden. I was getting at the end of my rope out here, too. It was becoming a long deal, but I had to stay focused and try to play good coming in. Q. Does it sink in at all, that at least according to this measuring system, you're the second best golfer on TOUR this year? STEVE STRICKER: That's not a good comment (laughter). I had a good stretch. You know, I finished second in the point race and I had a good run, and that's -- I take a lot out of that, take a lot away from you. Q. Your friend Mr. D'Amato says you're playing golf on Tuesday. STEVE STRICKER: I am, right back at it again. Q. What about the deer? STEVE STRICKER: They'll have to wait, I think. It's too hot up there yet. We've had so much rain, the mosquitos are brutal. But I'll get out there probably once or twice this week. Q. When you're running on adrenaline for as long as you've seemingly been running an adrenaline, are you a month behind on sleep, are you a month behind on -- STEVE STRICKER: I've actually been getting a lot of sleep. I've been making sure I get my rest. Some of these tee times have been fairly late so I've been sleeping in in the mornings. I haven't done a lot of practicing at these tournaments. At the start of the whole FedExCup system I was kind of playing and then leaving the course, so I just tried to manage my time a little bit better and made sure I got my rest. Q. How close did you come to snapping? You said you were at the end of your rope a couple times. STEVE STRICKER: I wanted things to go well today, and when they weren't there for a while I was getting a little upset. That's what I haven't been doing. You can just tell when you've been out here doing this for too many weeks in a row, your attitude starts to get in the way, and that was starting to happen at times. Fortunately I made a couple of putts to change it around. Q. Just from a fan's perspective, do you wish the race had been more exciting for $10 million? STEVE STRICKER: Yeah, I wish Phil or I could have been up there and challenged Tiger a little more, but he's playing really good. I played with him the first two days here, and he drove it good for the most part and got it on the greens, and he's putting incredibly. I've never seen anybody putt as good as he does. And when he does hit a foul ball, he's so strong out of the rough that he can muscle it up on the green. Just when you think he's going to make a bogey or something, he ends up holing out of the bunker or making a 30- or 40-footer, whatever. He's just tough. You know, hats off to him. He's a great player. End of FastScripts |
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