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THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIPMay 8, 2008Steve ElkingtonPONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA Q. Comments on the round? STEVE ELKINGTON: I was happy with my round, obviously. A 69 on this course is a great way to start this tournament. Obviously the 7:20 tee-off time helped me today. The course is in as good as condition as I've ever seen it. It's very dry, and the greens are firm, so, you know, the shots have to be very precise. We always have to play precise golf at this course, but this week I think it'll even be more precise. Q. Where did you pick up your birdies? STEVE ELKINGTON: I bogeyed 1 and 3. I picked one up at 4, 9, 10, 11, 16, and I had a bogey on 18. Q. Which was your favorite? Which was your favorite birdie? STEVE ELKINGTON: My favorite was on No. 10. I hit a 9-iron to about an inch. I'm three out of two from that distance (laughter). Q. What did you hit into 18? STEVE ELKINGTON: 18 I hit a 6-iron. The wind was down off the left off the tee, and I had 170 and maybe 200 to the pin, so we were just trying to get it on the front and let it run out. But as I got up here, the wind was more into and it kind of tricked -- my ball flew up and came up short and it ran down there and had an awkward shot off the rail and finished up making bogey. You know, the course is perfect. It's ideal for this tournament; it's the way they want to play it. Q. You started off 1, right? STEVE ELKINGTON: I started on 1, right. Q. That's a tough way to start, being 2-over through 3. STEVE ELKINGTON: The only thing I can tell you is I've got a lot of experience here. Q. I've heard that. STEVE ELKINGTON: I've done it before. I've been 2-over three 3 before and I was 4-over through 17. This course, you know, we know where to hit it, it's just a matter of -- I know how to play the course, it's just whether or not you can hit the ball where you want it to go. There is a way to play this course. Q. Is this maybe like Augusta in that the guys in their 40s seem to do well here just because they've been here so often? STEVE ELKINGTON: Maybe so. I think the guys that hit the ball the best play the best here. Q. Speaking of which, you've been playing well all year. STEVE ELKINGTON: I've been playing pretty well. I haven't scared anybody, but I'm playing okay. Q. What was the significance of last night? I mean, it's been 11 years. Usually things are done in ten-year segments. STEVE ELKINGTON: Oh, you're talking about -- Q. The portrait. It's nice, by the way. STEVE ELKINGTON: I think the clubhouse being new, they're just trying to get all the multiple champions unveiled. I think it was more the artist, time for the artist to paint it, I think, more than it was -- I think they had three of them already last year. I was lucky enough to be standing next to Jack Nicklaus last night. He got the big award last night for lifetime achievement. I was standing next to him, so that was a pretty big treat for me to not only be a two-time champ but to stand next to Jack. Q. Do you like the painting? STEVE ELKINGTON: The painting is good. I looked a little thinner then, as did Jack. Q. You said something to the effect last night to Jack that he's always been an icon, but you said, "You've never let us down, not once." How hard is that to do? STEVE ELKINGTON: Jack Nicklaus has just never let -- I said last night, Jack has been kind of our idol, a golfer, and he's never let us down in the way he's acted, never let us down the way he's talked, never let us down professionally. He's been the consummate pro his whole career. It's impossible not to pull for him. Q. Does a great start like this get you excited, or have you been around too long to take much notice of one round? STEVE ELKINGTON: I don't know, I was happy with the way I played. The greens, I need to keep an eye on the speed of my putting. I judged it well today. It's not really so much exciting because there's a lot of work left here on this course, so you can't just really jump up and up and down about it. But it certainly is a nice way to start. Q. Is it the kind of golf course that will change dramatically in four days? STEVE ELKINGTON: I don't think it will. I don't think it will change much at all. It's going to be dry all the way. Q. I guess they could put them in tougher places. STEVE ELKINGTON: Yeah, you don't have to shoot at them, but they can be over there. End of FastScripts |
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