WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP

August 14, 2008

Bob Heintz

JOAN vt ALEXANDER: Thank you, Bob, for joining us for a few minutes in the Media Center at the Wyndham Championship. Great start to your week, 63.
Several birdies and just one bogey. Good start. Just talk about what you did well and how the course sets up for you.
BOB HEINTZ: Okay. Want me to use the microphone?
JOAN vt ALEXANDER: Yes.
BOB HEINTZ: Let's see, what did you ask?
JOAN vt ALEXANDER: Talk about what you did well today.
BOB HEINTZ: What I did well. First of all, it wasn't perfect golf. It was well managed and I think that if you had to pinpoint something, it was distance control so when I was uncomfortable with a certain hole location, and there are going to be some of those on this course, I was able to just hit the ball in the middle of the green and then give myself an easy two-putt and kind of get out of there.
But on the holes where I was comfortable I actually went for it and I pulled off just about every iron shot where I really wanted to go at the flag.
So I had like three tap-ins and a two-putt for birdie so now you're at 4-under already. Then I made a couple more. It was kind of simple.
JOAN vt ALEXANDER: Questions, please.

Q. You're obviously trying to get to next week and everything with your place on the FedEx. Is that more pressure, less pressure, just go out and not worry about it or what?
BOB HEINTZ: I would say more pressure is me trying to keep my job right now. I don't even know where I am on the money list. I don't know where I am on the FedExCup because I didn't think it help me to know that information before I started the week.
If I had to guess, I would guess that I needed a Top-5 in order to get to next week and I may need more than that.
I snuck in last year. I had played more steady. I had actually played more events last year, too, so I'd love to have a crack at it but one day at a time would be pretty good right now. I'll just even enjoy that and go work some more. Hopefully I can keep going.

Q. Bob, you look like you were having a good time out there, little playful with the galleries a couple times. Is that typical?
BOB HEINTZ: I do enjoy interacting with people. If you have a moment, I'll tell you why that all happened.
The folks that were there to watch Drew, there are maybe 40, 50 on our second hole of the day. I just hit it a foot from the hole on No. 10 and I was over by the cart path where those folks were and I said, "I imagine y'all are here to watch Drew, right?" They kind of laughed and felt bad that they weren't there to watch me.
I relayed to them that one of my career goals was to get to where I'm good enough where someone might actually go a golf course, pick up a paring sheet and say, "I'll follow Bob Heintz' group today."
That's kind of a vague career goal but they started to tease me about that as the day went on, "I guess I'll follow you now." They were giving me a hard time and so I can take it.

Q. After your last tee shot they were --
BOB HEINTZ: I thought they were getting into a little bit of a Bob Newhart thing. "I'm following Bob. Good shot, Bob." It was Bob, Bob everywhere.
I thought they were kind of starting to tease me but I can handle that. I'd rather have attention than, you know, have nobody know who I was.

Q. Speaking of goals, ever thought about shooting a 57?
BOB HEINTZ: Yes. That may be the only way that they give me a ketchup bottle-shaped bag and a bunch of money, you know? Yes, I have thought about it but I've never even sniffed it.

Q. But the question I wanted to ask, how are you relating to one of the Masters golf courses as opposed to some of the modern ones that we're used to?
BOB HEINTZ: This one? This is -- this is like a miniature version of last week's Oakland Hills. I believe that was Donald Ross, too, right?
So what you have is the fairways with a lot of pitch and roll so you almost have to -- you have to choose the right club off the tee or you may get the ball repelled from the fairway and then the greens -- I don't think these are as difficult, by far, as Oakland Hills.
You're hitting a lot more short irons into them. They're having -- they have to be soft kind of as a definition this time of year. So they don't play as hard as Oakland Hills does.
Of course, you're standing there with a 4-iron all the time in Oakland Hills. This course is more fun. That one I played in the British Open qualifier and I didn't have any fun. It was too hard for me two year ago anyway.

Q. Bob, you haven't had a Top Ten this year. Is there anything that you can permanent impairment point?
BOB HEINTZ: I have two 11s.

Q. Anything that's been holding you back? Is it putting?
BOB HEINTZ: Some of it is lack of opportunity. I'm playing out of that 126 to 150 category and so nobody likes excuses but I'll make that my number 1 excuse. I've not been able to get a series of golf tournaments in a row and I've been mentally poor.

So, this was a good mental round. Even some of the holes down the stretch where you start telling yourself, "I want to finish it off, finish it off, I don't want to give one back now." All those tendencies we have and I was able to just brush them off today and say, "Look, you know, where am I going to hit this? Good full turn away, good full turn through." Do my little simple things and it worked today.

Q. Have you had those doubts this year?
BOB HEINTZ: Absolutely. I was horrible in Hartford, horrible in Michigan, horrible at John Deere on a golf course that I love. But I was really good in Reno last week or -- I call it last week because it was my last week.
For example, the final round in Reno I hit a sprinkler head with a shot on a par 3. By all rights the ball should have gone in the bunker but it shot off into the desert and I ended up making a triple bogey.
I was able to not treat that as, you know, the heavens are falling down on me, you know, I just went, "Okay, I'm not in control of that" and I went on and played alright on Sunday.
So, that stuff is turning around, at least for me.

Q. You mentioned earlier, "I'm just worried about my job." Specifically, what do you mean by that?
BOB HEINTZ: If I was to point to something and say this could be stressful for me right now, it would not be whether I get into the FedExCup. It would be, you know, am I going to be able to finish this year in the Top 15? Am I going to be able to finish in the Top 150? For a player of my current stature, those are the real concerns.
I would love to take some of that FedExCup money and that would mean good things for me but I don't come to this week going, "Man, I got to get in the FedExCup."
No. I need to play solid and finish as high as I can and win it if I can or whatever comes of it but I just have to keep building so that maybe I can finish strong enough so I'm not in Q-School. I've been in Q-School, I don't even know, ten times in a row.
JOAN vt ALEXANDER: Everybody all set?

Q. What about Drew, what do you think of his game? You probably don't know much about him.
BOB HEINTZ: There's no room for me to criticize a young man who has done what he's done, so even if he had had a tough day today, I would not have anything negative to say. He's a super guy.
I think he may have tried a little hard. There were some shots where I felt like he really tried to hit it at the flag, you know, which I've been doing all year so I can see that. I shouldn't -- I should change careers when I'm done because I can tell people what not to do psychologically, anyway.
So, being that he was trying to get comfortable and he was trying a little too hard at times to shoot 1-under, I think that's a nice score.
You can play solid on this golf course and hit the ball in the wrong parts of the greens and, you know, shoot even par and think you played really well. I thought that was good.
JOAN vt ALEXANDER: Alright. Thank you, Bob.
BOB HEINTZ: Thanks.

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