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THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIPMay 9, 2009Alex CejkaPONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA JOHN BUSH: We'd like to welcome the third-round leader of THE PLAYERS Championship Alex Cejka into the interview room, an even par-72 today. It was a wild ride out there and a lot of hanging on. If we can just get your comments on the day. ALEX CEJKA: Yeah, it was kind of tough out there. You know, a little bit more wind blowing. The pins were pretty tricky, some of them, a couple in the corners. It's tough to get the ball close to the hole, and it's Saturday, so it's tough to play. But overall I'm pretty happy with an even par round. I was trying to hang in there like a pit bull (laughter) in the double digits, so I'm very pleased. Q. Speaking of pit bulls, tomorrow you know you're paired with Tiger in the final group. Have you played with him before, and how are you going to prepare yourself for dealing with him in the final round on Sunday? ALEX CEJKA: I don't know if I'm going to prepare myself overnight to play with him. I've played with him twice before, once in an exhibition, once in the last round at the British Open. It's been like eight years or so. Yeah, it's going to be tough. He's the best player. But it's going to be a good challenge for me. I know I have a lead, but it's against not only Tiger but against the rest of the field. I mean, I've got to play well tomorrow to win here. Q. Do you think it is harder to be paired with him versus if he was one group away from you? ALEX CEJKA: You know, when I played with him in the last round of the British Open, I beat him. Of course it's a couple years back. We'll see tomorrow. It's maybe going to be a little bit more spectators. It's going to be a little bit more pressure than if I played with Kevin Na or whoever else is at 6-under. But I have to go out there and do my job. Q. What course was that where you guys played the British, do you remember? We can figure out the year if you tell us the course. ALEX CEJKA: I can't really remember. Lytham and St. Anne's maybe, eight, nine, ten years ago. But I'm not sure. I don't remember what I had for dinner last night, and you ask me that (laughter). Q. Alex, when you had the first three-putt of the week and then a couple bogeys, any pep talks you were having with yourself out there to keep yourself -- ALEX CEJKA: Yeah, I wanted to finish under par today. It was up-and-down the front nine, a little bit. Unnecessary bogey on I believe it was like 7. 7 and 9 was a little bit unnecessary. Then I bounced back with birdie on 11 and 12, then again, two unnecessary bogeys. This happens very quickly on this course. But I was still positive in my mind. I wanted to still finish under par, and even par is okay. Q. Do you get mad at yourself or try to calm yourself in those situations? ALEX CEJKA: No, I don't get mad. These days are over. I got mad in my 20s. Now I just play the game. There's nothing I can do. I try my best, and if it's an eagle, birdie, double bogey, I just try to deal with it. Q. It would be a heck of a win if you could pull this off tomorrow, a heck of a win on this stage in the States with that guy staring you down. ALEX CEJKA: It would be nice. It's going to be a little bit of pressure, but on the other side I'm here. Last week I didn't know if I was going to play here. It's a big bonus being in this position sitting here three days in a row. I'm going to go out there and try my best, and if I should make it, I think it would be the best day in my career so far. Q. How do you think you're going to prepare tonight, anything different? ALEX CEJKA: Japanese food, shower, watch some sitcoms, the usual. Q. Just take the pressure off, kind of relax? ALEX CEJKA: Yes. Q. Can you talk a little bit about when you decided to make a swing change and why you chose to do stack-and-tilt, and what's been the benefit for you? ALEX CEJKA: I had like a friend of mine from Germany who was coaching me, Peter Karz. He's a teaching professional in my club in Munich. He was out with me for a couple of years. But he couldn't do it like on a regular basis. And then Dean Wilson, who is also living in Las Vegas, his pros was out there in the wintertime and working with him on the swing, so I occasionally peeked in on what they were doing and we started talking and that's how we started. It was like two years ago, one and a half years ago. Q. How is it different, or is it more reliable for you? ALEX CEJKA: Yeah, I feel my ball-striking got a little bit better, especially under pressure. I have a little bit different routine, and I trust what I'm doing with them on the driving range or in the practice rounds. The ball-striking has shown it in the last couple months that it's a little bit better. Q. If you could talk a little bit about the emotional sort of swings you had out there today, from playing well to having some tough holes to playing well. I just wonder if you take anything from that going into tomorrow given the situation. You obviously came out well today and birdied 18, five-shot lead. Do you draw anything from that going into tomorrow and playing with Tiger? ALEX CEJKA: Yeah, I hit a lot of good shots. The pins were really, really tricky today. Twice I was a little bit too aggressive, really threw away two bogeys, two shots. I've got to just sometimes when the pins are tricky, just go middle of the green, two-putt and wait for my chances. It's not every hole out there where you can hit it very close. The greens are hard like the table here, especially when you're coming from the semi-rough, even sometimes from the fairway. It's just tough to stop it. Sometimes you've got to take medicine and just play for the middle of a green and have a 40-footer and walk away with pars and wait on some holes where you hit it close and have a chance for birdies. Q. Will you change your strategy at all? ALEX CEJKA: No, I want to play like this tomorrow again. It depends on the conditions. If it's blowing 40 miles an hour it's going to be totally different ballgame. But I want to play like I did in the last three days tomorrow. Q. How important was it to make the birdie on 18, keep the momentum going? ALEX CEJKA: Yeah, that's big. I mean, every shot counts. You know, I hit a couple good putts that didn't go in, and I wanted really to finish like 17 or 18 with a birdie. 17 I got there really close to making the putt, and 18 is a tough hole, but I killed a 3-wood down the middle. After seeing Ian Poulter, we had the same yardage, and he hit an 8-iron over the green, so I choked down a little bit on an 8-iron and went straight at the flag. If you have like a three-footer, you want to make it, for even par especially. So it was big for me mentally. Q. Speaking of mentally, in your book what are the mental challenges of playing with a five-shot lead, particularly with you-know-who at your side? ALEX CEJKA: You know, I don't know. I've never had a five-shot lead (laughter), so I really don't know. It depends how I come tomorrow on the driving range or how I feel. Right now I can't tell you. It depends how I sleep, and tomorrow on the driving range if I feel well, I can tell you, but right now who knows what is in 14 hours or however long it is to my tee time. It's nice to have a cushion like this. There is no guarantee, but I'd rather be five ahead than two behind and playing still with him. Q. Kaymer said when he saw you for the first time this week you looked like you were a little black and blue in the neck. Was that from where the epidural was administered? ALEX CEJKA: Yes. Q. Was that a bruise? ALEX CEJKA: Yes, it's gone now. Still a little visible, but I think until Thursday it was quite a bit bruised. Q. Do you have your fingers' feeling coming back? ALEX CEJKA: It's good. It's not 100 percent. It's going to take about a couple weeks hopefully. They told me it could be up to a couple months. But I feel good. There is no excuse that I can make. I mean, it's still a little bit there, but I'm not thinking about it too much. Q. Being numb tomorrow might not be a disadvantage actually with all that's going to be going on. ALEX CEJKA: Maybe I should pinch it tonight (laughter). Q. Do you think of yourself throughout your career when you were in your 20s as a guy that was a bit more volatile, a bit more up-and-down with the emotions, and do you feel now as you're a bit older that you are more prepared to win? ALEX CEJKA: Yeah, I remember when I was playing in Europe in the 20s and I won a couple tournaments, I remember the only difference maybe was I didn't have fear, I was pretty aggressive, I was going at the flags with a 4-iron. I must tell you the golf courses back then were a little bit different than especially here out on the PGA TOUR. But the older you get, the wiser you get a little bit; you sometimes hit 3-woods off the tee. Back when I was in my early 20s I hit driver on every hole. It didn't matter if there was water out of bounds, a landing area ten yards. I missed a lot of cuts, but when I played well I was up there on the leaderboard and won a couple tournaments. I'm almost back to my years, I'm more aggressive, I hit a lot of drivers out here, even in the past couple weeks, and trying to play more aggressive golf and let it happen. Q. As you said, you haven't played with a five-shot lead. In your victories in Europe and other places, was there a pattern? Did you come from behind or enter the last round with a lead? ALEX CEJKA: I think I was twice maybe tied for the lead. I had a lead maybe of one shot in Austria, I think, my first tournament, and I think Volvo Masters, our Players Championship, I think I was like four behind. Q. Have you heard from your dad or anything? Do you have any idea whether this is making a splash in the Czech Republic or not? ALEX CEJKA: No, I talked to him earlier this week, but not like now or in the last couple days. Q. When you get to 17 tomorrow, will it be tough to look at it as just another hole? Obviously whatever the leaderboard will look like may alter your strategy? ALEX CEJKA: No, I like 17. I've played it solidly in the past. It's a tough hole. The last two are tough finishing holes. But I'm just trying to go for the middle of the green, trying to hit it safe, trying to two-putt it. In the past I had I think like two birdies out there. So we'll see what tomorrow is. I really don't know. I personally haven't had trouble so far with 17. I like that hole. Q. Just to go back on Tiger for a minute, a lot of guys -- and sort of what I asked you before about being older and a bit more stable, a lot of guys struggle when they play with him, Sean O'Hair a couple weeks ago, five-shot lead and Tiger reels him in. Do you pay attention to that, did you know about that, and do you in your own mind have a way to deal with that? ALEX CEJKA: Well, the last time I played with him I dealt with it pretty good. Again, we'll see tomorrow. I'm wearing a red shirt tomorrow myself and black pants (laughing), so hopefully it works for me, too. We'll see, again. It's nice to watch the best player in the world, but I've got to focus again on my game tomorrow and let him work a little bit. I'm in a position where he has to make the birdies, and we'll see what happens. But I'm looking forward to it. JOHN BUSH: Let's go through the card. The birdie on No. 5. ALEX CEJKA: 5, yeah, I hit a 9-iron to about 15 feet, holed the putt. No. 7, I three-putted from about 30 feet, missed a short putt coming back. Again, I three-putted No. 9. I was on the back of the green. It was almost impossible to make two putts. I made a nice up-and-down on 11 from the right-hand side, holed a four-footer for birdie. Hit a good lob wedge on 12, also close, to about five feet. Three-putted again 13, just off the green on the right-hand side. 14, I hit it into the left bunker, didn't make up-and-down, missed a 15-footer. And holed a four-footer on the last. JOHN BUSH: Alex, thanks for coming by. Play well tomorrow. End of FastScripts |
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