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THE BARCLAYS SCOTTISH OPEN

July 8, 2009

Boo Weekley

LUSS, SCOTLAND

SCOTT CROCKETT: Very many welcomes to you to Scotland and to the Barclays Scottish Open. It's always a pleasure to have you over this side of the Atlantic. We know you played a couple of years ago and now you're back. Just before we take some questions, just give us your thoughts on being back here in Scotland.
BOO WEEKLEY: I'm enjoying coming over here. First year we got to come, 2007, it was just a totally different change. I wanted to see what it was like over here and see what it was like on The European Tour.
After we got through playing, me and my caddie was talking and I told him, you know, if it don't pan out over in the States, I think we could find a good place to play over here and enjoy it, because it's more relaxed over here.
SCOTT CROCKETT: Your good friend, John Daly, has played a lot, as well and he has enjoyed it. Maybe something you might think about in the future.
BOO WEEKLEY: We have thought about it, yes, sir.
SCOTT CROCKETT: And your thoughts on the course, do you remember much about it?
BOO WEEKLEY: Yeah, the golf course is in great shape. I haven't seen it this year. But what I remember the last time I was over here, you've got to keep hitting the fairways, a little bit of rough and the greens have got a lot of undulations. The balls can roll off the greens.
It's just a great golf course. It's a very American-style golf course. It wasn't what I was expecting when I first got over here. I was expecting it to be something like Carnoustie, something flatter, something where everything just rolls around real bad. But I take it y'all get a lot of rain over here. (Laughter).
SCOTT CROCKETT: That will be more next week with Turnberry; you'll have different challenges ahead of you the next two weeks.

Q. A little bit different this week from next week, as you were saying, the course is different. How did this fit as preparation for playing on links courses? How much does your experience last year, the year before, help going into an Open?
BOO WEEKLEY: I just play each golf course. Every golf course is different. You go over there with a different mind-set. You know, I haven't never played Turnberry, so I couldn't tell you what I'm going to get into. I've heard a lot of different things about it. I've talked to Brian Gay, he played it I think three days ago or something like that, and he said if you get it out of the fairway, there's going to be a lot of lost balls. So that's going to be interesting to see.

Q. You gave everyone a lot of fun when you rode an imaginary horse down the first fairway at The Ryder Cup. Is there anything that you think you can do in Scotland if you were leading coming down the last on Sunday here?
BOO WEEKLEY: I don't know. That was kind of like a one-hit wonder in the records department, you know what I mean? I still can't believe I really did that looking back at it.
But you never know. I mean, if I've got a ten-stroke lead on 18, I might ride it all the way up the fairway. I might even walk on water across there, I don't know (chuckling).

Q. When you first came here two years ago, I think it was well-reported that you said that you were not aware St. Andrews was the home of golf. Was that a windup or was that genuine?
BOO WEEKLEY: No, that was the truth. I don't know nothing about the history of golf. It was like I was sitting in there yesterday with Sandy Lyle and I never even knew he won the Masters. Seriously, I don't keep up with golf.
But I did not honestly know that was a serious question, and I kind of felt foolish after I said what I said because I didn't know.

Q. So how did you become so good at golf when you really didn't know anything about the game?
BOO WEEKLEY: I just play golf. I just do it because it's the last resort I had. I mean, I know what it was like to go work from five in the morning and working eight hours a day, ten hours a day at a plant and I got tired of that. So I decided I would try something a little different, and it all fell into my lap and I just kind of went on, and here I am, went on to play.
SCOTT CROCKETT: You played other sports as a child, other American sports?
BOO WEEKLEY: I played soccer, too. I know it's kind of hard to believe with the physique I've got. But I've played everything. I played football, basketball, soccer, baseball, and I got hurt in every one of them, so I figured I would find another sport that the worst thing that could happen you is get hit with a golf ball or get hit with a club if you got mad.

Q. You obviously do work hard because you're a terrific golfer. Is part of the secret of your success that you do have kind of a more down-to-earth attitude to the game and you do actually know what it was like to earn a living doing something that most of your colleagues on Tour have had no experience of?
BOO WEEKLEY: I believe it's true. I know what it's like to go out and work. I reckon it's just the way I was raised, my family was raised, having to do it day-in and day-out. Before I really had to have a job, I worked at my daddy's place. He was a pharmacist, so I know what it's like to go get up and go to work, which is a pain in the ass, if you will. I figured out when you go to work, they get the thumb over the top of you. I think that's how people can relate or I relate to people is I understand where they are coming from more or less overall. And the Lord has blessed me in this department playing golf and sitting in front of y'all talking about it.

Q. When you first became professional was it a feeling that this was a pretty pampered occupation; that you were very well looked after and spoiled almost as professional golfers as compared to people in other walks of life?
BOO WEEKLEY: I played mini-tours for five years, so I lived in the back of my truck, slept in the front of my truck. You might drive ten hours from one mini-tour event to the next. So eight hours of whatever it was to each event, you know, and you're playing for $2,000 to $3,000, and that was a lot of money back then. You know, you put up $200 to win $2,000, that's all right. But, well, if I don't win, if I don't make a cheque, where am I going to sleep or where am I going to eat at? And I got lucky and kind of jumped on to the scene with the pros.

Q. You clearly enjoyed The Ryder Cup last year, how determined are you to be back on the team next year, and how difficult do you think it will be for the Americans to win with Colin Montgomerie in charge of The European Team?
BOO WEEKLEY: I'm really excited to try to get back on. I've had some health issues this year more than I have in the past. So it just all depends on if I'm going to make it back on or not if I'm healthy. I'm not 100 per cent right now. I'm still having some problems with my shoulder.
But I think it's going to be a great thing for the Europeans having Colin with his record and his past playing in The Ryder Cup and stuff. I'm curious to see what's going to happen. I don't know what team we are going to bring over there, but if they go into -- if they come over there to Wales in the same frame of mind that we was in at Valhalla, it's going to be interesting. I know the Europeans are more adaptive to playing in that kind of weather, colder atmosphere and a little bit of rain, where we over there, if it's sprinkling, they start snatching us off the golf course.

Q. And Monty as a captain after the problems with Faldo --
BOO WEEKLEY: I don't know. I don't know that side of what the players -- if Faldo had a problem, I don't know. I don't know if they did or they didn't. I couldn't tell you that much about it.

Q. You talked about sleeping in a van earlier in your career; what sort of accommodation do you have next week and do you know what you're paying for it?
BOO WEEKLEY: It's probably too much. All I need is a place to lay my head down, you know, to keep the rain and the wind and the little bit of coldness off of me. I just know I reckon we are staying at the --

Q. A hotel?
BOO WEEKLEY: That's probably about right. Like when I got here, I didn't even know where I was staying here. I just go. When I get to where I'm at, I just keep asking the question until somebody finally takes me in. (Laughter).
SCOTT CROCKETT: Boo, thank you and good luck this week.

End of FastScripts

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