	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 30, 2009

Tom Watson

CARMEL, INDIANA

THE MODERATOR: 1-under for today's round, Mr. Tom Watson. Sum of the day for us.
TOM WATSON: It really wasn't too bad a day. A double bogey, which hurt at the -- was that the 13th hole, the 14th hole? I had a bad 3-iron over in the rough and chopped it out over in the green and couldn't get it up and down and made double there.
But I hit the ball okay today. Hit the ball in the rough a couple times off the tee on the opening nine, but I had a few opportunities there. The course played tough for me today. It didn't play tough for all the rest of these guys today. The rest of these guys shot a pretty low number out there today.

Q. It doesn't take you out of it?
TOM WATSON: No it doesn't. But it kind of surprised me how -- maybe not with the greens so soft.
With the greens so soft and no wind, I don't care how hard a golf course it is, you are going to -- the pros are going to shoot a good score.

Q. You've had some grueling moments and travel, a little under the weather. How are you feeling right now?
TOM WATSON: I'm feeling pretty good. I saw a doctor today. He helped me out quite a bit. And I was in pretty good shape there for the rounds. So I'm pretty happy about my health right now.

Q. How did he help you out?
TOM WATSON: Well, he did the doctoring stuff. He did some good things. A bit better than just taking the over-the-counter remedies. Seems like I'm doing okay.

Q. What you have done mentally the last three weeks, are you maybe starting to wear down a little bit there?
TOM WATSON: No. I was okay today. I just -- just seemed like I was always in an awkward lie today for some reason. I had a hard time with the lies out there today. Maybe it was just my balance or something. I was always on the down slope, or the side slope or a thin lie. I had a hard time with the lies out there today.
It was just my fault.

Q. Tom, seemed like no matter what you did today you were well received wherever you were on the golf course.
TOM WATSON: The crowd was very warm today. It was much appreciated. I'm a midwest boy.

Q. Did you lose 5 or 10 pounds through this deal, Tom?
TOM WATSON: I don't know, Bill. I probably lost a little weight. Didn't feel too weak out there today. I felt weak yesterday. I really felt weak yesterday. But today was okay. I was in good shape today.

Q. Did you get your whole practice round in yesterday?
TOM WATSON: I did.
I had to relearn the golf course. I didn't remember much about it. A very complicated golf course for me. Just you can't hit it here, you can't hit it here, you can't hit it here, you got to hit it here, you can't hit it here, you can't hit it here. A lot of can't's out there rather than cans the way I look at the golf course. That's Pete's magic I guess you might say.

Q. Said you wanted to play conservative today when you saw the low scores, but when you went out did that change your approach?
TOM WATSON: No, it didn't. Just trying to let my body do what it was supposed to do and see how it worked. And it worked okay.
I drove the ball pretty well. Didn't make too many mistakes. I made a couple putts, too.

Q. You bounced back okay from 14, picked up another birdie. Take me through the mindset of recovering from that hole.
TOM WATSON: I made a real good bunker shot at 15. I probably shouldn't have gone for the green in two where I was. Probably should have laid up there with the flag in the back. But knocking into that right front bunker, heck, I had a 50-yard bunker shot, and I took a pitching wedge and hit an explosion shot out of there with some spin on it and knocked it up there about eight feet. That was my favorite shot of the day, right there.
Then I didn't convert, unfortunately. That was the worst putt I hit all day right there.

Q. Does the length of this course suit your game?
TOM WATSON: You know, I just kept on getting on the down-slopes. Whenever I hit a driver like the Par 5s on number nine here, hit a beautiful drive there and I'm on the down slope like this. Now what do I do? You can't hit that green off the down-slope. I can't. So I tried to hit a 3-wood up there and didn't get the job done.
But maybe tomorrow they'll be all on the up-slope so I can get the ball in the air.

Q. Having seen the course for a second day, do you feel that will help you tomorrow?
TOM WATSON: It does, yeah. I made mistakes in judgment today. Number 11 in particular off the tee. I didn't keep it down the left side. I hit it too far right and in the rough. So I didn't have a shot at the green in two. That was a shot that I had a problem with.
Number 14, the carry was confusing. Was confusing off the tee and didn't have a very good understanding where I could hit it. So I got those things settled out.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297