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THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY COCA-COLA

September 25, 2009

Phil Mickelson

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

Q. I hope a bogey at the final hole doesn't ruin one very solid round of golf for you?
PHIL MICKELSON: Thank you. I shot a couple under, and going into the weekend, if I can get a hot round on Saturday I'll have a chance on Sunday.

Q. You told me you worked on your putting during the last week and felt good about putting coming into this event.
PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, I've been putting much, much better, better than I have in two years. It's been good. I had Dave Stockton from the LPGA last week, and I called him up and spent a couple days with him, and he basically reaffirmed the way I've always liked to putt, and I've gone right back to it. It just feels terrific.

Q. I knew when I was walking with you today that you were figuring out a way to win this tournament.
PHIL MICKELSON: Well, I just needed to get myself back into position. We're all going to make mistakes on a course this hard, especially as firm as these greens are. There's only a few holes you'll have a chance to knock it a few feet. So I felt if I could get it back to even par or better, I should be in good position for the weekend.

Q. (Inaudible.)
PHIL MICKELSON: No, they've got that SubAir out here, and they forgot to turn it off.

Q. Did you find something out on the greens today?
PHIL MICKELSON: You know, I putted great yesterday, and I putted great today. I said last week, I called up Dave Stockton who's putted a lot like I've always putted. He was in town for the LPGA event at Torrey and spent two days with him. It just reaffirmed the way I've putted since I was a kid. I've gone right back to it, and it just seems to feel much more natural, much more comfortable. I've been rolling the ball great and making a lot of putts.

Q. At this stage of the season, this is kind of later than the time you normally shut it down. Are you still right there and looking forward to competing this week and in the Presidents Cup?
PHIL MICKELSON: I am. I think that I have been struggling with the putter for two years almost, with an occasional good week here or there. Now I feel like I've got the right track, the right direction that I want, and I'll continue to spend more time with him as need be. But also, I've been striking it great.
You know, Butch has really helped me, but it hasn't come through in the scores because I haven't capitalized on the greens. I think now it's going to start to show.

Q. Is that a minor tweak with the putting, or is it pretty big?
PHIL MICKELSON: No, it's very minor. It's very minor. But hands are back ahead like I used to putt, and the ball is just rolling much better.

Q. Press type of thing?
PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, exactly. Like Stockton putts, he and I have always putted a lot alike. It just reaffirmed the way I like to roll it.

Q. Any reason why, something with Dave?
PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, I mean, the ball is back a little bit more in the stance, so I can get my hands ahead comfortably and a little bit wider, a little bill more stable.

Q. You seem to be hitting the ball higher off the tee. Is there something there?
PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, you're right. But if you notice, it's not spinning, it's toppling over. So I'm able to get more distance out of the driver now because it's spinning less when I launch it high like that.

Q. You didn't on 17.
PHIL MICKELSON: No, 17 I wanted to -- I didn't want to get it that high. It's a little tighter fairway, so I just teed it down a little bit.

Q. At the Presidents Cup with Fred as the captain, he might be the closest thing we have to a Yogi Berra in golf. How would you describe his communication skills, and what are some of the stranger things you've heard some out of Fred's mouth?
PHIL MICKELSON: I think you hit it on the head calling him the Yogi Berra of golf. That's the kind of manager, captain he'll be. I think it'll be a fun week. He's played on a number of the teams, so I think he realizes from a player's point of view what we enjoy about the week and what we dread about the week, and he kind of gets rid of that and makes it a fun week.

Q. Have you talked to him recently?
PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, we've been texting a little bit, yeah. We're looking forward to it. It's going to be fun. I think Harding Park is going to be a great site for it. I think San Francisco is going to be a great city. We should get great weather, and it should be a fun event.

Q. Would you talk about Woody Austin, you invented the term of Aqua Man. What's your recollection of that whole week with Woody?
PHIL MICKELSON: Of the Presidents Cup, obviously him face-planting in the water. Also, he didn't realize how important it is to have a good record in Pong early on in the week, so he thought we were just playing for funsies, and because I beat him first and wouldn't play him again, because he's pretty good, I was able to have bragging rights for a couple of days and give him a hard time. That to me was enjoyable.

Q. You've been on every team since '94 and this will be a whole new experience. It started a lot differently, I'm assuming. How has the evolution been?
PHIL MICKELSON: It's interesting how The Presidents Cup has evolved. I mean, here we are 15 years later. I don't know. I mean, I don't know. I think it's been successful. I think it's been fun to play in. It's fun to represent your country. I mean, you get nervous on the first tee more in a Ryder Cup and a Presidents Cup than you do just about for any event, even majors.
I think that guys who play on these teams in the Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup who handle the pressure tend to perform better in the majors thereafter.

Q. Are there any parts of the Presidents Cup that you maybe like better? Basically everybody plays almost every day, almost every session. In a way it's almost like a fantasy draft when they do the names for singles play, and all those things, versus the Ryder Cup that are slight differences that make it a little more nuanced?
PHIL MICKELSON: I think it's interesting in the Presidents Cup when the pairings are made and the captains go in and get to match up with certain players that they think would be a good match for them. I think that's always interesting to me and fun to watch.
But the good thing about the Presidents Cup is that everybody gets to play, but that's also a negative because part of the great thing of the Ryder Cup is the guys that are sitting are out there supporting and still part of the action, and so you lack that. So there's plus and minus to it.

Q. You're the most experienced Presidents Cup American. In '08 at the Ryder Cup it was the first time we had younger guys, 20s, break out and be successful, show some moxie in Hunter and Anthony. Why do you think they were so comfortable in their first appearance in the Ryder Cup, and how is it going to evolve in their career?
PHIL MICKELSON: They hadn't had ten years of negativity associated with the Ryder Cup. They had never been on a losing team. They entered it with a lot of excitement and exuberance and confidence that we were going to go in and win, and that rubbed off on everybody.

End of FastScripts

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