	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

FRYS.COM OPEN

October 25, 2009

Troy Matteson

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA

DOUG MILNE: We would like to congratulate and welcome the 2006 and now the 2009 Frys.com Open champion, Troy Matteson. Congratulations. It was obviously a great week for you. The back-to-back 61s. Had to go a few extra holes, but you got the job done.
A few comments about how you're feeling as you pocket your second PGA Tour win.
TROY MATTESON: Thank you very much. It's just been unbelievable. This week, on Thursday if you would told me that I could get into a playoff to try to win this tournament, I would have said you're absolutely out of your mind.
I just can't believe that it's ended up like this. I know I stumbled going down the stretch there, but I'm still beside myself. I can't believe I'm sitting here and the golf tournament is over. It's just an unbelievable feeling.
You know, with everything that happened on the golf course, all the aces this week, the double eagles and guys holing it out, it's just been an unbelievable week.
DOUG MILNE: Okay. Questions.

Q. What was it like when you were coming down the last two holes in regulation, and then how did you gather yourself mentally and get yourself together for the playoff?
TROY MATTESON: I think the wind started picking up there a little bit towards the end of the round. 16 was a difficult shot, and then 17 you had to choose what you're gonna hit off the tee there. It was obviously a difficult shot going to that back pin.
I got a little too conservative going into 17 and had the ball finish short of the green. Really at that point, I knew where I stood. I really just needed to not make any big mistakes at that point.
I figured 18 I would get up there and knock it down the middle, knock it on the green two-putt, or one-putt maybe and be out there. Obviously didn't go to plan.
What I think helped me settle my nerves was the fact that I played so poorly on Thursday. To have a shot at winning the tournament even in a playoff, I would have taken that on Thursday. Certainly I would have taken it after Friday, too.
But, you know, I had a lot of positive momentum this week, so that didn't really slow me down much. Would have been different if I had led from the getgo. That would have been tougher to overcome.
But obviously they're two difficult holes, and I knew it was gonna take a pretty good shot from somebody to win that playoff. Just so happened that we were the ones that hit it.

Q. If you could go back and do this over again, would you rather just up-and-down it in regulation on 18, or do you want to win it like this?
TROY MATTESON: You know, this is so different for me, because I haven't won a PGA Tour event in a playoff or Nationwide event in a playoff. It's pretty sweet when you have to hit the shot and you're able to get it done.
Obviously those two guys are very, very good players and very good ball-strikers. You're gonna see their names up here a lot in the short-term. So to be able to hit it close and come away with the birdie there on 17 against those two guys, you know, it's pretty special for me.
You know, when I was young, when I was their age, you have, you have no fear. I think that's the way those two guys played all week. They had no fear, and they certainly had great tournaments. My hat's off to them.

Q. Have you had a three-day stretch like this last three days that got you back into this? Have you ever played this well for three straight rounds?
TROY MATTESON: The two 61s are probably something that I'll never do again. That's as good as I can play. I really don't have to worry about playing better than that, because that's it.
You know, today to come in and shoot under par meant a lot. You know, when you have the lead it's difficult play. It's very, very difficult to push that out of your mind and just concentrate on hitting shot after shot and just not putting a lot of emphasis on any one shot. It's just very, very difficult to do.
Sometimes that's why it's easier to win if you're second or third going into the last round than it is if you're first. This is my best golf. The last three days have been my best golf. I've just been really fortunate to have those days.
DOUG MILNE: If you don't mind, run us through the eagle and birdies. Just give us clubs and yards.
TROY MATTESON: On 4, hit a really good drive on 4. First time I hit driver today. I had 230 yards to the front. I think I had around 250-ish to the hole. But it was 230 front, slightly and it was slightly downwind. Hit a 3-iron just perfect. Landed maybe three yards on the green. That green, anything that hits on the front goes over to that hole location. So I ended up with a putt that wasn't that difficult up the hill. It was a really good start to the day.
On 6, actually hit a poor tee shot with a 2-iron. Had about 100 yards to the hole, and my caddie goes, Man, if you can just hit it 90 yards, it's like 87 yards to clear the bunker. He goes, It'll roll back there to be perfect. Any time as players when you see a pin up on a knob like that, it's just not something that -- it's not easy to hit it close to that. It just doesn't look good. It looks like a hood of a Buick. Just doesn't look like the ball's getting up close. Sure enough, I got lucky. I had a really good shot out of the rough that ended up perfect, landed about 90 yards, rolled out. Made a good putt there for birdie.
Those two holes really got my round going. Without those, it would have been really difficult to win. You have of to get something done on that front side. Obviously the back side has been the scoring side this week.
Made a little mistake at 7. I just played it well. Just three-putted and just didn't judge it well up the hill there. A lot of guys leave that putt short. It got me.
11 and 12 were just good solid birdies. Played the holes just like I wanted to. The pin was tucked on the right. Had about 250 to the hole on 11. Just decided to hit it left. If it got in the greenside bunker or if it got left of the green, it wasn't gonna be a difficult pitch shot. Hit it close, and had a little bit more of a difficult putt than I thought and made a good one.
Then on 12, I hit a good driver and a good wedge to about three feet. On Sundays, those are the kind of birdies you want to have. You don't want to have 15-footers, you want to have 3-footers.
And then obviously I talked about 17 and 18.

Q. What about the shot at the second playoff hole?
TROY MATTESON: That was 197 yards. I been hitting 3-wood on 17 all week, so I went with my plan, even though both those guys hit drivers. It's just easier for me to hit a 3-wood in that fairway. I looked at Pine and I said, What do you think? He said, What's the first thing that came to mind? I go, 6-iron. He said, I love it.
You know, I just hit this bullet low 6-iron that never left the flag. I thought, Gosh, that's a really good shot. I'm gonna put some pressure on these guys. I had no idea it was a foot. It could've been ten feet; it could've been 20 feet. I really didn't know.
So when I walked up there, to my surprise, it was that close. We were sitting there waiting for them to chip and putt, and I was talking to Pine and I said, Can you bring me a water over here? I'm just over here dying, just parched. I was so nervous over that foot putt. I can't tell you where it went in the hole or if I even hit it straight. I just got up there and hit it before I really thought about it too much.
It's funny. Even for us, you know, even for professionals, when it comes down to it and it's the last one, doesn't matter if that thing is six inches. You have all kinds of weird thoughts running through your mind that you shouldn't have running through your mind. You know, that the weekend golfer has when he's playing.
So it was -- I'm just glad it was in the hole.

Q. When Rickie hit the hole-in-one, I think it put him ahead of you. But then you came back right away with an eagle. Were aware that he had done that? Did you know where you stood on the board at that point?
TROY MATTESON: I did not know where I stood until probably 17 tee. All day I really tried hard not to look at the leaderboards. When you've got a little bit of a lead and you start playing good on the front side, the worst thing you can do is look over and see somebody is 5-, 6-, 7-under on the day.
I didn't know that he was playing well. He could've been 2-under. He could've been 3-under. He could've been 1-under. So I had no idea he had some other birdies to go with it.
But, you know, it's probably a good thing I didn't look this week. I'm kind of a scoreboard watcher, so I've really gotta stay away from that. I'm really bad about that. I always want to see where I'm at, what's going on, who's making what. You know, it's just inherent. I think we all have problems not looking at the scoreboards.
Now we have more scoreboards than ever and they're newer and provide a lot of information. You're better off just not looking.
DOUG MILNE: Troy, congratulations.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297