	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

FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN

January 27, 2010

Gunner Wiebe

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

MARK WILLIAMS: Gunner Wiebe, thanks for joining us here at the Farmers Insurance Open. You have a really interesting story about getting into this event. If you could just fill us in on that, the events the last couple months and how you got here, that would be really helpful.
GUNNER WIEBE: I played in the amateur qualifier that the Century Club has hosted I think for 26 years now, 100 guys for one spot. You just sign up, pay $100, and you get to play Torrey South and get a couple tickets. I shot 69, eagled my last hole to get into a playoff. My caddie thinks it's probably the best I've ever hit it. I hit a 3-iron from 230 to about four feet on 18, made the putt for eagle, and I found myself in a playoff with my coach.
We played four holes, didn't get anything done because of darkness, and it ended up that we came back out and played a full 18 holes, and I made a putt on 18 to beat him by a shot, and I'm here.

Q. Was that an agreement just between the two of you, or was that suggested by somebody else?
GUNNER WIEBE: I talked with Tom Wilson, and I kind of asked -- the original thought was to just come out and resume the playoff, and I thought since we were taking a break that it would probably be fair for both of us if we played 18. I suggested it to my coach, and Tom Wilson went for it, and that was how it started.
MARK WILLIAMS: And your coach being Tim Mickelson, Phil's brother, who was just here. Talk about what it means to you to be playing this week, and obviously your dad is here, too, Mark, a former winner on the PGA TOUR.
GUNNER WIEBE: I actually have my dad, and my mom is coming tomorrow. So nothing against my dad, who's standing right here, but it means every bit as much to have my mom here, for her to be able to watch. It means a lot. It's a good way for me to try to, I guess, kind of jump-start my career and see what I need to work on, how I'm going to balance myself and kind of compare myself to the rest of the guys who do this for a living and see what I need to work on over the next year and a half before I turn pro and hopefully do this for a living.

Q. I know that your dad is the only coach that you ever had, and I know that you value what he -- the advice that he's given you over the years. But what's the best piece of advice he's given you on the golf course and off the golf course?
GUNNER WIEBE: On the golf course is probably just take every shot with the same amount of importance, whether it's a three-inch putt or a 300-yard drive. They all mean the same at the end.
Off the golf course is that golf always comes second to family. Family always comes first. I think it's a perfect example here. He worked his butt off just to get back and to be with me in the practice round, and that's never been a question with my dad, and I'll definitely try to take after him in that respect for sure.

Q. I was wondering, you beat your coach in order to get into this tournament. What was the feeling for that? Are there any hard feelings between you guys now?
GUNNER WIEBE: No, not at all. I was a little concerned since he kind of controls the lineup and kind of controls my fate for the rest of the spring that maybe he'd pull me out of an event, maybe the first one, just to kind of take a little jab at me. But Coach was great. He handled it very well, really, really polite and congratulated me on the win, and has been nothing but nice since. He's a very good coach and a very good guy for being able to put that aside and let me kind of enjoy this for what it's worth.

Q. What's been your experience this week so far, as far as what you've come away with, what the emotions have been? What's it been like just being out here? You come out here for the playoff and all that, and it's just regular Torrey Pines. What are the emotions and the nerves like now this week?
GUNNER WIEBE: I've actually been really calm, surprisingly. I had my dad caddie for me on Tuesday, Ben was out there with me on Monday, and my other roommate Jason was with me out there on Monday, as well. I've got a lot of people who are close to me that have kept me really calm. I guess in a certain sense, I feel pretty comfortable. I guess maybe since I earned my way into the event and I didn't get a sponsor's exemption or anything like that, I feel like I have a right to be here. I don't feel like I have to walk and be very careful where I step in the locker room or try to get out of guys' way. I feel like I'm just one of them this week. They might not see me as that, but that's kind of the attitude that I'm taking towards it.
I'm going to be extremely nervous come tomorrow on the first tee, but I'll be ready. I'm ready to go. My game feels good, and I'm ready to compete, I think.

Q. Have you done or has your dad done much reminiscing since you qualified? Since you qualified have you talked about your dad's performances here at all? The other day did you guys talk about it?
GUNNER WIEBE: Not really. I know his best finish was second here. He lost to Bob Goalby -- who was it?

Q. Greg Twiggs.
GUNNER WIEBE: Greg Twiggs, I'm sorry. Greg Twiggs I think had a pretty good last round to beat him by maybe one or two.
We've talked about it a little bit. He knows the North Course way better than I do. I've played the North Course one time. I played it on Monday, and I've only played South five or six times. He helped me kind of during the practice rounds, where to putt to, where he thinks the pins are going to be.
With the new grooves I've actually been able to talk to him a lot more since he's played V-grooves before, and that helps, just trying to understand how the ball is going to react, not only out of the rough but around the greens with wedges. Even from the fairways sometimes you lose a little bit of spin. I mean, just being there and being -- I trust my dad's eyes more than anyone, saying that I need to slow down a little bit, takes a couple deep breaths. He's obviously been in a situation where he's been very nervous before, and he's trying to do what he thinks is best for me and calm me down and handle myself on the golf course okay.

Q. What are you doing after this news conference?
GUNNER WIEBE: Going to class. I've got two classes this afternoon, two three-hour classes, and then I'll wake up and play Torrey South tomorrow morning.

Q. Couldn't get a note? Tom Wilson couldn't write you a note?
GUNNER WIEBE: You know, I think he might have been able to, but I didn't want to come and wear myself out. I don't need to go out on the range and look for something that I already have. I'm here to just practice, loosen up, hit balls for about an hour, putt for 20, 30 minutes, and that's all the business that I needed to take care of today. I'm ready to go for tomorrow.

Q. What are the classes?
GUNNER WIEBE: I have foundation in Christian ethics with the Monsignor of our school, Father Dan Dillabough, and then I have death and dying, which is an upper division ethics course. So I'm really looking forward to this afternoon, as you can probably tell.

Q. But you can't miss the Monsignor's class.
GUNNER WIEBE: Can't miss the Monsignor's class. Not at all. He's the one who got me interested in the school to begin with, so I think the least I can do is probably show up on the first day. This is the first week of classes, so --

Q. Would you have had these before this week, or this is the first --
GUNNER WIEBE: This is the first time. It's a Wednesday-only class, and I thought I'd probably show up for the first one.
MARK WILLIAMS: I want to ask you a question. I'm interested to know when your dad was playing the TOUR, did you ever travel as a family when you were a little kid, and now being here, have you seen any players this week that remember you when you were a little kid?
GUNNER WIEBE: Yeah, I get a lot of, "the last time I saw you, you were about this high" remarks. We traveled a bunch, especially in elementary school with my two sisters when school wasn't as important as obviously it is now, or it was in high school. But a lot of guys -- I saw Tommy Armour yesterday, and he hasn't seen me since maybe 10 or 12 years ago. I think maybe was the last time was at the Western Open in Chicago, back when it was called the Western Open, which it's strange to see him because he looks about the same to me, but I know I look a lot different to him.
But it's actually been really cool. I got two very nice text messages from my dad's friends and playing competitors now on the Champions Tour, Nick Price and Peter Jacobson, both wishing me luck this week, which I wasn't expecting that at all, so it was kind of a nice treat for me to get my dad's buddies and guys who I've gotten to know over the years get their good wishes. That was pretty exciting to hear from both of them.

Q. On the grooves, you have a unique situation obviously because you're not planning on playing the PGA TOUR when you qualified for this, so how much have you worked with them, and what do you expect, and are you at a disadvantage?
GUNNER WIEBE: I don't think I'm at a disadvantage at all. Since everyone has to change, we're all on the same playing field, and everyone has had to change since January, so they might have an extra week or two on me. I've been using them for two weeks. As soon as I qualified, TaylorMade was great in getting me set up with irons, and Cleveland took care of my wedges. I got them very, very quickly since it all happened so fast.
They were great. I know how busy they were with trying to get just TOUR players their stuff, so it was nice to take their time to give me my stuff just as an amateur, and since I'm only using it for one week, it definitely was very nice of them. But I expect to hit a lot of fairways and hopefully not deal with the fliers.

Q. How big a difference have you noticed?
GUNNER WIEBE: A big one from the rough. Not just with distance control but with shaping shots. I used to be able to shape it a little bit right to left or left to right out of the rough, now I feel like I'm just aiming towards the center of the greens, and you've got to play for kind of a five-yard-left or five-yard-right scenario, and you're really guessing on yardages. I get more fliers and they fly farther, so from 160 I might hit a pitching wedge now because it might jump 25 yards, whereas before I might be able to take an 8-iron and avoid the flier with a three-quarter shot. There is no more avoiding fliers. Whether you're swinging half or full, it's going to fly no matter what if you get that lie. And 90 percent of the time I feel like I've got those lies so far.
MARK WILLIAMS: Thank you for your time and coming in, and all the best for the week.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297