	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

MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 8, 2010

Matt Kuchar

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA

Q. What was the experience like?
MATT KUCHAR: It was cool. It was an up front seat for Tiger'S welcome back. And it was exactly that. He had everybody just wishing him well. It was fun to be a part of and some darn good golf.
I didn't know what to expect from a golfing standpoint, but he played great and the whole group really played well. It was one of those days where you weren't sure if there was going to be so much extra going on that nobody may have played that great and there was three good scores turned in.

Q. How were you able to manufacture that? Despite everything else that was going on?
MATT KUCHAR: I think that it helps a thousand times over that it's here at Augusta National during the Masters. I think the fans are respectful and were great and the way it was controlled, it just, there just weren't distractions that I thought there would be.

Q. Did you see the plane going over with the banners?
MATT KUCHAR: No.

Q. There were a couple times that it went by.
MATT KUCHAR: What sort of things? Anti-Tiger banners?

Q. Mocking him.
MATT KUCHAR: I did not see it at all. I wonder if Tiger even saw it. We were focused on golf and we'll have to ask K.J. and see if he saw it.

Q. Did the atmosphere help you focus? Did you have to block things out?
MATT KUCHAR: The great thing was there wasn't that much distraction it was just a bunch of well wishing and it was kind of good to be part of it. I don't know if maybe it even helped. Everybody was excited to see Tiger and whoever he was playing with and it was kind of great that they were excited to see whoever he was playing with as well.

Q. He talked about coming into this about keeping his emotions in check and no more outbursts. Did you see him do that?
MATT KUCHAR: I had heard that. I thought that was interesting. I realize he's working on his life and life-style and I thought that somebody told me that he said he was going to try not to get his upset and as angry; and on the flip side, not as high with great shots. Not having the huge fist pumps. And he had two eagles out there, nearly three eagles, and he was just pretty cool about it.
So I guess it was pretty, a little more in check. But again it's Thursday too. I don't know if Thursday's the time to have huge fist pumps.

Q. Was there a lot of interaction between you guys?
MATT KUCHAR: Yeah, I think it was almost like a normal day.

Q. (No microphone.)
MATT KUCHAR: The interaction was as if nothing had changed. What happened off the field is none of my business and I treat it that way and so we just conducted ourselves as if it was a regular round of golf. When I played with him before it was twosomes back then. I was defending amateur champion and he was defending Masters champion. But still a lot of excitement.
I think it was different that people weren't that thrilled to see what's Tiger going to do on this course this year, it was, you know, they were interested to see how Tiger handles his first tournament back after this happened to him. So it was a little different energy and atmosphere, but still a great well wishing for him.

Q. So you didn't know what to expect? Were you surprised he was as sharp as he was. Five months is a long time.
MATT KUCHAR: I was a bit surprised, but to be surprised by a guy who won a U.S. Open on one leg, he kind of, you kind of stop being a little bit surprised.

Q. What about his game struck you being exceedingly sharp given the layoff?
MATT KUCHAR: There was no glaring weaknesses. Everything was good. The driver was for the most part good. Recovery shots, every time he was in trouble his recovery shots were amazing. Feel around the greens I noticed, he knows the greens so well, I mean it was just a standard round of golf.

Q. What about your game?
MATT KUCHAR: My game was good. I was disappointed to have turned in 3-under I think the front side is the hard side to score on. Normally you look to go to the back side and make some birdies and unfortunately I got off to two bogeys on 10 and 12. That was a bummer to drop shots there.
I had a couple opportunities and missed putts that I would like to think that I could make most times on 15 and 16. But 2-under today in blustery conditions, I'm very pleased with that.

Q. (No microphone.)
MATT KUCHAR: I don't think so. He got off to a great start. He smashed a drive on 1 and stuffed probably a 9-iron in there to about eight or 10 feet.
I guess he should have made birdie there on 2.
And then made a birdie on 3.
So it was a solid start, I didn't see any nerves or any tension on the first tee. Just that first tee shot is probably the most nerve wracking a lot. I think once you get that out of the way, I think all of us, once you get that out of the way the round gets a little easier.

Q. Did you see that twirl he did after he hit the drive on No. 1?
MATT KUCHAR: I missed that. Doing the Tiger thing? The classic move. No, I did not catch that.

Q. (No microphone.)
MATT KUCHAR: The only time I noticed was there was only one shot, I can't even remember, my tee shot on 17. I hit a good tee shot and everybody, a lot of people -- I think for the most part there's so many people, maybe late in the evening and 17, it's after 7 o'clock at the time, the galleries are thinned out a little bit, so people are walking down the left side I noticed, but that was the one time that there was ever any sort of distraction that I picked up on.

Q. Did you guys notice the airplane?
MATT KUCHAR: I did not see it, no. I was just asked that earlier and I am shocked. I thought for some reason I had this imaginary belief I guess that this was controlled air space. I've never seen, like a helicopter, I would have sworn you would see helicopters buzzing this area, and I've never seen that.
So I don't know, I thought this was like a controlled air space. I'm surprised that they were plains flying over with banners flying.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297