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VERIZON HERITAGE

April 14, 2010

Boo Weekley

HILTON HEAD, SOUTH CAROLINA

JOHN BUSH: Boo Weekley joins us here in the media center at the Verizon Heritage. The winner of this tournament in 2007 and 2008. In addition to that, Boo, I think last year in the second round a 72 is your worst round here, a place that you are extremely comfortable. Talk about being back.
BOO WEEKLEY: It's good to be back. I don't know why you brought up the 72. I'm trying to have some good vibes, not bad ones.
It's good to always come back to a place where you won. Hoping I can carry that trend, keep the mojo going this year. It's been a struggle so far this year, I'm hoping to find something here to turn it around.
JOHN BUSH: What is it about Harbour town that suits your high that well.
BOO WEEKLEY: It's the way the golf course lays out. It's one that I grew up on, small greens, kind of tree-lined fairways. You pick a spot, you can hit it here. You can work the ball in any direction, which makes it easy for me.

Q. What have you been working on so far this year? I saw you working on your putting, has that been the key?
BOO WEEKLEY: Yeah, a little of it has been the key. I'm still struggling a little about with the ball-striking. My shoulder is actually feeling like it's healed. I got into so many bad habits with my shoulder being the way it was, and I kept on playing and kept on playing, and finally it gave out. The bad habits are still there. I'm trying to get out of them. Now my putting is not cooperating with me. Everybody has that roller coaster on them. But I'd have to say putting is mostly what I'm working on.

Q. Could you talk about the shoulder. Recount the history of the injury.
BOO WEEKLEY: Well, I tore the labrum at the TPC last year, and took time off, a month off after I did that. And went and did a bunch of exercises, just tried to strengthen it. And I got it to where honestly I feel like I'm stronger now than I've been in a long time in my shoulder. And the fact is, like I was saying, it's trying to get back to where I can feel like I can swing again and trust what I'm doing with the swing.

Q. You didn't have surgery on it?
BOO WEEKLEY: No, sir. No, sir.

Q. How long did you actually play with the injury, knowing that there was something wrong before it happened?
BOO WEEKLEY: I have to say I've had it probably off and on since I've been out here, on the Nationwide Tour and all. It's off and on. It never was that bad, just always took a muscle relaxer or anti-inflammatory medicine, stuff like that to help kind of keep it knocked down. But when I hit the shot on No. 4 there I felt that I actually tore it.

Q. This tournament is special to you. They're having sponsorship issues. From a player's standpoint, this one would be pretty bad to lose, wouldn't it?
BOO WEEKLEY: For the history of it, yes. It's the top five longest one that's been around or whatever, top three, whatever, as long as this tournament has been running, the PGA to be a part of. As a player it stinks that the PGA can't help them out. That's my feelings. Why can't the PGA TOUR, they help everything else out, why can't they come in here and say, we're going to help you all raise enough money to do this? We are in a crisis right now with all of our -- the way the market is. Why can't we come back and say, hey, look, we're going to cut back on some prices on this or cut back on the cash, it would be fine, just so we can help keep the tournaments around. To me it's about playing the game. It ain't about how much money you can make in the game, you know?

Q. Davis mentioned that him as a player is trying to step in more and be more vocal, and more players are trying to reach out, especially with this tournament. Have you in any way been asked to or done anything to try to help find a sponsor for this tournament?
BOO WEEKLEY: I haven't been asked, but I wouldn't know where to start in that department. The only thing -- word of mouth is the only way I know, best way to find people, try to find different ways to help out. But I haven't been approached yet. But if you've got some ideas, let me know.

Q. You talk about how comfortable you are here and I think you've talked in the past about just kind of the vibe and the atmosphere and the Southern charm. Is that something that just kind of lends itself to guys from the South playing well here?
BOO WEEKLEY: I'd say so. I mean, it's always good to come back and see people smiling. It sounds funny, but you don't get a smile at every golf tournament that we go to. You don't see it. This week and next week in New Orleans it's kind of like they were put there together for a reason, it's because you've got the camaraderie of the South. And we show up here and everybody is smiling, laughing, you know? And it feels like you're home. Same thing when I go to New Orleans, it's the same feeling.
But it's always good to come here and actually just get on this golf course and takes me back to when I was a kid, when I was in high school playing on that golf course I grew up on.

Q. Speaking of high school, I believe Heath Slocum is in the group after you, the next couple of days.
BOO WEEKLEY: I think so, if you say so.

Q. How long have you and him actually played in a pro tournament together or the same grouping or pairing?
BOO WEEKLEY: I know one time in Mississippi in '07. And I think we played together this year one time. I think we've only been paired twice together.

Q. Would it be a very comfortable feeling or more of a distraction, because you guys have so much history together?
BOO WEEKLEY: I ain't worried about him and he ain't worried about me. If he was out there dancing or something, I might be curious what in the world he was doing.

Q. That's more your personality than his.
BOO WEEKLEY: You'd be surprised.

Q. Both of you guys are family men now. I met Victoria and Stella at Augusta. Do you feel like things are still the same between you guys? Are you guys more like family men and grownups now?
BOO WEEKLEY: We're grownups. I'm still a kid. He's a grownup. But we're family men now. We talk a little bit on the phone. We talk a little bit when we see each other. Usually it's only when we need something from one another we call.

Q. What would that be?
BOO WEEKLEY: I'm trying to get him to go hunting and fishing with me. And he'd call and tell me he can't go. So that's how our communication goes.

Q. How many kids do you have now and how old are they?
BOO WEEKLEY: I've got two. I've got an 8 year old and I've got, say two. He's a year and a couple of months, some months. But he's two. They'll be here tonight, hang around and come see them.

Q. Have the struggles with the injury, have they changed your outlook on golf any? Is it less fun for you? Has it been less fun? Has it changed your long-term outlook?
BOO WEEKLEY: I can tell you it has been less fun. Golf ain't been nowhere near as much fun as it's been in the past, ever since I got hurt. It feels like it's been an uphill climb ever since, my ball-striking, my driving. Every step that I felt that I was good at has gone downhill. Now I feel like I've got to climb my way back up out of it. No, golf ain't been fun lately, not for a while.

Q. Easy follow-up to that, what would make it fun again?
BOO WEEKLEY: Just actually having a couple of good tournaments. Just actually showing myself that I can -- I feel like I can play again. I feel healthy enough that I can go out and compete. And feel like when I tee it up I can win. Right now I ain't got a clue. I'm just playing the game.

Q. Is it painful when you play?
BOO WEEKLEY: No, the pain is gone. The pain is gone.

Q. You've played this when you had the week off before, you played it coming off The Masters. Is it different one way or the other? Trying to adjust from a completely different course and completely different atmosphere versus having a week off before?
BOO WEEKLEY: Not for me it ain't. I treat each week as a new week and the course every week is a different week. We've got different crowds, different atmosphere. But it's just another golf course, another golf tournament. You've just got to get ready to go play.

Q. We came up from Charlotte today. How would you describe that finishing stretch, 16, 17 and 18? They call it The Green Mile, the toughest finishing stretch.
BOO WEEKLEY: Out here?

Q. At Quail Hollow and Charlotte.
BOO WEEKLEY: I don't know, I've got to think about that golf course.

Q. 17 is the long par-3 over the water.
BOO WEEKLEY: Yeah, that's a good finishing -- if they softened those greens up it would be a lot fairer, especially on 17 where you can at least stop the ball. You have land it on the front of the green it will roll off the back. That is a good stretch of holes there. It's some of the toughest you can get, especially if that wind is blowing, whipping down through there.

Q. Would you like to see them soften the greens?
BOO WEEKLEY: Just 17. I mean, to me that's the craziest green they've got out there. At least they can fix it up. Dig it up in the back and keep it when the ball is rolling off, it will roll off in the water. You hit a good shot and you get penalized because the green has too much slope to it.

Q. Did you miss The Masters this week because of what you'd gone through, because your game isn't as good as you wanted it to be? Was it good to have a week off?
BOO WEEKLEY: I couldn't quite get your last part.

Q. Was it good to have the week off, because your game wasn't where you wanted it to be?
BOO WEEKLEY: I don't know if players wouldn't love to be in The Masters, I don't know if their game is off or not. You still want to be there. It only takes one swing or one putt, and all of a sudden it's like click, like a light bulb. I would have loved to be at the Masters. When I got hurt, I was ranked 40-something in the world or close to that and all of a sudden, you know, take four months off and I don't know how this point system works that our Tour is running, but you take a couple of weeks off and you go to losing spots. And I ain't figured that out. It does stink to know that if I was a little halfway healthy I'd have been there.

Q. With all the good feeling you have here, do you hope this is the week that things can get back?
BOO WEEKLEY: I've got the feeling that this week is the week I come back. That I feel like I can do something. I've been working hard at home. The last two weeks I've been off, I've actually played golf when I was at home, instead of going fishing all the time or hunting all the time. So I'm ready. I'm curious. I've got a little itch. I'm ready to get out there and get back.
JOHN BUSH: Thanks for coming by. And good luck as you go for the third jacket.

End of FastScripts

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