home jobs contact us
Our Clients:
Browse by Sport
Find us on ASAP sports on Facebook ASAP sports on Twitter
ASAP Sports RSS Subscribe to RSS
Click to go to
Asaptext.com		 ASAPtext.com
ASAP Sports e-Brochure View our
e-Brochure

CHRYSLER CHAMPIONSHIP


October 30, 2004


Tommy Armour III


PALM HARBOR, FLORIDA

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Tommy Armour III, thank you for joining us. Followed up a great round yesterday 64 with another good round today, 68, and you're just one shot off the lead heading into tomorrow's final round of the Chrysler Championship. Maybe start with some opening comments.

TOMMY ARMOUR III: I'm looking forward to it. What can you say? End of the year in the last group with the No. 1 player in the world? Pretty good.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Nice way to end the year.

TOMMY ARMOUR III: Yeah.

Q. Is there a difference between trailing by one stroke and trailing Vijay Singh by one stroke?

TOMMY ARMOUR III: Trailing Vijay by a shot, you know, he's probably not going to give you anything, so you've got to go out and play good.

Q. Can you go over 18?

TOMMY ARMOUR III: I don't know what that ball did. I just heard it hit the stands. I had a gnarly lie in the rough, and I said I'm going to swing hard at this and see where it ends up. Somebody said it hit the stands, hit a tree and kicked up just off the fringe, just in the rough, and I chipped it up a foot.

Q. You lost sight of it when it hit the --

TOMMY ARMOUR III: When it kind of went left behind the tree, but then I knew it was going to hit the stands. I mean, I figured -- I actually was saying I was just aiming at the pin, and if it goes a little left I'll hit in the stands and I'll be able to drop it over there and have some kind of chip up at the pin. It was actually one of the worst lies I've had this week in the rough, so I just took a heave-ho at it.

Q. How far did you have and what club?

TOMMY ARMOUR III: I had 165 yards to the hole and I hit 7-iron.

Q. And it just took off out of there?

TOMMY ARMOUR III: The rough grabbed the club and closed it a little bit. I mean, that's kind of a tight area up there. The stands are close to the green, so even if you hit in the stands, you can drop it somewhere where you can pitch it up at the hole. It's a lot better than hitting it right and long where you've got all that grain coming down because the whole green is banked from shooting up this way from the left.

Q. I just want to ask you about the rough. The guys are saying that it's particularly difficult in certain spots.

TOMMY ARMOUR III: Right. Sometimes you get a mediocre lie and sometimes you get bad lies. That's why they say fairways and greens, I guess.

Q. Having been out here for a while, do you marvel at what Vijay has done just in one year?

TOMMY ARMOUR III: I think anybody should marvel at that, whatever sport you're in or whatever you do. He's been pretty much the dominant player this year in golf, actually the last I'd say 20 months in golf, or last two years. I think he was the leading money winner last year, too, wasn't he? I always think the leading money winner should get the Player of the Year.

Q. So does he.

TOMMY ARMOUR III: He should. I don't think there will be any question this year, though. It'll be fun to play the last round with the Player of the Year. I mean, Vijay has had a good run.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: If we can go through your round and we'll take another question or two. You started out with a birdie, 1st hole, par 5.

TOMMY ARMOUR III: Hit it just in the left rough and had a gnarly lie, then hit a 9-iron out and an 8-iron six feet and made it.

No. 3, bogey, I hit a nice 2-iron down there and I just pulled -- it just drifted a little left, I had an easy chip, just had a bad chip, left it about 7 feet short and missed it. I hit a 6-iron in there.

Then 6, I cut a nice tee shot down there and hit an 8-iron in there about 20 feet and made it.

Next hole, I hit 3-wood, 3-wood, 9-iron about 15 feet right of the hole and made that.

11, I drove it kind of in the right -- I thought I hit a pretty good tee shot. Someone said it kicked dead right and down by the tree, so I punched it out and hit an 8-iron about ten feet, made that.

Then I just parred in. I had a couple of chances at birdie and made a good up-and-down on 17 and a good up-and-down on 18.

Q. Did you have many expectations this week? Did you feel it coming on --

TOMMY ARMOUR III: I always have expectations when I go to golf tournaments. If I'm not playing that great, my expectation is to play a little bit better, and if I'm playing really good, my expectations are high. I'm always trying to just keep my expectations kind of realistic.

I got a new set of irons last week right before Disney, and I really like the way they look and the way they perform. I opened with a 66 there last week, and then I got in a little trouble the next nine, the second round, shot 41. Then I shot 2-under on the back and I missed the cut by a shot. I left there kind of feeling I played better here except for about five holes, and I came here and practiced well this week.

I got the clubs Wednesday late afternoon last week and just put them in my bag. I said, "Hey, what the hell." I mean, the only way to test equipment is live. You can sit on the range and hit it, you can play with your buddies and hit it, but until you play with it live, that's when you really know if it's any good or not.

Q. Because Vijay makes so few mistakes and isn't going to give anything, do you have to go out and make something happen tomorrow?

TOMMY ARMOUR III: Well, you know, I think a lot just dictates how the tournament is going. Obviously you'd like to shoot about 65 or something like that, but you never know what the day is going to bring. You just start out with the old adage "one shot at a time" and see what happens.

Q. Can it be intimidating to play with somebody who's had such a great year and is at the top of their game?

TOMMY ARMOUR III: I mean, I've played enough with Vijay where it's -- I'm looking forward to it. It'll be fun. I mean, that's why we play the Tour, to play with the best players you can play with and see what you've got.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Tommy Armour III, thank you very much.

End of FastScripts.
About ASAP Sports • FastScripts Archive • Recent Interviews • Captioning • Upcoming Events • Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297