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BOB HOPE CLASSIC

January 23, 2011

Gary Woodland

LA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA

JOE CHEMYCZ: Gary Woodland, joining us in the interview room. Gary, runner-up today in a playoff and just a long day, long final day, and it was a grind out there. You seemed to hold together really well. Maybe just talk a little bit about the day first of all.
GARY WOODLAND: It was a long day. Seemed like we were out there forever. I drove the ball well all day. I didn't hit my irons as close as I wanted to, I thought I had some good numbers out there and didn't hit some close shots in there.
But I got on a little run there right before the turn and unfortunately on the back nine, I just couldn't get any putts to go in. I did hit it better on the back. I was fortunate to get into a playoff. He had a little mishap there on 18.
No, I made a great shot there in the playoff, made the putt, and then he made it on top. And unfortunately I came out of a shot on the second playoff hole and hit a bad bunker shot. But credit to him he made a great four there. It was pretty cool.
So it was a good week and I'll build on this and move on.
JOE CHEMYCZ: The second hole in the playoff, what did you have to the hole, what did you hit?
GARY WOODLAND: I had 186, and I was trying to hit just a smooth 7. I thought it was plenty of club, and I just came out of it a little bit. It was kind of in between numbers for me, but it just wasn't a very good golf shot.
JOE CHEMYCZ: The chip.
GARY WOODLAND: It was a little above me, green was running a little away from me a bit and I just hit it too hard.

Q. On the first playoff hole, you hit your drive up in the rough and yet you still make four. Do you feel like at that point maybe you escaped one and it is your time?
GARY WOODLAND: Yeah, you know, actually I had the exact same number I did in regulation and in the playoff. Both shots I hit 4-iron both times, and from where Jhonattan was in the middle of the fairway, I knew I was going to have to make four. And I hit a great shot in there.

Q. Have you been in many playoffs either in college or anywhere else, and what's different when you're playing a playoff hole as opposed to just out there playing?
GARY WOODLAND: I think it was just the same as it was all day. We were grinding all day. Jhonattan got off to a pretty good start there early, 4-under, and I was just trying to catch him all day. So the playoff was no different. It was just all of a sudden it was sudden death. But who made the first mistake? And it looked like I did.

Q. Have you been in many playoffs?
GARY WOODLAND: I've been in that, when I won the Kansas High Plains pro-am I was in a playoff there.

Q. You said on the back nine you couldn't get any putts to go. Did you thing the putt on 17 went in?
GARY WOODLAND: I did. I guess I just hit it too hard. When I looked up, it was in. I was stepping it in, and then all of a sudden it came back at me. So I hit a good putt and it just didn't go in.

Q. Conversely, it seemed like every 5- or 6-footer he looked at he rolled in?
GARY WOODLAND: He did. He putted great all day. I expected him to make the putt on the last hole. I was shocked when he missed that. So no, he putted it great all day. He's got a lot of talent and he'll be out here for a long time.

Q. This is a new experience coming in immediately after a little disappointment, is this tough? To sit here and sort of catharsis with sort of unload everything or do you understand what's going on?
GARY WOODLAND: Yeah, it's tough to lose. You never want it lose. I came here expecting to win. I didn't. I got along way to go. I'm going down the right road. I'll be out here. I'll be playing well down the road, so I'm going down the right path.

Q. What's next for you?
GARY WOODLAND: I'm going to relax a little bit tonight, and then I'll head off to Torrey Pines and get prepared for next week.

Q. Everybody talks about the pressure of being involved in a final round in the PGA TOUR event like this, looking back on it, what was it like to be in the middle of that in terms of managing emotions, nerves, and all those things?
GARY WOODLAND: I felt great all day. I've been in contention in some Nationwide Tours where I didn't feel like I drove the ball very well. Today I felt like I drove the ball beautifully. I managed myself pretty well. I got on a little run there to get back in it through the turn, unfortunately, I didn't get any putts to drop on the back. And I kept hitting good shots in there and giving myself chances, I just couldn't get any to go in.

Q. When you hit the chip in regulation on 18, the eagle chip, and it came up just short, you looked like were you really upset with yourself. Did you feel like that was the tournament for you? Obviously you're trying to make it.
GARY WOODLAND: I did. I thought I had to make it to get into a playoff. I had a pretty easy chip. The one in the playoff was tough. The grass was coming against me. I had a very easy chip there in regulation. It was just really, it was a lot slower than I thought it was going to be. But I hit it right where I wanted to, it just didn't release.

Q. So at that point, are you thinking about the "would have could have should of" the round?
GARY WOODLAND: For sure I thought it was over with. When I missed the chip I thought it was over with in regulation. Then you go back to the putt on 17 and just not making any putts at all really on the back nine. So I was definitely thinking about that.

Q. You talk about putts on the back nine, but I think there were three you have that great run at the end of the front but there were three on the front that were fairly close too. And so how did you come back from those? Because those were tough when you miss them early?
GARY WOODLAND: I felt like I was hitting good putts. I misread a couple putts out there and the speed was off, I just felt like I was hitting good putts and they just weren't going in. So I was happy with that. It wasn't like I was hitting bad putts that, I was like, Oh, no. I was hitting good putts and I just kept telling myself you knock on the door long enough, it will open.
JOE CHEMYCZ: Any numbers in your head of what it would take to win this at the start?
GARY WOODLAND: I thought 30 for sure. The wind blew a little bit early. Today was by far the toughest day out there. And obviously the pins were set tough.
But there were obviously low scores out there. The guys going early, you could see them going low. So I was definitely trying to get in the 30s, and I just came up a little short.
JOE CHEMYCZ: Gary, thank you. Congrats on a good week.
GARY WOODLAND: Thanks, guys.

End of FastScripts

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