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WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIPFebruary 24, 2011Nick WatneyMARANA, ARIZONA COLIN MURRAY: Nick, thanks for joining us. Congratulations, 1-up victory under World No. 1, Lee Westwood. Can you talk about the match today? Give us a brief overview of how you played and then we'll open it up to questions. NICK WATNEY: Well, it was a tough match. I played very well, especially at the start. I got a couple up, but, you know, he's not the World's No. 1 player for nothing. I knew he would come back and just definitely pleased to come out on top. COLIN MURRAY: Advancing to the third round, just talk about your comfort level playing match play and how it's been this week. NICK WATNEY: Well, I like it. Obviously we don't play much out here. But I like -- I played a lot of sports growing up and it feels like a lot of other maybe basketball or other sports. And it's very much one-on-one; it's not one on 150. So I enjoy it. Q. This is your second year in a row beating Lee. Does it feel any better with him as the No. 1 player? NICK WATNEY: Well, Doug, it's very satisfying. I mean, I know Lee's record. And like I said, he's not the No. 1 player in the world for nothing. There's definitely no easy matches, but I knew that he was going to be tough. It's very satisfying. Is it more so than last year? Yeah, maybe it is. Q. A lot of guys -- it seems the younger players really like match play. Some of the others don't because they feel the day you play well, somebody else plays better, and the next day that guy shoots poorly. Would you like to see more match play? Do you get excited in the head-to-head competition? NICK WATNEY: Well, the first question, would I like to see more match play? I think this is -- I don't want to say novelty. But it's fun because it is once a year. I enjoy stroke play, as well. What was the second part? I'm sorry. Q. Well, the fact that some people complain that the day you lose to a guy, the next day he goes out and shoots 76 and he's out. Do those things bother you at all? NICK WATNEY: No, I think, like you said, the guys that complain are the guys that lose. I think, you know, it could be that's just the luck of the draw. A pitcher, you know, you can have a Cy Young pitcher and he gives up ten runs or something. I think that's just the way things are. Q. Could you have imagined a push on 16 after you left it in the bunker and he had such a short putt? NICK WATNEY: I really did not expect that. I think that's probably a one in 20 or a one in 30 for that to happen. And I was lucky, very lucky, to get away with a draw on that hole. Q. Not a lot to say, I guess, second round, but it's a big win, but now you get to keep going? NICK WATNEY: Yeah, you know, this is the Top 64 players in the world, there's no easy match. Any one of these guys could get hot and you're down the road. I'll enjoy this, but tomorrow we start all over again. Q. Just want to ask you about the importance of kind of controlling your emotions when you have weird swings like that. You talked about 16, but also 17 when you got a short putt to win it. Then all of a sudden you're going to 18 with him, with a chance to tie it? NICK WATNEY: Yeah, I think that's the beauty of this format. You know, Doug, I was lucky on 16. And then on 17, I hated having a chance to close it out, and especially against Lee Westwood, you know? If you have a chance like that, you need to take advantage. As good or as lucky as I was on 16, I was that angry walking to 18. But, like you said, you've got to control your emotions and you've got to play a solid hole on 18. It's a bit like a tennis match, I guess, how it's just up and down. You need to remain as focused as possible. Q. I watched different people. When Lee got his putt to extend the match on 18, are you watching it? I've seen a lot of guys chewing their nails and turning the other direction. What's your strategy there, Nick? NICK WATNEY: I was watching it. I was prepared to go to extra holes. I would not have been surprised at all if he holed that. But I was watching it. I figured there's nothing to be afraid of, you know? And if we do go to extra holes, I don't want to be rattled or surprised. So I was preparing myself to go extra holes and preparing myself for him to make it. Q. Is there a particular hole or a particular shot on this course that gives you pause? NICK WATNEY: Not really. The fairway on No. 10 for some reason doesn't exactly fit my eye, but other than that that's probably it. Q. So you mentioned going from euphoria to anger and the necessity to control your emotions. Can you talk a little bit about how you control your emotions? NICK WATNEY: Well, I wouldn't quite call it euphoria, but it was -- I was surprised and I felt a bit lucky to escape with a halve on 16. I think my caddie, Chad Reynolds does a really good job of -- he knows just what to say. He can kind of sense if I'm going too fast or getting a little too down on myself. He did a good job when we were walking to 18 of just kind of slowing me down and reminding me, we are still 1-up with one to go. We play a solid hole -- I lost, I think it was the 8th hole and he made a eagle. I made a birdie; Lee made an eagle. There's going to be up-and-downs in golf, and in match play, especially. The key for me is to not get too high or too low on any shot. Q. And so taking it the next step, how do you do that? I mean, it's nice that your caddie is talking to you and he's keeping your pace going. But there's a deeper thing to how you actually control your emotions. What are you thinking about? How are you feeling? NICK WATNEY: I just tried to remind myself that there's more golf to be played, and maybe take a few extra deep breaths, just to try to collect my thoughts and focus as much as I can on that tee shot on 18. I mean it's cliché, but there's nothing you can do about the 17th hole. I would have liked to have closed it out. If I hit it in the desert or something, obviously we're going to the next hole. So I tried to focus as hard as I could on the last tee shot and then just move on. COLIN MURRAY: Thanks, Nick. Play well tomorrow. End of FastScripts |
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