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SHELL HOUSTON OPEN

March 31, 2011

Jimmy Walker

HUMBLE, TEXAS

DOUG MILNE: Jimmy, thanks for joining us. Great 9-under 63 today. I know you got to turn around and come back in the morning and keep going so we'll get about business. If you could just give us a couple of comments on the round. We talked on the way in that you thought this was your best round in relation to par of your career. So, just a few comments about the round and then we'll take a few questions.
JIMMY WALKER: A few comments about the round. I putted just so good today. It was pretty amazing. I made a lot of putts. It seemed like every birdie putt kind of went in. I had one little tester for par that went in, too. I just putted really good. Hit a lot of good wedge shots pretty close and gave myself some chances, you know, early.
Started on 10 and hit a good shot into 10, made about a 10 or 12-footer there and then the shorter par 4 on 11. I didn't have a very good tee shot in the front left bunker. Made a 10-footer for par. The next hole, about a 15-footer on that hole. Two good shots into the par 5 just kind of short of the green and pitch one in there about 4 feet. Make that one.
Par 3, 5-iron, make 20-footer. Next par 3, 20-footer, hit a 6-iron in. Good up and down on 18 out of the right bunker. 1, hit a good tee shot at 90 yards or something to the flag and hit it in there about 12 feet and made that. The par 5, didn't hit a good tee shot in the bunker. Laid up and then hit what I thought was a really good wedge shot and landed right about the flag and took a huge hop, about 15 feet past or so and made that one.
Let's see. 6, hit a good drive. Went through the fairway. Front right pin. Hit a nice high cut 9-iron out of the rough and made a 15-footer, something like that there. 8, par 5, hit a killer drive. Hit a 6-iron. Missed the green to the left. Had a funny little lie right in the left rough. Hit a good little pitch down the swale and back up to the back pin and made a little putt there.
On 9, I pulled one in the left bunker and got it up and down for par, made a little 4-footer there. Putted great. Made everything.
DOUG MILNE: We mentioned Erin on the way in. She's obviously got her own thing going on this week, and I guess you were quoted earlier in the week as saying she does her thing, you do your thing. Talk a little bit about how much she was on your mind today with the equestrian show and so forth.
JIMMY WALKER: She just got rid of a horse and got a new horse and she's doing some jumpers now. She's doing hunters, and it's going to kind of prolong her week. She got started at 5:00 today. I don't know how she ended up doing.
She's out having fun doing her thing this week and it always kind of falls this week where she's got a show and we're playing the Shell, and so it's always a fun week for both of us. We're always kind of busy. I think some of the wives -- it can be hectic watching, running around, watching us play, and it keeps her mind off of it. She's focused on what she's doing and having fun, and that's what it's all about.
DOUG MILNE: Okay. Go ahead and take some questions.

Q. She's in an equestrian show where?
JIMMY WALKER: In Katy on the other side of town.

Q. Jimmy, you talked yesterday about incremental things that kind made the difference between good rounds and bad rounds, and the last two events you missed the cut because you said you might have been pushing a little too hard. What was the difference today?
JIMMY WALKER: You know, just really didn't feel like I was really firing at too many pins. Maybe the last one, but just wasn't firing at too many flags. If you got a sand wedge or wedge in your hand, you're pretty much going right at it. I felt like I was just trying to keep it on the green, and, you know, just try to make it as smooth as I could throughout the day. And I hit a couple of wayward tee shots here and there and got myself back into position, but I putted really good. I've been putting really well this year. That's been -- you only -- when you putt good, it cures a lot of ills for sure.

Q. Have you changed anything in your putting stroke this year, a new putter or anything?
JIMMY WALKER: Started using a new putter in Hawaii this year, a new Cameron putter. It's been working pretty good. Seen a lot of guys switching to that model. It just swings really nice and just kind of let it open up and let it go.

Q. Did you bring in the big RV this week?
JIMMY WALKER: It's here. It's over at the show. We got it.

Q. So are you commuting down to Katy?
JIMMY WALKER: Yeah. I've got a little bit of a drive back over to the show and get back up in the morning.
DOUG MILNE: How far of a drive is that?
JIMMY WALKER: 40, 45 minutes.

Q. In traffic or without traffic? You got a toll tag.
JIMMY WALKER: I don't. I may have one in my locker. I'll see when we get done.

Q. It will take you 40 minutes with a toll tag.
JIMMY WALKER: I brought my fun car this week from home. It's a short drive over from San Antonio. I knew I was going to be staying over there. I'll get to drive it a lot. I don't get to drive it a lot when we're gone so much.

Q. What do you think when you see the scores from this morning? You just kind of think "the course must be there for the taking" or "I got to be really aggressive"?
JIMMY WALKER: You kind of gauge how it's playing by how far the leaderboard was going down. It was going to 1-under. It looked like there were a few guys played really well. It seemed like pack was at about 3, 4-under, really, and that's kind of what I thought it was going to end up being. I'm not worried about what I'm going to shoot at that point. Just go play golf.

Q. Were you -- going into this tournament, there's a lot goals, goal setting. No. 1 for you going into this tournament obviously to win your first PGA TOUR event would be nice, but also The Masters. Any particular motivation this week for you?
JIMMY WALKER: Well, I mean, anybody that's not playing at Augusta next week, you know, knows that this is your last chance to punch your ticket. Yeah, it would be great to win and get to go play. Just great to win, whatever. Whatever happens after that is great. It's a long week. Yeah, you're always thinking about it this week. I think everybody probably is. Win this week, go to Augusta. Be great.

Q. When you're putting that well and you kind of get that zone going and you feel so good about it, did you feel like halfway through the round or at some point every putt you stood over, "Hey, you know what, I have expectation here that I sometimes don't have"?
JIMMY WALKER: Yeah. I'm not going to say like oh, every time I hit the greens, this one is going in. I just kept stroking it, and it felt like that's how I've been stroking it -- I haven't putted really well the last couple tournaments. I felt like I kind of got back to feeling that stroke that I was using earlier in the year when I was putting so good and playing so good. That was nice.
DOUG MILNE: Okay. We know you got a little bit of a hike ahead of you, so we appreciate your time and congratulations on a great opening round.
JIMMY WALKER: Thanks.

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