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THE HERITAGE

April 20, 2011

Matt Kuchar

HILTON HEAD, SOUTH CAROLINA

MARK STEVENS: I'd like to welcome Matt Kuchar. You just got done playing the Pro Am. Talk about the course and then we'll take some questions from there.
MATT KUCHAR: The course is in fantastic shape. I think year after year it's in fantastic shape. The greens roll well, they're firm. It's one of my favorite courses of the year to play. I think you get out there, you have to hit so many different shots. I really enjoy coming here and playing, it's a great event.

Q. You've been playing really well lately, do you feel that it's time for a win?
MATT KUCHAR: I'd like to just keep playing really well. Golf is such a funny game. I think all of us know from the very best professionals to the weekend warriors that you never know what you're going to have that next day.
I've been fortunate to keep some good golf going for a decent stretch now and I'd like to continue it. I try not to ask too much from the game of golf.

Q. What do you think the key has been to your good play this year?
MATT KUCHAR: Been a continuation, working with Chris O'Connell, he's making me have a better swing. His goal is to take out as much timing as possible from my golf swing. And we're on the right track. I think you look week in and week out, I've been able to eliminate a lot of the timing and hit some good shots.

Q. Have you changed the length to your putter?
MATT KUCHAR: I have not.

Q. So you found the perfect --
MATT KUCHAR: It stayed at 45. I don't know that it's perfect, but I actually have added an extra degree of loft. So I'm continuing to refine it still and probably will continue to make sure that it's right, may even fiddle with a couple of different putter heads. I'm very happy with the way I'm putting and very happy with the putter. It's all new and I want to make sure it's all right.

Q. Obviously all parts of your game are very solid, but would you say that putting has been your strength this year?
MATT KUCHAR: No, I'd say it's all-around solid. My putting has been a strength but I have to look at driving as a strength and iron play. I'd say if there was a weakness, maybe my wedging hasn't been as strong as it normally is. I think my wedging has not been quite as sharp as years past. That may be or it has been the one thing I try to focus on a little more on the week off. And will continue to try to put a little more focus in as well.

Q. Is that why you finished out of the top 10?
MATT KUCHAR: It could be. I just need to get a little sharper. I think you see Steve Stricker finished top 10 week after week. He's so good around the greens, I think, and it's one of the fun things of the game of golf, is there's no limit to how good you can get. And there are areas like inside 120 yards, and there's no reason why we shouldn't all be great. Always like to be better.

Q. Is there something about this course that enables different style of players to compete here? You don't have to be a bomber, you don't have to be -- anybody can play here, it seems like, is there a reason for that?
MATT KUCHAR: You kind of look down the list of champions and you see all different sorts of players, all very good ball-strikers. This is definitely a ball-striker's course. You have to hit a lot of different shots. I would consider Davis Love a bomber of the golfball. What's he, a five-time champion? But you have a lot of bombers that don't play here that think this place doesn't suit their game as well. I think Jim Furyk is a really good ball-striker, Boo Weekley is a really good ball-striker, guys that have been past champions.
It's a tight, narrow golf course. It takes driver out of your hands a number of times and then positioning becomes so crucial. I think an extra 20 yards isn't all that effective. It's being on the right side of the fairway, having the best angle into these greens, that can be the most critical part of playing this golf course. Accuracy is certainly the most important thing this week.

Q. You've played here a number of years, did the date change, the one week back, did that make it harder or easier for you to play here?
MATT KUCHAR: Harder.

Q. It did?
MATT KUCHAR: Yeah. It's a great follow-up to Augusta. It's easy to drive. A bit of a mess with the Tour schedule as far as the jumpiness. We went from Texas to Georgia to Texas to South Carolina to New Orleans to Louisiana the next week, back to North Carolina the following week. I would like to see a little more sense as far as locations and drivability from a player's standpoint. Travel, even though it is as easy as we can make it these days, is still not that enjoyable. You'd much rather make travel a whole lot easier, and it seems like we could if we look at the geography and try to work tournaments a little more sensible with geography in mind.

Q. Is your whole family here this week?
MATT KUCHAR: They are. My wife and kids drove up yesterday. My parents will drive up tomorrow from Ponte Vedra. My in-laws will drive up this afternoon. We've got the whole clan here.

Q. Let me ask you a couple of questions about Sawgrass and THE PLAYERS Championship.
MATT KUCHAR: Okay.

Q. Your thoughts on the last three holes, that finishing stretch?
MATT KUCHAR: The last three holes, I think they're very, very exciting holes. I think not quite as -- the last three here aren't quite as demanding. I think the last three at Sawgrass are probably three of the more exciting, and I think the last two are two of the most demanding golf courses that we play. And it makes for fun viewership. It makes for fun playing. It's fun both inside and outside of the ropes. It's great to tee the ball up on 16, looking to make a birdie, looking to make a couple of good shots, make a move on the leaderboard. 17 you're hanging on. And 18 if you just get that drive out of the way, it's such a nerve-wracking drive. You hit a good drive you can play the hole pretty easily. You hit a bad drive, you're really struggling to make par.

Q. When you're walking off the 16th green over to the 17th tee, what's going through your mind then?
MATT KUCHAR: I don't get real carried away in the anticipation, I really don't start thinking about the shot I'm going to hit until I'm on the tee discussing the yardage. I do tend to find myself watching guys from 16 green putt on 17 and just seeing kind of their reaction, seeing a little bit of the break. But as far as preparing for the shot, I don't think about the shot until I'm opening the yardage book to find the yardage.

Q. You've made six straight cuts here, do you feel each year that you come here you gain a little bit of confidence knowing the course?
MATT KUCHAR: I do think there's a lot to be said for course knowledge. However, that being said, I think course knowledge is only beneficial if you can hit it where you want to hit it. I think course knowledge doesn't help when you can't figure out which way the ball is going.
There are certain putts in certain areas that you know are easy to get up and down. Is it the 5th hole is a par-5? 5th hole there's a dogleg left, par-5. The first couple of years we'd go for the green in two, and hit easy shots and come off the left of the green, it's a terrible place to chip from. You almost need to be overly aggressive. If you miss it right of the green, you have an uphill, fairly easy chip.
And there's things you pick up after playing it enough years you feel like help save you a shot over the course of the four days, maybe two shots, from course knowledge. Those shots come in handy at the end of 72 holes.
MARK STEVENS: Thanks a lot, Matt, good luck this week.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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