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WELLS FARGO CHAMPIONSHIPMay 8, 2011Lucas GloverCHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA DOUG MILNE: Lucas Glover, 2011 Wells Fargo Championship winner, 3-under 69 today to get the job done. With this win you pick up 500 FedExCup points and move to 27th on the season-long list. It took an extra hole, but you got the job done nonetheless. I know it's been a long stretch since the U.S. Open, but you obviously proved to yourself that you still have the fight in you to close the deal. LUCAS GLOVER: Sure. DOUG MILNE: Just some comments on the week and then we'll take some questions. LUCAS GLOVER: Yeah, it was a great week, obviously, but as of Tuesday afternoon, it was still kind of a struggle. I found a little something late Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning going into the pro-am and played very well on Wednesday. I don't usually put a lot of stock into how I play on Wednesdays, but I needed something with some confidence in it, and I played well, and I just took that with me Thursday and got off to a good start, played great, and then it just kind of fell in and was kind of there the rest of the week. DOUG MILNE: Speaking of confidence, did it all kind of culminate with the putt on 18 in regulation? LUCAS GLOVER: Yeah, yeah. You guys probably have the stats, but I putted great all week, and I made some clutch putts, 16, 17, to even be on 18 tee to be even thinking about what I was thinking about. And then to get that one in on 18, I've had that putt so many times for par, after putting it from above the hole down there in years past, I felt like I knew what it did, and it was just get it on line and get it there. I was fortunate to -- I kind of planned on leaving that chip below the hole so I could be aggressive, and luckily that panned out. You know, like I said, I knew the putt and rolled it in. Q. The tee shot on 18 goes left, you're probably thinking water, thinking trees, and you get there, is it actually resting against that guy's wallet as he's sitting there? Walk us through the next few minutes, and did you have a heart attack when the ball rolled down the hill? LUCAS GLOVER: Well, yeah, it was resting kind of left waistline right on his left back pocket. So Tony Wallin was there, mark it and we'll see what it does, and it did move, so we replaced it, and it looked -- right away it looked like it was kind of still oscillating. Usually that's a re-place, and then it settled in. The last thing Tony said was, "Be careful with that one. Don't ground your club because it's kind of tight." I told him right there, "Tony, I'm not going to ground my club in case we have an incident; just so you know right now, I'm not grounding it." Sure enough, I just settled my feet and was in my waggle and there it goes. Coop was there with me, my caddie. He said immediately, "You didn't ground it," and Tony said, "Well, that's your new lie, and have fun," I think -- no, he didn't say that, but I did know the rule. The only question I had, and Tony was there, so I didn't ask him but I asked Slugger later walking off 18 tee, I said, if it had rolled closer is that still my lie, and he said absolutely. But since Tony was there I didn't pose that until later because it didn't roll closer. I had the exact same number, it just rolled down the hill. Q. Were you in better position? LUCAS GLOVER: Better stance, worse lie. I had a better lie up top. I'd say the ball was probably five to six inches further below my feet originally, so it was give and take there with the lie versus the stance. But it turned out. Q. What club was that? LUCAS GLOVER: 6-iron. I was in between 6 and 7. I think we had 176 or '7 hole, and I was leaning towards 7 and Coop talked me into 6, and obviously long is better than short on 18. Q. Just on the playoff, more difficult against a good friend? LUCAS GLOVER: No, I think there was -- I think I had a little bit -- I think I had some calmness there because Jonathan and I are so close. We grew up playing junior golf teammates and I saw him when he came off 18 there on the putting green, gave him a hug, and we just both said, "Great playing; see you in a second," and it was kind of a calmness. I can't speak for him, but that's how it was for me. DOUG MILNE: He made the comment when he was in here that if it was anybody other than himself obviously to win, that it would be you. LUCAS GLOVER: Yeah, I felt that way, as well, and I think that might have had a little to do with it. It wasn't -- I don't think I have anybody out here I thoroughly dislike, but if it was a rival or something, it might be a little different trying harder or whatever, but with it being Jonathan, and we push each other pretty hard and have since we were 14 and 15. Q. How much of a boost was that stretch, 7, 8, 9 and 10 when you get the eagle and two birdies? LUCAS GLOVER: That was big. Obviously 7 I hit the fairway today. It's borderline par-4-ish for the longer hitters, and I knew if I hit the fairway there I could get 6-, 7-, 8-iron in and it ended up with 8. Hit a pretty good one down there. Then the big momentum was 8. After a very average wedge shot, rolled down there to the right pin high, hit perfect yardages, just kind of whiffed it out to the right and knocked that one in. That was probably the one that got things going because I wasn't expecting that. I chose to putt it because the first cuts, those chipping areas are so good and tight, I felt I had a better chance of getting it close, and I knew if I got it on line with good speed, like any putt, it had a chance. But I think that was the flip for me. If I come out of there with 4 or 5, I might have been pressing a little bit more. And then 10, those were probably the two best shots I hit today. Great drive over the right corner of that bunker and hit a floating 3-iron that I thought was a foot, and then I saw it kind of crest the hill and thought it was back fringe because you can't see it from up there, and when I finally got down there and saw it, I had a 20-footer makeable and emotions got going then when that went in. Q. You kind of predicted the two of you in a playoff? LUCAS GLOVER: Yeah, walking off the tee yesterday, driving range, I was a group or two ahead of Jonathan, and I told him, I said, "Why don't we plan on seeing each other tomorrow around 2:00," and it was 6:00, but yeah, I don't know why, but I think that may be why I knew he was going to make birdie on 18, because we laughed about it and talked about it and said, "deal," and this and that. I wouldn't choose very many people to walk around in a playoff with other than Jonathan. Q. I know you can't equate the significance of winning here with the U.S. Open, but I'd be curious about the pressure you were under over the last three holes with a one-shot lead, some of the spots you're in and knowing you can't drop any shots. LUCAS GLOVER: Sure. Similar, that it just came down to execution. Any time, any pressure situation, whether it's a guy making free throws or making a field goal or anything, it's just execution, and with a one-shot lead those three holes you've got to execute. Did I execute full swing? Who's to say. But I executed short game, and I made my putts. You know, I got brain lock on 16. I don't think I've hit that fairway since the '90s. But 17 I finally hit a good shot there, first of the week, and it didn't release. It was just execution, and pressure or not, that's just what it came down to for me. One-shot lead with those three holes to play, I was able to tell myself, all right, we execute not that many birdies on these three holes we're going to have a chance. That's what I had to tell myself, and short game was executing; long game, not so much, but you all know from watching as much golf as y'all have that a good putt or a good chip can save you from a bad drive sometimes. Q. What did you find Wednesday? LUCAS GLOVER: Something pretty simple, squaring the club face at address with my irons. I kind of -- I'm kind of that way with my head at address, so with the way my eyes sit, an open blade looks square. I had to -- it never dawned on me because it looks right, and I finally got sick of hitting these weak flares to the right and said let's try to hit some hooks and finally said, well, maybe the blade is open at address because I felt like I was making good golf swings on the range and finally squared it up. If it was up to me, I'd hit a 15-yard hook with about every club. I don't necessarily need to do that. But that's what I've been trying to get back to because that's how I grew up playing, and I haven't been that way in probably a year and a half, so it was better this week. Q. Was that Tuesday or Wednesday? LUCAS GLOVER: Wednesday -- I apologize, Tuesday, and then Wednesday morning before the pro-am. I got my days mixed up. Q. Did you have a sense of how wild everything was on the back nine with so many guys at the top? What were you thinking after the second shot on 14? LUCAS GLOVER: 14? Yeah, that one. I didn't know where I stood until 14 tee. I knew I was close. I was watching the board, but you know, you go back there, back in that corner, 11, 12, you don't get one until 13 green, and I knocked that one in on 13 and got kind of excited and forgot to turn around. So I got to 14 tee in my head I'm going, am I going to hit 3-wood try to hook it up there on the green or lay up? I finally asked Coop, "How do we stand?" He said, "We're up one." I said, all right, lay up, hit wedge, try to make birdie that way, kind of take the big number out of play. First shot landed correct, second shot 15 feet left of the hole, actually a very poor wedge shot and spun back in the water. I got what I deserved, and that was a bogey. But I couldn't let myself get too upset right then. You know, I hit a bad shot and I had a chance to get it up-and-down, only dropped a shot and knew I had 15 to play. I've played that hole great all week. So just think in years past I might have blown up there and might have done things differently. But I was proud of myself the way I handled that one because it lands 15 feet from the hole, you'd say, okay, great, decent shot, but it was a pretty terrible shot. Q. Over the last couple of years, several years there have been several major winners who have struggled since they won. In your own case, did you feel at all that you put extra pressure on yourself after winning at Bethpage, or was there anything about that win that gave you any sense of urgency to win again? LUCAS GLOVER: I think it's just a situation like that, and for me I think I did well with it, was managing expectations, and that was to not go out every week and expect to play great. I don't think that's -- I don't think that's fair. I don't think that would have been fair to me because this is a humbling game, obviously. But what I did garner from it was a lot of confidence. I played very well in Hartford the next week, okay a couple weeks after that, and then, I don't know, fifth at the PGA or something a couple months after that, and that was all confidence. Now, whether those expectations changed, I don't think they did. I was trying to improve and play good golf, and I had a decent year last year, nothing great, but things just weren't clicking. That's the way it goes. But decided last off-season to make a swing change and try to be a little more efficient, and I hit some wild shots this week, but short game was good and was able to escape. It's not like it's exactly where I want it. I know you guys know golfers; we're never happy. We shoot 63, we missed a six-footer on 7, that kind of deal. But I'm still working on it, and it's still a work in progress. You know, I'm trying to get more consistent week in and week out. Q. It's been a while between wins. What does it mean to you to win again? What does it feel like? LUCAS GLOVER: I'm elated, absolutely elated, especially here. A lot of friends at Quail Hollow, a lot of friends in town, a lot of support. You know, any time you win you're pleased. It means you beat everybody. You did what you set out to do on Thursday morning when the bell rang. You know, against this field and on this golf course and in a tournament of this magnitude, I'm thrilled. Q. As the playoff started, Jonathan hits it in the sand the first shot, did that kind of let the pressure off a little bit? LUCAS GLOVER: I don't think so because it was still a -- I mean, the fairway was still 24 yards wide or whatever. I knew if I hit a good shot I would have a leg up. Not to say that I was going to win right then, but I would have somewhat of an advantage. You know, I didn't thump it, but I hit a nice shot, and luckily had a right-to-left wind, started just left of the bunker and drew a little bit. But didn't relieve it completely because I just hit it 50 yards left 30 minutes before. Q. It seems like when you've had things rolling in the past you've been kind of more of an understated guy. It seems like you had more of the fist pumps going today. Is this as emotional as you've been on the golf course do you feel? LUCAS GLOVER: In a long time, yeah, because I haven't been in contention. But my thing is I have to stay even. If I have peaks and valleys, then I think I get too up and down. I think it hurts and helps. When it's going great, it helps, but I think it also -- the valley is lower when it starts going the other way. So that was a big thing for me this week when I did start playing well was even keel, give myself as many opportunities as possible to make putts because I knew Thursday I was going to have a great putting week. You know, you just get those feelings and seeing the line very well. But I did, starting on about I guess No. 10, I knew that putt on 10 was big. I knew it would get me close, and I wanted to make that one, and I did, and I got a little excited. And then 13, same thing. And then 18 was kind of a culmination of the week, a six-footer up the hill for par. I made a bunch of those, and those keep rounds going, and sometimes they feel as good as a birdie. That's how that one was. Obviously it didn't mean anything more than the first putt I hit on No. 1 on Thursday, but that was just a culmination of the week right there, because that's kind of what I did. I scrambled when I was in trouble and did well. Q. It ended up being two Clemson guys. Did you have a Clemson-themed get-together in the neighborhood during the week? LUCAS GLOVER: Uh-huh. Q. And it looks like there were some people starting to have fun with the beard. Can you talk about that? LUCAS GLOVER: My answer will cover both of those. Yeah, Friday night I had Coach Penley, Coach Brownell and Coach Swinney in town for a Clemson get-together over at Rich Davies' house on 15, where I was fortunate to stay this week. Rich is a great friend, and his family. So there's a lot of facility upgrades going at Clemson right now, and Rich wanted to host the coaches that have facility stuff going and get some donors and friends together. Those tee shirts were Rich's oldest son and his fraternity brothers. They were painting those up Wednesday night and Thursday morning, wouldn't let me come in the garage and see what it was. I was pleased when I saw that it was that tame. Believe me, I didn't know what they were doing in there. But I saw them come out with orange paint; I thought they found a white tiger mascot or something. I had a lot of thoughts going through my head about what I was going to look over on Thursday and Friday and see on the first tee. Yeah, the beard thing, it was something to do back in the fall, and a bunch of people said, hey, it looks pretty good. I thought, why not, take it to the West Coast and see what happens. I'm scared of the tan now. It's going to be bad. Q. Would Clemson be a football school or a golf school? LUCAS GLOVER: I don't know, Coach Penley has had a lot of good teams. I think after getting to know Dabo and listening to him Friday and following as close as I do, I think we're on the right track there. Coach Penley can brag a little bit in the morning, I think. Q. It's supposed to be 90 next week in Jacksonville. Is the beard coming off? LUCAS GLOVER: I don't think so. It's not itching yet. It was pretty warm today. Q. With the changes you're going through off the course, how much does that affect do you think the way you've gone over the last several months? LUCAS GLOVER: Probably -- I'll probably leave that over there if that's all right. Q. (Inaudible.) LUCAS GLOVER: Yes. I have to believe that. You know, 156 guys are tied on Thursday morning, and I have to believe and believe in myself enough to know that even though my long game isn't there or short game isn't there, whatever, that something is going to come through. When I quit believing that, then it's probably time to hang them up. So that's -- expectations to play great or to play good doesn't always mean you're going to win, but I have to think that way so I'll prepare properly. Q. What during the four rounds was (inaudible)? LUCAS GLOVER: I'll probably say that long putt on 10 yesterday. You always see the guy that wins, and it always looks like there's a great break here or there or a good momentum swing here or there, and that was kind of it for me. After a poor drive and a pretty average chip-out and a good shot that went too far, then I make a long putt, and you walk off there, looked like a 4 the whole time, that was a big joke. That was when I kind of thought to myself, well, it might be one of those weeks, because I got some breaks. Q. Was your mom at Bethpage? LUCAS GLOVER: Yes. Q. What's her name? LUCAS GLOVER: Hershey, like the candy. Q. You probably haven't felt nerves I'm guessing since THE PLAYERS Championship, if then. Are you surprised having gone that long without feeling it, that you executed the way you did? LUCAS GLOVER: Yes and no. Usually for me nerves show up around the greens, which should be the opposite. But today it was the full swing. I can't tell you how pleased I am with the way my short game was coming down the stretch today. 15, 16, good two-putt on 17, and that chip on 18 was as difficult a shot as I had all week. I think the pressure got to me a little bit, full swing, because what's usually the strength of my game has kind of been bringing me down a little bit lately. I think any time you're under pressure your big flaws come out, and for me I've been working so hard on my full swing that the same flaws probably poked up, a little fast with the hips, the ball is going right. That's what happened on 16. 18, overcompensate from 16. So yes and no on the pressure thing. But I handled it well. I'm proud of myself for that. Q. How many rounds have you played with Jonathan? He said it was probably in the hundreds. LUCAS GLOVER: Oh, yeah, easy, over three years at Clemson, amateur golf, when we were at Clemson, junior golf, and a pile of practice rounds. Yeah, absolutely. I think it's in the hundreds. I think it's in the hundreds from college because Jonathan and I were fortunate where we didn't have to qualify much, so when they were qualifying for the last one or two spots, the three or four guys that were going, we'd always play together. So yeah, I'd say it's easily in the hundreds, yes, sir. I think I've probably played with Charles a little more because Jonathan got out here a little bit before we did, and Charles and I were practice round -- I mean, we were attached at the hip for practice rounds for years, Nationwide Tour and when we first got out here together. But I don't know. Well, let me retract. It might even up because Charles was only with us at Clemson for a year. But anyway, it's close. DOUG MILNE: Thanks for your time. Congratulations. Аф |
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