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HP BYRON NELSON CHAMPIONSHIPMay 25, 2011Gary WoodlandIRVING, TEXAS THE MODERATOR: We welcome Gary Woodland in for a couple of minutes, No. 10 in the FedExCup standings and a winner this year earlier in Transitions, so talk about the win and your confidence and your season so far. GARY WOODLAND: The win validated what we've been doing. I had a good start, lost in the playoff early but the wind was huge because it gave me the confidence that I belong out here, obviously, moved me up in the FedEx, allowed me to have a schedule the next two years, map it out, play tournaments, more that suit me, take weeks off, so it's been a huge adjustment but a good one. THE MODERATOR: And this is your third trip to the Byron Nelson? GARY WOODLAND: Yeah, this is the closest I get to home, too, being from Kansas, I get a lot of friends and family down here. I'm definitely looking forward to this week. Q. Gary, can you talk about how you hooked up with Randy Smith and what he's done for you? GARY WOODLAND: Yeah, I got hooked up with Randy, I was down here for winter break my junior year in college and just needed a place to practice and got his name, came out here and practiced and actually watched him give a lesson to Hunter Mahan, loved what they were doing, called Randy a couple of months later, and next thing you know I was down here, and I've been with him ever since. He's been everything for me. I'm obviously new to all this, new to this game, but he's my backbone. He gives me game plans, I go out and execute and if I have a question I can call him on the phone. He knows my swing well enough that I can all call him and we can do lessons over the phone. So it's always nice to have him here, a bonus for this week. Q. Gary, you won, you made three starts after that. Were you tired after that four-tournament stretch? Just categorize your play since winning? GARY WOODLAND: Yeah, the next week, Bay Hill, I had a lot going on. I wasn't prepared to play that week, I was frustrated because I was playing well and I wasn't ready for that golf course. Houston I played solid, didn't do anything great, finished 13th. Augusta, I played well, I just thought I left a lot out there, finished 24th. We had a lot of local knowledge written down; I didn't trust it enough being my first time there, but the golf course suits me well, I'm excited to get back. Had three weeks off after that. Charlotte, I didn't play very well. Players, I played well, had a couple of mental mistakes, I had two big numbers and I missed the weekend, so I'm excited to get back at it this week. Q. Were you surprised at the course conditions, especially the greens after all the hail? GARY WOODLAND: The golf course was perfect yesterday, the greens were as good on any Tuesday as I've seen them, especially here; they were awesome. And there was definitely damage out there. The farther you get away from the clubhouse they're actually better, not as much hail but the holes around the clubhouse, the damage is significant. It's like a bunch of ball marks is what it is. It's unfortunate, but they rolled 'em this morning and I think it got a lot out of it, and hopefully by the end of the week you won't notice it. Q. Will it affect you guys at all? GARY WOODLAND: I think you know it, but it's bunch of ball marks. We've putted over spike marks before. For the most part the greens were perfect and maybe they'll change a couple of pins based on the areas of the green. Q. How do you think your length will translate to the course this week? GARY WOODLAND: I think this golf course suits me very well. I have good vibes, I played here quite a bit, when I lived in Dallas I played here quite a bit. It allows me -- every hole I hit driver on here allows me to hit the fade, and I love that. The rough stuff, I can use my driver and use it to my advantage here for sure. That's one of the reasons I like coming back here. Q. Are there holes where you don't hit drivers? GARY WOODLAND: I won't hit a lot, probably not till 6, 7, 12, and 15 and 16. That's probably it. Q. You don't use it for 3? GARY WOODLAND: No, 3-wood, lay it between the bunkers, 18 is a two-iron for me, obviously if I can get it down wind, I hit lob wedge in here last year. Depends on the wind, dictates that, but for the most part it's 3, 4, it's irons and getting it into play. Q. How much has being an athlete helped your swing and being able to hit the ball so far? You're in good shape and -- GARY WOODLAND: Definitely the lower body stability helps. I have core strength but the lower body is where I get my swing and I have a lot of balance down there and power low. Definitely that's helped me, it's helped me -- the main thing it helps me to learn what Randy is trying to teach me quickly and we can move on and learn new things. We didn't hit balls for three weeks. We worked strictly on short game, on a new wedge shot, and it showed the last three weeks. I haven't hit it like I wanted it to. Talking to Phil Mickelson, came up to me, played with him three weeks in a row, but he's probably getting tired of me. That's probably why he took this week off and he told me my short game was phenomenal. That's what we were trying to do. We spent a lot of time working on that to get that ready for the Majors, because we know the ball striking will come back but we had to get the rest of the game ready. Q. What translates the most between basketball and golf? GARY WOODLAND: The mental side of it. You're never going to play out here well every day, especially in this game, and in basketball you learn how to win playing bad, and I think that's the main thing. I didn't hit it well on Sunday, but I found a way to get the ball into the hole and it led to victory. I think that was the huge part. Q. Are you an NBA fan at all? Are you following the playoffs? GARY WOODLAND: I love the playoffs. Last night is as good as it gets, I would love to see Dallas and Miami in the finals, especially a rematch of a couple of years ago, and I think there is a lot of pride on both sides of those teams. THE MODERATOR: Who is going to win that one? GARY WOODLAND: I better say Dallas before I get in trouble. Q. You have an event coming up in Miami in the next month or so -- GARY WOODLAND: Exactly. Q. How long did you live in Dallas? GARY WOODLAND: I lived here for a year. I came here strictly because Randy was here. The weather wasn't too much better here than Kansas. I can get this stuff back home, so I went a little further south, down to Orlando. Off weeks I come see Randy, so I'm here as much as I'm in Orlando, still. THE MODERATOR: Thank you Gary. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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