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THE GREENBRIER CLASSIC

July 27, 2011

Gary Woodland

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WEST VIRGINIA

THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome Gary Woodland into the interview room, 2011, Transitions championship winner, and currently No. 11 in the FedExCup standings.
Gary, a tremendous year so far. Comment a little bit about your year and your preparation for this week.
GARY WOODLAND: Yeah, I got off to a good start. Played really well through the win, and then it's just been kind of been up and down since then.
Starting to get back on track. Played really well the last few round of the British, and hoping to carry that momentum on to a strong finish.
THE MODERATOR: Played here last year, but a completely different golf course this year. Have you seen it?
GARY WOODLAND: It is. I saw it last night. The rough is up. They add length to it. The greens are definitely firmer than last year. Last year the greens were a little soft and you could fire at a lot of pins.
Now it's tough, because the fairway are a little soft so it's tough to run it up. Scores will definitely be different.
THE MODERATOR: Okay. Questions.

Q. Your first sport used to be basketball, right?
GARY WOODLAND: Right.

Q. Tell me about that transition and how being a basketball player has helped you on the golf course.
GARY WOODLAND: It's helped me from the mental side. Being able to compete, finding ways to win, finding ways to play well when you're not playing well. That's been the biggest deal. It's is completely different sport, but the mental side I think is pretty similar.

Q. Can you tell me a little bit about what made you switch?
GARY WOODLAND: I just realized really quick I wasn't gonna do it after school. I could have played four years of college and maybe gone overseas and played, but I wasn't going to play in the NBA.
I needed to find something I could do at a professional level.

Q. What made you decide to come here?
GARY WOODLAND: I like Greenbrier. I had a good time here last year. It's beautiful up here.
But more importantly, I got to keep playing well and get back into playing four good rounds. I haven't done it lately. John Klemish runs the Greenbrier here; he's a good friend of mine; he lives down at Lake Nona where I live, and so he talked me into it a long time ago.
But mainly here trying to put four rounds together.

Q. (No microphone.)
GARY WOODLAND: Well, I made a couple changes halfway through the season. After I won I went to Augusta and played okay, but I realized the way I was doing the wedge game, short game, certain things I needed to change to compete at that level.
So it's been a struggle trying to get everything back. I focused on the short game for a while and kind of lost the driver; now we're getting the driver back. Kind of just got to put it all together.

Q. You played pretty well at the British the last couple rounds. What can you take away from that?
GARY WOODLAND: A lot. I mean, I played well. I was in that bad wave. The conditions were brutal. The last three rounds were probably the best I've hit the golf ball for three straight rounds all year. I hit the ball perfect, I was controlling it. Just it played tough. I let it get away a little bit late in the round Saturday and Sunday.
But through Friday and through most of the round Saturday I played flawlessly. That gives me a lot of confidence going forward. I'm doing the right things and it's getting close.

Q. When you were making the transition between sports, were you more or less a self-taught player? Was there someone that was really helping you make that transition? And who do you work with now?
GARY WOODLAND: I was self-taught growing up. I started getting lessons halfway through high school through a guy back home in Topeka, Dan Key. Then I started working with Randy Smith my junior year in college, and I've worked with him ever since.
He's been phenomenal for me. He's kind of my brains out here. I'm out here just hitting golf balls around; he's telling me how to do it. He's been everything for me.

Q. Any other players out here that you've really relied on being a youngster out here to get you through multiple seasons and how to prepare and get better?
GARY WOODLAND: Yeah, a lot of the guys that work with Randy. I've been around been around Justin Leonard since I started working with Randy. He's been phenomenal.
I don't know if there's anybody that prepares like he does. You know, just the way he thinks his way around the golf course, I've learned a lot from him. Probably annoy him enough where he kind of hides from me now.
But I think he's been the biggest one out here. Harrison Frazier. He works with Randy. He's been huge for me as well. Just the ins and outs and what to do and what not to do, where to eat, where not to eat.

Q. Last question: Playing in all these big tournaments this year, are you starting to realize your potential and maybe reevaluate where you think your career can go and how well you can play in big events?
GARY WOODLAND: Nothing's changed with me. Maybe it's changed with everybody else a little bit. You know, I've always believed I could do whatever I wanted to as long as I worked at it.
I think I'm starting to show that a little bit, but we've still got a long way to go.

Q. As far as basketball, were you guard? Point guard? Forward?
GARY WOODLAND: When I was in college, I started at shooting guard at the beginning of the year, and then they moved me to backup point guard. I wasn't a big fan of that. Wasn't quick enough to play point guard. I could shoot it, but I wasn't quick enough to play point guard.

Q. Do you still play?
GARY WOODLAND: I haven't in a while. Actually last time I shot a basketball was in Phoenix. Annexus, my hat sponsor, they're the head sponsor of the Phoenix Suns, so I got in the practice facility and shot around and had a good time there.

Q. A little scared the getting hurt? This is your moneymaker now.
GARY WOODLAND: Yeah, I'd find some way to hurt myself. I'm too competitive just to relax.
THE MODERATOR: Played against Kansas your freshman year, too, right?
GARY WOODLAND: Yeah.
THE MODERATOR: Okay. Anything else? All right, Gary, we appreciate your time. Play well this week.
GARY WOODLAND: All right. Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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