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SONY OPEN IN HAWAIIJanuary 11, 2012Mark WilsonHONOLULU, HAWAII JOHN BUSH: Defending champion, Mark Wilson, joins the interview room. Mark, welcome back. First of all, just get you to talk about the win last year here at the Sony Open. MARK WILSON: Yeah, it doesn't seem like a year ago to be honest with you. But yeah, it was a great start to the year and my mind was at ease. I just came out here trying to play the best golf I could and not make any mistakes and made just enough birdies and was the last man standing. I remember vividly the 36‑hole final is the main thing. After signing my card on the 9th hole there after the first round, I was told I had six minutes on my next tee time and I was like, wow. I remember me and Matt Kuchar and Marino were playing together, and me and Matt darted off to the clubhouse lockers because I had some sandwiches in my locker. And I just remember that; me and Matt running to the locker room to get our stand sandwiches and running back to the first tee. It was a long day, but ended up with a very fun ride to the airport back to California. JOHN BUSH: With that, your expectations for this week as you defend your title. MARK WILSON: You know, I didn't really have any expectations last year coming into it and I'm in that boat. I'm mature enough to know that I can't control all of the things on the golf course and I'm going to play the best I can. My mind is going to be in a good spot. I know it will but I can't control the bounces. I hope I read the greens properly and we'll see what I can shoot. Q. Can you tell us how your life has changed since the win here. MARK WILSON: I guess the only thing‑‑ yeah, off the course, a few extra commitments in terms of I guess more people have asked of my time, and I've said yes to a few more, just because I've had the opportunities; and certain charities and stuff like that to say yes to that I've wanted to. So I've learned how to I guess balance those going into this year and pick the right ones. I guess more press conferences so to speak like this, especially early year in the year last year when I was leading the FedExCup, everyone wanted to talk to me and hear my thought not only about my own game but everybody else's game and the state of golf and all that stuff. So all of a sudden I was expected to have these opinions on different subjects that I really had not thought about it and that was probably the biggest thing and my schedule changed dramatically, being able to play in the majors and World Golf Championships. So I played a little different kind of schedule last year and similar to this year; by winning early, I got into the majors, that year, plus then I finished‑‑ I was able to get into THE TOUR Championship because of my play so then I got into the majors again this year. So I've reaped a lot of benefits by winning earlier in the year. Q. Your thoughts on your pairing with David Toms and Zach Johnson? MARK WILSON: Here, yeah. I kind of thought it would be a couple past champions. So I think, Damon Green, Zach's caddie thought it would be Palmer and myself, being the last three winners, but they put Toms in there. Zach was excited because him and Toms played together the final round when he won in 2009, I think it was. So I like both of those guys. We have similar games. We don't bomb it. We are all I think pretty similar in terms of driving distance and we usually hole a lot of putts. So I think it's going to be a very fun group. Q. Inaudible. MARK WILSON: Well, you've got to remember, too, if I start playing against whoever I'm paired with on Thursday and Friday, we are getting about 141 other players. They can't really do that. Now I'm mature enough‑‑ I will say a few years ago, maybe I wasn't mature enough when I played with a long hitter, I might try to get a little extra out of my game but that's not my game. I know I can win with‑‑ by just relying on my wedges and my putter. Whoever I'm paired with doesn't really affect me too much. But with that being said, seeing Toms and Johnson, that's going to be fun. Q. This week is a little different for you from last week. I think you said you had 17 people with you last week. Talk about the difference this week. MARK WILSON: So we've got just my parents are left and then my two kids, and we are staying right here at the Kahala, so it's just convenient. I haven't really left yet since we got here from Maui, and enjoying the beach and everything it offers. So yeah, a little quieter, three hotel rooms down from the six we had last week. So it's a little more manageable. Q. How do you balance things when you have such a large group with you? MARK WILSON: Well, I did my own thing. I guess the only thing that was tough for me was that I would leave them at the pool most of the days, and have to go to the golf course to play, which I enjoy doing, too. But boy, that pool was really nice. So it was hard to be pulled away from what they were doing, but you know, it's my job and it's a good opportunity for me to get the year started on the right foot, and they would all come out and watch me, too. So it was a good balancing acting. We had a good time. The hardest part was getting reservations when you call up and say, we have 17, including we need three highchairs, it doesn't go over very well (chuckling). But Maui, there were plenty of places that had big enough tables for that, believe it or not. They figured it out. Q. How much of a difference is there from last week's course to this course? MARK WILSON: Yeah, it's huge. A lot easier to walk here. I feel like I'm really in very good shape, but my feet were killing me after every round last week. My shins were hurting. So this is a lot leveller walk. The grain isn't as big of a deal here. It still plays into it. We know the grain goes into the water. But last week, there's just some putts that look straight and they will break 12 feet on you, or they look like the opposite way and you just have to remember where the edge of Molakai is and, okay, the grain is going that way; doesn't look like the putt should break that way, but it is going to. Also in terms of elevation for your iron shots, you don't have to factor that in, and just the wind. So there's a lot less variables here I would say. This is one of my favorite courses of the year. I said that even before I won. I think it probably doesn't get‑‑ it's not up there with all of the top courses that people talk about on TOUR because it's so early in the year. It's kind of forgotten or maybe because it's over here in Hawai'i. But you have to drive the ball straight and be precise with your irons and putt well. And, it brings in all of the different types of players, because length isn't an advantage unless you hit it straight. Q. How are conditions compared to last year? MARK WILSON: Well, last year, will all of the rain we had, it drained amazing. By the time Saturday rolled around, couldn't really tell that much. That said, it is a lot drier right now. The ball is rolling, the fairways are rolling, very dry. So it's a welcome change. I know last year, that first round was kind of weird with the ball plugging and just not the way the golf course is supposed to play in my opinion. Q. What other course on TOUR does this resemble ‑‑ MARK WILSON: It would be very close. I always think Hilton Head is another one. Harbour Town that we play there. Yeah, it will be almost perfect‑‑ two par 5s that I can reach like everybody else, so no advantage there to the long hitters. And you just have to drive it straight and you just have to think your way around. Q. After winning twice early, how do you feel your year went after that? MARK WILSON: Yeah, there were some expectations, I think just by all of these other things I talked about, more people were interested in what I was doing and I guess it pushed me to think, hey, what should I do next kind of thing. Instead of what got me there was focusing on my own game and seeing what I could shoot. Yeah, I put a little more pressure on myself. The ones that stand out were Colonial and the BMW. Colonial especially, I was playing so well and David Toms looked like he was going to run away with the tournament, but I had a flat weekend and I think shot 5‑over on Sunday. That was really all because I put too much pressure on myself and got off to kind of a rough start in that final round and then tried to push, which is something I didn't do at the two tournaments I won. I didn't play particularly great in Phoenix on the final round, and here; I was only 1‑under par through eight holes here. But you know, all of a sudden I birdie nine and don't make any bogeys and birdie 18 to shoot 3‑under‑‑ I felt like I was trying too hard the rest of the year instead of letting it happen which is what I did the first two months of the year. I just let it happen and let the golf come to me. It's easier said than done: Oh, so, now that I know that's the way to do it, I should just do it like that. Well, it's easier said than done. We all want success and you want to get it done but like I said earlier, you can't control the bounces, and you can only control so much. Just enjoy it for the game that it is. Q. You were so involved in charity work last year. Did you pick up any new charities since we last talked? MARK WILSON: Not really. Just put a little more timeinto each of those, like Blessings in a Backpack and First Tee a little bit and helped some Christian athletes; I just felt like I ended up giving more time to each of them, so it just added them. Whereas other years, I might do a day for, say, Blessings and then not do a day for another charity; when there are just so many really good opportunities, and the price tag for what people were going to donate for my time was just too good to pass up. I learned that if I spread myself too thin like, that ultimately I won't have the same platform I've had because I'm not playing as good of golf because I'm exhausted and I'm just not giving as much. There were opportunities that just I just had to take advantage of. Hopefully it's helped those charities. You never know exactly how it's going to impact them. But I feel like it was opportunities that I had to take at times. Q. Have any of the rookies picked your brain yet this week? MARK WILSON: You know, not really. But I would say more so the other players that I know, we are always picking each other's brains about what they might be thinking, not necessarily golf, but travelling. But sometimes it's golf, too. The closer I get to somebody, the more I feel comfortable asking them. So I wouldn't‑‑ as a rookie I wouldn't have gone ahead and asked a veteran, I guess, because I wasn't that comfortable with it. I haven't really had any of that. These young kids coming up, they just sweat confidence. I can understand why they would not ask me, a gristled veteran, what I think about something because they think they can do better, which is fine. Q. Any changes to your equipment. MARK WILSON: Only thing is a driver and iron that I really like. I brought both irons, I play the i10 irons and they came out with the i20. I brought them both with me to Maui in case I wasn't feeling i20s but I loved them. And the driver, that was an easy change. Feels very similar. Just has a little more matte look so it so get some of the glare out which is a nice thing. It was a very easy change. Doesn't feel like I changed equipment to be honest with you. They looked so similar and perform just slightly better, so it was a no‑brainer really. Q. Do you change your equipment much? MARK WILSON: Not very often. Every couple of years I would say I try the new stuff and usually it takes me a little time to get them in, but this is a pretty easy change. JOHN BUSH: Mark, we appreciate your time. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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