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AT&T PEBBLE BEACH NATIONAL PRO-AMFebruary 11, 2012Phil MickelsonPEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA Q. How was it? PHIL MICKELSON: It was a fun day to play golf out here, because you have the intermittent rain that could come off, but when it stopped raining you felt like you could make some birdies and the ball would fly a little farther. When the rain was coming in, the ball was going 20 yards shorter per club and was more of a challenge but it was a fun challenge. It was something you kind of come to expect at this time of the year on this golf course, and the course is in such great shape, to play with weather that was constantly changing was a fun challenge. Q. We saw you go to the rain gloves at The Presidents Cup, you used them again today. What are you getting out of using those? PHIL MICKELSON: This has been a monumental thing for me. I have not played well in bad weather when it gets wet and rainy. The guys at Callaway told me to try these All Weather Gloves. And the things about them is they can get wet and my grips can get wet and I'm not constantly trying to stay dry. My other glove when it gets wet, it gets slippery. These All Weather Gloves, they hold on to the grip so well, that even if they get wet, that I don't have take them off usually. And this has helped me play in bad weather exponentially, because the biggest thing for me has always been the club slipping in my hands and then I have to have a tighter grip pressure and I don't have the same type of free swing. These gloves have really made a big difference in my game in this kind of weather. Q. I saw you glancing at the leaderboard on 18, and you won here and now you've put yourself in a position to win, how does it feel? PHIL MICKELSON: It feels great. Now, I know that I'm quite a few shots back, I think I'm five or six shot back but I also know that this golf course, you can come out and get a quick start, make some birdies and when that happens, it's tough to follow suit, a grew groups behind. So I'm in a nice situation where if I can get a hot hand early, I can make a run on the leaderboard and have a good being about a nine. Q. You've been a champion here before but not many people mentioned your name as a possible winner here. How is it coming down? PHIL MICKELSON: My start to the year has been a lot slower than I expected. I really felt good practicing and was excited for the year and my play, and some of my scores have not been that great. I had a good couple of rounds last week and I started to hit the ball much more confidently and I had a good couple of rounds this week, so I've been slowly getting into the start of the year. I thought I would be a little bit quicker but it is starting to come. I could feel the difference. Q. This is typical Crosby weather, nice one second, and the other, 20 minutes later, it's different. How did it affect play today? PHIL MICKELSON: It does make a huge difference when the rain comes in because the air gets so heavy and the ball doesn't fly; it's flying 20 yards shorter per club when it's raining than it does when it's drying. And so you just have to make the right adjustments. When it's raining, you're trying to make pars, because it's very difficult to get the ball close, and hard to get the right‑‑ a good club into the par fours. When it cleared up, you feel like you can make some birdies, the greens are now soft and they are holding shots and you can get them close. So it was really, you had to make some adjustments out there. Q. Is this evidence of how well you're striking the ball that in conditions that have changed so much today, you kept it really solid? PHIL MICKELSON: Thanks, yeah, and yesterday, too, when it got bad, that's when I started to play my best. But the biggest difference for me is last year at the British Open when I played so well in such bad weather was going to those Callaway All Weather Gloves, because my hands start slipping when they get wet and I have to hold the club on tighter. And my swing then changes. But with these gloves, they can get as wet at you want, and the grips can be as wet as you want and I don't lose tackiness. So I'm able to get in this rainy weather, I just leave the glove on and I don't sacrifice the tackiness. I'm able to make my same swing. So that's been a big difference. Q. Did they try to talk you into using those much earlier or was it just‑‑ PHIL MICKELSON: No, not really. I just asked their opinion on what they thought I should do when this happens when it gets cold and wet, my hands are slipping, you have to try this All Weather Glove. I had no idea how effective it was. At the British, I never took them off. I have them for both hands. Today I used them on both hands on some shots just because it kept them warm, but I really liked that. Q. What did you find in the putting the last day and the half? PHIL MICKELSON: It's not so much the day and a half, it's been all year. I'm going to have days where I don't make putts and days where I get hot, but day‑in, day‑out, I feel great with the putter. I don't think about mechanics anymore. Everything about as far as the way the putter is set up, the way I address it, the way I grip it, the stuff I've worked on with Stockton, all that stuff feels terrific. So day‑in and day‑out, I expect to be more consistent with the blade because I'm not making changes. Q. Feeling good about the shot on 8? PHIL MICKELSON: That was a good one. It turned out nice. Q. Were the conditions tough at that point? PHIL MICKELSON: It was blowing pretty good cross‑wind left‑to‑right. And I started an 8‑iron out that hooked with the wind quite a bit and caught the green, just fell right to the hole. Q. Where were you on 2? Were you in the hazard? PHIL MICKELSON: I was in the thick, heavy grass. And it was a bit unfortunate that we found it, because my provisional ball ended up five feet from the cup and I would have had a 5‑footer for par. I took an unplayable lie and was able to drop behind the thick grass on an area that was playable and it was inches in‑bounds, the drop, which isn't a bad thing. When I took a drop, it twice then kicked out‑of‑bounds. And then I had to place it. So it was a unique situation, I wasn't sure there was enough room over there, but it worked out well. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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