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SHELL HOUSTON OPENMarch 31, 2012Jeff MaggertHUMBLE, TEXAS Q. I guess the stop and start doesn't hurt you. You've been really consistent this entire tournament. JEFF MAGGERT: The ball strike has been really good. Lot of balls close to the hole. Lot of easy birdies, especially this morning, hit a couple balls really close to the hole and made a couple nice putts. Just one little hiccup there on nine, but sometimes it's nice to get those out of the way. I played, I think, 35 holes without a bogey, so that was my first bogey. So it kind of, you know, get that one out of way and get ready for round three. Q. How difficult was it for you to stop and start? JEFF MAGGERT: Not too bad. We do it so often out here with the weather delays and, you know, I knew the golf course was going to be soft, obviously, and then the greens were rolling really nice this morning. Q. You talked about consistency. You've hit 12 of 14 fairways in the first and second round. 16 of 18 greens in first and second round and taken 28 putts each round as well. JEFF MAGGERT: Like I said, the ball strikes has been the key. I have been struggling a little bit with my putter the last month and a half, but the greens are so good this week and I made some putts early in my round yesterday and got a little confidence now and just seeing the lines well and feeling the speed and, you know, just getting up there and feeling like I can make 10, 15-footers all the time. Q. Here with the man we'll call Mr. Consistency. Back-to-back rounds of 66. You hit 12 fairways, 16 greens, and had 28 putts in the first two rounds. How would you assess your play so far? JEFF MAGGERT: That's usually good for pretty good scoring. The ball strikes have been the key. I've been hitting the ball really well this week. A lot of shots close to the hole where I'm not having to make, you know, 15 and 20-footers for birdie. I've had three, four just tap-in birdies and quite a few birdies inside 10 feet. So that's really been the key. The greens are really rolling nice this week, and I got pretty good confidence right now after making quite a few putts the last few days. I'm looking forward to this afternoon, and scoring conditions are going to be similar and the golf course is wet. The greens are rolling good. Q. Speaking of confidence, where did you find it? You came here this week missing the last five cuts. JEFF MAGGERT: It's a strange game. After being out here for 20-plus years, it's strange. I started the year playing really well. I was hitting the ball well, putting pretty well, and just had a little stretch there where I wasn't hitting it that great, and instead of being 15 feet from the hole, I'm putting from 30 and 40 feet and 3-putting and just struggled a little bit, but this week certainly turned it around. Q. Eighteen holes on Thursday, ten on Friday, eight Saturday morning, and a lot more this afternoon. How difficult has it been to sustain momentum? JEFF MAGGERT: Not bad. It was nice to get in ten holes yesterday. That makes the day a little bit easier, and we got a little break here of a couple hours, so I'll be able to rest and get ready for this afternoon. Q. Assess your chances this afternoon. JEFF MAGGERT: It's just going to be kind of the same game plan. You know, I've kind of got a couple little swing thoughts I'm working on and just keep those in my head and just try to hit the ball solid, and I know if I'm hitting the ball close to the hole, I'll be able to make some birdies. Q. Comfort level playing so close to home? JEFF MAGGERT: This doesn't really have a home course feel to me. My hometown. I just don't have the amount of rounds on this, of course. It's more like a normal Tour event. You know, obviously this golf course is a lot different than what we used to play up in the Woodlands, but, you know, couple years ago, I had a pretty good week here and, you know, kind of like the golf course, and especially this week, the conditions are perfect, the greens are perfect. Q. You said you've been struggling with your putter a little bit. Anything specific? JEFF MAGGERT: Not really. Times when you start missing a few, you try too much, you know, trying to make a little change here or there or try to fix your stroke, and this week I've been more thinking a lot more of just the line of the putt and not so much on my stroke and just getting the ball rolling on line. The greens are so good, if you can get a good read on a putt and hit it on line, you're going to make them. Q. Swing keys you said you keep your mind on it. What are those? JEFF MAGGERT: Just basics. Been working on my ball position with my driver a little bit, trying to keep it inside my left foot. I thought I might have had it a little bit too far forward. Kind of the same thing with the irons, too, just getting the ball back just maybe an inch or two and just trying to have some good fundamentals. Q. How did you initially hurt your shoulder? JEFF MAGGERT: I was moving furniture. I was helping my mother-in-law in North Carolina. She was moving from a house, and it was basically just carrying furniture. Q. Couch on your shoulder? JEFF MAGGERT: Yeah, pretty heavy. It was a good move and a lot of stuff to move, and, you know, you just -- you don't think about things like that when you're doing it, and it was sore for a few weeks. I didn't really know what was going on. I thought just sore muscles from moving, using a lot of muscles that you normally don't do. The shoulder soreness just kind of lingered on, and I had an MRI done and there was a bone spur on the end of my collarbone that is called the AC joint. It was diagnosed a couple weeks, about a month later, but I was kind of chicken to have it cut on. So I tried to play through it for about a year and a half and just, you know, just wasn't working out. I would play for a couple weeks, get really sore, and just thought that I needed to try to have it done to prolong my career, what's left of it. Q. So you got hurt in 2010. JEFF MAGGERT: Yes. Q. Did you start to worry that maybe this is it for a couple years, you shut it down, the Champions Tour? JEFF MAGGERT: Not really. I was able to, you know -- I could play well for a week or two, but then it would get sore, but I feel like my game is suited to -- for the long haul out here, and obviously being healthy is important. I have a lot more respect for guys that struggle through injuries and can really, you know, it's not a big deal, I'm going the play through it, it's not affecting me. You know, it's so competitive out here, and, you know, just the slightest thing, little injury or nagging injury, can really affect your game, and then after awhile, a little bit of your mindset, you know, you lose confidence. Coming back from the surgery last fall and it felt so good, it was really not only a relief but just a confidence boost that I could go out and play four, five weeks in a row and not have to worry about it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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