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WELLS FARGO CHAMPIONSHIPMay 3, 2013Phil MickelsonCHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA Q. Inside of ten feet, you're the only player in the field to not miss from that distance. Why are you putting so well on these greens so far this week? PHIL MICKELSON: Well, they're slower, so we can be much more aggressive. I've made a concerted effort to leave myself uphill putts which allowed me to take a lot of the break out and hit it aggressively. Not that you couldn't make it downhill because the threat of running it way by isn't that great. But still I feel like if I have uphill looks at it there is very little break because they are a little slower and I'm able to hit them aggressively. Q. During the commercial break we said you hit some fabulous shots today. I said 16 your second shot. You said 14 your second shot from the bunker. Why did you like that so much? PHIL MICKELSON: Because I had to spin that ball and just to the right and past the hole where I wanted to spin it, it actually started going away, and it was hard to get it to come back up the slope a little bit. So that was a better shot, I thought. Q. Because the golf course is so soft, all the moisture we've had the last couple weeks in the Charlotte area, are you able to put your foot down on the pedal and play aggressively here because of that, unlike what we've seen in the past where this golf course usually plays hard and fast? PHIL MICKELSON: On this course there are a lot of pins that have repelling, where around the pin if you miss it just a little bit, it will kick the ball away. Like the front left pin on 18 that we'll see probably on Sunday, a lot of the pins are like that here. So when the greens are firm and fast, you have to respect that and play a lot of times 20, 30 (Inaudible). With the green speed softer, we're able to fly it at the hole and stop it, so we're seeing some pretty good scoring, I think, this week. Q. You were telling me yesterday this one would mean a lot. It's one of the best PGA TOUR events on the calendar and you've come close with a runner‑up and tied for third here before. Why do you want to win on this golf course so badly? PHIL MICKELSON: I think tee to green it's one of the best we have, one of the best I've ever seen in the game. I think it's very fun to play. I think that it has a feel of a major championship in that you have to hit certain shots and control it and miss in the right spot and be strategic around the greens. Maybe not as much this year, but certainly year‑in and year‑out, and it's going to be a great site for the PGA. It's a tournament I've had many opportunities to win and I've had great finishes here, but I haven't capped it off. It's a tournament I've always put on my schedule. I enjoy playing here so much that it would mean a lot to win and just feel good every time I come here. Q. Was it as much fun to play as it was to watch? PHIL MICKELSON: It was. I have actually struggled a little bit off the tee the first 27 holes, then after the 10th tee shot, something kind of clicked in and I realized my alignment was a little bit off. I started hitting some good tee shots after that and played the last eight holes much better than I thought. I putted very well, and that's kept me into the low scores and atop the leaderboard, and my short game and iron shots have been pretty good. But I think this weekend, if I drive the ball the way I've been driving it before I came here and the way I started to the last eight holes, I think it's going to be a fun weekend. Q. Does that give you an indication that the driver search is over? I know you've been through quite a process this year. PHIL MICKELSON: It is. I've been driving the ball really well the last couple weeks. I drove it well at The Masters, actually. The other parts of my game were quite a bit off, obviously, but I felt really good off the tee, even though the first 27 holes I didn't show it. I think this weekend I'm going to drive it some of the best I have. It started to come together in the last eight holes. It felt totally different. But before I came here, I was driving it as well as I ever have. Q. Fans here absolutely love you. How about that reception out there on a Friday afternoon? PHIL MICKELSON: There are really huge galleries here in Charlotte. They support this tournament as well as just about any tournament we have. It's pretty cool to see. It's pretty cool to see what Johnny Harris has done with this tournament. It went from having no tournament ten years ago to having one of the premier events on the PGA TOUR. I think that's pretty cool. The community here has certainly supported it which you have to have if you're going to be successful. Q. How big was that birdie putt on 9 to get to 8‑under? PHIL MICKELSON: It was kind of a bonus birdie on 9. You don't expect to birdie that hole because it's one of the tougher holes out here. It was certainly a long putt. You don't expect those to go in. So it's kind of a bonus shot where I got one where I wasn't expecting to. Q. What about the feeling of being on top heading into the weekend? A few shots clear right now. PHIL MICKELSON: Well, it's fun to be in contention. It's fun to be in the mix. It's great to be leading, but we're only halfway home. There is a lot of golf left. I have to come out and play very well. But I've been putting very well this week, and I've been driving the ball very well before I got here. But the first 27 holes, I didn't drive it that well. The last eight I started to. And I think if I drive the ball the way I've been before I got here, and not the way I did the first few days, I think it's going to be a fun weekend. Q. With the weather coming in this Sunday, it may be more important to shoot a really good round tomorrow when the weather conditions may be a little better. PHIL MICKELSON: It might be more important with the weather coming in. But I think out here now if you're going to win, you've got to have the pedal down from the start. It's very difficult to make up ground on these players here. There are just so many birdies being made now and so many guys doing it that you've got to come out hot from the start. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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