THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 20, 2013

Tiger Woods

Q. What did you have to carry the cross bunkers?
TIGER WOODS: I had 38 to carry.

Q. (Inaudible.)
TIGER WOODS: No, if I hit it flat and flush, it's fine. It carries. But I spun it. And you spin it against that wind, it's not going to go very far, and it went about 225 or so. It was on a slight upslope. That 17th hole has little ridges on it. I happened to catch it on a slight upslope. I had to trap it to get it there and I just couldn't do it.

Q. Can you describe the conditions?
TIGER WOODS: It was very different today. It was a lot slower out there. The greens were slower. It looked like they didn't roll some of them or cut them. It was very different. 18 was really slow. I'm sure that there were quite a few guys leaving putts short from below the hole. Lee got fooled a couple of times and so did I. We land the ball in green spots and it sticks. Land the ball in a dry spot and it runs 70, 80 yards. It was a really tough test and feel. And looking where you needed to land the ball and really try and land the ball on that number about with the correct spin.

Q. (Inaudible.) Looked like you thought it was going?
TIGER WOODS: I see the grass is longer than the other greens. But I know it's coming up and over that ridge and it's going to have a little bit of runout. But it got caught coming over that ridge, and I could see down where the hole is, it's a lot greener than most of the greens. And I didn't trust my eyes, what I saw, and obviously it was dead center, just short.

Q. Your round today, overall, and your position for tomorrow?
TIGER WOODS: I'm pleased where I'm at; I'm only two back. There's only one guy ahead of me. And tomorrow, we'll see what they do tomorrow. We'll watch the telecast, like we do every day. I noticed that everybody this morning was leaving the ball short, couldn't get a ball to the hole, fly high or uphill putts, everyone is leaving putts short. I knew there was -- they put quite a bit of water on them or didn't get the greens as fast. Guys were trying to make adjustments. You could see as the rounds were going along, guys were starting to get a feel for it. But early on they didn't quite have that feel.

Q. The putt on 2, did you feel like you had the speed and would have it the rest of the day of the day there? And the tee shot on 7?
TIGER WOODS: On 2, I was, just get one in the hole. Just somehow get one in the home. It was uphill. You know it's very green. And just make sure -- it's only about four or five inches outside to the right, just make sure I hit it hard enough, and I did. It ended up getting there and falling in. 7, I hit it too flat. It was a 9-iron. We had 85 front, something like that, and I hit it too flat. It went, 220 or something like that, whatever it was. I hit it too flat for that. Lee hit the perfect shot, he threw it straight up and it landed on the upslope. I was trying to land the ball in the upslope, and it ended hit it too flat and it flatlined and was out of there.

Q. It must have been as fun to play as it was to watch?
TIGER WOODS: For me I was trying to grind along and play my own game, regardless of what Lee was doing or what anyone else was doing. This golf course is a tough test and I was just trying to execute my own game plan. And wherever that ended up, it ended up. And I ended up 1-over par, which wasn't too bad.

Q. What do you take the most positive for today that carries into tomorrow?
TIGER WOODS: I felt like I played well today, I really did. And I had a couple opportunities to make a couple of putts, I just didn't do it. Caught a couple of weird bounces out there, which is normal. But all in all it was a good solid day. I really played well. And tomorrow hopefully I can play just a little bit better, and make a couple more putts.

Q. Are you in great position? Are you in better position than Lee?
TIGER WOODS: I don't know. I've got 14 of these things, and I know what it takes to win it. He's won tournament all over the world. He knows how to win golf tournaments. He's two shots ahead and we're going to go out there and both compete and play. It's not just us two. There's a bunch of guys who have a chance to win this tournament. And all of us need to really play well tomorrow to win it.

Q. We know how much you want to win, you've talked about that quite openly. We all remind you it's been five years since. How much do you want to win this thing tomorrow?
TIGER WOODS: I really do. I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to the challenge of it. I've been in this position before, in the past five years, and I've been in that hunt on that mix. And I'm in it again. Hopefully tomorrow I can play well and win the tournament.

Q. What do you think of the way Lee played?
TIGER WOODS: He played solid. He hit a couple of loose shots here and there, but he really played well. He made a couple of big putts at 16 and 17. And it looked like he was going to make double there and made a nice birdie on 17. He made a couple of good putts. Missed a couple on the front nine, as well. So all in all it was -- I shot 1-over, he shot 1-under. It was a pretty steady day for both of us.

Q. How about that three-hole stretch where you made up two shots? You can't take anything for granted out here.
TIGER WOODS: I was three back at that point, but I was just plodding along, just be patient, play my own game. Whatever happens at the end of the day, it happens, just play my own game. And it changed quickly. And the guys made a run from behind us, as well. There's a lot of guys in there with a chance to win and anything can happen. If we get another different condition, another different day and with these bounces and the way things are going, and these are really tough hole locations. They're putting it on sides of slopes. It's really hard to make birdies, it's hard to get the ball close. We'll see what they do tomorrow.