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WELLS FARGO CHAMPIONSHIPMay 1, 2014Stewart CinkCHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA Q.  I guess you liked the changes. Three birdies in a row, 15, 16 and 17 and a 68 to start. STEWART CINK: It was a good round, a little more up than down. This golf course is not easy and you can play pretty well out here and still take your lumps out there and I kinda did. Overall it was a good round and I'm pleased. Q. How about the feel for these greens in this condition for the first round? STEWART CINK: They were beautiful this morning. They were the best I've seen 'em this week. They were really smooth, a little faster than they were yesterday so I had to adjust my speed but it was nice to see the ball rolling in the hole that smoothly for sure. I think this is going to be a great long‑term change for this golf course. Q. You're feeling in general about this layout and the setup, because when we talked in the practice rounds it appeared that you had a good comfort level going and you proved it in the first round as well. STEWART CINK: I've always felt comfortable playing here at Quail Hollow, it's a fun place to play, there is a lot of challenging spots out there, but the course will reward good play. I have a good attitude when I'm here. I feel comfortable and it's‑‑ the course forces you to be in a really good state of mind out there. It tricks you into getting into the results quite a bit and you've got to be disciplined about where your head is. Q. Great opening round by Stewart Cink, five birdies, on holes 10 through 17, two of them coming on those "green mile" holes, 16 and 17. How would you rate the changes today? STEWART CINK: Well, I think the changes they made are excellent, first of all, on 16 and 17, because I made two birdies on those holes. Q. Beautiful. STEWART CINK: I applaud the architect and Mr.Harris. Seriously, I started off with a good comfort level today, felt good on the greens. I was just really into my process and not where the ball was going, and crazy when you do that, the ball a lot of times goes where you want it to go. It was a good day, a lot of solid shots out there and something to build on. Q. I talked to Webb Simpson, your friend, earlier in the week and a member here at Quail Hollow, and he says he expects this golf course to play tougher with the changes and a single digit number will be the winning number. We've seen a lot of low scores out there today. Are you in agreement with Webb or not? STEWART CINK: I don't know if I agree with single digits, but I don't think they're going to go really low. I think the course will play tougher because of the firmness of the greens. They're not quite the scary speed they have been in the past. That was one of the biggest defenses on this golf course was speed and the greens aren't quite that fast but they are so firm it's hard to control how far your ball is going and give it the right distance. There is a lot of guessing out there so you will see conservative play, but I think someone is going to get in double digits. Q. 68. STEWART CINK: Yeah, it was beautiful out there. We had a nice, calm start. Front nine was really, you know, no breeze, the greens were perfect, really nice greens. When we turned to the second nine, which was the front nine, the wind picked up and it got quite a bit more tricky so I think the scores leveled off pretty fast, I know mind did and I think the other guys' did, too. Conditions are really good, though, for scoring. The greens are receptive although they're firm because of the new grass. Q. Dovetailing on that question, the greens are different, as you mentioned, but still playing it the same way as far as what you're hitting into the greens, allowing for a little more bounce and a little more roll? STEWART CINK: The holes are petty much the same with the exception of 16, tee‑to‑green, so you're hitting the same shots into the greens as we have for years but, yeah, you have to allow for more bounce, more roll. It's less predictable, being in the rough means a little more now because you've got to allow for more guesswork and how far the bar is going to go. I think overall it's going to allow the players to be a little more conservative coming into the greens, but it rewards putting the ball in the fairway. Q. What was the jump start for your round today? STEWART CINK: Well, I started off with a birdie on the first hole, No. 10, which is good to get a nice, solid birdie on a par 5, but the jump start came on 13, made about a 15‑foot birdie putt there, and for about the next six holes, the hole looked like a bucket, and I made significant putts on every hole through 18, except I missed a 10‑footer on 14, everything else was in. It felt great to get a stretch like that going, you know, on a golf course, especially that stretch of holes which is really tough. Q. You flip‑flop and go late tomorrow. How much do you expect things to change having the morning wave go through before you head out there? STEWART CINK: The morning guys tomorrow will have the same thing we did, probably, which is going to be good conditions the first half of the day, and I'm sure like today it will get trickier, and we'll have a tough day tomorrow afternoon. The greens may not hold up as well because of the traffic, so you're going to have to be patient, but the course puts me in a patient frame of mind anyway, so I'm looking forward to the challenge all week. Q. What is it about this place that you seem to always play well here? STEWART CINK: I have played well on this golf course. I just feel comfortable. The tee balls are‑‑ I feel like I have a solid strategy on all the holes, what clubs to hit; it's not all drivers out there. I don't know, I like the fairway grass, it's pure. I don't know one person that doesn't like this place. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Stewart. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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