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THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIPMay 8, 2014Gary WoodlandPONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA Q. Did the golf course favor any particular part of anybody's game today? Or is it just playing like it always does? GARY WOODLAND: It's a little soft right now. So the golf course is definitely receptive. If you drive the ball in the fairway, the greens, you can attack some pins. Where usually they're a little firmer and stuff, you can get at some of these pins right now. The greens actually rolled really well. They were rough early this week, but today they rolled beautifully and if you got in the right spot you could make some putts. Q. Probably doesn't surprise you that the scores are better this morning? Gary WOODLAND: No, the conditions were perfect. This golf course doesn't usually give numbers like that, so it's nice to go out and get one this morning. Q. So the key is, so many guys say, is everybody's going to make birdies, it's those par saves that you make, avoiding doubles all that? GARY WOODLAND: Exactly. I made a big putt on 14 today. I had about a 20‑footer for par that I made that kept the momentum going. Any time you don't want to give shots back out here, especially want to eliminate big numbers. If you can do that, you can make birdies. Q. How has your confidence come along as your game's starting to come along? GARY WOODLAND: Confidence is really good right now. I feel great about my game, I feel excited about where I'm moving to. I'm getting better. I'm more and more comfortable with the changes I've made and the scores are starting to show that. I'm starting to put together some pretty good golf. It's been steady for awhile, but I'm starting to see a lot more low numbers right now, which is exciting. Q. What are the last pieces? GARY WOODLAND: Getting it all rounded up. We're trying to eliminate some weaknesses, turn those into strengths, short game's coming along, wedges coming along, putting is coming along, and I'm driving the ball a lot better. So you put all that together I'm starting to play some pretty good golf. Q. Did you hit driver all day today? GARY WOODLAND: I only hit four. Callaway strengthened my 3‑wood for me. I'm hitting a pretty good 3‑wood, so I don't have to hit driver. Q. So there's a bit of strategy going on? GARY WOODLAND: Exactly. That's, out here, sometimes ‑‑ I never made a cut here‑‑ so I hit some irons before, I hit drivers before, this time we strengthened the 3‑wood, it seemed to be working for us. Q. Sometimes they say you have to slow down to go fast, do you have to dial it down here? GARY WOODLAND: Yeah, especially around here. I don't think length is a huge advantage around here. You got to get the ball in the fairway. The rough is up in certain spots, it's patchy, if you get it in certain spots, it's tough. If you drive the ball in play, you can give your self opportunities. I really played well. I gave myself a lot of chances today. Didn't make a lot of putts, but it was nice to get a low round. I struggled on this golf course in the past, so it's nice to get off to a good start. Q. You only missed three greens the entire day. GARY WOODLAND: I hit it well early. I ran out of gas a little bit in the middle of the round, got some fuel back in me. I hit it good, too. I got a bad break on 16. I hit it in the middle of the fairway and got into a divot there, so it was frustrating to make par there. But outside of that, I played well. Q. You're one of the longer hitters on TOUR, how many drivers did you hit out here and are you comfortable not hitting drivers off the tee? GARY WOODLAND: I am. I hit four drivers today. Callaway strengthened my 3‑wood for me this week, so I have a little stronger 3‑wood. I'm getting that out there a little farther, so I'm comfortable hitting 3‑wood off the tee box out here. Q. What's the loft on that one? GARY WOODLAND: It's down to 14 1/2, I believe, from 16. Q. We used to call that a spoon in the old days. Do you feel more comfortable on this golf course? You haven't had a lot of success here in the past. GARY WOODLAND: I do. My game's a lot better than it's been in the past, and it's nice to have Tony on the bag here. It's really good right now. Q. You've been undergoing some swing changes, do you feel comfortable with that right now? GARY WOODLAND: The game feels great. I'm healthy, I've been playing pretty good, it's been coming along nicely. Q. Obviously, you're known as one of the biggest hitters off the tee, but today, if you look statistically at what you did out there, you hit over 83 percent of your greens. Was that the key, your iron play today? GARY WOODLAND: It was. I laid back a little bit off the tee. We strengthened the 3‑wood, Callaway did, so I can hit a lot more 3‑woods, get it out there a little farther than laying back. I gave myself a lot of chances. I hit a lot of greens, didn't get a lot of putts to go in, but I'm in a pretty good position right now. Q. You're healthy, you've been working a lot with your swing coach, Claude Harmon, and some with Greg Norman, is all this a product of that work? GARY WOODLAND: It is. It's all starting to come together. It's a process and we're in the beginning stages of that, but I'm feeling more and more comfortable every day and the scores are starting to show that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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