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CROWNE PLAZA INVITATIONAL AT COLONIALMay 22, 2014Tim WilkinsonFORT WORTH, TEXAS THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome Tim Wilkinson into the interview room. Our current clubhouse leader after a 4‑under par 66, 66 for the second straight week here in the Dallas‑Fort Worth area. If we can just get some comments on your opening round. TIM WILKINSON: Yeah, hit a lot of fairways and greens, a lot of greens anyway. I played solidly. I made a couple nice birdies early, which is always nice to get off to a good start. I think the first five or six holes are quite tricky, so that's a good start. Q. Talk about your season up to this point. Sort of right there on the bubble, FedExCup, in terms of the top 125. Talk about the year as a whole. TIM WILKINSON: Yeah, I didn't get in many events early in the season in the fall. Played one in Mexico and finished 10th there. A few things going on, I got sick in Hawaii, and had a lot of different incidences handed to me this year. But I played well at Pebble Beach, got a lot of confidence from that. I just made a lot of cuts. I had a bad nine holes here and there. That's really about it. The results sometimes look bad, but I actually have been playing quite solidly. It's a putt here, putt there, better drive here. It's not a huge‑‑ the line is quite fine really in the difference how I've been playing. I was pretty patient today. I was pretty patient last week as well, so I'm feeling good about my game. I started working with Grant Waite. I've known him for 25 years, actually. We grew up at the same golf club and picked up a bit more distance off the tee, which is always nice. I feel like I'm hitting it straighter as well, and a bit more control over my ball. So playing in the wind, I grew up on a course very similar to this, tree‑lined, a little wind. So I feel it's a comfortable place. Q. And you're healthy this year. TIM WILKINSON: Yeah. Q. Talk a little bit about how the wind was blowing today while you were out there. Was it tough to pull clubs or no? TIM WILKINSON: Not really. I actually find the ball flies‑‑ it's not like out in California where the ball just doesn't go anywhere in the wind. I actually find it flies pretty well through the wind here. It's a bit drier, bit warmer. No, I don't really feel like I've been between too many clubs. Maybe 17 was the only one where I was a little doubtful, but I had a good shot where I was aiming. So, yeah, it was good. Q. Can you tell me about some of the things that happened early on? TIM WILKINSON: Oh, in Hawaii I think I was going reasonably well after two rounds, actually the first round. Then I picked up a stomach bug and didn't sleep one wink. But I was going to withdraw, actually, and my wife thought I was going to withdraw, my caddie thought I was going to withdraw, but I played and made the cut and ended up finishing. I'm not sure where I finished. I lost a bit of weight which doesn't help for me because I'm not very big anyway. Then I had a few other things go on. Just with traveling with our daughter, just her getting sick and teething and not sleeping. Just little things like that which sometimes makes it difficult. Q. How old is she? TIM WILKINSON: 14 months old. Q. Can you just discuss maybe in detail a little bit about working with Grant? You said you've known him for a long time, but you've decided it was something you needed to work with him on? TIM WILKINSON: Yeah, I've talked to him over the year. I mean, I've known him since I started playing the game. I was very fortunate to have he and Craig Perks are sort of role models from the same club as me in New Zealand. So ever since I was on the Web.com Tour, back and forth, and just things about technique and things like that. I don't really know‑‑ well, he's always said a couple things. He's been elusive as well, but he's helped me a lot in the last three weeks. Just hard to explain, but I was just swinging on top of the ground. I wasn't using the ground to create any force. So I just feel, yeah, it's helped me a lot. I still work with a coach at home and talk to him in New Zealand. His name's Andre White. But Grant's good eyes over here for me as well, and he's a great player so sometimes just from a teaching point of view it's a lot better to have someone who is a teacher that has played on the PGA TOUR. He knows you don't want to go too far in working on your technique. You still have to be able to play the game. So that's been good. Q. Any key stretch shot or save today that kept you going when things were getting a little wobbly at all? TIM WILKINSON: I was in between clubs on 16 on the tee and didn't make a good swing. I wasn't aggressive enough, and it sort of landed, left the green and rolled down. I hit a good chip. It could have gone in, actually. I got a good read off Kevin Tway. I think it was about eight feet for par, and I hit a good putt around the middle, so I think that kept it going. Then I made a really good read on 17 from pin high and had a good putt. Q. Is this your first start here at Colonial? TIM WILKINSON: Yeah. Q. Did you feel like it was a course that was going to suit your game? TIM WILKINSON: Yeah, yeah. I took Monday off. My caddie walked the course and he sent me a text. He said, I love this place. It's sweet. Yeah, I feel comfortable. As I said earlier, it's really similar. It's slightly different, but a lot of doglegs and tree lined. There are a few more fairway bunkers here than the course I grew up at home, but it's pretty similar, yeah. Q. Did you feel like you were champing at the bit? TIM WILKINSON: Yeah, you've got to be careful about that. You've still got to be patient. There are a few things I can do better tomorrow. Hit some better tee shots on some holes. I didn't take advantage of the two par‑5s. I just missed the fairway on both of them, but other than that, I played well. Q. I was going to ask about the wind. Couple of players had mentioned it was a little stronger in the practice round. What were some of your thoughts about the effect it had on some of your shots today? TIM WILKINSON: Yeah, it was a lot stronger in the practice round. I hit a couple slightly different clubs off 6 and the 9. I think I hit drivers in the practice round; the wind was blowing about 30 miles an hour blowing straight in so I hit 3‑woods today. But other than that, I think I hit pretty much the same clubs off every tee. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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