LATINO SPORTS NETWORK
LA JOLLA CA 1/27/18
BY MIKE ROJAS
Q. They told me you thought that round was gross?
TIGER WOODS: It was gross.
Q. But what was the satisfaction level of posting a good number with that sort of
ball-striking?
TIGER WOODS: Well, that’s just fighting, you know, fighting and grinding. I tried as hard as I possibly could out there. I didn’t have much, but I fought and put up a score and made some putts.
Q. Since August 2015 this is really your first big foray back into competitive golf.
What’s been the biggest adjustment you’ve had to make?
TIGER WOODS: Well, my feels are all off, they’re all different now. Playing at home was
one thing, but I feel different than I did in the Bahamas. I don’t know why that is, maybe it’s just because it was hot and humid down there and this is a little bit different. But my feels are a little bit off and that’s something I’m going to have to get used to; what are my feels for certain shots now and going forward. I learned a lot from the Bahamas, I’ll probably learn even more from this week.
Q. What do you take into tomorrow, what do you go work on now?
TIGER WOODS: Well, see if I can shoot something in the 60s, but make it a little bit easier
on myself than today.
Q. Today compared to Thursday and Friday, kind of all came together today a little
bit, didn’t it?
TIGER WOODS: I don’t know about coming together, but it was a struggle out there. I
didn’t hit it worth a darn all day. I was really struggling out there trying to find anything that was resemblance of a golf swing. But I was scoring, I was chipping, putting, I was grinding. I was trying to miss the ball on the correct sides because I know I didn’t have it, trying to give
myself the correct angles and I did that most of the day. Then I had to rely on my touch, my feel, my putting and it’s been good all week.
Q. What’s the game plan for tomorrow, what’s the focus for tomorrow? You’re 3
under and the weather’s going to get a little tougher.
TIGER WOODS: Well, I was telling Dottie over there it would be nice to shoot something in the 60s. I would like to do something a little bit easier than I did today, hit some more
fairways, more greens, make it more conventional. But hey, I’ll have another day, another day in this whole process of trying to build my way back up and I’m looking forward to it.
Q. Tiger, what do you think that score might have been if you didn’t have a great
short game today?
TIGER WOODS: It would have been snowing on me, it would have been snowing.
Q. Are the driver issues at all attributable to putting a new driver in, the difference
from what you had in the Bahamas or —
TIGER WOODS: No, it’s not the driver, it’s just my swing. My feels are different. I’m
struggling with my feels out there, hitting certain shots. Some of my go-to shots aren’t there, some of my shots I like to hit under certain circumstances aren’t there, either. The only thing I have is my short game and my — my heart and that got me through today.
Q. Tiger, it’s pretty evident to all of us that were down in the Bahamas and here how
much you’re enjoying being back out doing what you do. Is it possible if you don’t
get to the point where you’re winning at that clip that you were in this phase 2 of your
career, so to speak, that you’ll maybe enjoy it, maybe enjoy it even more just because
you can —
TIGER WOODS: How many people have won at the clip I did?
Q. That’s what I mean.
TIGER WOODS: You’re asking someone in their 40s —
Q. Just in terms of their —
TIGER WOODS: Okay. I am enjoying it, yes, a lot.
Q. Is it possible to enjoy it more even if you’re not winning 14 majors in the next —
TIGER WOODS: I don’t know, we’ll see.
Q. How much of a difference did it make being on this course with your familiarity?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, you know, it helped because I knew where to miss it. On top of
that, I knew the putts. I know how these greens break and certain putts break, and I only
called Joey in there on one putt today, that was the last hole and I blocked it. But I know
these greens here, so that definitely did help.
Q. And the crowds here are a lot different than they were at Albany?
TIGER WOODS: Oh, my God, yes.
Q. So it’s got to be different for you as well because you haven’t been in front of
crowds like this in a while, either?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I haven’t had people yelling like that in a while. It’s been pretty
quiet at Medalist and back home. Hey, dude, I think it’s fantastic. They’re out here
supporting, they came out to this tournament. Southern California’s always been near and dear to my heart, it’s where I grew up and so many of the people that I haven’t seen in a long time have come out this week, which is fantastic. It’s great to have a hometown feel. I’ve played well here over the course of my career and I think a lot of these fans just want to see some of that. And trust me, I’m trying.
Q. You went after several out of the rough very hard. Like in other words, you
weren’t shying away from it. Was there a point where you had to get over a mental
hurdle to be able to do that?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, definitely. It didn’t happen at the Bahamas because I didn’t have
rough. This is new and that’s one of the things that I tried to prepare for. You know, I
overseeded one area at my house trying to grow the rough up and try to hit some hard ones out there, see how it would feel because I really hadn’t played in rough since last year here.
So a good 12 months away from playing out of rough, I don’t know what this body’s going to do, but I think it did great today. I hit a lot of good shots, I controlled the face really well because I kept my speed up. That was one of the things that I didn’t have last year, I
couldn’t control the face because I didn’t have any speed.
Q. You had pain, right?
TIGER WOODS: No pain, no, no.
Q. A little bit converse to Bob’s first question about what would it have been like, just
kind of wondering with the short game the way it has been, as sharp as it’s been, if
you’re hitting three, four, five, six more fairways, where would that score be?
TIGER WOODS: It would be in the 60s. I don’t think I would be contending right now, but it would be in the 60s.
Q. You still don’t think it would be enough?
TIGER WOODS: Well, I would have to — I would have to do a lot. These guys are all
playing really well. I mean, 12 under’s leading right now. Going into the weekend I probably thought 14, 15 would be the number and I was at 1 under and it’s not going to cut it.
Q. Why is the short game better this comeback as compared to last comeback
because last comeback the short game wasn’t like it is now?
TIGER WOODS: No, I don’t have burning pain down my leg, my leg’s not shaking, my foot’s working. Actually when I tell it to walk, it can actually walk. I was — I was struggling and it was not fun. People don’t realize, the shots that hurt the most were putts and the chips because I was the most bent over. The shots I love to hit were the drivers, I was the least bent over. You would think that would be the most speed but that was the least painful of all my shots that I hit. Bunker shots were off-the-charts painful, but I just hated hitting little short shots because it just hurt. Give me a driver any day a year ago and I felt so much better.