Stat profiles for 1500 golfers
From Tiger Woods to Phil Mickelson to Greg Norman and much, much more, Tuesday was a busy day at the Masters interview room.
Ever been to a buffet where they just served too much food?
That’s what Tuesday at the Masters is like for a golf writer. Camilo Villegas in the interview room? On any other day, this rising star would make a good story. But, sorry, we’ve already had the chance to interview Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington, and Geoff Ogilvy, with Greg Norman, Danny Lee, and Ryo Ishikawa on the way. So, no thanks. Villegas drew only 10 writers, and that was probably out of courtesy as much as anything.
Here are some of the highlights from a marathon day in the interview room:
Tiger Is In A Good Mood
Tiger Woods enjoys these interviews as much as most of us enjoy going to the dentist, which is an apt analogy because for golf writers trying to get anything out of him is like pulling teeth. But maybe he’s so glad to be back playing in a major again that he doesn’t even mind this part of the process. There were quite a few smiles, very few curt answers, and he went for 35 minutes.
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There was one example of a, “No, I don’t think that way,” answer:
Q: During the time you were absent, did you take stock of how much is left in your career?
TIGER WOODS: Say that again?
Did you take stock in your future in golf, and how much time you have left?
TIGER WOODS: No. No, I didn’t look at it that way, no. I just looked at the fact that it would have been nice to actually make a swing like those guys were making at the time [referring to watching on television the end of the two majors he missed]. At the time, I was on the couch, [the knee] elevated with ice.
All in all, Woods was comfortable talking about the comeback, rehab, the golf course, and his play so far this year. He didn’t give any great quotes (not that anybody expected him to), but at one point gave a good indication of his mindset during rehab.
Q: You mentioned you missed the rush; during the time off, did you find anything to replace it? Did you find a hobby?
TIGER WOODS: No, my rush every day was trying to get in the gym and improve on what I did the day before. That was my competitiveness coming out. I had to apply it differently, and I could not get better at golf because, one, I couldn’t touch a club, and I couldn’t practice.
So the one thing I could do was try to get better physically, and certainly that was a challenge. Anyone that’s ever gone through an ACL reconstruction, it wasn’t fun. A lot of low points and low days, but you’ve got to fight through it. That was the challenge.
Fighting through that and trying to keep up with [daughter] Sam was a tough task.
Newsworthiness Index
It was standing room only, of course, for Woods.
The room was two-thirds full for Padraig Harrington and only half full for Mickelson. To be fair, Harrington was helped by being the first interview of the day, while Mickelson came in after Woods. In fact, Mickelson’s media liason turned to me as the interview started and said, “Where is everybody?” Um, upstaged by Tiger again. Greg Norman also drew about half the room, pretty impressive since he came in near the end of the day.
Amateur Danny Lee drew about 30 writers, beating out defending champion Trevor Immelman (about 25) and this year’s leading money winner Geoff Ogilvy (about 20). Japanese teen sensation Ryo Ishikawa also drew about 30 writers, most of them Japanese. As mentioned, Villegas was the smallest attraction, joined by 10 writers in the expansive interview room.
Most Engaging Interview
Surprisingly, it was 19-year-old amateur Danny Lee. His English is a bit halting (he moved from Korea to New Zealand when he was 12 years old but still isn’t totally comfortable with his second language when under the microscope of media attention), but was refreshingly frank about the nerves he is feeling in his Augusta National debut and his discomfort in addressing the media.
Q: Do you think it’s possible, could a guy like you at your age and lack of experience, could you win this week?
DANNY LEE: No. I’m having really bad nerves at the moment, seriously. All of the crowds yesterday, I was nervous, really shaking my clubs, and wasn’t swinging properly. I’ve never seen that many crowds out there and, you know, that many greatest players playing in this tournament. I’m still nervous and I’m trying to relax every time and trying to practice hard and see how it goes.
(Later) Q: I’m worried about you being nervous. This is a long way for a boy from Rotarau High School; will you get your nerves under control by the time you smack it the first time?
I’m working on it. Still having nerves from the media stuff again.
Q: All friends, Danny.
I’m trying to think this is friends, and when I get nervous, I can’t really talk properly, because my nerves are breaking down and I’m having a stomach ache, too. I’m serious. I’m trying to calm myself every time, but I know as soon as I go outside the clubhouse and watch all of those crowds out there, I cannot get relaxed or nice and calm like that. But I’m still working on it.
(Later) Q: I think you were one of the last ones on the range last night. What were you working on?
DANNY LEE: I wasn’t really working on my swing. I was just trying to hit the ball straight. Finally, it worked out, so I left.
Most Expansive Answers
Padraig Harrington went on for 39 lines in the transcript in answering the day’s first question, admittedly a rather open-ended one: “Could you simply give us your feelings about the tournament; what strikes you most when you first come to the course or the feelings that you’ve acquired about it since you’ve been there since then?”
He was temporarily edged out for longest answer honors by Trevor Immelman when asked about the menu he selected for Tuesday night’s champions dinner. It would have been a tie at 39 lines, but then, after already saying that he was looking forward to it, Immelman concluded by saying, “And so you know, I’m thoroughly looking forward to it.”
But the day’s champion was 54-year-old Greg Norman, who was fully in “happy to be here” mode, and in a reflective mood, besides. He went 53 lines on reminiscing about his first Masters and 52 lines with architectural thoughts about Augusta National. He took longest-interview honors at just over 40 minutes.
A One, And A Two
Phil Mickelson was good-natured about it, but he wouldn’t let a writer get away with this one.
Q: When you come to this place, you’ve always done so very well here. Is there something about this course and the way it sets up that suits your eye? And as an addendum to that, when you are working with Butch and you are working with Dave Pelz, do they mesh in terms of the information you receive?
PHIL MICKELSON: I don’t see how that’s an addendum to your first question (laughter).
Mickelson went on to answer both questions, interspersed with, “And then on to your totally separate question…”
Yo, Ishikawa!
Japan’s 17-year-old sensation Ryo Ishikawa has a name that is impossible for Americans to pronounce, the proper way apparently being something close to “Yo,” but with just a hint of an “r” sound at the beginning. The announcement to the media center hedged its bets:
“Yo Ishikawa is in the interview room! Yo Ishikawa is in the interview room!”
And then, a moment later, “Ro Ishikawa is in the interview room! Ro Ishikawa is in the interview room!”
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