Faldo's Post Opening 36 Q&A...

Yields all sorts of fun stuff.

Q. Nick, you haven't been playing much, you've done a lot of TV work, why would you put yourself under this pressure to come here and try and play on a golf course so difficult?

NICK FALDO: I wasn't intending to put myself under that much pressure. I was hoping to get a nice quiet draw, maybe with Mr. Watson or maybe Mr. Ballesteros. Maybe that's what the crowd would have liked. Instead I get Tiger and get thrown into the deep end.

And I only had a week's practice and that was a tough experience. I didn't enjoy that, because you're playing under pressure and you're just not prepared for it. I used to beat balls and hit millions of balls to boost my confidence. I've only hit hundreds in the last week. Obviously my game is very rusty and that was hard work so I don't think I'll do that again to myself. If I'm going to play again I need a good couple of weeks practice and I've got to get some confidence in my putting before I get back on the golf course again.

Q. Are you going to put your TV hat on now and see if anybody can beat Tiger this weekend?

NICK FALDO: Not really. He's got a great game plan, playing so many irons. If he keeps it totally in play and doesn't scare himself missing a fairway or getting a bad lie then anything can happen. But his touch is so good, his competitive ability is the best, I would predict that if the weather stays decent, he will get to 20 under and good luck. How are they going to beat him with that score?

I've only had a week's practice and then I was thrown in with Tiger and that's not what I was looking for this week. Watson and Ballesteros would have been a good draw, that's maybe what the crowd were looking for, 11 Open Championships between us. But I didn't get that, I was thrown in the deep end and I've only done a little work on my game and I need to practice more and I need to get a putting stroke if I'm going to play again. So I'm not too keen on venturing onto the golf course for a while.

But it's great to be at close quarters with Tiger. I can see what's going on. I should be able to tell ABC viewers up close and personal this weekend.

Q. You didn't like what was written about you and Tiger before the tournament?

NICK FALDO: No, it was the usual, complete mountain out of a molehill. Fortunately I don't read it, which is even better tactics.

Q. Did somebody tell you about it then?

NICK FALDO: A pigeon flew past and crapped on me, and I guess that was the message. I knew something was coming.

This is very interesting...

Q. Has your opinion changed on his golf swing and some of the technical aspects of his game?

NICK FALDO: There are some shots actually that he is uncomfortable on. I can see some technical things in his swing, yeah. But he gets by because he is so physically strong and so mentally determined and such a great competitor that, yeah, there are some technical things in his swing that if he were honest he'd say he'd love to iron out.

He's got a good plan. If he can keep hitting those irons, coming from the fairway he'll be just short of impossible to beat.

Q. Another player thought he said the swing changes he was working on with Hank were designed to help him control the trajectory, especially on his irons, and if you watch him he's clearly doing that and is able to hit more and varied shots?

NICK FALDO: The thing now is that the ball doesn't curve as much and you have to work on the swing factor. The guys will develop different follow throughs to develop different spins and that's what you need. Some shots it will stop and some that will run. You have to do that in your swing to make that happen. That obviously affects ball flight as well.

Q. Does the fact that Tiger has only hit one driver in two rounds sort of take something away from the first two days?

NICK FALDO: It doesn't sound great in the stats, does it? Obviously he's long, that does help. And even yesterday's drive on 16 was the wrong club. He should have hit 3 wood. It should have been 0 0 for two days. It just shows you it's all down to the burnt golf course. It is short.

Tiger's Press Conference

Apologies if this is old news, but if you didn't see his comments, there are some interesting things said here that seemingly only could come from either Tiger or Ogilvy's minds.

Q. What were your memories about your dad and this Championship and links golf?

TIGER WOODS: He absolutely loved it when I played at Carnoustie, because it was one of the very few times that he thought I was able to use my imagination and create shots, because in the States we don't get a chance to do that very often because it's always soft and the balls are plugging. On links golf courses you have to use your imagination to create shots. It presents so many different options.

And he thoroughly enjoyed it, watching me go out there shaping shots and hitting all these weird shots. He always got a big kick out of that.

Q. On the same thing, do you think that need to use imagination to conjure up shots is going to limit the number of potential winners? Do you think it makes your test that much easier?

TIGER WOODS: I think playing an Open Championship you always have to hit different golf shots, because of the golf courses we play. We don't play golf courses like this each and every week. And then we certainly don't ever play a golf course this fast. There's only very few, rare occasions we do. And those times you have to be able to control your golf ball in the air, you have to control your spin.

It's not like you can go out there and hit a marginal shot and expect it to be okay. You come in with a wrong spin in the fairways or even on the greens, you're going to pay a consequence of that.

And...

Q. Can you talk a little bit about the imagination you need to use specifically here at Hoylake? Some of the guys were saying they couldn't keep their balls on the greens on the par 3s on the front.

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, you know, some of them. Yeah, if you get downwind it's really hard to keep it on the green, unless you get a chance into the wind to use the wind as a backboard. But when it gets going downwind and the greens are this firm you have to to a front pin, it's going to be really hard to get it close. A lot of good shots here downwind are going to be 20, 30, 40 feet away and it's going to be a good shot.

That's one of the neat things about playing over here is that the galleries certainly understand that. You hear the types of applause; we play around the world and a lot of times the ball gets airborne there's always applause. Over here if you hit a good shot and they know it and it's 30 feet away, there's a pretty good roar, because that is a good shot. The people are very knowledgeable when we come over here and play an Open Championship.

Ferguson: Blame Tiger and Phil

AP's Doug Ferguson says that Tim Finchem is not entirely to blame for the changes in Chicago and Washington D.C.

Finchem was a convenient target, the czar behind these changes aimed at making the golf season shorter and more interesting.

But it's not all his fault.

If anyone has complaints, look no further than Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. They were the catalysts who first started barking about the PGA Tour season being too long. All the commissioner did was respond to his two biggest stars.

Tiger: "I watched both days. That was my punishment."

Tiger talking at the tournament soon to not be called the Western:

Q. Did you watch the end of the U.S. Open?

TIGER WOODS: You know, I watched both days. That was my punishment.

Q. Thoughts on Montgomerie and Mickelson?

TIGER WOODS: I thought in my opinion that it was Monty's tournament. In the fairway on 18 with -- not only in the fairway, he was on the right side, on the flat spot with a perfect angle with his fade. It doesn't get any better than that. With Phil on the tee, anything can still happen. He could still make bogey on the last hole and lose the tournament. I thought it was Monty's tournament, put the ball on the green and it's over. Obviously that didn't happen, and then Phil had his mistakes. It was a very interesting finish, one that none of us who are involved in the game of golf probably ever would have predicted we would have seen happening.

Monty's tournament? 

Tiger's U.S. Open Press Conference

Tiger Woods received several spellbinding questions from the packed room of germinalists, including, that' right, a Ben Roethlisberger question.

Thankfully, Brad Klein did get in one golf question:

Q. In terms of course preparation, which holes do you think are likely not to be hitting driver, and what's going to dictate whether hit driver on 6?

TIGER WOODS: Obviously today was dead into the wind, so I can't even come close to getting there dead into the wind. If it's downwind and we get the right pin location, yeah, I'd probably go for it. But there are a lot of holes where I'm hitting 3 wood because of the doglegs. I run out of room hitting a driver and I have to shape it around the corner, which really makes no sense because the fairways get so narrow. So I'll probably hit about four or five 3 woods out there. 6 could be a 4 iron, 3 iron or driver.

"We see a major as a brand moment"

Richard Sandomir in the New York Times writes about a new Nike ad remembering Earl Woods that will debut this week:

Nike naturally looks to create interest around Woods, especially around the time of golf's four major tournaments. "We see a major as a brand moment," said Adam Roth, Nike's United States advertising director.

With Today's Equipment...

Reader Chris correctly surmised that I do not subscribe to Tiger Woods's email newsletter, and shared this little nugget from the current edition:

And no, I won't carry two drivers. I can shape my driver both ways, so I don't need to carry two, although I can understand where Phil Mickelson is coming from. With today's equipment, the ball goes straighter and it's hard to move it from right to left...

Tiger's Distance Secret

Thanks to reader George for ruining the excitement of receiving my July Golf Digest by revealing the very first thing I read in non-Buddies Issue months: Tiger Tips!

Apparently July's Tiger Tip goes something like this, and it really, really puts a crimp in the argument wheeled out by writers, announcers and manufacturers: 

Tiger Tips: How I got my power advantage back

A couple of years ago I didn't need stats to confirm a disturbing new reality for me: Guys were blowing it by me off the tee. Power can be a huge advantage on tour, but mine appeared to be static.

Nothing gives me more satisfaction than bombing a drive, especially when it's shaped the way I pictured it. I felt to regain my edge and keep up with the young guys, I had to find more yards in the same place they did: equipment. By switching to a lighter and longer shaft (45 inches instead of 43 ½), a larger driver head (460 cubic centimeters) and a new ball, I've caught up.

Questions For Tiger, First Tee Edition

Thanks to reader Steven T. for this Harry King column about questions that kids submitted to earn their way to the Tiger Woods at his First Tee outting held yesterday in Arkansas. If only golf's inkslingers could think of questions like this...

The clinic begins at 7:30 a.m., and not one of the winners from Fort Smith said a discouraging word about getting up in time to leave town at 5 a.m. , in one of two vehicles.

They wanted to know if there was a dress code; whether shorts were acceptable. They asked how to address Woods - Tiger or Mr. Woods? Can they approach him or will he come to them? How about autographs? All were nervous questions from kids who want to do what is right.

Woods probably won't take questions from the youngsters and that could be in self-defense. Those making the trip from Fort Smith won their way to Little Rock with letters about what they would ask Woods, and there is a 12-year-old Bob Costas-Barbara Walters in waiting in Van Buren.

His name is Denver Horton and his letter reveals some research, plus a knack for thoughtful questions, and an interview-ending kicker.

He wanted to know how Woods feels about changing the future of golf for kids and how he finds the inner strength to compete when playing poorly.

Familiar with Woods' Learning Center for Children in Anaheim, Calif., Horton asked why changing the lives of children was so important to Woods. The world's best golfer donated the first $5 million for the center, which prompted Horton to say, "That was a lot of money just to give away."

After setting up Woods, Horton went for the kill.

"One more thing, how does your mom feel about you cussing not only on the golf course but on national TV. Be glad your mom is not my mom you would be grounded for a long time. The closest I would get to a golf course would be pulling weeds or planting bushes ... all day if I was ever caught cussing on this golf course."

Travis Jumper, 15, of Fort Smith, had a series of questions for Woods, including some about ethics and etiquette.

"How hard is it to be honest to the companies that want to endorse you but you disagree with the company's values or their product? Is it hard to say no to them paying you millions of dollars just because you don't believe in the product?

You go Travis!

Weinman on Tiger, Phil Sightings at Winged Foot

Sam Weinman offers all sorts of fun anecdotes about the practice rounds played by Woods and Mickelson at Winged Foot.

Tiger's Liverpool Lair

Thanks to reader Tuco for the Mirror story on Tiger Woods renting a 19-room hotel near Royal Liverpool, complete with a helipad so that he can make the 60-second...yes, 60-second ride over to the course each day. That has to be a typo! No?

"Earl Was Right"

Ron Sirak appropriately sums up the life and prophetic ways of Earl Woods, who passed away today at the age of 74. Tom Callahan also remembers the man.  And Pete McDaniel writes about the Earl he knew.

Tiger's Vigil

You may have noticed that AP story about Tiger Woods saying he may not play until the U.S. Open because of his dad's health?

Well, so far the vigil has included a 440-deep bungy jump (what a great idea!) and a $500k night at the MGM Grand's "Mansion" tables. 

From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

Playing blackjack in Las Vegas was more profitable over the weekend for Tiger Woods than his recent Masters appearance. Woods, who won $315,700 for sharing third place in the Masters, told friends he won more than $500,000 on the green felt surface at the MGM Grand's Mansion.

Letter To The Editor 1

Seems "Fist Bump" Bradley wasn't a big fan of Richard Sandomir's critical take on the 60 Minutes-Tiger Woods interview.

A Different Standard for TV?

To the Sports Editor:

I was surprised by the Tiger Woods article by Damon Hack ("Raising a Child First, Then a Champion," April 3).

It wasn't tough on Woods, and it seemed as if there was nothing new to report. It conveniently omitted the glares Woods gives fans who speak or click cameras when he swings, and the confrontations his caddie, Steve Williams, has had with those in the gallery who interrupt Woods at his work. Lest we forget — because Hack, a New York Times reporter, did — the times when Woods has punctuated bad shots with expletives or whacks at the tee box.

Those are criticisms leveled at me and "60 Minutes" by Richard Sandomir ("On '60 Minutes,' No News Is Woods's News," March 31). He was appalled that '60 Minutes' could run such a "puffy profile" without, for example, "pressing Woods on what he paid" for his house and boat.

Can we expect a column in The New York Times critical of Monday's Tiger Woods article? And if not, why not? Do you hold us at "60 Minutes" to a different standard than you hold your own newspaper?

Ed Bradley

New York

Ed Bradley/Tiger Woods : Ahmad Rashad/Michael Jordan

Phil Mushnick writes about Mike Wallace's claim that  Tiger and Co. "dictated the ground rules for what correspondent Ed Bradley could and could not ask," Richard Sandomir pens a must read critique of the interview. (Thanks to reader John for the link.)

Bradley looked to be enjoying himself too much as he smiled and chuckled along with Woods in various locales, conjuring comparisons to the buddy act of Ahmad Rashad and Michael Jordan, who, like Woods, surrenders so little to journalists but whose consent to be interviewed is deemed an occasion to send a camera crew.

This puffy profile reminded me of a "documentary" about Woods — "Son, Hero, Champion" — that preceded CBS's fourth-round coverage of the Masters in 1997. It was produced by IMG, the agency that represents Woods, so you know how objective and unconflicted it was.