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Player Diaries
Insight from the players, in their own words September 16, 2005 Editor's Note: We browse the official player sites to reveal what's on the minds of players, in their own words, on various topics. You can link to the player's site for the full entry.
Stuart Sorry Stuart Appleby apologizes for trashing caddie Joe Damiano in post-round interview at NEC: “All has been resolved with my caddy after the Sunday debacle at the NEC. He wasn't short changed over the penalty. No, I'm not a bully; in fact I've been with my current caddy Joey, for 8 years and we have enjoyed our time together. I can say with ease that I am one of those players who look after and treat their caddies well; and not just in terms of a pay cheque.
"When I did the interview after the round I was a bit hot-for obvious reasons. Getting info out of a player in
this state makes good reading for the press people, and I should have declined an interview after the
round as I was too caught up in the moment. I hope I never have to think like that again. The reason that I
got caught up in the moment is that all the hard work we put in, got washed down the drain with a silly
mistake that should be avoided 99.99% of the time."
Canadian Open Mike Weir: For me, the biggest week of the year is finally here and in a new location. The Bell Canadian Open is obviously my favourite tournament stop. It's the one time I get to play on home soil, in front of Canadian fans. I'm very excited this year because the Open is in Vancouver, where it hasn't been for a long time.
This is such a great golf town that it's hard to believe our national championship has been away so long. I have fond memories of playing golf in Vancouver. I won the BC Tel Pacific Open on the Canadian Tour back in 1997 and, of course, won my first PGA Tour event two years later at the Air Canada Championship. I know I'll be able to feed off that history and use it to my advantage this week.
Presidents Cup Tiger Woods: As you may have heard, I'm going to use a new caddie during the Presidents Cup. Steve Williams, my regular caddie, will be in New Zealand for the birth of his first child, so I'm going to use Billy Foster. I've known Billy for a long time. He caddied for Darren Clarke for a while and caddied for Seve Ballesteros for a number of years. I really know him through Darren. Darren and I used to play a lot of practice rounds together and I got to know Billy over the years. He's a great caddie, works awfully hard, and I've always gotten along well with him. It will be a fun week. I haven't talked to Jack Nicklaus about who I might be paired with. I just want to win five points; whatever it takes to win five points. I played with Fred Couples in Australia and we went 1-1. We lost a match 1-down when Craig Parry chipped in from way left of the green. I get along great with Freddie. That would be fun. I really would like to play with Jim Furyk. I've never played with Jim. He and I have been on every team together since 1997 and have never played together. Only four players have been on every team since then: Jim, Davis Love III, Phil Mickelson and myself.
At the NEC, I met with PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem and talked about everything about the TOUR. We're still waiting on NASCAR for our negotiations and the future of our sport, TV-wise. I also think you'll see a shorter official season in 2007.
British Open
Phil Mickelson: Even though the Open Championship didn't turn out the way I would have liked, it's always a privilege to compete in it, and especially when it's held at St. Andrews. Despite my problems on the course, however, I did have a stroke of good fortune. On my way to a practice round, I inadvertently filled my car with diesel fuel (a mistake which I may never live down!). When it finally gave up and wheezed to a stop, I was right smack across the street from a Ford Dealership (you’ve probably seen the Ford oval on my shirt). They got me on my way in a hurry. I guess that’s why Amy calls me "Mr. Lucky"!
Tiger Woods: "It was very special to win the last British Open that Jack Nicklaus competed in. I was probably three holes behind him on Friday, so I didn't get to hear or see much of his round. We kind of ran into reach other when I was on the eighth green and he was on the 11th tee. You could feel the atmosphere being electric there. I was thinking, wow, what's it going to be like when he gets in a little bit closer to the clubhouse? Every one knows how much Jack has meant to the game of golf. To have him bow out at St. Andrews, that's as grand as it gets. Arnold did it in '95; I got a chance to see him tee off in his last one. I was walking to the range and just had to stop and watch him tee off. It was a cool moment in my life. In 2000, it was supposed to be Jack's last British Open. He finished up on 18 and I was teeing off on the first hole. That was a cool moment, too. I did see Jack after his round last Friday and he was genuinely mad at himself for not making the cut. I did ask Jack what he shot and he said, "72. Just not good enough." He was actually a little angry at himself.
I can see myself being the same way. Are you kidding me? That edge never leaves you. You always have that edge and that competitiveness. Unfortunately, over time, you're body just doesn't exactly equate to what your mind wants it to do."
Colin Montgomerie: "On Sunday I arrived at the course early, did some work at the practice ground with my coach, Denis Pugh, and then went to the putting green. I was in the second last group with Retief Goosen, with leader, Woods, playing with Olazabal. I managed to get to within one shot of Tiger at the turn but then disappointingly over-clubbed on the 11th hole and made a bogey. At the same time Tiger had increased his lead with a birdie at the 9th and again at the 12th. It proved to be a turning point and I didn't manage to get so close again.
Tiger eventually finised five shots clear to regain the Claret Jug he won in 2000 at St Andrews. I was delighted to claim second place outright to end a great week. Of course, I would have loved to have won but I finished in second place to the best player of our generation and with that moved up to number 22 in the World Rankings and second in the Order of Merit. Olazabal and Couples tied for third and another Scot, Lloyd Saltman, was leading Amateur which was fantastic to see. I think he has a great future ahead of him." Mike Weir: "A few people have asked me whether I’m worried that I might not make the Presidents Cup team this year. I love that event, and I want to make the team. But given the way I’ve been playing, I’ve put myself in a position that it’s not certain I will. The Presidents Cup is a nice bonus for playing well, so that’s what I need to do. If I start to play well, it will happen. Anybody who knows me knows that my career has always been about struggling, from the time I was on the Canadian Tour. It took me time to battle through things, but I always did. That’s what I’ll always be about. I’ll consult my notes—I’m a great note-taker—and I’ll watch videos to see where I might be going wrong.
I think back to 2003, when I won twice before winning the Masters. That was a great year, but it came on the heels of my having a poor year in 2002. I believe the reason I had such a successful 2003 is because of my struggles the year before."
Ernie Els: "As you can imagine, I’m disappointed with my performance in the Open last week. St Andrews is one of my favourite golf courses in the world; you know, it really suits my game. So I was expecting a lot better, especially as I felt like I’d made some progress at Loch Lomond the week before. But I have to say that the scores I shot pretty much reflected the way I played - basically, very inconsistent. I’m making a ton of birdies, but there are still a lot of mistakes in my game and that’s costing me big time. But that’s the game of golf for you. There are times when you’re not playing as well as you’d want to. You’ve just got to get your head down and work your way through it. There’s one more major championship left this season, the USPGA Championship at Baltusrol, a golf course I really enjoyed and played well on at the 1993 US Open. The way I see it, my goal now is to get my game into the best shape I can leading up to that." Darren Clarke: "Sneaking into the top 20 at The Open Championship was not what I had in mind at the beginning of the week. After finishing second at the Barclay's Scottish Open the previous week and having had quite a consistent season, I really was expecting to contend at St. Andrews.
It was not to be despite striking the ball well all week. Unfortunately the putter, or should I say putters, misbehaved for most of the week and I had to settle for a five under par finish - a mile behind the predictable winner and my good friend Tiger Woods."
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