Top Ten Questions From Tiger's Tuesday Interview At The Masters

A clearly happy Tiger Woods met with the media. Here are the top ten Q&A's from this including his memories of playing with Jack in 1995 plus his thoughts on Sean Foley. An iG Editor's Must Read...

Q1. Did it feel like old times a little bit at Bay Hill, just getting back in the win column a little bit, and just what did that do for your confidence?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, felt just like it did in December. (Laughter.) It felt good… it felt good to go out there and play as well as I did and under those conditions. It wasn't like it was easy that Sunday. The scores were pretty high. To go out there with the lead and increase the lead was a good feeling. The way I hit the golf ball and putted all day, I felt like I went out there and earned the win. It wasn't given to me. I had to go out there and shoot a really good number under really tough conditions. That felt really good to do.

Q2. Last two years, tied for 4th, probably you admit not at your best in either tournament. First, how did you do that, not at your best; and second, does that help you this year knowing that you're playing so much better than you were then?

TIGER WOODS: Well, Bob, I think it's understanding how to play this golf course. As Rob was saying, this is my 18th year, so I've spent just about half my life playing this tournament. It's understanding how to play this golf course, where to miss it. I've gotten just umpteen amount of advice from guys who have played here way more than I have. That's really helped. Over the years of playing with Raymond and Freddie and Ollie and Nick Price, you name it, right on down the list, of just understanding how to play this golf course. Granted, it's changed over the years, but still, you still miss it in the same spots. Just understanding how to do that has really helped me over the years, and I think that's one of the reasons why you see so many guys here. The older players are in contention a lot, but they just know how to play it.

Q3. Rory McIlroy last year‑‑ you've seen a lot of Rory firsthand and on TV. How impressed were you by his recovery at the U.S. Open after what happened on the final round?

TIGER WOODS: Very, very. Because I had not met Rory at that time and I didn't really know much about him. I had not played golf with him yet, so I had not seen it. The first time I got a chance to really sit down and talk to him was this year at Abu Dhabi when we played nine holes together. Then we ended up being paired together. That was fun I think for both of us.But as far as his recovery, it was cool to see someone learn from their mistakes like that and apply it. You know, he was playing so well, and so be it. He just had one bad round. It happens to everybody, and we have all been in those situations where we've had one bad round. He learned from it, applied it, and ran away with it. That was some pretty impressive playing at the Open.

Q4: Tiger, you're coming into Augusta with your game apparently hitting on all cylinders, and your decisive win at Bay Hill was most impressive. If you could comment, please, sir, on how your preparations going so far this week, and in particular, have your swing revisions altered or modified the way you attack or approach Augusta National.

TIGER WOODS: The golf course is a little bit wet out there. Obviously we got some pretty good rains here. Today I played nine holes with Freddie and Sean, and seven drives and had seven mud balls. So hopefully it will dry out, but I think the forecast is for more rain. But the greens are absolutely perfect. They are quick, there's no doubt, but they are pretty soft and pretty receptive.So far as my swing goes, I think that it will be interesting to see how they set up the golf course, and that kind of depends‑‑ well, actually it will dictate whether I hit some of the clubs I'm in between on. And we'll see how it goes. It looks like it's going to be a great week, got a great field, and really looking forward to it. I came up here the Sunday before Bay Hill, and it was playing just about like how it is right now. And hopefully it will dry out a little bit so we can get after some of these pins.

Q5. You have a pretty good record here on the par 5s. How critical is it to score well on those, and also, what's the most strategic par 5 in your mind here?

TIGER WOODS: Well, as far as the par 5s, Zach proved you don't have to always go for them. But you still have to play them well. You have to play them at least half under par for the week. I mean, you just have to take care of those par 5s, because there are so many pin locations on the par 4s and the par 3s, that it just gets very difficult to make easy birdies.Good drives on the four par 5s, for the longer hitters, we can all get there. #8, questionable sometimes. But the other three we know we can get there. As far as the most strategic, certainly 13. I think 13, TV doesn't do justice to how hooked that lie is on that second shot, and the green is set up for a fade for a righty. And it's a hard shot (chuckling) to try and cut one off that lie or trust that you've got to start it right at Rae's Creek or at Rae's Creek and draw it in there. Sometimes the wind tends to swirl down in there a little bit.There's a pretty dicey second shot from that kind of hanging lie.

Q6. You talk about playing with some of the veterans when you were a kid. What do you remember about playing with Nicklaus in those early days, and is there anything at age 36 you still use, some piece of advice he maybe gave you 10, 15, or 20 years ago?

Are You Inside Golf?