Boo Weekley, Part 2

If you aren't a Boo Weekley fan yet, you will be. How can you not be. The guy gives the best interviews in golf -- not that he's trying to.

Here are excerpts from his post-round media chat Saturday after the PGA Championship, after he three-putted the 18th to shoot 65. If he had sank his 40-foot birdie putt, he could have tied Tiger's record-tying 63 on Friday.

Q. I suppose you know as you're playing 18 what birdie there does for you, right, had somebody told you what 63 would have meant and all that since it had been shot yesterday?

BOO WEEKLEY: No, I didn't know.

Q. It would have matched the lowest score ever in a major championship, 63.

BOO WEEKLEY: Really, that would have been nice.

Q. You're kidding me, right, you had no idea?

BOO WEEKLEY: No, I was just trying to make par. You try to make par, look where I ended up (laughter), trying to be safe.

Q. When you lopped that first putt short on 18, looked like you said something to Sergio and to the crowd. Can you share that with us?

BOO WEEKLEY: Sergio asked me what I was fixing to do and he said, Do you want to trade? And I said, no, I think I like what I got right here. And then as I hit the putt and I said, well, maybe I should have traded. After I hit my second putt as I was marking it, I looked over at him and I said, Maybe I should have traded you, you know.

Q. Were you surprised at just how popular you proved at Carnoustie and how much the crowd still seemed to be getting behind you here again?

BOO WEEKLEY: Yeah, I was very surprised over there for the people that would root for me. I mean, being a foreigner, you know, I didn't know what to expect, especially coming over here for the first time. I didn't know how the people would respond to me, being who I am. And I reckon as long as you're being yourself, you can't go wrong there.

Q. As you move forward, what do you know about the FedExCup and are you looking forward to that?

BOO WEEKLEY: I don't know nothing about the FedExCup (laughter) and I just know I'm playing golf and that's all that matters to me.

Q. Do you hope to find out?

BOO WEEKLEY: Maybe in a couple of years (chuckling).

Q. After Carnoustie, you were talking about going home, going fishing, getting away a little bit, eating some real food, I guess. (Laughter) so can you talk about what you did between Carnoustie and here and is this a little bit more your comfort zone to be south of the Mason-Dixon Line and sweating?

BOO WEEKLEY: I like to sweat. I like it hot. The hotter the better, the way I feel about it. And I didn't do nothing when I went home. I just hung out at the house, me and the wife and my little boy, we went to the beach. Just had a good time. Fished and swam and played around.

Q. Have you any ambitions to play in the Ryder Cup next year and do you know about that, have you followed it in the past?

BOO WEEKLEY: If they invite me to come play, I'll come play. But, no, I really don't know a whole lot about it. I've seen some clips of it. I think Justin Leonard made a putt or something. That's about the only thing I remember of the Ryder Cup stuff.

Q. When you were growing up, you realized you had a talent to play golf, who were the players on Tour that you used to hero worship and watch?

BOO WEEKLEY: I never really watched golf. I honestly couldn't tell you. That's just something that I've never done. Still to this day I will go home and watch a little bit of golf, like if I've seen they caught a little bit of me on TV and maybe my friends Slocum or Bubba Watson or Joe Durant. I just can't sit there and watch golf. It's just not my cup of tea. And I couldn't tell you if I had somebody that I looked forward to seeing out there when I was playing, when I was younger.

Q. You had no interest in the pro game when you were learning to play the game?

BOO WEEKLEY: No, sir.

Q. You've said before that winning majors isn't really what drives you. You just want to earn enough money to retire and go fishing. When you have days like these, does it change your view of that at all? Does it make you want more or less?

BOO WEEKLEY: No, sir, I want to play 10, 12 years, whatever it takes to get enough money in my bank. I'm done. I love the game. I get tired of the grind. I get tired of being away from my family. I get tired of being away from my friends and my heart is really set on -- I love to play the game, but my heart is really with hunting and fishing.

Q. You don't really get a kick out of this kind of day?

BOO WEEKLEY: No, I mean, I had a good day and it was fun. But, I mean, what would be even funner if I'm sitting at the house catching about a 10-pounder (laughter). That's about how you have to relate this day to. That day is over. This day is over with golf. Tomorrow we'll see what it brings.

Q. Do you know where you are in the Presidents Cup points list at all and what if Nicklaus called you on Monday and said, You're on the team, what would it mean to you?

BOO WEEKLEY: That would be great. I don't know where I am on the points. I haven't got a clue.

Q. You've kind of established that you're not a golf historian. You don't like to watch golf. What got you interested enough in this to become as good as you are. Who and what got you interested in golf?

BOO WEEKLEY: I had a golf coach at the house. I played every sport you could play growing up through high school as a kid. And I got hurt in every one of them. I figured I might want to pick up a sport that ain't so much where I don't get hurt as much. I don't want to hurt myself, get hit with something. Gene Howard was his name, the golf coach that taught me how to play. And I kind of went off to college and then came back and went to a chemical plant and worked for three years there. And then my buddy Keith Slocum and his daddy talked me into coming back out and playing. They said, You've got too much talent; come out and try something a little different. So they were laying off at the plant. I took the layoff and I started playing golf. And I played my first major event and I won it. I was like, man, this is an easy way to make a living right here (laughter). So I just kind of stuck with that. Easy way of making a living.

Q. You mentioned before that you're going to play for 10, 12 years until you have enough money to go hunting and fishing. What's enough money?

BOO WEEKLEY: I don't know. I ain't got that far yet (laughter).

McDermott wins Patterson Cup, Silver Star

This just in from the Golf Assn of Philadelphia...

FLEETWOOD, Pa. -- Michael McDermott of Merion GC saved the best for last and carded nine birdies in his final round, including four birdies in a row on his final eight holes, to win 105th Joseph H. Patterson Cup and Silver Cross Award Thursday

For the rest of the story click here.

Welcome to Tulsa

How hot is it in Tulsa for the PGA Championship?

Well, this is me after walking a few holes at Southern Hills.

On local TV tonight, the forecast for the next several days is: 100, 100, 100 and 100. There might have been a 101 in there somewhere. And careful, because the push-you-in-a-pool humidity is what's going to make it feel really uncomfortable.

USGA names patrial Walker Cup team

Here's Monday's annoucement from the USGA...

Far Hills, N.J. – Two collegiate champions, a USGA champion and three who have qualified for a U.S. Open are among the eight chosen as part of the 10-man squad to represent the United States of America team for the 2007 Walker Cup Match that will be played Sept. 8-9 at Royal County Down Golf Club in Newcastle, Ireland.

Billy Horschel
20 (12/7/1986)
Grant , Fla.

Dustin Johnson
23 (6/22/1984)
Myrtle Beach , S.C.

Chris Kirk
22 (6/26/1985 )
Woodstock, Ga.

Colt Knost
22 (6/26/1985 )
Dallas, Texas

Trip Kuehne
35 (6/20/1972 )
Irving, Texas

Jamie Lovemark
19 (1/23/1988)
Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

Jonathan Moore
22 (4/17/1985)
Vancouver, Wash.

Webb Simpson
21 (8/8/1985)
Raleigh, N.C.

Captain
George “Buddy” Marucci
55 (3/6/1952)
Villanova, Pa.

For the rest of the annoucement and bios of the players, click here.

Ochoa on top

Wow, have times changed in women's golf. Forever, it seemed like, the No. 1 woman in golf was Annika Sorenstam. Her grip was firm, her future certain.

Not any more. Even before Lorena Ochao's first victory in a major at the Women's British Open this past weekend, the young Mexican was had overtaken Sorenstam as No.1. Now, it's Ochoa's grip on the top spot that is firm. Sorenstam has even slipped to No. 3, behind Karrie Webb.

Here are the latest women's world rankings.

Rank Change Name Country Events TotalPoints AveragePoints
1 0 Lorena Ochoa MEX 51 883.68 17.33
2 0 Karrie Webb AUS 48 514.11 10.71
3 0 Annika Sorenstam SWE 39 417.71 10.71
4 0 Cristie Kerr USA 52 447.96 8.61
5 0 Se-Ri Pak KOR 38 295.99 7.79
6 0 Suzann Pettersen NOR 45 335.24 7.45
7 0 Morgan Pressel USA 42 294.86 7.02
8 1 Ji-Yai Shin KOR 34 233.24 6.66
9 1 Paula Creamer USA 57 371.84 6.52
10 -2 Juli Inkster USA 42 273.87 6.52
11 0 Mi Hyun Kim KOR 60 370.96 6.18
12 0 Ai Miyazato JPN 55 337.45 6.14
13 3 Jee Young Lee KOR 54 312.01 5.78
14 -1 Jeong Jang KOR 58 330.77 5.7
15 -1 Brittany Lincicome USA 48 268.72 5.6
16 -1 Shiho Oyama JPN 70 369.5 5.28
17 0 Stacy Prammanasudh USA 52 255.95 4.92
18 0 Seon-Hwa Lee KOR 56 269.5 4.81
19 0 Mi-Joong Jeon KOR 64 297.81 4.65
20 1 Yuri Fudoh JPN 50 225.6 4.51
21 -1 Momoko Ueda JPN 55 242.4 4.41
22 2 Nicole Castrale USA 46 196.07 4.26
23 -1 Hee-Won Han KOR 44 186.56 4.24
24 -1 Pat Hurst USA 49 203.64 4.16
25 0 Angela Park BRA 37 150.55 4.07
26 1 Natalie Gulbis USA 54 218.76 4.05
27 -1 Sakura Yokomine JPN 67 271.39 4.05
28 0 Sherri Steinhauer USA 52 204.73 3.94
29 0 Julieta Granada PRY 51 196.92 3.86
30 4 Catriona Matthew SCO 41 147.91 3.61

Tiger on Tiger

You've got to hand it to Tiger Woods. Rory Sabbatini does a little trash talking and Tiger responds Sunday with a 65 that blows away the field -- Sabbo included -- by eight shots in the WGC-Bridgestone Invy.

Here are few highlights from Tiger's post-victory press conference:

Q. Twice this year you've gone against Rory in similar situations, pretty much even, and on Sunday you've prevailed. Is there a special motivation there that you get from him?

TIGER WOODS: Well, the whole idea is just -- everyone knows how Rory is, and I just go out there and just let my clubs do the talking.

Q. He said, by the way, that your performance today was far better than the one in May when he lost. Do you feel --

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, no doubt, no doubt. The one at Charlotte, I made everything. I did not hit it all that well on Sunday, but I just holed everything. That's the only reason why I probably won that tournament on Sunday.

Q. It's usually over and it's break time. Could you talk about the difference now of this being over and what's coming up?

TIGER WOODS: Well, you knew that starting, basically, this week that it was going to be a two-week stretch, and you're probably going to play golf every day. So there really wasn't going to be a day off. The whole idea was obviously to win this event but be playing well going into next week. I feel I made some nice strides this week, and I feel very good going into next week, getting a few days to prepare and getting adjusted, and off we go.

Q. Did you hold anything back this week? I'm not suggesting you didn't try or didn't play your best, but just anything inside, reserve some strength, whatever you want to call it?

TIGER WOODS: No, that's one of the reasons I train as hard as I do. You go all-out every day.

Q. Being the only guy under par, I don't know if you care about that, but I would think that would be -- the last guy, and I looked it up back to '99, and it's been 15 or 20 guys.

TIGER WOODS: Well, I think it's just because the golf course played so demanding this year. We've never seen it this fast. We've never seen the greens this hard and this fast. The rough was up high enough where you hit the ball in the rough -- one, you couldn't get to the green, but if you did get a good enough lie to get to the green, there's no chance of stopping it. And then with the pin locations, it just made for just a very difficult week, and you just had to keep your patience. It just felt like this event was playing more like a major than anything else. You just had to grind it out. Some years here you just feel like you've got to make birdie, three or four per nine, just to keep yourself in the tournament, but this week that wasn't the case. You just had that feeling that it was set up more like a major championship where just having a lot of pars -- pars were probably basically going to win the tournament.

Q. You were so almost emotionless and just focused on that front nine. Was that just a product that you're playing well, or did you kind of have some extra motivation to zero in and really --

TIGER WOODS: No, I just got in my own little world, like I tend to do every now and then. I just wanted to not make any mistakes out there today. I just wanted to keep putting the pressure on the guys that were chasing, because as I said, I got off to a great start, and once I got off to that start, the whole idea was to never go back to them, make them earn their way back into the tournament. I just kept making par after par after par, and the weather kept changing, kept getting more difficult, and I felt if I could just keep making a bunch of pars, the guys were going to have to get greedy and aggressive to some of these pins and probably make a mistake.

Q. Well, with what Rory has said before and the mere fact that he had kind of challenged you or called you out.

TIGER WOODS: I won both tournaments, too (laughter).

Q. He brought up beating you in the NCAAs, though. He said he beat you in the last round.

TIGER WOODS: Who won the tournament?

Q. There are a lot of people, I guess, Rory, some guy said something to him at 9, he had him tossed. Did you get the sense of people kind of -- this is your town here.

TIGER WOODS: Well, certain events people say things, and you just have to become immune to it. You just have to -- the more you acknowledge it, the worse it gets. You know, the toughest crowd I've ever had to play in front of was probably Bethpage. They were all over me and Sergio in the final group. But it was just the way it was. I mean, you just put your head down and you just go. That's fine. But the more you acknowledge it, the more you'll incite them, especially if they've tipped back a couple. That usually helps.

Q. Do you get the sense of the way people have embraced you?

TIGER WOODS: Yes, no doubt about it. This may be a home away from home for me. The crowds have been just as supportive as I've ever played in front of. Even the days where I really haven't felt good with my game, they're always out there supporting me.

Q. Have you ever thought much about Sam Snead's record at Greensboro, eight victories?

TIGER WOODS: It's not too bad, is it?

Q. Have you ever thought about doing that, and if you did, where would be the most likely place to do it?

TIGER WOODS: Well, I would like to have eight at Augusta would be nice (laughter).

Q. You're halfway there.