US Open Tuesday Quotes

Kickin’ it with TDub at Oakmont on Tuesday.

A selection of quotes from today’s USGA press conference at Oakmont, site of the 2007 US Open.

NBC Analyst and former US Open winner Johnny Miller talks about this year’s open,

Q. Wondering whether you think that Tiger and Phil Mickelson is a legitimate rivalry and whether you’re as eager as so many other people are to see them kind of go battle it down the stretch at a major?

JOHNNY MILLER: I think it’s a fantastic rivalry. I think Tiger really respects Phil. Tiger really knows that Phil has been a phenomenal player since he was five years old. Those kind of players come along about every ten years, a Crenshaw-type player, Nicklaus-type player, Tiger-type player. Charles Howell was that type of player.
Doral was a really nice tournament, it’s the World Golf Championships now, but that dual they had at Doral, people still talk about it. Vijay is close to those two; Ernie was close to those two, but those two are definitely separated from the rest of the guys. I have a lot of respect for Vijay, too. He’s had the greatest run in his 40s, better than anybody, including Sam Snead. But Vijay, actually it’s amazing how we regard him, because most guys in their mid 40s we would not even be putting in the same category.
Phil is the most interesting guy in the world to watch to me, and the most interesting guy in the world to cover on TV, because he tries a lot of things that are just like, wow, is this going to be fun to talk about this. And then Tiger hits it in spots that he does. He does things like nobody since Arnold Palmer did. Nobody can recover like Tiger. And of course when he’s on his game, he sets the standards every time.
Tiger can make three Hall of Fame careers in one person; Phil can make two, Tiger can make three or four. It’s a pleasure for me to be able to cover those guys since they were little kids. I sort of ushered them in on TV golf and definitely ushered Tiger in with his Amateur wins and even went to the Junior Amateurs that he won. So I feel like I’ve just been watching this kid, every swing change, every maturation progression. It’s been great. It’s been a pleasure for me.

Q. The 8th hole is becoming infamous for perhaps a 300-yard par 3, and then the 12th, a non-reachable in two par 5. I just wonder your thoughts, where they are going and where golf is going?

JOHNNY MILLER: I think there should be a plaque on the 300-yard tee that said, “In 1927, one guy reached the green on this 255-yard par 3.” That might put it in perspective. Can you imagine playing that hole with gutta percha balls? Tiger is hitting a 3-wood there. Talking to Hank Haney, he can knock it on there 300 yards easy with a draw 3-wood.
In the old days they used to play par 3s 250 when guys could not hit it 250. I’m not going to cry for the guys, is what I’ll say. Putting it in front of the green is fantastic, just short of the green is fantastic, you can just chip it up the hill and make your par. It’s not like you have an island green at 300 yards.

Tiger on being paired with Ogilvy and what it means to be a US Open champion,

Q. Do you relish playing alongside the defending champion for the first two rounds, the man who has got the title that you want?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, I played with Geoff last year at the PGA the first two days. It was myself and Geoff and Phil, and we had a great time.
I’ve always enjoyed playing with Geoff. He’s fast and gets on with his business. I think that in the last few years or so, he’s really learned how to play difficult championships well. You know, last year I think was the perfect testament to that.

Q. For the most part, the major championships have been won here by the people who have turned out to be the greatest players in golf over time. Do you think there’s any correlation between this course and producing that type of winner?

TIGER WOODS: Well, I think it’s the quality of golf course. I think that it tests you from tee-to-green and more so on the greens. Like I said earlier, you have to have every single facet of your game going and knowing how to manage yourself around a golf course.
This is a course in which you have to place the ball correctly. If you don’t, you’re going to get penalized. If you look at most of the guys, if not all of the guys on that list of champions here, that’s how they play. They know how to maneuver the golf ball. They know how to place the golf ball correctly and give yourself the best chance to get around this golf course in the lowest number of shots.

Lefty on his wrist injury and play heading into this year’s Open,

Q. Were it not the U.S. Open, would you try to play this week?

PHIL MICKELSON: Probably not. I’d probably wait one more week. Yeah, I’d probably wait one more week.
But, you know, we could talk to David Fay — in fact, I had different we are him last night, but he wasn’t very receptive to the idea.

Q. You just touched on that; you’ve made a habit of playing into tournaments, playing competitive rounds going into it. How much of a draw back do you think that will be going into Thursday not having played competitively for over two weeks now?

PHIL MICKELSON: It’s certainly not the way I wanted to be coming into this tournament. I wanted to have good practice sessions and good driver sessions. I’ve brought a couple of drivers since THE PLAYERS and wanted to work on that and haven’t been able to do that. I haven’t been physically able to practice as hard as would I like and I’m not sure where my physical game is going to be as far as ball striking and so forth.
But I’ve been able to chip-and-putt and put together a game plan but it’s difficult to implement given I have not been able to practice the last two weeks.

Q. Have you had any experience in a practice round or tournament round in the church pews; as a budding architect what are your thoughts on those?

PHIL MICKELSON: I think they are cool, some of the coolest bunkers in the game, and a lot has been made of them. I don’t think it’s been duplicated, certainly not to that element of beauty and design. I haven’t hit shots out of there. I certainly don’t plan on going in them, but it is something that I would look at as a possible architectural feature in some of my design work. I think it’s really cool.

Sergio on the lack of major winners under 30,

Q. This is going to be the first major since the 1991 PGA where there is not a player in the field under the age of 30 who has not won a major; why do you think nobody under 30 has been able to win majors recently?

SERGIO GARCIA: Well, one of the reasons is because Tiger has just turned 31, so that doesn’t help.
Just not good enough, I guess. We have been giving it good shots, guys in their 20s, trying to win majors, and we’ve been really close. But it hasn’t happened. There’s a lot of high-quality players here this week, and only one guy can win.
So, you know, I can’t give you an exact reason why, but it’s just one of those things.

The Big Easy on his attempt to resurrect his career here at Oakmont,

Q. You’ve spoken a few times about the up-and-downs a career can take. Just being back here and reliving some of those emotions and those memories, do you feel like that can give you a spark at this stage in your life and your career?

ERNIE ELS: Yeah, absolutely. I’ve been thinking about it a little bit, you know. I had a nice week off last week. I was up in the Hamptons and I played some golf up there. And then obviously watching the U.S. Open, you know, a lot of good memories come flowing back. I’ve had a pretty kind of a tough time the last year or two, and you know, I need a bit of a spark, as you say. It’s great coming back here. The people have been great here this week. A lot of people have come with their U.S. Open ‘94 caps and I’m signing it for them. They were here then and are here again; we’re all a little bit older. Hopefully that can spark me into something really good.

PGA Tour, US Open, Oakmont, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Johnny Miller, Ernie Els

Quotes from ASAP Sports