A look at some of the questions (and answers) posed to the marquee players after the first round of the 2018 BMW Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, where Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy share the lead at 8-under par 62.
Players featured include Woods, McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, and Rickie Fowler.
TIGER WOODS
When you putt so well with the Scotty Cameron, does it make you wonder why you didn’t go back to it sooner?
WOODS: I’ve been monkeying around with it back home and in the backyard. It never felt right. It feels good, you know. I know I explained to Robert over there, I know the release point and I know how it swings and my body morphed into a position where it understands where it needs to be to release the putter.
I’ve hit hundreds of millions of putts. I’ve had it since ’99. I’ve hit putts with it. I just — my body just remembers it. When I go away from it — and, you know, when I was using the Nike putter I always bring it out and hit putts with it. Sometimes it works but it just feels very familiar to me.
T1 WOODS – 62 (-8)
RORY MCILROY
Probably spinning heads with this question but is it disappointing more to not have shot 59 or going so close to have the card with the two closing birdies?
MCILROY: Geez, Debbie Downer here. I think probably just not giving myself a better chance to shoot the 59.
I can accept bogies. Definitely I can accept a bogey on a hole like the 8th hole and the bogey on 7 wasn’t good but you don’t get many opportunities to break 60 and today was one of them and I didn’t capitalize.
I’m not going to say it stinks too bad because I’d much rather — you know, I much rather shoot 62 today and win the golf tournament Sunday and shoot 59 today and maybe not win.
T1 MCILROY 62 (-8)
RICKIE FOWLER
Did you feed off Tiger? Obviously he got off to a good start, you got off to a good start. Had to be pretty fun out there playing with him.
FOWLER: We both birdied the first hole and kind of got things going. Yeah, obviously he had it — I think he turned at 6, I was able to turn at 4 and no, it’s always fun when you kind of feed off the guys in your group and it was nice Jordan finally hopped on the back-9 and was able to turn his round around.
So, two guys that I’m close with, good friends with and two teammates that will be together in Paris in a couple weeks.
Nice that all of us — like I said, Jordan brought it back. Tiger and I were off to a nice start. I’m happy where we’re at.
T8 FOWLER – 65 (-5)
JORDAN SPIETH
Tiger is 7-under through 10. Does it feel like you missed the cut by like 20 when you’re playing next to him?
SPIETH: Anybody that’s tearing it up and they’re 5, 6-under the first round, it’s not going to be — you’re sitting there, it’s an easy golf course. The second you try and force something here into these pins you end up making bogies. You don’t force anything, there’s not a whole lot of bogies out there.
You play the par-3s the right way and play to the fat parts when you’re out of position you should make pars. So, I thought I did a really good job kind of just talking to myself, being patient, not getting upset with the fact that you hear roars everywhere and obviously with Tiger and Rickie both playing well.
I thought today was a really, really good test for me mentally and I did a good job finishing up.
T20 SPIETH – 67 (-3)
