I used to not really like going to the gym when I was playing tournaments because I'd be sore and stiff. But the more you keep doing it, the less soreness you have. And you actually start to enjoy it.

Americans believe if you go to college, you have something to fall back on, which makes sense. I don't have any degrees. If I hadn't become a golfer, I have no idea what I would be doing with my life.

If you are given a chance to be a role model, I think you should always take it because you can influence a person's life in a positive light, and that's what I want to do. That's what it's all about.

I have got to do something that makes me focus on one thing, and so I will sit and listen to music, or I will read, or I will go and make ammunition in my workshop. I have just got to keep myself busy.

Beyond the fact that it is a limitless arena for the full play of human nature, there is no sure accounting for golf's fascination... Perhaps it is nothing more than the best game man has ever devised.

There isn't a flaw in his golf or his makeup. He will win more majors than Arnold Palmer and me combined. Somebody is going to dust my records. It might as well be Tiger, because he's such a great kid.

The most interesting guy I've ever played with was King Hassan of Morocco. I went over there on a trip in the early 1970s, and the King and I played five holes. I've never been that nervous in my life.

But there is a difference between playing well and hitting the ball well. Hitting the ball well is about thirty percent of it. The rest is being comfortable with the different situations on the course.

The TV and the public pay our wages and they like to see professional golfers mess it up. Missing a green with a chip shot - when do you see that? It's great to see exciting golf like we had last week.

Raymond Floyd. The man knows how to control situations. He was experienced. He didn't let me get overly excited; he kept me in check. It allowed me to free myself up, and I played really well with him.

The fact that Slammin' Sammy couldn't win the Open made it all the more valuable for the players that did win. Gave it a special quality. I'd say a part of the sheen on that trophy comes from my sweat.

I have this reputation of not wanting to talk to the media, which isn't true. What I don't like-what a lot of us don't understand-is how we can say one thing and it turns up in print as something else.

I want to play for my country, play for everybody, and I want to be there. I just feel like I have so many feelings and I want to play in the Olympics and feel how special if I can win that tournament.

I had good skills, but my lack of size and speed kept me a little behind the best kids in the other sports. Golf offered a more level field. I would have rather played other sports, but golf picked me.

I am excited about this. We've got half of our goal. I'd love to see us get a little bit more than half our goal and not be so deeply into this thing going into Sunday, but I feel good about everything.

The terrain of Adam’s Mountain provides a palette unique to the region. Rather than typical mountain slope play, the course is broad and open, allowing for special golf experiences on every single hole.

I can honestly say in my entire career, I've never gone around a golf course and not mis-hit a shot, but today I never missed a shot. I hit every driver perfect, every iron perfect. I'm in awe of myself.

I was always the one asking everybody else if they were O.K. I never talked about my problems. I didn't want to admit I had problems. I just let 'em build up. I didn't want anybody to know I was hurtin'.

People thought I was cocky because I didn't talk much. When I first turned pro, reporters asked me who was going to win. I'd say, 'I am' because it was the easier than giving some long, drawn-out answer.

I'm heavier, but with muscle rather than flab. It's a massive difference. It means I don't get as tired sometimes and it means that I'm hitting the ball a lot farther, about 15 yards more with my driver.

I'm a pretty low-stress guy. I take what the golf course gives me. Some days, when I'm in full control, I'm able to fire at pins with 5-irons. Other days, I'm looking more toward the middle of the green.

Touring is just the most incredible experience, and whilst I try to share it, there are moments where you feel the only way you can really know is to be there in the moment feelings what you are feeling.

On the golf course, a man may be the dogged victim of inexorable fate, be struck down by an appalling stroke of tragedy, become the hero of unbelievable melodrama, or the clown in a side-splitting comedy.

One reason golf is such an exasperating game is that a thing we learned is so easily forgotten, and we find ourselves struggling year after year with faults we had discovered and corrected time and again.

I can't exactly describe it, but as I looked at the putt, the hole looked as big as a wash tub, I suddenly became convinced I couldn't miss. All I tried to do was keep the sensation by not questioning it.

There's a motto, if you fail and fail, you come back and try again. I've had a couple of failures here in America and close calls, especially in Major Championships, and it's great to finally, finally win.

The first time I played a PGA Tour event at Tucson was 1975. I came off the course on Sunday feeling very good about myself. I'd finished at even par, and I knew I could play even better if I worked at it.

In Valdosta, Ga., during a mini-tour event, a player named James Black bet me $20 he could put five golf balls in his mouth and then close his mouth all the way. I tried it but could get only two in there.

I wouldn't call it bitter. I think it's just sweet. I've always believed my life seems like it's gotten better and better as each decade has gone by. So I don't see any I don't see any bitterness about it.

Let me tell you what's fun in golf - low scores. The manufacturers have tricked people into believing that distance is everything. There is no place on the scorecard that says you need to hit it 350 yards.

I love watching Anthony Kim play, but I'm not a fan of the way he grips down a good two inches on his full-swing shots. Choking down lightens the club's swingweight and effectively makes the shaft stiffer.

I learned that round four of a major is really not too much different than rounds one through three. I didn't keep to my game plan in the '08 U.S. Women's Open for the final round. That won't happen again!

I love hitting the ball, controlling the ball. And yeah, even the roar of the crowd. I enjoy the roar of the crowd probably less than some players and more than some. But I'm not out here to be a celebrity.

There is no truth in the idea that the person who hits the most balls will become the best golfer. Golf is a bizarre sport. You can work for years on your game, without making any improvement in your score.

Do not be tempted to invest in a sample of each golfing invention as soon as it makes its appearance. If you do, you will only complicate and spoil your game - and encumber your locker with useless rubbish.

No one has ever given me anything. No one gave me a tour card, no one gave me a US tour card, no one gave me a nice house and a Ferrari: I've had to work for every penny I have earned and I'm proud of that.

I'd rather be two strokes ahead going into the last day than two strokes behind. Having said that, it's probably easier to win coming from behind. There is no fear in chasing. There is fear in being chased.

I was from North Carolina, so as a youngster all of my mind games about golf were always, If I make this I win The Masters, if I hole this par putt I win The Masters. So it was a great thrill to play there.

Golf is assuredly a mystifying game. It would seem that if a person has hit a golf ball correctly a thousand times, he should be able to duplicate the performance at will. But such is certainly not the case.

I realize what it means to be financially comfortable, and I want to be that. But I'm lucky enough to be in that position. And I'm also careful. I save 38 percent of my earnings after expenses, before taxes.

My goal has always been to play golf, and play it well. In the end, that's what I am, a golfer. If my back lets me, I'm going to play my favorite places. If I hurt myself, that'll probably be it for a while.

I am tired of all these golfers who are happy with second place. The only one who will like you if you come in second place is your wife and your dog. And that is only if you have a good wife and a good dog.

Put Mickelson and Toms out there. You know, they had the morning off. They rested. Knowing them and the competitors that they are, they are probably a little angry that they weren't out there in the morning.

I was a hotshot as a junior. When I was 18, I really got into fiddling around. I completely lost interest in golf, and I guess all I could think about was going to college, getting married and having babies.

I've had a lot of majors where I didn't play well until the last round. Keep yourself in contention; that's the name of the game. I usually ended up shooting a good round and all of a sudden, somehow, I won.

He's going to be around a long, long time, if his body holds up. That's always a concern with a lot of players because of how much they play. A lot of guys can't handle it. But it looks like Tiger Woods can.

Look at the putt from behind the hole. Everyday players almost never do this. They should! Your eyes will take in more information about the slope. Sometimes you'll find that your initial read was incorrect.

Even when I finished third at the U.S. Open a few weeks back, I didn't putt very well, nor in the last round of last year's Masters when Mickelson won, nor last year's Open at Turnberry, where I came second.

If you worry about making bogeys, it makes the game that much more difficult. You put more pressure on yourself without even noticing it. It makes a difference to take it easy when things aren't going right.

Whenever I'm in Des Moines, I always make a trip to Manhattan Deli for a sandwich. I spent a lot of time there when I was going to college at Drake, so it's usually my one 'go-to' food stop when I'm in town.

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