Questions For Tiger Woods

Q: Why do you always seem to play so well at Firestone?

A: I simply like this course. We don't get a chance to play old-school courses like this very often, where everything's right in front of you--no tricks, no hidden agendas, no elephant burial grounds. It's difficult, it's fun.

Q: Did you think your chances in the PGA Championship would have been better if it had finished on Sunday?

A: Without a doubt, because the wind had changed. We played 16, 17 and 18 straight downwind, and I hit a two-iron over the green on a 650-yard hole. Then all of a sudden the wind came up 15 or 20 miles per hour straight into their faces. They became very different holes. I hit a six-iron on number 16, and [later] some of the guys were hitting utility woods, so it was a completely different hole. Certainly if they would have played, I would have had a better chance of maybe getting into a playoff.

Q: Was the inconvenience of a Monday finish as important as the fact that it might have altered the tournament's outcome?

A: As you know, TV basically rules out here. The producers didn't like having anything taped, especially the drama of a major championship. I can understand their point, but then again, if you have inclement weather or a good chance of its coming in, I think you have to allow for a cushion. We had the same type of circumstance with darkness in South Africa for the [2003] Presidents Cup because they moved the tee times back so it would be in prime time, and lo and behold, look what happened. We ended up with a tie. It has happened before, and I'm sure it'll continue to happen every now and then.

Q: Do you worry less about hitting fairways because of how far you're hitting it?

A: I pull out my driver on every hole because I know I can put the ball in the fairway. I never had that before. When I had good years here, I was hitting two-irons and three-woods off the tee to keep it in play. I [still] hit some foul balls, but they're not as bad as they used to be.

Q: Now that you've switched to the new technology, how much longer are you hitting your driver?

A: Easily 20, 25 yards in the air.