What they said: David Toms

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LAURY LIVSEY: We are very glad to welcome David Toms into the interview room. David, you are coming off a nice performance last week at TPC Sawgrass, THE PLAYERS Championship, a runner up finish, and you always played well here. You've had some good performances, close calls. Can you talk about the state of your game?

DAVID TOMS: Obviously, I feel pretty good about it right now. Every week is a new week. We're on a golf course this week that I really like. I've always enjoyed coming over here to play. It's close to home. It's just one of my favorite events all year. So I look forward to trying to get back there again.

It's a long process to just to get into the hunt and have a chance, especially when you start all over. Everybody is starting even this week.

I'm sure a lot of guys feel good about their game. I'm just one of those. You know, I get the good bounces and pull the right clubs in this wind, and you never know, maybe we could get back there Sunday afternoon.

LAURY LIVSEY: We will take some questions.

Q. David, as a veteran player, I assume that it's easy for you to get past what happened on the playoff hole, is that right?

DAVID TOMS: Yes, I really have no other choice. You can let it linger or not getting the end result that you want or just move on. I'm just glad this tournament is next because this is one that I don't have a problem getting up for just because I like it.

If it was one of those events where you're just kind of going through the motions, and you never had success on it, maybe it's tough to get back up.

For me, this is great, great timing with this event here with my game in good shape. I feel like I can play well here and it's something that I look forward to. It is behind me. I guess the only thing that keeps coming up are when people come up to me and say, I wish it would have worked out better for you. But for myself, it's just all about moving forward.

Q. You are considered a good putter, always have been. Is there anything that you've done early on in your career to get that way, especially from mid distance? The second part of that question, have you ever considered an oversized one?

DAVID TOMS: You know, I think putting is, you know, something that is more of a natural thing; not that you are born with it.

Certainly you can train yourself. But I think just the feel of it, reading greens, all of it works hand in hand with something that just comes more naturally than other players. I'm not a mechanical player in any way, and I think that feeds into the short game of it.

I have practiced with long putters before, belly putters. It's a great stroke that way. I have problems setting up with them.

I think if I could get the set up and feel comfortable I wouldn't mind putting that way because I think it's almost like cheating at times. Especially coming down the stretch last week trying to win, you have that nervous factor and nervous energy and all of that and it factors into your stroke sometimes. Where if you anchored something into your body maybe that wouldn't be there. So certainly I would say it's a good way to putt if you can get comfortable.

Q. David, I just have a general question. You see a lot of times guys have great success in certain geographic regions. Like Scotty is going win all 4 Texas events?

DAVID TOMS: Right.

Q. Is there anything about certain areas?

DAVID TOMS: Well, a lot of times it could be, you know, the weather patterns. I know that I've played better when it's warm than when it's cold. Some guys don't mind playing in sweaters and a jacket.

I don't like it at all. I feel restricted.

And at my age, the body doesn't feel quite as good as it does when it's warm. So you have that.

You have the different grass, grasses that we play on the TOUR. Some guys are comfortable on poa annua grass, whether it's he seaside or up north. Others feel better on Bermuda. All of that factors into maybe where they grew up. I'm not sure, Adam Scott, growing up in Australia, I don't know where he played as a kid. But certainly was probably played his golf where the weather was warm and maybe somewhat breezy a lot of times it is here in Texas. So I'm sure he feels comfortable.

Q. I want to ask you about holes 3, 4 and 5 that horseshoe out there. Talk about the challenges that those holes pose, maybe how it compares to some other courses. And then if you have a particular memory good and/or bad?

DAVID TOMS: First of all, the third hole is a very demanding tee shot there. If you are long enough where you can carry everything, it's a little bit easier. But then you run the risk of going through the fairway if you happen to push your tee shot. It's gotten more difficult over the years with the addition of that extra bunker there. It's a tough shot.

If you can get that shot in the fairway, the second shot, it's not too bad. So it's the tee shot that's demanding there.

The fourth hole, any par 3 that that's length, with the green that's crowned in the middle where if you land it on the back it goes over . You land it short it tends to stay short. It's tough.

And then 5, it's just brutal. It's a tough tee shot. Nobody wants to leak it right so they end up hitting it left, and you are not in a very good spot over there as well. And even with a long second shot. It's just overall a tough hole. Most guys, if you can get through those three holes at even par, most guys will take that for sure.

Q. Do you have any particular memory about those holes?

DAVID TOMS: I have good and bad. I don't really want to get into either one. I've played them well before and I have played them horrible. You can hit some good shots that don't turn out very good. I will put it to you that way. Especially when it is breezy and it's a very tough stretch of the golf course.

Q. How satisfied are you with your game? Obviously you've got 3 Top 5's already. You are feeling pretty good coming into this week?

DAVID TOMS: Yes, it's good. Overall my stats are good, ball striking stats. I haven't had the hot week putting yet this year. Maybe I could have one of them soon and put the ball striking with that and it will be a good week.

But overall, stats are fine. I've been working hard. This is my fourth week in a row to play. I've been out here grinding. I feel good about it.

You always want to do things better. And you look back on shots that maybe I didn't finish up very well, and even though I had good finishes in New Orleans and Charlotte, I had a chance to have great finishes and didn't finish up very well.

Obviously last week I didn't capitalize on a chance to get a victory there. A lot of near misses so far. But for the most part, I've had opportunities and that's really all you can ask for.

Q. David, 21 under is great any week. Can you talk about how impressive Zach's performance was last year setting a record?

DAVID TOMS: You know, first of all, he is a great player. When he gets going on the greens, he makes a lot of putts. He is very accurate off the tee, which is good, hits that draw which works on a lot of holes out here. Just a great golf course for him, as well as it is for me and some other players like us.

It's one of those weeks where you want to capitalize on it when you have a golf course that's meant for your game, or built for your game where you don't have to overpower it, you have to be accurate, your short game has to be good.

It was an impressive performance. No doubt. It doesn't surprise me to come from him. Steve Stricker has won here. Guys that have the game to play this golf course.

Q. You played this tournament numerous times so you have obviously played it in the wind, which it hasn't had much of in the last few years, what is the difference this course in the wind as opposed to no wind?

DAVID TOMS: It's certainly a factor. It makes it more difficult to place your tee shots. You have a lot of holes where not only do you need to be in the fairway, but you need to be in the right part of the fairway to have a shot at some of the pins. It's definitely a factor to get the ball in the fairway. And then trying to pull a club out there.

I guess the good thing about the wind, it's probably going to be strong enough to where you don't have to guess where it is. You will know where the wind is, and you can play for that.

It will make the course tougher. You will see a lot more balls probably in the rough. Then you will have to start judging what your flier lies are and which ones are going to come out hot and which ones aren't. It will be quite a test.

Q. I'm Josh, with the First Tee of Fort Worth, sportsmanship is one of our First Tee 9 core values. What does sportsmanship mean to you?

DAVID TOMS: Sportsmanship, it would be what does it mean to me? I think really it shows what your true character is, what kind of person you are, what kind of competitor you are; whether you win or lose. It's really all about how you play the game.

There are a lot of guys that played this game before me, and there will be a lot of guys that play it after me, and I just want to be remembered for being a sportsman in the game and playing it the right way.

Q. David, sorry if you answered this, I just talked in. After Sunday, and I don't know when you ended up going through text messages and phone calls that you may have received or calls and texts that you've gotten since then; once you started to get those and read those did it almost feel like you won?

DAVID TOMS: A lot of positive response, especially from people that I'm close to. The ones that mean the most are the guys that I compete against out here; whether it was text messages or phone calls, or just what they say in general because they know how difficult it is.

Your average fan that's watching on TV, oh, he just didn't get it done. But there is a lot more that goes into it than that.

The ones that mean the most are people who really know the game no me, know me, and know how much it means to me to play great and to try to win. I had a lot of them. I had pages and pages of emails, text messages.

I've tried to respond to everything, but it's going to be tough to get to them all. It's been a great response. It probably would have been better if I was able to win. It was neat.

I had a lot of, you know, heart warming messages, and I wouldn't say I feel like I won, but certainly it was good exposure for me as a player and as person.

Q. Was there one from up here that maybe stood out to you?

DAVID TOMS: No. There were numerous ones that just talked about the way I played the 18th hole, just about how clutch that was.

I guess looking back, it was. As a competitor, if it was somebody else is that would have been in that position, I would have said the same thing. Nothing necessarily stands out. If I said one stood out over another, it wouldn't be right because I had so many.

Q. David, how important is it to you to get back into the winner's circle?

DAVID TOMS: It's very important. It's what motivates me for this to be my fourth week in a row away from home and to play the events that I play.

You know, I made the statement last year that it wouldn't change my life in any way to win. But it would just help me mentally to know that, No. 1, that I could still do it. But also that it's worth it. Because really that's what worth the time and effort, time spent away from home, your family. That's really what it's all about for me. It's not about, hey, it's my job, or that's the way I make money. I'm kind of passed all of that. It's all about the competition and proving to myself that I could do it again.

LAURY LIVSEY: David, thanks for your time. We appreciate it very much.

DAVID TOMS: Thank you.