THE TOUR Championship

06 Nov 2003 - 09 Nov 2003
Houston, Texas

The Tour Championship
© Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images

Sunday’s start was not what I envisioned, a double bogey at the first hole, but is sure didn’t stop me from focusing and concentrating. I just let that six-iron approach at the first hole get away to the left and I put it in a bad spot. I just kept playing my game and I sure hit some good shots on the front nine. I think I did a good job there of leaving that first hole in the past. I made putts at the third, about 30 feet, had a great chance for eagle at the fifth from about 10 feet and two-putted for a birdie, then made another putt at the sixth of about 18 feet. On the eighth, the par-3 over the water with the pin tucked way left, I hit a beauty in there about five feet and made that but I guess that’s where the putts stopped falling.

Overall, I played well today but it’s just kind of the way it’s gone in the last couple of months. I played pretty well this week, but I’m not scoring. When I hit it close, I hit it close four or five holes in a row but I’m not making any and then I’ll hit one shot a little off line and not get up and down and all of a sudden I’m one over for that stretch of holes. That was kind of my back nine today. I hit some very good shots but all I wound up with was two bogeys and then a round of 71. That’s the way the game goes sometimes. On the week, I played the par-5’s at Champions Gate (there are three on the course) only three-under. They were tricky in some respects because of the pin placements, but I had envisioned doing a bit better on the par-5’s than that.

I was asked again today about the Player of the Year race. It seems like it’s all anybody’s talking about here this week. I don’t know how it will turn out. It’s up in the air. It depends what guys value, what they see has value. A lot of media has been talking about Vijay and Tiger big-time, and deservedly so but I think I have just as much right to it as anybody else. That’s the way I’d vote. That’s the way I see it but that doesn’t mean that the other 160 or so guys see it that way.

It’s the official end to the PGA Tour season, but it doesn’t look like there’s going to be much off-season for me this year. I’ll have only two weeks after Tiger’s event until the Mercedes and that’s about it. Growing up in Canada, I’ve been used to, all my life, taking a lot of time off in the winter. This year I’m not going to be able to. Last year was the first time in a long time that I was able to take three months off, and look at the kind of start I got off to. I’ve always been good after a nice break and I’m not going to be able to have that, but at some point I will take an extended break. All of that said, having the successes I did this year has put this kind of schedule in front of me and you can’t really skip the Grand Slam and the Presidents Cup is really important. I’m really looking forward to those tournaments, especially the Presidents Cup in less than two weeks. I’m not worried, though. I’ll find some time to get away later.

For me, it’s not quite over yet, but it’s been a thrilling year in so many ways and I just want everyone to know how much your support from start to finish has meant to me.

All the best,
Mike