Boston Common Golf 7, Jupiter Links GC 6 (OT)
THE MODERATOR: Jupiter Links Golf Club fought so hard to come back, and ultimately the one point for the overtime loss is good. Playoff hopes are still there. Just start, if you could, Max, just a little recap of the match.
MAX HOMA: Yeah, it was good. I thought everyone played well. They made a lot of putts on us and kind of held us off, but really proud of Akshay and Tom playing so good in those singles. I don't know, they did a lot of great stuff, and we still hung around, so that was cool. Being down two with two to play and getting to a chip-off was awesome.
Q. Tom, how did it feel to be back?
TOM KIM: Great. It was so much fun. I was so excited to come and play. I've been wanting to play for so long, and to finally be reunited with my teammates. Four inches closer would have been very fruitful.
Q. Akshay, how fun has it been playing with these guys for a good part of the first part of the season here?
AKSHAY BHATIA: Yeah, I feel like we're a fraternity. We just have such good energy. It's so fun, especially having TK here, Kis being our cheerleader, and then obviously Tiger being the more serious guy (laughter) but always excited for us.
Yeah, it's just fun to play for a team. I think we just don't ever get to experience it, and to do it in an arena is really, really cool.
Q. What are some positives you can take away from this match heading into Tuesday's final match of the season?
MAX HOMA: Well, we're playing well. We're not really making a ton of mistakes. We made some putts tonight, which was cool. That's been our kind of weakest spot. I just think everybody's game was solid. We might need to do a bit more heroic stuff, but at the end of the day, we've been playing great golf the whole season, especially the last three, four matches.
Q. Specifically for Max and Tom, I know you spoke about earlier today, but playing Cognizant and then coming over here and doing this, if you guys can take me through what the day was like, your routine, and if you like playing a real PGA TOUR round and then coming here after or if it's too much for you guys?
TOM KIM: Yeah, I was basically second off, so I woke up at 4:30, so I've been up for almost 20 something hours. But my 18 holes today was preparation for tonight. That's all I focused on. I'm serious, I promise you.
It was a long day, but gosh, the whole round I was just thinking about the match tonight and how it's going to be and how I wanted to play and how the prep was going to go. It's been a long day, but hopefully I'll be able to go to sleep soon.
MAX HOMA: Yeah, a little later wake-up for me. But it was an interesting day. I was in a big spot for me all day, so my nerves were kind of shot by the time the day was over.
It was kind of fun to have a somewhat quick turnaround. I was really excited to be around these guys. Like Akshay said, I enjoy being around these dudes. It's a ton of fun being here with them, and I knew we had a big night, so it was kind of like a big round of golf, and then when the sun went down it was another big round of golf. It was a unique day, but it was also very fun.
Q. Tiger, you've been in the arena most nights with these guys and have seen all the Golden Tee style holes, the fun holes, but is there one hole at the top of your head from real life that you could see integrated to TGL, not necessarily a visual cool hole but a cool strategic hole?
TIGER WOODS: Well, I think that last year we had more holes that were more realistic, but the fans wanted something that was a little stretched beyond that and make it more entertaining. So the holes are obviously, I think, significantly different than they were last year. They're more creative, more fun, provide different shot making, stresses the players out in a different way.
Last year was more traditional. This year we've stretched it out a bit.
Q. How do you think Tiger boosts you when he is here when you're playing? And Tiger, how can you expand this game beyond where it is now? How do you see the future?
AKSHAY BHATIA: Yeah, I think obviously being with Tiger is really, really cool. Not many people get the opportunity to be around greatness. For us, it's really cool, I think, especially for TK and I being really young and obviously admiring him.
But once you get to know Tiger, he's like a brother. It's really cool for us to experience that, that different side, not him as a golfer but him as a person. It's really cool for us.
Q. With this being the last week of the regular season, we've seen the schedule be a little different between the two seasons; season 1 January, had that triple-header day; this season obviously December, last week back-to-back double headers, three matches in a row this week. When you bring this home for season 3, what would be an ideal mix in your mind?
TIGER WOODS: Well, ideally it's hard playing with the guys on the West Coast, getting back here. That's one of the more logistical challenges that we faced last year and again this year. Maybe in the future as we expand, more teams, more players, then we have a West Coast hub, we can stretch it out a bit, guys can stay on the West Coast, play there, then we move down here to Florida and do the Florida Swing and swing through here and then we have more of an East Coast version.
We've created a destination spot with this being here in Jupiter and West Palm Beach. We have the ability to expand and grow the game further.
For these guys, it's a challenge. It's on these guys to have to obviously try and win tournaments on the West Coast and fly back here, and it's difficult. But these guys have been unbelievable.
Q. Akshay, I was looking at the stat on you, and it says that you are 6'1", 130 pounds. Is that a typo?
AKSHAY BHATIA: No, I've gained some weight now. I'm 140. I look like Tiger when he got out on TOUR.
Q. Your first PGA TOUR event was when you were 17. At what point in your junior golf career did you start generating such tremendous power?
AKSHAY BHATIA: I think I've always been kind of average. A lot of speed for my weight and size. But I would say, yeah, around 16, 17, I was probably average to a little longer, kind of keeping up with some of the guys. But everyone has just gotten way faster now. It's pretty frustrating. We saw Rory hit like 192. He was talking about it, and I was just excited if I got like 180. It's crazy how far the game is going.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports