It's nice to have other hobbies, other than golf. I've played football, I play tennis. I enjoy doing things other than golf, and poker is one of them.
Obviously, the good thing about golf, it's difficult to really, really blow it after five holes unless it goes really, really, really... really, really, really wrong. But you still have 13 to go, and if you have a good run, where you make five or six birdies, you can get it back somehow.
Whether it's golf or writing, you have friends, and then you have 'friends' friends. Friends who are like family. I can count my close friends on two hands, which is good, I think. That's a lot. Some are at home in Spain, others are elsewhere, and some are in golf.
I don't apologize for my clothes. There are a lot of bad dressers in golf, and I don't think I'm one of them. There are a lot of bad dressers in every business.
When I'm playing my best and find myself in contention late on Sundays, it's usually when I'm not thinking about my swing, but rather trusting my setup and smoothly pulling the trigger. I won't completely rely on feel - I like to keep a few images in the back of my mind to make sure that I get the most out of my driver, irons and wedges.
Copy my favorite moves and my Tour-proven setup positions, and you'll start catching it on the sweet spot every time, with every club in your bag.
Your woods, irons and wedges are built with specific lengths and lie angles, which demand that you stand to the ball a little differently for each one. The secret is to know which elements of your address position remain constant, and which ones you have to tweak to match the club in your hand.
When it comes to hitting solid drives, the secret is to swing within yourself. I know that sounds like a cliche, but it's true. If you swing at 100 miles per hour and hit it on the toe, you won't hit the ball as far as you would with an 80-mph swing that catches the ball in the center of the clubface.
To concentrate intensely for 4 and a half hours, that's too hard for me. Too tiring. I concentrate 'lo maximo' on the 'golpe,' the stroke, but between strokes I'm interacting with the crowd or laughing with my caddie, talking about the spectators, the cute girls.
I love movies, of course. 'Terminator 3' and 'Bad Boys II' - lots of action. Sports movies, action movies, comedies - I'll go to those, but not 'las de amor.' Not romance. It's not that I don't like love, but on the screen it bores me.
I've had opportunities. But winning a major is not only about playing well. It's about having 'winner's luck.' I had winner's luck in 1999 at Medinah, but it didn't take me all the way.
I've always felt I should do things 100 percent or not do them. It's all or nothing. That's what makes me a good athlete - doing things with all the 'ganas' I can.
At the end of the day, the only thing I can do is keep working on it, keep giving myself chances, and it's going to happen.Collection: Giving
I have to believe in myself. I know what I can do, what I can achieve.Collection: Believe
I've heard people say my swing's not perfect, and I know that. But golf's a natural sport, very sensitive. It's played a lot by feel. I don't care if my swing is too flat. If it works, I don't have to change it.Collection: Sports
I always think under par. You have to believe in yourself.Collection: Believe
In 13 years I've come to the conclusion that I need to play for second or third place.Collection: Years
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.Collection: Golf
Concentrating for four hours will wear you out mentally.Collection: Golf
I do things with a lot of feeling.Collection: Feelings
The Spanish press started calling me El Nino' when I was very small. Now, I have grown a little. The problem is, when I'm 30 years old, we'll have to come up with another one.Collection: Years
Be who you really are.Collection: Golf
The most important thing is not that my short game looks good, but that it feels good, because at the end of the day, what you need is to feel it, and I'm starting to feel it.Collection: Games
There have been times when you doubt yourself. You don't know if you're working on the right things.Collection: Doubt
I've been fortunate enough to do pretty well in playoffs. I feel pretty comfortable in them.Collection: Enough
I definitely don't consider myself a kid anymore. I feel like an old man, an old 28-year-old.Collection: Kids
I like playing with a good crowd.Collection: Crowds