FORD SENIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

July 14, 2001

Doug Tewell

DOUG TEWELL: Well, I'm in Detroit, right? (Laughs). You know, I was just asked what I thought about that first round, if I could have gone back and replayed some of it, I said, no. I got off to a poor start, birdied the 18th hole on Thursday night and said, okay, turned it around in the right direction because I didn't know where it was going on Thursday. After the Open I took a week off and I just played awful -- shot 13-over par, which was, but yesterday I turned it around and made seven birdies. Started feeling like I was hitting the ball like I know I can hit it. Today I was kind of off and on, but every time I got in trouble, it seems like I made a really good 10-foot par putt or something, and it really sort of turned me around. Just kept me from getting my dauber down a little bit. I just wish I had made that putt on 18.

DOUG TEWELL: No. 1, down the left side of the fairway took an 8-iron and kind of punched it. Pretty good breeze when we teed off there. It's always nice to -- I hit an 8-iron about two feet, so it's nice to kind of get off when the wind is blowing hard, to hit a good golf shot. Got that birdie there. Then fell into a rut for about seven or eight holes. Felt like all I could do was -- the par 5's, I was still making fives, but those are holes that are playing pretty easy right now and didn't birdie either one on the front nine. Then next one, I hit it over the green, tried to putt it back up the hill and got it to the fringe and made it from about 11 feet downhill for par. So just kind of kept the momentum going, and kept hitting good golf shots. Then I got into a little bit of trouble over on 13, the long par 4. Hit a 7-iron about four feet. Made birdie at 11, hit a driver and a 9-iron in there about two feet. Made that. But I hit some really good, quality iron shots today that were right around the hole. Par 5, the 13, knocked it on in two with a 4-iron and 2-putted. Putt was about 45 feet. 16, I hit a 7-iron about 18 inches for a tap-in. That was a tough pin, too. Right on the upper shelf. That's what is encouraging now is I'm really starting to hit some good quality golf shots, where I was nowhere even in the arena on Thursday with any of these shots. So it is starting to come back; so much so that I committed to play next week because I was not going to play. But I was so happy with the way I played yesterday, things were starting to turn around, so I may as well take things to Chicago. Birdie putt at 18 was six feet. Just a simple inside right and shoved it to the right edge. I had 179 yards to the hole and I hit a 7-iron. That's how the golf course -- we are programmed to land about ten or 12 yards short of the hole and bounce it on the green and hopefully not go too far back. So it's starting to get very much like British Open type golf out there. I don't understand it -- I really don't. I don't know why we are letting the fairways burn up, but I guess that's our new policy out here. But it seems to me if they watered the fairways and slowed the golf course up -- they say the ball will run off into the rough. All the ball is doing is running 50 yards farther down the fairway and making the golf course play easier, not harder.

DOUG TEWELL: Well, I think the greens are what being, that's the things they are really letting dry out now. It is tough to stick a ball in there. Like I said, today I hit a couple of great shots where I landed it in the slope and it jumped up. That's what we are trying to do, but I want to tell you, there's a little bit of a margin of luck in there that when you are playing well, those things happen to you. I hit the same shot on 17 after hitting a poor tee shot. I laid up and took a middle wedge and put it right into the hill. Looked like it was going to be perfect, then jumps up and backs up. It backed up because it landed in the fringe and that's the only soft part that is out there.

DOUG TEWELL: They are talking about one good hop and then checking.

DOUG TEWELL: Thursday I played in the afternoon. I thought the pins were extremely tough. Probably the toughest they have been. The wind was a little bit stronger. Yesterday I played in the morning, so I got a little softer conditions and slower conditions. I would rather see them slow up the fairway, keep these guys from being able to hit 5-irons into par 5s.

DOUG TEWELL: After I won the Tradition -- that's a big high to come off of, shooting 62 in the final round. It's tough to come back. But I came right back the next week and tied for second. So I was pleased about coming back and getting focused. Then I've had some Top-10s since then. I had a couple of back-to-back sixth place finishes around Fleet Boston -- not Boston. I've had some good finishes, but I've played some poor first rounds, and I did it right here again. And for whatever reason, it's just not getting psyched up to play. Maybe I've -- inaudible -- I'm going to dive in head first. Let's go; we've got to get moving here. I've just got to stay focused. Now the guys that know me will say that this will get your attention; I happen to be maybe a little too happy-go-lucky . --inaudible.

DOUG TEWELL: No question about it. We've played together for 40 years. We played a lot in Junior golf and college golf and TOUR golf and now SENIOR TOUR golf. So we've been -- we are very comfortable, I think, playing with each other. You know, I always tend to think we both play fairly well when we play together. We get along very well, and that's always nice. He was playing great. In fact, I think his putting stroke was better than it has been in a while. I know that's troubled him a bit. He hit a good shot at 17, just the wind caught it a little bit.