U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 29, 1994

Jim Albus

JIM ALBUS: Oh, come on. Those guys are just blowing some smoke. You know, Trevino likes to, I think -- maybe he has been smoking that funny weed.

JIM ALBUS: I think they sometimes divert attention from themselves. They are sticking a little zinger on me because rather than have everything pointed at them.

JIM ALBUS: Yeah. I have been playing well. I am happy as can be with my golf and with my chances, but I have played well the last few weeks, especially, and haven't won; somebody has managed to come in ahead, so that is the only thing that is a little bit spooky with me.

JIM ALBUS: I just played here once in a tournament and didn't do well. I played in a club pro championship about 10 or 11 years ago, I think it was, and didn't have a good experience with it. And, in fact, I remembered it being a real narrow golf course. I played it yesterday. I was surprised it is not that narrow. I think when I played here before, I was not hitting it too straight or not hitting it too good because it is not the way I remember the golf course. So, I hope to do better this time.

JIM ALBUS: Yeah, it made my banker happier. I don't know about my wife, but my banker is definitely happier. And I had mixed feelings because I was at a nice club, and had a nice job in New York, and I wasn't looking to leave. I was planning on playing part-time; playing a fairly full/part time sort a thing and stay at the club. And after I won the TPC championship in 1991, and I sat and watched a tape the week afterwards when I was still thinking I was going to play part-time, I was watching the tape of the show and as I was coming down the stretch, the English announcer was asking Deane Beman, the commissioner, what this would mean if this club pro could hang on and win this tournament? What would it mean in terms of an exemption? And Beman said something like, well - we will see. So they didn't know. They basically didn't have that set up at that point because, I guess, most of the people that had won the big tournaments were the big shots, so the exemption wasn't at issue. And so anyway, they got back to me, it was just a one-year exemption, not even a one-year exemption because it just went to next year's TPC. So for me to stay exempt, I had to finish in the top 30 money winners that year in order to be exempt the next year. So, I figured I should do it full-time and that sort of pushed me to make up my mind. So they did me a favor, they made me leave my job and go full-time on tour.

JIM ALBUS: I hope so. I have played -- seem to play my best golf on the better courses. I think the Michigan Tournament where I won and where I finished second last week is probably the toughest course that we play. So, I know that I prefer to play the better courses and the tougher courses, and I seem to contend more in those. So I hope so. And I think they are giving me this business because I have played with them the last few weeks when I have been in contention even though I haven't won. At least I have been in contention and pushed them, at least, a little bit. But the real favorites have to be the three fellows; Stockton, who has played so well the last couple of weeks, and Trevino and Floyd. No question, they are the favorites. And if I can just get mentioned in the same breath as those guys, that makes me real happy, you know. So, you look on the money list, it is real evident on the money list and the stat sheets, probably too, will bring it out. That is the way it is ranked right now I am fortunate to be fourth and those three fellows are all ahead of me. The three of them are in contention every tournament they play, it seems like, especially Floyd and Trevino.

JIM ALBUS: Jack is always going to be good. It is hard to get a fix on him because he hasn't played that much out here. It is hard to figure. But you know how great he is. You have to figure, he is going to be there also, especially on a good golf course. It is funny too, the only time that Stockton has backed away, in fact, it was something because last week I was paired with him the last round and he is leading the tournament by 50 over me, and I birdied the first two holes and all he did was just make a bunch of birdies and ran away with the tournament from there. Last January, Nicklaus is on his tail and he shot 40 the last 9. The only time he has done that. He did that for Jack but he wouldn't do it for anybody else.

JIM ALBUS: I think there are a few guys that can do that. I think there are some good players, but again, these guys that are so good, and week after week play so well, that you have to figure the guys are going to be there.

JIM ALBUS: I don't know if I hit the ball any better or putt any better, but I think I probably am more comfortable with it. You know, that is the only thing that is real different. I did fairly well right away when I come out here, so I knew I could play. But I think I am much more comfortable now than I was back then, you know, just I didn't know a lot of the guys and you have expectations for yourself, but it is a little bit uneasy just the newness of it all, and I think that is really the thing that is different. That, and the fact that when you are playing golf everyday, I think you get it in the hole better. I think that you can take a monkey and that would be the case. If you just do something that much, you are going to -- you are just going to miss the green and make more pars. If you are doing it everyday, all day -- you know, it is a full-time job for me now, and I think it has helped in that respect.

JIM ALBUS: Yeah, exactly. Over the years you build up -- you see these fellows playing and it took awhile to get comfortable with all of that.

JIM ALBUS: Yeah.

JIM ALBUS: Yeah. The week before, I wasn't exempt. In fact, that got to be a chain of events that is one of those fickle finger of faith type things because I had to qualify on Monday to get into Sleepy Hollow, and I did, and I was -- I missed in a playoff. I lost out in a playoff to get into the tournament direct and I was second alternate, and they took a whole bunch of alternates, as it turned out, and I was the second alternate after that. And as it turned out, two guys didn't show up, so I was the last minute guy to get in and I shot 64 -- 63 or 64 the last round to win enough money. I think I won $12,000 which got me into the Detroit Tournament the next week. They go strictly off the money list to get into the Detroit Tournament, the TPC Championship. And I was all excited because someone said you are in next week now. I didn't even know anything about it. And so I went into tell them yeah, I am here, here I come, and he says no, you didn't register in time and he said you can't get in. So I was disappointed and told him, gee, I wasn't exempt last week so I had no thoughts about my commitment or anything, and they said well, we will have to have a meeting about it, and they called Beman in on it and they wound up -- they had already told Bert Yancey and the other fellows that they were in, so my jumping up actually put him out after he was told that he was in. And it was talk apparently about lawsuits and stuff, so they said well, we are not going to have any of that lawsuit stuff so they added three people to the field to make everybody happy, and that is how I got in the tournament.

JIM ALBUS: How does he know that? Last week, you mean, this past week?

JIM ALBUS: I didn't see that. No, I wonder how he would know that. I sort of hold it, what I would think, is a medium pressure, so I guess he could see that. I don't try and hold it real tight. I try and hold it real medium.

JIM ALBUS: Larry it here two years ago, so it has happened actually in all three of the Majors that we have. Wargo was the PGA and I was the TPC and Laoretti was the U.S. Open, so it can happen anywhere.

JIM ALBUS: I am still a club pro at heart and I am happy to do whatever I can for those guys - anybody who wants it. That just happened. I know Bob for a long time; although we haven't played together. He is from back there and I read all his press clippings back in the Metropolitan area. He is one of the good amateur players in the Met area and he is a good player. And I played with Mike Joyce usually because we were buddies from Long Island. He is a club pro that won out here. He won a regular tour event. You don't hear so much about it because it wasn't a major, now he has struggled for the last couple of years. He is back, qualified. Mike Joyce and I play together a lot.

JIM ALBUS: I felt great. It was great. I was knew to me. A lot of guys could never imagine doing that because when you have done it for 30 years that would be something that you would never imagine doing but it was new to me. It was all new courses and again, the money was part of it because I wanted to stay exempt so I have planned on playing a lot just to make sure I stayed in the top 30 money winners and I felt fine at the end of the year. It wasn't hard to do at all. I love to play golf. Nobody loves golf anymore than me when I go home and I just play anyway, so I might as well play for some good money and a good competition. I took some breaks last year. That was my first full year I did that. And last year after I got ahead of the top 30 and felt comfortable with that, I took a couple of breaks. And I think you know, there was a big deal made out of the iron man, but I think Rocky Thompson is the one that has played the longest stretch; I think he went 50 some odd tournaments or something like that without missing a tournament. So I am not as iron man as you think.

JIM ALBUS: I think in everything you do there is always some petty jealousy and-- but it is always going to be-- you are always going to have somebody that is better. You are always going to have a small group of players that are better, and I think it is great because it just gives us a little more you know, desire; a little more-- we need to push a little more if you want to get up there and play with them, compete with them, successfully. But there is always -- always jealousy. You can see that even from your peers and even guys that are your friends. I remember a friend of mine who wrote a book told me that. He said there is an old cliche that there is no greater kick in the ass than your best friend's good fortune. He swore that was true. I don't know if that would be true if I can get Mike Joyce to play better; nothing would make me happier, but there probably is some truth. There is a petty jealously in everything, in every business, every kind of thing that we do; especially when money is involved.

JIM ALBUS: Good for the tour, yeah, great to have someone like Raymond. He is a good guy and he is just a great player and it gives that much more credence, I think, to the tour. You know, he can compete on either tour and here he is not winning every week out here. He has got to be one of the top players, but he is not winning every week, so it says something. Shows you how competitive it is out here, tell you that.

JIM ALBUS: Thanks, guys.