U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 30, 1994

Lee Trevino

LEE TREVINO: Read that back. Read that back. What did he say? Well, it did just exactly what I told you it was going to do when I was in here. I said that there would be quite a few rounds in the red today. I thought that and especially last night, after it started raining, hell, I was already in bed when it started raining yesterday. That was early. I was in bed about 6:00 and, man, it was pouring out there, but what it does, it makes the greens bigger. I think all the pros will tell you that. You can use more of the greens; get closer to the sides of them and the ball will hold up. Wouldn't run off of them. If we don't get anymore rain it, I think the scores will start edging back up, back up; if it stays dry from now until Sunday, I won't be very surprised if anybody breaks par by that time. I am talking not in the tournament. I am talking for that final round. Sunday will get very difficult if the greens are very fast and crusty. When they do that -- that is what this golf courses is all about. Fairways, is like I said, even get a little wider; you can spray the ball a little bit; it will still hang on the sides. The rough is not really penalizing you that much. You can still advance the ball, you know, pretty good up around the green. But all and all, I think it played very well today.

LEE TREVINO: Problem is I can't remember them.

LEE TREVINO: I got it somewhere. I birdied the first hole. I hit a driver 9-iron to the first hole about 20 feet left of the hole and made it for birdie. Number 2, I hit -- I missed the fairway right and I hit a 6-iron out of the rough and it went up on the green, about 15 feet and it rolled back off the green and I 3-putted it. I putted it up and missed the putt. I parred 3. And the fourth hole. I parred 5, I hit driver, 3-iron, sand wedge, about 5 feet; made it for birdie. And I made birdie there and then number 5, I hit a driver and I hit 4-iron; I missed the green right. And I putted it again and I putted it a little bit long, about 6, 8 feet long and I missed it and I made bogey there. And then I parred 7 and then 8, I hit a driver, 6-iron, and I putt it about, oh, about 20 feet short of the fall and right there and I made it for birdie. Par 10, parred 11. Am I still right? Yeah, parred 12. Parred 13. 14 I birdied. Yeah, I birdied 14. I hit a 7-iron about a foot, driver, 7-iron; about a foot from the hole and made birdie. Was I 2-under? Then I parred out. I made a mistake on the par 5, 16, I drove it a long way there and I tried to hit a soft 3-wood and I pushed it from the bunker on the right and I didn't get the ball up and down. I think I could have actually hit a 5-wood on there if I would have hooked the ball a little bit.

LEE TREVINO: The way I have been putting.

LEE TREVINO: Oh, yeah, very pleased. Very pleased. I came very close to a lot. I was never in jeopardy of 3-putting when I was on the green. I did 3-putt twice but I was you know, you got to go-- I count those as putts. Most people don't. Any time I have a putter, in my mind I count it as a putt even though I was off the green, you know, 10 feet. You got to go up the mound and I 3-putted twice. Two bogeys came from that, and as a matter of fact, the only two bogeys I made came from that. Missing the greens; putting up and then missing the seconds one - yeah.

LEE TREVINO: No. No. No, that is common Bermuda on those sides and it gets-- it is a little touchy when you start chipping from there because the problem is you can't bump-and-run if you are going to take a wedge or something, you are going to have to loft the ball from that low position up and try to, you know, check it on the green. And it is very dangerous, in other words, is because it is very tight right there. So everyone is rolling the ball up the hill and I mean, why not use a putter if you are going to roll the ball up the hill. That is the way I feel about it.

LEE TREVINO: Yeah, I won a tournament in Japan this year. I chipped every chip shot with a 5-wood except one hole and I got it up and down every time, but once-- I use the 5-wood a lot. I did it at-- I don't remember which-- I was playing Charlotte when I won. I used the 5-wood quite a bit from off the green chipping it up. I haven't used it higher yet. Probably should have used it those two times today, but I didn't do it. But yeah, I have been guilty of doing that. Yeah. Useing the 5-wood instead of the putter.

LEE TREVINO: I think they have less grass on them. Number 9 is much quicker. I saw Dave Stockton 3-putt right in front of me. Then I ran the thing by about three feet from almost the same spot. That green looked like it didn't have as much -- looked like it was 100% bent on that particular green. I think they were speeding up because of the sun - dried out. I think we all the morning greens are still damp, sticky; then I think that what happens, we got on the back nine ; they got a little quicker because the sun dried them out. I think that is the only reason. I don't think they are different speeds, no.

LEE TREVINO: No, I didn't say I didn't have any chance here.

LEE TREVINO: I told you yesterday he was playing the best golf. I mean, I play with these guys everyday. I know who is playing good and who is not; who got the right attitude and who hasn't; who is strong and who is not. Jim Albus as strong as that man is, if this rough was higher, his chances would even be better because he is the type of guy that can rip it out of the rough, but you got to understand too, he never went in the rough today. He drove it right down the middle of every fairway. He shot 5 under par and it could have been better. And I am here to tell you that. He will you about it when he comes in, but I played with the man and I told you yesterday that they were talking about me and Nicklaus and Stockton and Weiskopf and those guys I said, you are leaving one guy out, and I said Albus, Albus has been playing the best golf probably the last month and he just has been unlucky here and there and that is all it takes is one hole or two holes coming down the stretch and you lose the tournament. But he has been right there. He is playing awfully well right now. No mistakes.

LEE TREVINO: I hit the driver pretty long there. I had 157 yards to the flag, yeah.

LEE TREVINO: But I don't know where the tee markers were, Ron. I don't think they had the tee markers all the way back. That hole probably measures at 4, whatever, but they probably play it at about 415, 420.

LEE TREVINO: I am longer now. I am longer now than I was ten years ago.

LEE TREVINO: The graphites, 45 inch driver. I am not very damn straight with it. But I hit it a long way. I miss more fairways now than I have have. I put on 15, 20 yards which is -- I will take the missed fairways to get that yardage, yeah.

LEE TREVINO: 4 hours, 30 minutes. We waited almost every hole. But when you play Pinehurst, let me tell you something, you want a 7 hour day, yes. You don't want to get off this golf course. Now, there is a lot of courses that we play where I'd like to get off in two hours and 45 minutes, but this one here, pace of play is fine. It doesn't make any difference. We played in about 4.30. I think the first group finished in 4 and then they will get down and it gets a little bit slower here a little bit slower there, but I think it was -- we waited every hole. Yeah. 18 holes we waited.

LEE TREVINO: Any time you can play in the '60s first round of any major championship you have to be pleased. You have to be pleased even though I am three shots back, I am still pleased with the round yes, very much so.

LEE TREVINO: No condominiums around it. You know when you look across the fairway, you can see other players, playing 2, 3 holes you are not looking at a big dog going whoof-whoof over there. Or swimming pools or all that stuff over in somebody's yard. You are not looking at fences and stuff. That is what makes this golf course so great. You go out there and it is quiet. All you can here is the birds chirping. You don't see any rubber flamingos in the backyard or something. That is what is so great about it. Yeah.

LEE TREVINO: Thank you very much.