CANON GREATER HARTFORD OPEN

June 29, 2000

Kirk Triplett

KIRK TRIPLETT: Yeah, we did. What did we have: 6, 5 and 3 ( under par). Davis, really he's the one that started it out, made three or four birdies in a row on the back. The golf course is just in great shape. Ideal playing conditions: Cloudy, slight breeze, very comfortable temperature-wise. I guess probably after playing the U.S. Open two weeks ago, it feels easier than it probably is, because of the severity there, and I think that's one of the reasons for a lot of the really low scores.

KIRK TRIPLETT: I think so. I probably wouldn't have said it would make that much difference before I won. But I look at the pictures of me, you know, when I won, thrusting my fist up there in the air, but I really reached and I see a lot of emotion there that I didn't maybe realize was there. And I'm sure a lot of it was relief after having played as many tournaments as I did, because, yeah, I've played well and I always felt I had a successful career, but I didn't have a victory. So I guess some people, me included would probably look on that as a negative, in my career, and now I've erased that. Always want me to do something else, win a major. It's always something with you guys. (Laughter.)

KIRK TRIPLETT: It would bother me when I would play well and I would get in there and feel like I really had a chance, and then I would do something to take away that chance myself. If I would, say, get in contention, have five or six holes to go or 10 holes to go, or even on Saturday, and I would do something and I would make a mistake and then I would go, oh, man, here we go again, you know, and I would do that. That would happen to me. That's when it would bother me. But it wouldn't bother me once I was done with the tournament or if I was talking to the media. Because I answered that question a lot of times, every time I was in contention. And I think Sunday before the L.A. Open or after Saturday's round, you know, we were so bunched up, there was 30 guys within three or four shots, and all the top players. You know, the media was looking past us a little bit. I happened to be -- was going to be in the last group with David Sutherland and Jesper, and most of the questions were what about Tiger, or: "What about David, they are playing together, do you think they are going to feed off each other?" Man, I've got enough of my own problems, you know. (Laughter.) Finally, one gal asked me: "What are you going to do different tomorrow because you're in contention?" I said: "Different? I'm just going to try to do the same things I've been doing." And then I started thinking about what I said, and I thought, well, you know I've always kind of approached that way and I've never won; so maybe I should try and do something different, too. And I think the things I decided to do different was make sure I never let it get to me, and if I got in the position of -- to have a chance to win the golf tournament, to accept the challenge and try not to get frustrated, because it was an interesting back nine. We had some weather challenges. I had Mr. Parnevik making putts, wearing the pink pants, the whole deal. We had a little commotion on 18 tee. I think a young lady up in the balcony of the house up there decided she was going to show everyone what she had, right as we were teeing off. So we had all kind of distractions.

KIRK TRIPLETT: No. Bad camera angle, I think.

KIRK TRIPLETT: I didn't. I just accepted it. I just said okay, it's going to being rocky. When we started out, the wind was kind of blowing the wrong way. So the first six or seven holes played easier than they would normally play there. I thought, well, somebody is going to get off to a good start and get out ahead. And I birdied 9 and looked over at the board, just trying to see who was making the move, and I go, oh, it's me. I had a two- or three-shot lead. "Here you go, this is your deal, here's your chance. But you've got to accept the challenge and not let it bother you." I hit some bad shots coming in, but still won the tournament. I knew that, but I never really experienced it, you know, that you could play poorly at times, make mistakes, but if you kept your -- kept pressing, kept doing it, kept trying. You know, I ended up winning, because the other guys are fighting the same battle you are, but sometimes you feel like you're the only one fighting.

KIRK TRIPLETT: Oh, sure, yeah. I think everybody kind of has that impression, and I think you still get it even after you've won. That's something that you forget. You think you have to play so well and so perfectly to do it, and sometimes you do, because sometimes somebody does go out there and do that.

KIRK TRIPLETT: This one, well, probably because three times in 11 years it's been totally revamped. It always has a different look to it to me. Although, now, I think it's truly a very good test and an excellent tournament venue. But the golf course has lots of very good par 4s and you have to drive the ball reasonably well. This golf course gets difficult when it starts to play a little shorter, when the fairways get a little bit faster and the greens get a little bit firmer. You have to use a little more imagination on your shots. There's a lot of places where you've got to bump the ball in a slope or use a hillside; or, you know, you have to find a spot that's not where you want the ball to end up and that's where you've got to land it. And that's why a lot of years, 6-, 8-, 10-under par wins this tournament. But if it's soft, it will be 15.

KIRK TRIPLETT: I think I played with Greg Norman on Saturday. If I remember right, he played a beautiful round and he looked -- looked unbeatable come Sunday, and then he went out and struggled on Sunday. I remember standing on 18 tee, kind of watching him flail around over there, 3-putt 16 or something. I can't remember exactly what happened. He chipped in for eagle on 15, looked like he owned the tournament goes and 3-putts 16 and drives it in the bunker on 17. And that's what's kind of neat about this course is you can watch all this happening while you're playing, especially that Sunday afternoon, you can see your fellow competitors. You don't have to wait for the board or the crowd or whatever. You can just, okay, I'm going to watch and see what he does this time. Those are nerve-wracking holes, 15, 16, 17, because you make one mistake and you make a double-bogey very quickly. But if you hit a good shot, you've got a real good chance at a birdie.

KIRK TRIPLETT: Pitching wedge to about 18 inches on 12. 13, that's the hole of the day for me. I had like 225 to the front, and I hit a 3-wood and pulled it, hit a little bit slow. Still some water on the ball. Probably should not even have tried the shot, but it didn't splash. So we get up there and looking around for it, and I'm just about to give up on it and go back and drop, and they are yelling from the crowd, no, it's over the thing, it's plugged in the bank there. So we found it, and it's about six or eight inches out of the water, but it was down in the muck, but it was inside the hazard. So shoes and socks off, rain gear on, full swing at it, and out she comes, 15 feet right of the hole; and knocked it in for a 4. Turned a 6 into a 4 pretty quick there. And birdied 15; drove it in the dip. Pin is right in the front. Chipped it up about eight feet and pulled in a nice putt. Hit a 6-iron on 16 right of the pin and made that. Hit a sand wedge to a foot on No. 6. And hit a pitching wedge to maybe two feet on No. 9.