Q. It's sort of easy to say that you need to forget about the expectations, but the fact is that you are The Man in golf right now. You're the hottest player in golf. How do you put that aside and the expectations that come with that?
KENNY PERRY: Well, it's not been easy. I had a lot of people following me today. And there's been a lot of situations that I'm not accustomed to dealing with, just with the media and with the press, and this press conference. So for me I just need to forget about it. I just need to get back into the rhythm, same frame of mind and same thought process I had those two weeks with my golf swing. If I can get my golf swing to settle down I'm going to be okay. I'm not too worried about all the outside pressures. I kind of get in my own world and do my own thing out there, and I think I'll be okay.
Q. How are you hitting it?
KENNY PERRY: Not hitting it as good as I was those two weeks, for sure. I didn't do too much last week, didn't hit too many balls and it's showing. I made a couple of adjustments coming in the last few holes and I'm hitting it better. Hopefully I can make the right swing thoughts and adjustments, and Thursday I'll be ready to go.
Q. Now that you've gotten all the attention with winning, has it turned out to be not as great as you anticipated? Has it been more of a bother than something that you've craved, because you're now being successful, you've had the run of good luck?
KENNY PERRY: Well, it's just different. I think it's pretty neat. I need to enjoy it because it may not happen to me -- I'm 42, been out here 17 years. I've just been enjoying these last few years of my career. I don't know how long I can last out here. If my body stays healthy I'll probably be okay up to the Senior Tour. But I just took the attitude I will enjoy this. I'm not going to put a lot of pressure on myself and I'm going to try to focus in and play good golf and enjoy myself. That's what I did those two weeks. I looked at the crowd, I had a lot of eye contact with the people in the crowd. Normally I'm very focused and very direct, just going down the fairway and I fed off the galleries those last two weeks. That meant a lot to me, and the people pulling for me meant a lot.
Just all the press conferences and all the phone calls and cards and letters, that's been really special. Like I've said, I've kind of flown under the radar out here for 17 years. I've had a good career, nothing fantastic. And then I win two tournaments back-to-back, and it's like the whole world changed. It's something I have to deal with. It's all for the positive. I don't see any negative over this. I've enjoyed it immensely, and I'm looking forward to this week. It's quite a challenge for me.
Q. Obviously you drove back from The Memorial, but what was Franklin like? Was it buzzing when you got there?
KENNY PERRY: You know what? It was buzzing the first week, but I kind of didn't let them know when I got in town the second week. But I hear there's a big Kenny Perry Day planned. That's in the works. We're going to celebrate and have a good time.
Q. When is that?
KENNY PERRY: They haven't set a date yet. The whole town, I think, is going to be involved with it.
Q. Kenny, have expectations in your own mind changed over the last few weeks or even over the last few years or have you just kept going on that same even keel?
KENNY PERRY: No, I always felt I was good enough to win out here. I've never doubted myself and my abilities playing golf. And since I've won those two weeks, that has not changed my expectations. I will still approach each tournament the same way and prepare the same way and I'll try to go out -- I've enjoyed it more. That's been the biggest difference for me. I'm enjoying my career, my life. My family is doing good at home. My kids are now not tugging at me as they were; they're older and more settled in their life. I've kind of refocused my life. And I've been dedicated to the game, and it's showing. I'm playing better golf.
Q. Is it possible for players with very good abilities such as yourself who have been proven winners on the Tour that perhaps approaching the Majors you get too intense or too concentrated into playing each shot as it comes, and perhaps not having the big picture because of not being as loose, perhaps not doing as well as you can?
KENNY PERRY: Very much so. When you put a lot of pressure on yourself and you cannot relax and you're so concerned about the moment, like you said, you can't look at the overall picture, yeah, you cannot perform -- I don't perform very well under those situations. When I'm just -- I'm really not thinking about anything but that shot, at that particular time -- and it's really not -- I'm not under a lot of pressure, I'm just getting up to it, I'm seeing my shot and executing. And I'm seeing good golf shots. And it puts me in a good frame of mind. I think that's really what's helped me here. And I've been able to get out of the -- people said it just looked like -- Sunday afternoon playing with my friends those last two weeks. I was enjoying it, I was relaxed and I knew exactly what my golf swing was doing, and I think that takes a lot of pressure off you, when you're very confident in your ability to hit the golf ball.
Q. Is that harder to do with a major tournament?
KENNY PERRY: Well, I guess it has been for me, because I've not performed very well in the Majors, except for that one year at the PGA, I lost to Mark Brooks in a playoff. I've never played well in an Open. That's probably one reason why, I put too much pressure on myself. I'm not going to, I'm going to enjoy it this year. My attitude has been if I play well, that's a bonus. If I don't, that's okay, too. That's been my outlook these last couple of years on the Tour, and that's the way I'm going to approach each tournament.
Q. With the results aside, you were saying you were under the radar screen for a long time there. Forgetting about the win part of it, have you ever had stretches here where you've played that consistently well and just not gotten the results out of it?
KENNY PERRY: Yeah, I've had two other stretches. I had the lead at Riviera going into Sunday and Corey Pavin beat me. The next I had the lead at the Hope. And the next I had the lead going into Pebble Beach and Peter Jacobsen beat me in '95. That was a good three-week stretch. And beginning of last week I had the lead at the Mercedes with three or four to play, I lost by one. I finished sixth at the Hope the next week. And I had the lead in Phoenix going into Sunday with four to play and Chris DiMarco beat me. I've played some pretty hot golf out here on certain stretches.
Q. I was wondering if this stretch right her, and all the accolades you've gotten all of a sudden, if you think back, maybe this is what life would be like if you won the playoff way back when with Brooks?
KENNY PERRY: Probably, very much so. I would have gained a lot more, it would have been a lot different, that's for sure, no doubt. And I don't know if I would have handled it as well back then. I was a lot younger. I don't know how I would have carried myself after that win, I don't know. But I've thoroughly been very happy with my career and how it's gone and how I've played. I just opened a few eyes those last couple of weeks, and that's been the big difference, I guess.
Q. Do you ever look back at that playoff loss much?
KENNY PERRY: Never have. I thought I did what was correct for me at the time. A lot of people didn't think I did, but I did. If I would have hit a very poor tee shot on the playoff hole, I would have been upset. But I killed it right down the middle and it was like 305 to the bunker, and I had been aiming at it the whole time and was unable to get to it and I hit it in the bluegrass just short of the bunker. I hit it 305 in the playoff, and that was more adrenalin, but I couldn't go from there.
Q. At the Colonial you told us about one of the bonuses about winning is that when you win you have a Foundation that sometimes helps you. Can you talk about that for a minute?
KENNY PERRY: Yeah, I give five percent of my earnings go to David Lipscomb University. It was a time in my life, I missed the qualifying school in '84 and '85 -- '84 I missed making the Tour by one stroke. And '85 my son was born during the fourth round at the finals. And then in '86 I was pretty much struggling. I went to the elder at my church and I said I need some money to go to qualifying school, I'd like to try the Tour one more time, I think I can make it. He had two kids in college, and he didn't have the money to give me. But he called me in the next week, he said I'll give you $5,000 which will get you through all three stages. And if you make the Tour, we'll give a percentage to David Lipscomb, but if you don't, you don't owe a dime.
That impressed me when a man was willing to give me money with no strings attached to it. That was a great lesson. I breezed right through the qualifying school. I put the percentage of 5 percent on it, so whatever I get -- it went to the golf team at first. We never dreamed it was going to snowball into this.
Now we've had 13 kids from my county have received scholarships to go to that school. It takes about $18,000 a year to go to college there. And so the money now is in a trust fund. It's getting close to $600,000 in a trust fund for those kids.
Q. Has Tabasco thought about going into the shirt business now?
KENNY PERRY: I hope so. They've got a lot of press those two weeks. And they talked a lot about their shirts. And you know, I haven't talked to any of the guys at Tabasco, they haven't said anything. But I think they enjoyed it.
Q. There's one thing unusual about Olympia fields, the train station right there and the tracks running along. Do you foresee that being any issue at all this week?
KENNY PERRY: Today it's a good thing, it reminds me of home. We have tracks that run not far from my house. When I hear it like we're hearing it right now, it immediately reminded of my home. And that's a good thing and I love it. I've always enjoyed the trains. It's always settled me down. Now, other guys may not like it.
Q. Any critical stretch of holes that you need to play, need to pay particular attention to in order to succeed overall this week?
KENNY PERRY: Well, I played the front nine twice, and I've only played the back nine once. What I noticed, there's a stretch there in the back nine about holes 11 and 12, I believe, that are very difficult, very demanding off the tee. In the back nine, it doesn't have any par-5s, it's only a par 34. And 18 is very difficult. It's one of the hardest finishing holes, with the green as severe, sloping from back to front as it did, and you're always hitting 4-iron, and I killed a drive off the tee. The 17th was a 200-something par 3. I hit a 2-iron in the front of the green. So the stretch is probably going to be from 11 on, from that back nine. That's really going to determine. Whoever plays those holes the best will probably win the golf tournament.
RAND JERRIS: Kenny, thanks for your time, wish you lots of luck this week.
End of FastScripts....
