U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 29, 2002

Don Pooley

DON POOLEY: A lot of great things happened today. I hit good shots at times. I got some good bounces at times, and was fortunate and obviously putted very well. It was a fun round to play.

Q. Any crises points that you had to get past as you went along?

DON POOLEY: Well, every hole there's a little crises. There's stuff going on on each hole. I stayed in the present all day and didn't start thinking ahead or worried about where I stood on the tournament. There's a whole other day to go. I just tried to keep doing what I was doing and things worked out real well today, obviously.

Q. (Inaudible.)

DON POOLEY: Those were two great putts, great way to finish.

Q. Your last couple of years on the regular Tour wouldn't suggest this great sensation?

DON POOLEY: You're right. The last couple of years on the regular Tour I didn't play very well. I didn't play very much, either. And when I came out on the Senior Tour at the end of last year, like the last two months, I played pretty well then. And then, I didn't get off to a very good start this year, and my game is just starting to come around. And this would be a good time for it to come all the way around, I think.

Q. What would it mean to you to win this U.S. senior Tour?

DON POOLEY: I'd rather not, I'd rather win it and then talk about it.

Q. Being in the position to win?

DON POOLEY: That's the goal, any Major or otherwise, get in position on the last day to win. And I honestly don't know all the benefits of winning a Major championship like this would be, and I don't want to be thinking about all that tomorrow. Because that's obviously the temptation, is to think too far ahead.

Q. Back on a good golf course in '87 at Memorial, you were there and won, will you draw on that kind of experience?

DON POOLEY: You bet. I remember that a lot. No, I try to remember the good things in every round, really, and to not think too much about the bad stuff that happened. Even on a round like this today there were shots that I missed and putts that I missed -- well, a putt that I missed, maybe. So you're not going to play perfect, even if you shoot a 63. So you have to focus on the good things that happened. I have a lot of good things to think about tonight.

Q. How important was the putt on 18? You made all those birdies but was that putt on 18 the most important one?

DON POOLEY: It was one of the most difficult ones today. It broke at least two feet and I had a lot of speed to work with there. And I really wasn't expecting to make that putt. When that went in, I was a little bit surprised. But good things happened all day, so that was fun.

Q. You've been a great putter. Has it not been as good the last year and a half as it used to be?

DON POOLEY: It hasn't been that good early part of this year, but things are really -- obviously I putted great today. But I started hitting the line this week early in the week, and I really putted pretty well the first two days, but today everything hit in. Not just hitting the line, but in the hole. You always hope for a round like this in a four round tournament, that you get one really good round. I'm happy to get it.

Q. How will you sleep tonight?

DON POOLEY: I don't know. Probably not as well as I do sometimes. But you don't need a lot of sleep. I've been -- I've had the lead before and not had a lot of sleep. I know what that's going to be like.

Q. Even though you're not a 20 year old kid, do the nerves kick up a bit?

DON POOLEY: I hope so, I'm not dead, you know. But I'm going to be nervous, but that's what you want -- you want that to happen. If I didn't want to win and didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be nervous. But you wanted these things to happen. You want to win. You want to be in the lead. Nerves are just part of it.

Q. Talk a little bit about following up a sensational round, the difficulty of that?

DON POOLEY: Well, I shot a 61 in Phoenix one time and followed it with a 66. Although it didn't feel like a good round, it was still a pretty good round. So, it can happen.

Q. Did it help at all being off the radar, where everyone was focusing on other players, coming into this round?

DON POOLEY: Were they doing that?

Q. A lot of people were focusing on Watson and Kite and some of the bigger names?

DON POOLEY: I didn't have any pressure starting off obviously, but I started making a lot of birdies, and I got right in contention early. I felt the nerves and felt the pressure the whole backside, certainly. But that's fun. I had a good time I'm looking forward to having a good time tomorrow.

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