U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 19, 1998

Lee Porter

LEE PORTER: Is that a dream or hallucination? I don't even know what to think.

LEE PORTER: There is always going to be bogeys.

LEE PORTER: No. 1, hit good driver and hit 4-wood just left of the green and had a terrible lie. Actually, had to play a little left of the pin because I was scared the ball was going to run off the front right of the green. The ball came out perfect about probably eight feet. I made that putt and was so excited with that, I turned around and hit it in the rough on the next hole. I had to pitch it out and then had about 80 yards to the flag. Hit a sand wedge up there about probably twelve feet and made that putt. That really helped kind of settle me down a little bit. Any time you hit the in the rough and can make par, I was pretty happy. 3 and 4, I hit, and 5, I hit all good shots. I hit it in -- hit it in the fairway and on the green on those holes. 3 and 4 I had opportunities -- reasonable opportunities for -- to make a birdie and neither one -- and same thing on 5. 6, that hole has got me. Everybody talks about the first 5, but 6 is the one that has gotten me on the front 9. 6 and 9. I drove it perfect in the fairway. It was kind of in between clubs, and I tried to hit one, made sure I'd get it up in the air so it wouldn't go too far, and it definitely went up in the air and landed well short of the green and rolled back down the hill. I hit a nice chip about eight feet and missed that one. Routine pars 7 and 8. 9, I actually got it in the first cut today on that hole instead of in the real rough, but still left it just short of the green on 9. Hit a pretty good chip up about four probably four feet by, and we had had kind of a lengthy ruling with one of the other players on No. 7. Our group had gotten behind, and we were on the clock. I think I rushed my putt a little bit. It was a fairly easy putt, and I just kind of shoved it out to the right and made 5. Might have been a good turn of events, though, because it really irritated me to -- I have played golf long enough and at a high enough level to know that whether you are on the clock or not, it shouldn't affect the way you hit a putt. I really think that is what happened at 9. So I turned around and just played 10, 11 and 12 as perfect as I could play golf. On 10 I hit a 9-iron into the green, probably ten feet from the hole and made that one. On 11, I hit 6-iron into the green. Except for 18 that was probably the best shot of the day on 11 there. I hit it about probably five feet and made a nice putt there. On 12, I finally hit it in the fairway there. I kind of struggled with that hole in the practice rounds and missed it in the first round too - right of the center of the fairway, and there is a fairway bunker in that hole, if you don't -- if it doesn't show up on the card, it is there. That was in a divot about a foot long that had been filled in with sand. And I just tried to hit it in the center of the green, and the ball came off a little to the right, released to the back of the green, so I was probably 40 feet, and, I don't know, the putt went in somehow.

LEE PORTER: 9-iron. Nice to see you, Wes.

LEE PORTER: I am glad to see you working this week. Although I usually don't come in here.

LEE PORTER: Holy cow, 13, after making three birdies there in a row, 13, I hit the wrong club off the tee and was short and left in a ton of grass. I just tried to get it on the green, and the ball ended up about three inches from the hole. I just -- the ball came out absolutely perfect. 15, again, I was in between clubs and hit what I thought was the right club, and it ended up going just a little long. Hit a pretty good chip. It hit the corner of the green and kicked down about 8 to 10 feet, and I missed it. 16 and 17, I was very happy to make pars. Hit both of those greens, and 18, that is the first time I have hit the fairway on 18 in practice, and yesterday, I missed it as well, and it shouldn't be that hard. I hit a 3-iron off the tee, had a perfect yardage into the green for a pitching-wedge shot where I take just a little bit off of it, so it doesn't spin quite as much, almost impossible not to spin it too much on that green. The ball was on line. Got lucky and went in.

LEE PORTER: I had 112 yards to the pin. Like I said, I have got a shot with my pitching wedge that typically goes about 110, and it doesn't spin a tremendous amount, and we had just a little bit of help from the wind so, I thought that was perfect yardage.

LEE PORTER: Yes, certainly you can -- I expected to play well -- you certainly can expect to be in the position that I am in. It is just something that kind of happens. I had been playing -- I have been playing pretty solid golf the last two weeks; played both at Kemper and Westchester and then had to qualify, and in between those two, and played, not spectacular, but I played fairly solid both weeks. So knew I was playing well coming in here and was just hoping to keep that going.

LEE PORTER: I was just glad that I didn't have to putt. That green is pretty brutal, and I know for a hole that is 340 yards, or whatever it is, it probably averages over par for the day. That would be my guess. It is just -- I mean, that I was glad it is over. I mean, you couldn't think of a better way to end.

LEE PORTER: I am trying to play game, but I was -- really I was actually very surprised at how calm I was out there today. Even after the three birdies in a row, I was calmer than I have really ever been on a golf course and being in a situation that I was in. I was very surprised about that to be honest with you. I hope that that will carry through to the weekend.

LEE PORTER: 1993 I didn't play very well at all. I didn't get in a lot of events but I didn't play very well. 1996 has probably been my best year playing here. I finished top 10 on the Nike Tour money list. In addition to that year, I think I finished in the top 10 on the Asian Tour money list as well. That was a pretty busy year for me. Last year, the year got off to a pretty good start. I finished 7th in Hawaii and after that, just, I played flat-out awful. It was mainly related to the putter. I don't know my exact stats but I know with three weeks to go in the year I looked at the stats and was dead last in putting by one-half of a putt per round over the second-to-last-place guy. I mean, you are giving up two shots a week to the last placed guy in putting. Since then I have worked real hard on my putting. Actually started to struggle a little bit earlier this year and went and saw David Ledbetter the week before Greensboro and he made some adjustments with my posture and it was immediate, the difference that it made. I have really rolled the ball very nicely since then and that has been the biggest key. If I had a round like I shot today, even with the eagle, if I had putted the way I putted last year, three or four over at best.

LEE PORTER: It was pretty awesome. Kind of ironic, my caddie and I were -- were walking down 16 and the USGA official that was with us -- there was a big roar and he had heard on the radio that Nicklaus made a long putt on the last hole for birdie or I would assume it was for birdie and we were discussing -- the official was saying: Oh, I bet that was an eagle. I said: Well, that doesn't sound like an eagle roar. I told my caddie - I said: Elmar (ph), I said wouldn't that be pretty neat, you know, there is a difference between a birdie and eagle roar, let's play, see if we can get one on the way in. And look what happened.

LEE PORTER: Well, this is my first major, so I would have to say that was my biggest shot in a major.

LEE PORTER: It is not -- I don't think it is my best round ever. I played a couple of rounds when it was, you know, coming into Sunday overseas. But I mean, in terms of getting out of my game what I feel like I should get out of it, it is pretty close to my best. I didn't leave a lot of shots out there. I mean, you can look back -- anybody at this tournament can look back and come up with a few shots they left out there. I mean, I could maybe come up with two today if -- you know, I worked pretty hard. I got a lot out of it and I was real pleased at how patient I stayed.

LEE PORTER: Thanks very much.