SPRINT INTERNATIONAL

August 19, 1999

Mark Wiebe

MARK WIEBE: Well, my thoughts were, up until yesterday afternoon, I had no idea where the ball was going. All my buddies know that. They saw me hit it last week. I spent some time with Don Hurter yesterday, who is my instructor, and he got the video out and showed me out ugly it was; showed me how good it can get. So I knew I had tons of room for improvement. I improved. I worked hard yesterday, and I knew I was putting well coming into the week. I really was suspect with my ball hitting. I just was not doing very well at all. So he straightened me out. I birdied 10, he says with a smile. I hit a great drive. I hit 7-iron about 6 feet. Hit 7-iron about 6 feet from the hole; made it for birdie, driver off the tee. I am not Tiger. Bogeyed 13. I parred 11 and 12, birdie putts on both holes. Then 13, I was on the fringe. But I was putting, and I hit it up about, I don't know, three feet or so. Pretty good lag putt. Somehow I lipped out. I thought I hit a great putt; I was kind of shocked. That is one of those when I missed, I thought, well, I really wasn't me. I just didn't aim it correctly, I guess, because I was pretty happy with it. So didn't get too down about it. I figured I know I am putting good. If I can just get to that green as soon as possible, I will have a great chance at making the birdies. 14, I hit a driver and hit a 3-wood, and with the way I am swinging right now, kind of a tough shot, for me, on a downhill lie, it is a tight lie. I got to hit it 278. I hit it just short of the green; I had a tough chip-and-run shot. I am sure Phil would have hit a big old lob shot up there, but I don't have that. So I chipped it down by the hole. I am going to say that is probably about 12 or so feet, and I made that. 15, I hit a driver off the tee, and I hit a sand wedge to about five feet; made that. 16, I hit a 6-iron from about 198, or whatever that hole was. It is a long way. Good for your ego this week, 6-irons from 200, it is nice. I hit that pin-high, which is kind of on 16, that is the goal. If you can get it pin-high, you are on the right level. Then when I got up there, I was actually not only on the right level but I was pretty close. Probably 15 feet. I made that. 17, I hit a good drive, hit a -- bladed out to the right, missed the green to the right with a 4-iron, second shot. Then hit a chip shot. I probably chose the wrong club. I hit a 5-iron to chip-and-run it. Looking back, I was in the first cut. I probably should have hit a different club. Anyway, I hit 5-iron chip-and-run, that went by it probably about 8 or 10 feet. Then I made that. Then 18, I hit a driver, real good drive, and the pin is in the front right. And I hit a shot that was generic, no big deal. Hit and went down in the bowl to the left and just tapped that in from about 50 feet, I guess. If you want to say 80 feet, that is fine with me. I have no problem with that. It was long. Just outside of the 303 area code. So made the turn feeling pretty good. Going to No. 1, I parred 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. I hit the greens on 1, 2, 3, 4 -- 5, I hit it just behind the pin on the fringe, but I putted down to gimme. Then 6, I hit a driver, 9-iron to about, oh, about 6 or 7 feet; made that. Then I parred 7. I hit my best shot of the day on my third shot on No. 8. I was in a sand divot, and I had yardage that I could not drive the ball. I had to hit a finesse shot. It was a terrible lie. I really would have bet that I would have hit it fat. So I hit it on the green to the right, pin-high. It was my best shot of the day, for sure. No doubt about it. I was 25 feet from the hole. 60-degree wedge. But you really are guessing on that type of lie. I wish that we didn't fill our divots with sand. I am probably not the only one that wishes that, because it is a hard shot when -- if you have a long shot, a 5-iron or something, it is different. But the pin was on 8 paces on the front. When you are trying to finesse a little shot in there, you need a really cushy lie; and I didn't have that. But I hit the green; I was tickled. I 2-putted. In fact, I lipped that putt out, I think. Then 9, 3-wood, 8-iron, 2-putted. Made a great second putt from probably about four feet to end my day.

MARK WIEBE: Well, I am a little surprised with my ball-striking. I am not surprised with my score because I knew I was putting well coming in. I felt very confident. I have been working with Don Hurter now for over a year, so I am really not surprised he straightened me out either, because that is kind of what he does. He is very good at what he does. He showed me on video, it is pretty black and white: Here is what you are doing. Then I made a couple of swings after he'd told me how to do it. He showed me how that looked, and we both decided that was good, the new version. So after that, it is repetition. I just had to get used to doing whatever it was he told me. And then -- but still, you are a little suspect. Going from the range to the golf course is a different thing. It is different. You know, the more the round went along, the more confident I was with my ball striking. And towards the end of the day, I really -- it felt simple to me. But that is because of what it was before, it was very complicated. Now, it is a lot simpler.

MARK WIEBE: No. I wanted to shoot a good round today. And if points came along with it, then, sweet. I didn't know -- I guess I had 7 birdies. I didn't know I was going to have that many opportunities to make 7 birdies. But I knew if I had them that I was -- I could do that. But I am not going to change. Obviously, I am not going to change anything. I feel pretty good about the way I am playing. I am still -- I still need some work. I have to fine-tune this and get it to where it is a second thought and not my main concern. I had to think. For me, I am not a thinker; I like to react. And I had to think way too much today. Remember, my checkpoints, take the club back; do this; do that; make sure you do that; then do this. That is tough. As I said, as the round went along, it got a little easier to do.

MARK WIEBE: Would you, Don? Getting it deeper.

DON HURTER: Just try not to get the club lifted and in a cross lie. Because when Mark gets that way, he doesn't turn very good. Club points in funny places, then he has to make a compensation coming down. It is hard to time. It is something that Mark and I have done in the past. And it always hard the day before the first round to try to do something. And he did a great job of fixing it. And Mark, like he said, he is such a feel-player. Got to tell him a couple of things to feel, and he can pretty much put it into play.

MARK WIEBE: It is probably turn. If I don't turn, I get sloppy at the top. I make Jim Furyk look good when I am off. So he got me kind of straightened out with more of a turn and less confusion up here.

MARK WIEBE: It took six days, as you know, because you were back there, until I could walk normally. I just got -- I strained or pulled or tweaked would be a better word from -- I cramped up at the Quad Cities and it just didn't go away for a while.

MARK WIEBE: Right calf. But I am fine, I am fine.

MARK WIEBE: No, this wasn't in that bunch. I met with Harold Swash (phonetic) from -- he is the European short game guru. I guess he is the Dave Pelz of Europe, except I think Harold is a player where Dave is not a player as much as he is a scientist. Not only did Harold work with my putting, but he also designs a putter. After an hour and a half on that green right out there, at this course, I was so impressed by what he had to say that I said, I want that putter that I am practicing with because he has his own design. It is a Sea-Groove putter is what the name of the putter. So I begged him to let me please have that. I was still wishy-washy because I wasn't sure what I was going to do. Finally I said, this feels good to me, I can do what he suggested to do with this putter better than I can any others, so I decided to use it. Probably a good move.

MARK WIEBE: I practiced with it last week. I came down here quite a bit last week.

MARK WIEBE: In tournaments? Three or four. Not too much switching around.

MARK WIEBE: We had a great day yesterday. I got to tell you, that was a great day. That was -- I told my wife - that was ten times better than I thought it was going to be. It was a huge success. It just --

MARK WIEBE: Tom Green from Channel 7 here locally, the sportscaster and Bill Hanzlik the ex-basketball player and myself go play golf one day; we decided we wanted to get involved. Bill has his basketball camps and he wants to spin off with golf. It was at a time that I had just ended my relationship with another charity and it was great timing and we just kind of all of a sudden got involved in this Youth Tour for Juniors. We had -- we had 30 kids that qualified through academics or citizenship or golf to play with a pro on this particular day, yesterday at the Ridge. So we have 30 kids with 6 pros and 5 kids and one pro, so it was sixsomes, and it was awesome. It was great. The kids were -- we had a ton of parents and a ton of kids. We even had kids out there that were watching their buddies. All the kids had caddies. It was big time. So not only did they get to watch a pro play but they got to walk up the fairways with them and ask questions. And I told them beforehand when we were gathered around to ask questions starting right now because this is your time. You have got about three hours, so get after it. All these guys will answer your questions; guys we had were super and it was just overwhelming the response we got.

MARK WIEBE: I tell you what, the kids we stood on a hole that had water left and out-of-bounds right. I was the fourth group to hit and I was out there for the first group and every junior in the first group hit right on the fairway, the pro, water. (laughter) Gary Hallberg, too. So then the second group gets up, every kid down the fairway. Pro, out-of-bounds. Now I am thinking, hey, it is getting to me. I don't want to break this deal. Somebody has got to -- third pro we had hit it down the middle, but the kids were great. They were outstanding golfers and great manners and I think they really enjoyed it. We had a four team chip-off for the first place, so it was a very dramatic day for these guys and girls. It was really neat. I have a feeling it is going to be bigger and better even if we didn't want it to be.