U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 29, 1995

Larry Ringer

LARRY RINGER: I haven't had this much attention. It is unbelievable.

LARRY RINGER: Well, I came up; played golf yesterday with Mr. Palmer, the King. I never played golf with him at all. I played golf and had a very nice day, and then we went home last night; decided to come back up and spend our night here and we just got about seven hours of sleep; got out here about 6 o'clock, and my overall feeling about the day was, would you, I mean what can you say? Just absolutely tickled me, it played very well. I struggled a little bit there on the backside, but bottom line is, I made some clutch putts. I made -- just did what I had to do, for some reason, it is one of those days. I may not have too many of these days, but I did it today.

LARRY RINGER: Yes.

LARRY RINGER: Okay. Par 4, first hole, hit a driver in the left center of the fairway; had about 178 yards and just tried to hit a little 4-iron in there, just ride the hole; just trying to keep the ball out of trouble. That was just to keep the jitters away. Ran down about 3 foot by and made it coming back. Second hole, par 3, took the 2-iron out of the bag this week because I didn't think I could get the 2-iron up in the air high enough, so I had a 5-wood there -- used it there; dead center of the green there. Made about a 30-footer for birdie. That helped me get started because yesterday with the King, I double bogeyed it. Went to the third hole, hit a good drive for me, and I think I hit a very poor 4-iron there. In fact, if I am correct, I had hit just short right to the green and had a terribly good break. The ball was sitting up in the rough. Again, the Gods were looking on me. I got it up-and-down; made a nice putt.

LARRY RINGER: That putt was probably about two feet long at the most on number 3. Number 4, hit center of the fairway; had 155 to the flag, and took a 6-iron; tried to cut it in underneath the flag. I had it about 12 feet under the hole. I left it dead in the hole short, so I am still one under. I just don't know how I feel; I know one thing, I am flying at that time. Next hole is a dog leg left par 4. Hit a poor tee shot out to the right. I was in the right rough. I knew I couldn't get it on the green from 185. I actually tried to lay it up and pitch it on. I did that. I left it about 15 yards short of the green; pitched it up maybe 15 feet short of the hole; made that one. We go to the par 5, 6th hole, hit a good drive down the right center, laid up with a 4-iron, and then I hit a sand wedge from about 48 yards that almost went right in the hole, and I had about a foot, and I made birdie, birdie number 2 there. Number 7, par 3 up the hill, had 143 to the flag and I hit a poor 7-iron there, real poor 7-iron, left it short and right. Chipped it up; almost made two so somebody was looking out after me. Made a little 6-inch putt there. Number 8, hit a good drive down the right center; hit a pitching wedge from 118 that was about eight feet short of the tee and left, and I made that. So I am 3-under at that point, right?

LARRY RINGER: 9 was a tough driving hole for me and hit a pretty good tee shot down the left center, hit 3-wood for my second shot and the third shot I had 131 to the flag and it is only because I misread the yardage there, I actually had 143. So that tells you I am not too smart as a golf pro. I had it on the front of the green. For some reason or another, I hit it hard enough; it went in. That made me 4 under at that point. Approximate length, approximately 45-footer. I have made two good putts in 9 holes for birdies. Go to the 10th hole, and I was feeling pretty good about it. 7-iron from that tee that was 158 to that flag. I knew I could hit it long and right or just long, period, and that is where I hit it and I left it dead in the hole short from about 25 feet, about a foot short of the hole there. 11th hole, hit a bad drive again left; hit it in the right bunker; knocked it out 145 yards. Had 103 to the flag and I tried to cut a pitching wedge and the ball catches the left fringe, and I am putting from the left fringe of the hole maybe 12, 13 feet from the hole. Again, I didn't hit it hard enough, but thank goodness made another par. 12th hole, the dog left leg, left, that is a tough hole for anybody that plays it; hit driver in the left rough there and this is probably the key to my round here just staying together. I hit 6-iron from the left rough from 180 it flew out; flew left and hit on the green; jumped left and it was half in the fringe and half in the high grass, and I'd almost resigned myself to making a bogey at that point. And had about 35 pitch shot that I to get it out of the grass on the green, let it run down there. 5 feet from the roll; it ran down there and, wow, like -- I tell you, it went in, I don't know what to tell you. Par 3, again, that is 14 -- 13, I am sorry. Took 5-iron there; tried to hit a hard 5-iron from 166. I came off it; left it in the right rough again another difficult shot; pitched it up there before 6 foot and made that one. I am starting to feel pretty good with the putter. I guess you guys get that feeling too, don't you? Made par, now comes another tough hole, the long par 4. 14, I hit it down the left side of the fairway. I had 189 to the flag; took the 5-wood and hit what I thought was perfect, and it ends up coming short of the green and short of the fringe and I am in the high grass again. And I guess you already know the answer to that, I pitched it out; made another eight-footer for par. I know this sounds repeticious. That is what happened. Next hole, 15, I tried to hit this drive down the left side because that pin I knew was tucked way back right and had -- is a brutal pin where it is today. Hit it down the left side; maybe it was in the rough maybe about three, four inches; and I got too cute with the 4-iron from 175 and I came off it and hit it in the right bunker. Got it up on the green again and made this one from about 8 to 10 feet. And so, one of those things. Next hole, I think drive off the tee. I am just short of the bunker left -- this is the hole I lost the Maryland Open on. I hit 5-iron; laid up there and I had -- it is 71 to the flag. I felt very confident with the lie and the way I worked the ball. I tried to hit it center of the green and hooked it. It looked like it hit 4 feet from the hole; roll down 15 feet from it. Left it dead center of the hole short 15 feet away. Made another par. 17, long hole again, God, is there a short hole out there. Drive up the left center, had 191 yards to the flag and you didn't even try to get it to this flag, and I hit 5-wood there, maybe 30 feet short of the hole and I was just elated just to be there because I know left to right or long is just death out there. And I holed it up to maybe 3 inches short of the hole dead to the center; can't believe I didn't make that one. On 18, which is probably the most crucial shot that you hit in the whole golf course because you got to get it out there just far enough where you get an iron on it. I got lucky; hit it out there left center about -- had 188. I was between a 4 and 5-iron and it is downhill and the wind is blowing right to left, so took the 4-iron and just aimed it at the right edge of the green. It stayed there. The ball hits, goes down on the high grass, and I think you know the answer, got it on the green, made about an eight-footer. So would you --

LARRY RINGER: Pretty good.

LARRY RINGER: Maybe 60 times, 70 times, maybe.

LARRY RINGER: Yes, did play three rounds Maryland State Open here. Like I said, funny, got started here last year pretty well; then when they take us off the green, we go to what is now played as 10. I was expecting to go from a par 5 to a par 5 because that is kind of your mentality. It took us to a par 3 and I didn't know what to expect. So after three days you got used to it. Now I think it is great. I think 17 is 17 for the membership, excuse me, but 18 for us, wow, that is an unbelieveably tough golf hole. I wouldn't want to play it for a living. I guess I am.

LARRY RINGER: Maybe, but I know that we played the State Open, I think Mr. Stewart here can tell you that that is the way we played it last year.

LARRY RINGER: Yeah, I heard that, yes, sir.

LARRY RINGER: No. No, don't want to get into that.

LARRY RINGER: I was assistant professional here in 1973. I was 1972 Maryland Open champion working in a club in Bowie, Maryland. I was hired by Bob Benning, who was his first year and I stayed throughout the year. I was very fortunate to get a number of sponsors from this club to send me on Tour, so...

LARRY RINGER: That is a great story. That is probably the reason why I am playing golf today. For a little advertisement here, very good friend and my chiropractor Dr. Keith Scott, I met him a little over three years ago at a party at my club president's house who is currently caddying for me. And I know you guys like to hear that. My club president is caddying for me. My chiropractor walked around; we just kind of met at the party had a few beers. He had a few beers. We started talking about golf and I told him I didn't play very much anymore. He said, why. I told him my back was bad. He said, well, come and see me. I said what are you a golf pro or something. He said, no, I am a doctor. Next thing I know I go to him and he has got me into three times a week religiously for two years, and the last year, year and a half it has been one to two times a week. I got to tell you something, folks, you can say all you want to say about them, he has been a God sent to me. I believe in him. He has done a lot for me, and I couldn't play three days of golf in a row four years ago, I really couldn't. And now I am -- heck, I walked today. It's a miracle.

LARRY RINGER: When I came here on Monday to sign up for or register, excuse me, I saw that they were asking that you sign your name up for tee times and of course I tried to go out and play 9 holes on Monday and when I registered I figured, what the heck, you might as well as try to play with the best in the world. I have never played with Arnold. I played golf with Jack twice. That was a tremendous thrill also; so I took a chance. I put my name down there. I saw Mr. Miller Barber and I saw Mr. Palmer, and I said, why not. And then when I came here yesterday to the course I was very apprehensive as to whether or not he would honor that and we came up on the tee and I heard him say, well, we have got 5, Chi Chi wants to play with us. I said, well, that is all right, I will drop out, it is no problem. Arnold looked at me; he said, no, you are playing with us today. And believe me that made my day. That made my year.

LARRY RINGER: Officially or unofficially? There was a wager, very nice wager.

LARRY RINGER: Very nice wager.

LARRY RINGER: Gentlemen from Kansas City, Bill Tulner (phonetic) or Bill Tulsen (Phonetic).

LARRY RINGER: Toalson. He is a heart surgeon, very nice fellow, and I tell you what, Miller Barber was great also, I mean, I felt like I had known them and they told me they weren't going to pay me unless I bought them a beer afterwards, so obviously I went in and bought a beer. Got a couple of dollars in my pocket. This is not on TV; is it?

LARRY RINGER: Okay, I led the State Open here last year probably after -- John, how many holes, 36, 37 holes, I got the lead. I kept the lead through 52 holes and as I came down 16 I hit it in the bunker there and made double bogey, but before that, I had made a double bogey on 18 on the previous day and then the last day I made a double bogey on 18 and lost the tournament by a couple of shots, so from a standpoint of the golf course grabbing me, I don't know whether or not it grabbed me or the fact that maybe I got a little tired. I tell you what, it is a long wet walk out there. It really is. I mean, I was above the grass today all day. I don't know about you all, but I was floating. I am happy to be here, believe me. I may not be here long because some of them might shoot lower than that but I will cherish this.

LARRY RINGER: As you know, I played 3 Senior series events. I played the one in Chantilly. That was my first tournament. I shot 2 under par there for 54 holes; finished 10th. Built a little confidence. I didn't know if I could play with these guys. Competition is tough out here, believe me, it is tough. I go to Owensburg, Kentucky and I shot 73, 66 the first two rounds and I played with Gary Cowan in the last group there and I got 4 under par and tied him for the tournament; lead with 4 holes to play and I 3-putted the 16th hole and he won by a shot. So that sort of has given me a little bit more impetus. Then I go down to Alabama last week; had another real bad, bad first-round 73; then I came back with 70 and 68. As far as the Senior Series helping me, absolutely, it has done a lot more me. Built my confidence, it has let me have the opportunity to prove that I can play with my fellow professionals after not having -- and I got to tell you something, the guy that helped me more than anybody else is sitting all the way back in the right there that is Dr. Keith Scott. He don't want to be recognized, but he is the man - believe me.

LARRY RINGER: Playing with the King yesterday hearing the cameras click yesterday and, you know, when he'd get up over a shot, you could hear water hit the ground and when I got over a shot yesterday, you couldn't hear anything from all the noise the crowd was making, so today, you know, I was very cognizant of the crowd and the crowd urges me on. I don't know if you all can grasp it. I am kind of a personality; I like P. R.; I am outgoing and I love people and I love to talk to them. I love to be around them, and if I don't have people around me maybe I don't get excited but today was wonderful. I know I had a lot of people out there rooting for me.

LARRY RINGER: For me or for the field?

LARRY RINGER: For me it is great. Absolutely it is great. Did I think I could shoot it? Yeah. I thought I could. That sounds like I am bragging, but I felt like I could play well enough to get a good score on the board. Maybe 68 wasn't the number, but as far as the score for the tournament, I will guarantee you the USGA is not going to let too many 68s happen. They are going to make it tougher. I don't know how much tougher you can make this golf course unless you move push it back a couple of hundred yards.

LARRY RINGER: I think the players that go off at 1, 2, three o'clock are going to see an awful lot of spike marks. We saw them 7:20 this morning on the second green. Yeah, the greens are going to spike up, let me tell you something. Greens are great. I think they are great. I think if you get the ball on line, and you hit it with the right speed, the ball is going to go in the hole. It is not like we as golf professionals have never seen that condition before. Tell you what, if you are in the last group you are always going to see spike marks. I don't care whether you are playing Senior Series or country club tournaments, you are going to see them.

LARRY RINGER: Yes.

LARRY RINGER: 69, sir.

LARRY RINGER: I tried. I don't know that I played it. I was out there in '74, 75 and part of '76 I was out there spending money and walking the fairways, but I had a couple of good tournaments, but nothing fantastic. I played U.S. Open in '74 at Winged Foot; watched Mr. Irwin shoot 7 over and win, and wow, was that golf course tough. My best finishes I guess on the tour were the Southern Open in Columbus, Georgia, I remember shooting 70, 70, 70, 69, finishing like 16, 16 shots behind Hubert Green, the winner. I said man this is tough this is really tough.

LARRY RINGER: My previous claim to fame.

LARRY RINGER: Honest to God, my claim to fame might be the fact that I was a golf coach and golf professional at the Naval Academy for 15 years; that is maybe where most of the people have gotten to know me. I tell you what, though, I am just honored that the country club Woodmoore (ph) lets me play golf though, that is why I wear this on the sleeve. I still owe Kent Casey for the sweater that I stole out of the shop because I didn't have any money in my pocket. Country club of Woodmoore is 25 minutes from here. Princ Georges County.

LARRY RINGER: I stayed down in the Bethesda Hyatt, yes, because I was a little fearful that the traffic might be bad at 5:30 in the morning.

LARRY RINGER: Yes, it was.

LARRY RINGER: Other than me? Yeah, we had some really good players. We had guys that have have gone on and done some things not in the professional golf area because as you probably know, Navy is a little different facility. One guy worked with me a lot. There is a guy working right now with Tiger Woods as caddie Dr. Brunza. He worked with me for two years in the mental portion of golf. He helped me a lot. I give him a lot of credit.

LARRY RINGER: Absolutely. Absolutely. Without a doubt. But I tell you what I'd do: I'd never turn my back on the Senior Series. They have been terrific and they are first class.

LARRY RINGER: I am going to continue to play the Senior Series.

LARRY RINGER: Yes, I am willing to go to the qualifying school. I will do whatever I can to get in. I just hope that I am successful.

LARRY RINGER: Thanks so much.

LARRY RINGER: Sure.

LARRY RINGER: Well, you know, I don't want to downgrade today's round and I don't want to get off the pedestal or crown or whatever but I guarantee you, playing tomorrow I am going to be as aggressive as I can on the holes that I know I can be aggressive on, and I have been very fortunate to roll the ball pretty well with the putter lately. I think if you talked to the 155 other players in this field, they will tell you that the putter has to be hot to win golf tournaments and I am sleeping with that baby tonight.

LARRY RINGER: My caddie is Ron Wilson, he is my former club president. He is the one who made me sign this contract to come out here and play.

LARRY RINGER: Thank you all very much. I appreciate it.