U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 5, 1996

Jay Sigel

JAY SIGEL: Thank you.

isn't it?

JAY SIGEL: Yes, it is. I feel pretty good. To be under par, I guess after 36 holes here is good. First day was tough. The wind conditions were severe. I think the pins were a little tougher yesterday than today. And starting off today was kind of interesting. I had a makeable birdie putt from maybe 20 feet. Almost putted off the green, so --

JAY SIGEL: Yeah, it was a great start. And, you know, I had a 15-footer left and left that short, so I walked away with 5, and thought I hit those shots fairly well.

JAY SIGEL: Yeah, I was pretty steady; hit all the greens the front side. Made a little putt at 9 about six feet, I guess. And significant putt I made today was on 11, about a 20-footer or so. Missed about a 3-footer on 12 for birdie. Made a nice little 4-footer for birdie on 13. Missed a makeable one on 14. Made about 12-footer on 15 for birdie, and 16 I had a makeable putt. I hit probably the best putt I hit in the tournament and I misread it, I guess. And then 17 and 18, 2 very good 2-putts from distance.

JAY SIGEL: No, I did not. No.

JAY SIGEL: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. A lot of golf left, though.

JAY SIGEL: With the king.

JAY SIGEL: There is no question. Somebody -- Joe Juliano said - he is from Philadelphia - he said "what was it like being paired with Arnie? How was it playing with the gallery?" And I thought it was fantastic. You know, Arnie has been a long-time friend and a Wake Forest supporter. Of course I went to Wake Forest because of Arnold, and it was great. I felt like we were playing a $2 Nassau, something like that. He was great.

JAY SIGEL: Well, I didn't get paid, but that is okay. It is absolutely amazing, every tee he was off the tee ahead of me. I mean, I am no race horse, but the man is 66 and got around just great. I mean, shot 74 today. I mean, I think that is --

JAY SIGEL: It is wonderful. Wonderful.

JAY SIGEL: Yeah, I had some -- yes. I mean, I think I hit. I putted everything else.

JAY SIGEL: That is a good question. But if we had played in a practice round, I suspect he would have, but he couldn't today under the rules of competition, so...

JAY SIGEL: I played here in the amateur in 1979, but really didn't really remember that much other than I knew the greens were severe.

JAY SIGEL: I made it to Match Play and I don't recall how far I got, but I do know a guy named Sutton beat me, Hal Sutton.

JAY SIGEL: Jack, I think it is a question of becoming more comfortable out here. I think learning to pace myself a little bit more, taking the bumps a little bit easier, maybe not being as hard on myself. But still working as hard as ever, so I don't know if that is a contradiction, but I think -- I think I have matured a little bit that, you know, I thought I knew a little bit about golf when I came out and really had a lot to learn and I think I have learned a few things and I have a lot more to go.

JAY SIGEL: Gee, I don't know, I don't. I suspect the front 9 might be easier. I don't know. I think -- well, I bogeyed the first hole both days, but -- I don't know. I have no idea.

JAY SIGEL: I mean, I feel great. I am enjoying it and one of the reasons I turned pro was the guys look like they are having a lot of fun and really, it really is a lot of fun and it certainly is different, although the hole is the same size. Still you still have to hit the ball and get it in the hole.

JAY SIGEL: Sure. I bogeyed 1 and I -- where I 3-putted --.

JAY SIGEL: 20 feet. 15 from the second. Yeah. Really I had a 35-footer. I birdied - I won't bore you with the next 7 - but I birdied 9 from about six feet.

JAY SIGEL: Sandwedge. I just --

JAY SIGEL: Yeah. 11 made about a 20-footer.

JAY SIGEL: 9-iron. 13: I made about a 4-footer. I was just right on the edge and chipped up. 15: About a 10-footer, I guess. A wedge. 1-iron wedge. nd I 2-putted all the rest of the holes.

JAY SIGEL: The greens are not as firm today as they were yesterday. Now, of course, I played late, but the greens are softer. They are more receptive. So actually the course maybe played a little bit longer than it has. I think -- of course, again, I played late in the afternoon, so I can't really comment on that, but to me, some of the greens, for the most part, are softer. There is not as much wind, so the wind is not drying them out.

JAY SIGEL: Jerry, apparently it is not going to rain, until maybe late Sunday, or Sunday afternoon. I suspect that it is not going to get any softer, but I don't know what kind of watering program the USGA will partake, so I can't really respond. I think the biggest thing is they try to -- I am sure they will try to maintain the greens as they are currently, and if there is more wind than they expect, then the greens will get firmer and faster, but I think the weather is going to be fairly predictable, so I think we will have - I think we will have pretty much the same.

JAY SIGEL: Didn't Bland shoot 5-under today?

JAY SIGEL: So pretty good --

JAY SIGEL: Still have a lot of golfers out there.

JAY SIGEL: 20. (LAUGHTER)

JAY SIGEL: Well, you know, I think it is a question of you don't want to make too much out of something that -- where you really want to do well. I think that those of us that love golf really want to do the best they can with what they have got at the moment and really that is all I am thinking of. I am not thinking about the results. I am thinking about the process, so if you think about what might -- what could be or what might be, I don't think it is the right approach. So I think you really need to -- I mean, this afternoon I am going to go out work on my chipping and putting and bunker shots, so you know, going out with a friend - old Walker Cup teammate tonight, Bobby Louis (phonetic) - and treat this as I would just any other tournament, even though it is not just any other tournament.

JAY SIGEL: Well, I mean, I didn't make the putts that I needed to make today, really. And I don't want to tell you what putts I missed, but I had it close a few times and didn't hit bad putts, so that is the key. So I wasn't unhappy given -- I really only made one mistake on the greens and that was on 1 and the other things, the best putt I hit today was on 16 which didn't go in, so it is evaluating not the putts you missed, but how you hit them - did you hit them on the line, so -- but to answer your question more directly, no, I am going to spend sometime on my short game because I think that that is where my efforts should be at the moment.

JAY SIGEL: That is a great question, Jerry. You got a half hour or so I can comment on that? I think the first thing and most important is being able to play competitively right up 'til the end; I mean, 'til you reach 50. That is very difficult unless you are doing it on a local or a state level. I was very fortunate to be able to do that. So I think that is the No. 1 criteria, being able to play competitively from 45 to 50 on a fairly regular basis. Then I think understanding the requirements of the process that it takes. I mean, it is very, very difficult. I was very fortunate, very fortunate. I think maybe if I had known everything that I know now about the qualification process - and I thought I had a pretty good understanding of it - but you know, being dumb is not too bad sometimes too. But I think understanding it, the process, recognizing that 8 players qualify and that there are 8 provisional applicants, so to speak, and that they will play on a pro rata basis that, say, the last four, say 13, 14, 15 and 16 may only get in 12 to 14 events, so it is very difficult and then if you did make it you would have to finish in the top 31 to be eligible for the following year. So I know you know all that. So it is quite -- it is quite difficult. I think the biggest part, as I say, is the situation where you must be able to play competitively up 'til the very end, which is very difficult for amateurs.

JAY SIGEL: Thanks.

JAY SIGEL: Yes, sir, me too.