U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 16, 1998

Scott Simpson

SCOTT SIMPSON: Well, the check got spent a long time ago, but we have still got the trophy replica at home. It means a lot more than the check on this tournament, that is for sure. I went out and played yesterday afternoon late and kind of played by myself and got to putt it where a lot of those holes used to be in 1987. Just had a great time out there. And, there is a lot of nostalgia for me. This is the biggest tournament I have ever won and to be able to come back here and, I have to thank the USGA for giving me the special invitation to make sure that I would be back here. So, it is just a great feeling for me. A lot of excitement.

SCOTT SIMPSON: In the U.S. Opens, yeah, I had a great streak there for a while and I think I have always played pretty well in the U.S. Open. Not as well lately, actually, so I am looking forward to turning that around this week. And, I don't know, I think the course is just set up will for my game and a combination of me loving the course, that is the pick and the way they set them up. I think everything just sets up -- it emphasizes my strength, I think, as far as being able to hit the ball pretty straight and consistent and a good short game and keep my emotions under control.

SCOTT SIMPSON: I think this year the rough is definitely longer than I remember (laughs). It is -- I think it is as long and tough as anywhere we have played lately. I think even a little tougher than last year. And, the 17th hole definitely seems to play a little longer. The course right now, the fairways are firm, but maybe not quite as firm as they were in 1987. With the warm weather, you know, I think the course might get into the same condition it was then, as far as firm fairways and firm greens. But, right now, it is still a little bit soft. That is the main differences. Obviously, they added a new tee there on 12. But that is not big a deal. Overall, the course looks pretty much like I remember. Yeah, it is tough. It is just a tough -- real fair, tough golf course.

SCOTT SIMPSON: Well, I think the best way is definitely two- or three- iron off the tee, hit it down where the fairway is wide. I don't think there would be any way to hit the green out of the rough. And, you have got to keep the ball -- if the pin is anywhere back of the -- even the middle or the back of the green you have got to keep the ball under the hole. I was hitting some putts there yesterday, and the greens aren't as fast yet, and I couldn't -- the ball was rolling right to the front of the green. I mean, from anywhere. So, if you hit it past the hole there, and it stays up there, you have got no chance. Might as well hit it hard and hope it hits the hole because it is gone. So, I think you just have to keep the ball short of the hole towards the front of the green, which you can only do from the fairway, obviously, because you are hitting uphill and the ball you know, when the greens get firmer. It is pretty tricky, tough little short hole.

SCOTT SIMPSON: Yeah, I noticed that a lot -- I remembered eight a lot, like on the third hole yesterday, you are sitting back in the trees, can't feel it at all, you hit your ball up and you know, the wind is going to take it way right. And, yeah, it does make it a little tougher. Tougher to grab the right club, and you just have to constantly remind yourself that the wind is there. Seems to me a little bit when you get way down there you can kind of keep it under the wind easier. Like down on 13, 14, 15. It might not bother you as much but up in the middle holes like 3 and 4 and 5, the wind definitely -- I mean it is there, and you can't feel it because it is up above the trees. So, it does make it tough.

SCOTT SIMPSON: Yeah, I don't know. I'd say -- I would take 3-under again. Take my chances. I think someone could beat that. But it depends -- but with the good weather I think it will start playing a little bit tougher.

SCOTT SIMPSON: Well, I think the fact there is no water and, you know, that one little bunker and -- fairway bunker, and it is not as long as, say, Congressional last year. And the greens, I think, are unique in the fact that they are, you know, fairly small, and they don't have a lot of undulation besides 7, and -- but overall, the greens are -- they usually have a slope to them. But not a lot of undulation. And, to me it just seems like a real straightforward golf course. There is nothing real tricky about it. I don't think there is any real local knowledge advantage you can gain here besides maybe just where the wind blows. But other than that, you just have to hit the golf shots.

SCOTT SIMPSON: I came for THE TOUR Championship, I think it was 1993, and that is the only time I have played it other than the U.S. Open. I am going to try to get up here and play it maybe some other times with some friends, but I don't know. I get busy at home with my kids, so it is hard to get away to play. What was the other part of that?

SCOTT SIMPSON: Actually I like doing that. A combination of getting in late and running late, it works together. But I actually enjoy going out -- late in the afternoon is my favorite time to play. Always has been. And, yeah, I enjoy getting out there with all my friends and just -- you get to hit a lot more balls and chip and putt a lot. It is just fun, fun time of the day. Not as many autograph-seekers out there, so everything about it was just -- it was really fun.

SCOTT SIMPSON: State of my game is actually I played well on the West Coast. Won San Diego and was playing real well. Then I went back east and -- Florida and I played lousy for a while. Missed a bunch of cuts, and then, the last few weeks, I have actually played better, finished in the middle of the pack, I guess, last couple of weeks. So I think my game is coming around. I think it is getting more back to how it was on the West Coast and I am playing better. I actually do feel better about my game now than I have in a while. So, I am looking forward to hopefully playing well. You never know for sure, but state of my game feels pretty good. Yeah, so, that makes it a lot more fun to come to a course like this feeling like you can hit some fairways or greens, that is for sure.

SCOTT SIMPSON: Besides my hair color? And the obvious, I don't know. I guess I probably don't have the passion for golf that I did back then. I guess with my kids getting older and wanting to spend so much time with them as I can-they are 15 and 11 now-I probably don't put in the work on my golf that I could or should. So -- and -- but even that is sporadic - I have been working hard lately trying to get ready for this week. But overall, I am not -- it is different, I guess, when you are starting on Tour and you have more time and more focus. I am not working out and lifting weights like David Duval all the time and pounding the balls all the time like some other guys. So -- but maybe that is -- but I still enjoy the game. I love to play and, you know, things have changed, though.

SCOTT SIMPSON: I never dreamed I'd still be out here 20 years after starting. This is my 20th year, and so I'd like to keep playing, I think, as long as I can, 'til the SENIOR TOUR. Actually, I am really fortunate. When I turn 50, my youngest son will be going to college and so my wife and I will hit the road running, I think. That will be a lot of fun. And, other than that, I have never been a huge goal-setter anyway. I just keep wanting to work on my game, and right now, I feel like my game is coming around so it is a lot more fun to play, and I am just trying to work on my game and get it better.

SCOTT SIMPSON: My eleven-year-old likes playing golf. So that is the one thing that is probably going to be good for me is, he is going to get me out playing golf more often because it is hard for me to get out and play when I am home.

SCOTT SIMPSON: I think the nature of this course -- it is not like last year where you had the water on the 17th hole that is going to cause either -- anywhere from birdies to doubles. I think 4 and 5, I think are the toughest holes out here and then you get over to the -- 10, 11, 12, I think are a tough stretch too. But, overall, you know, fortunately Watson did bogey 1 a few times. That is the kind of hole where you are going for the green in 2 and, you know, I remember seeing on tape where he hit it over the green into the bushes and, you know, that is one of the few real risk-reward holes out here, you know, trying to hit a wood or long iron into that green. But overall, I think this is a course where you just have to hit straight. Just got to get it in those fairways. And, I think you will see a lot of guys hitting irons off the tees and 3-woods, very few drivers. Just because you -- it is so important to hit it in the fairway. You'd rather hit a 4-iron out of the fairway than hit it up there with, you know, a 7-iron out of the rough or something. So, I don't know if there is any holes that are really, really hard and any hole out here can reach up and grab you, even the short ones.

SCOTT SIMPSON: Yeah, it is real fundamental, and I think that is why everyone loves this course so much. It is just -- no tricks to it, you have just got to hit the shots.

SCOTT SIMPSON: Yeah, in hindsight, you know, in some ways it changed -- I don't know how it has changed my life. I don't know what it would have been like if I didn't win. But, yeah, I think it has just changed my life in that I have always -- I always will be known as a US Open Champion, and I think that even as you get older and even when you go through your inevitable stretches when you play like garbage, you know, it is just great to have that title. And, I think it always means a lot that -- at least that one week you accomplished something incredible. And, so in that respect, I think it is -- it has been a great, great thing in my life. And, I am real, real thankful as time goes on, you know, and as time goes on, I look back on it and say: Man, how did you ever win that tournament, you know, that is so hard. In some ways it is incredible that I have played that good. But, in other ways once I get out there playing, you know, I expect to play that good again. But it gives you a lot of opportunities for a while. And it is a thing that I think even when you are playing -- obviously there are times when you are not playing as well, it still kind of validates you as a player, I think, to know that you have won it that one time.

SCOTT SIMPSON: He didn't mention caddying this week, so, I don't know if he'd want to deal with all that pressure. I think he will be following.

SCOTT SIMPSON: Well, yeah, I mean, we have never been that close of friends or anything. I was -- yeah, I think I played with him then and was aware of what he was going through. He is the kind of guy that I think everyone out here, whether you agree with him or not, and he is so opinionated that a lot of us don't agree with him a lot of the time. But, everyone out here admires him, I think. The way he treated me when I won the U.S. Open was just great. He couldn't have been any nicer. I mean, he was great at the awards ceremony, and I mean, it was great sportsmanship. That meant a lot to me. It meant a lot to beat such a great player in the U.S. Open and then, I mean, he was just a champion all the way. That is one great thing about golf, I think, is that all our great champions have been just great at losing. Those times when they do lose, he just handled it with so much class. And, even when he was going through that time when he was, you know, with the yips and stuff and actually, his ball-hitting has been great, his ball-hitting has actually gotten better before it had to be so frustrating for him, and actually, I do remember actually playing with him early in his career when he 3-putted a hole at Castle Pines, and we are walking off through a bunch of trees, and he gets his ball and whips it over into the trees, and he is so mad. And, I'd never seen Watson do anything like that before, you know, get so frustrated. Obviously, it wasn't in the public or anything, but he really handled his emotions well even when he was getting so frustrated. I think that is why -- we all admire him for going through that and now it seems like he has conquered it. He is starting to putt well and he is still hitting it great. He is an inspiration for all of us who aren't quite that old yet. Maybe we still got some golf too.

SCOTT SIMPSON: Oh, well, I love California, period. You have got the Giants. You have got the Padres? What could be better than that? It is probably the grasses, you know, I guess the grasses what I am used to playing on and there is something to do with just being comfortable, just enjoying where you are and when I play out here I usually do enjoy being here. So many great courses. When you get to play at Pebble Beach and Torrey Pines and, obviously, Olympic Club, I don't know, just fun to play here. I mean, I have won other places, but it is fun to play in California.

SCOTT SIMPSON: I think for a while maybe my expectations went way up. I had my best year ever in 1987. But then I followed it up with my worst year ever in 1988. So maybe I had to readjust my expectations again. I don't know, I have always viewed myself as being a good player. Obviously good enough to play well out here and maybe win tournaments, but I never looked at myself as a superstar or anything. So I have never really had those expectations. Obviously I thought I could win more and almost won in 1991 when I lost the playoff to Payne Stewart. So there have been some times when I have played really well. And I have worked hard at trying to get as good as I could. But, you know, I don't think I will ever be a superstar. I think I will be a good player.

SCOTT SIMPSON: No, I don't think so. I would rate those other guys way ahead of me. They have been winning more. I did win in San Diego, but I haven't played that good since then. No, I wouldn't put myself way up there. I would put myself down maybe in the second tier somewhere, but that is where I was in 1987, too. So there is no reason some of those guys can't win. One of my favorites would be Jim Furyk and nobody is talking about him much, so that is why they play the tournament.

SCOTT SIMPSON: I would think you would have 50 guys who could win this tournament. I do not think any reason why David Ogrin couldn't win the tournament. You take a guy like that he has only won one tournament. Jeff Maggert could have won last year. If his putter stays hot on the back 9, there is no reason he couldn't have won it. Obviously Mike Donald came within a shot of winning it, came within 100-foot putt of being the U.S. Open Champ. You know, as important as this tournament is, you know, a guy can have a hot week and especially someone who hits the ball fairly straight and has a good short game, you know, and he can keep his emotions under control and keep focus on his game, there is a lot of guys who can win. Obviously you are going to go with the favorites like a Davis Love and Duval and you know, Justin and Ernie Els, you know, you have got your list of favorites, but there is a lot of guys, I think, who can win. That always cracked me up when guys who said there are five or ten guys who can win. You have got to be kidding me. Start looking down the list and how are you going to say Tom Watson can't win or who knows, even Nicklaus, hey, scared him at Augusta, so, you know, it is just hard to say: Oh, he can't win, you know, which is what you are saying when -- so -- I think there is a lot of guys that have a shot at it.

SCOTT SIMPSON: My faith and my family are the two most important things for me. And, I guess that has helped me to stay -- I mean, I have had a great time out here no matter if it has taken away for whatever reason bad play or an injury or something like that, I am really thankful for all the time I have had out here and maybe that is why I have lasted as long as I have. But, those are the two most important things for me. And, keep me going when times are tough and when times are good.

SCOTT SIMPSON: Oh, it is going great since I made some money this year. Yeah, I always give away, yeah, part of my winnings. I think it is -- the Bible calls us to give away -- to give money to be a joyful give and I think there is a lot of benefits to me when I am able to give money. I give it to different -- different religious organizations or people helping the needy and stuff like that. That is mostly where I give it.

SCOTT SIMPSON: Well, my take is (laughs) -- my take is that I don't think there should be carts on Tour. I think professional golf, you should walk. And then while I say that, I think it is great that Casey Martin is playing. I think there is a part of me that thinks it is really great that he got the opportunity to play for a few years. If I knew that Casey Martin would be the only one or someone with a problem like he has had, you know, if I knew if he was the only one riding the cart, I think it would be fantastic that he could play. And, I just don't want to see guys with bad backs or, you know, a knee that is bothering him taking carts. I don't want to see the SENIOR TOUR on the regular Tour. But, as far as Casey - gosh, he is such a great guy, you know, you can't root against him. And I think even -- everyone on Tour who doesn't want carts on Tour, roots for Casey Martin, and is happy that he is playing well and would love to see him contend for the Open. The only problem is the logistics of getting around in a cart. That is a problem. And especially the huge galleries that we are going to have that is a problem. I hope it works out. But, as far as Casey as a person, I mean, I think we are all rooting for him to play well. I mean, great kid and we want to see him play as long as he can.

SCOTT SIMPSON: Yeah, I guess I am not as consumed with winning as some -- I am not quite Bruce Lietzke either, so, somewhere in the middle there. But, I do enjoy winning and trying to win and I don't know if it has caused problems with sponsors. I do have sponsors and hopefully, you know, I get along well with people, so hopefully that part of it makes up for this and not having an intense desire to win at all costs, I guess. So, I don't know. But I am happy with the way I am and the way things are going and obviously I do want to win. But, I am not going to beat myself up if I don't.