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U.S. SENIOR OPEN

June 30, 2017

Doug Garwood

Peabody, Massachusetts

THE MODERATOR: It's my pleasure to welcome Doug Garwood into the Media Center. Doug with rounds of 64 and 67 for a 36-hole total of 131. That's 9 under par.

Doug, playing in your third U.S. Open, fifth place through 36 holes at Oak Tree in 2014. But, boy, you really have had it going really nicely the first couple days.

Could you take us through your round a little bit today.

DOUG GARWOOD: My main focus today was to get started well. The 2nd hole is a tough hole. Usually, when you shoot a low number the day before, you compare the next day to that day. So I really tried to forget that that happened and just play golf.

I made a nice save on the 1st hole, nice save on the 2nd hole, and I think I birdied 3. So I had the flow going early, you know, being under par, and I just kept it going all day.

THE MODERATOR: We'll go through your scorecard. If you could tell us some of the approach shots you hit in and the length of the putts. So your birdie on 3, that's the par 3. Do you have a short iron in there?

DOUG GARWOOD: Yeah. I hit a little chip 8 iron to about 12 feet and rolled it in.

THE MODERATOR: You bogeyed 4 but then came back with a nice birdie on 7.

DOUG GARWOOD: Yes, I had -- 7, I hit a little 8 iron about 15 feet left of the hole and rolled that one in.

THE MODERATOR: Good club today, the 8 iron. You then made the turn with birdies at 10 and then 11.

DOUG GARWOOD: 10 was playing a little tougher because we had a left-to-right wind off the tee. I hit driver. I thought I hit a good shot, but it went right of the path. The carts had push down the grass so I had a good lie in the rough. 8 iron to about six inches. Made that one.

THE MODERATOR: Make those, no problem.

DOUG GARWOOD: Pretty good.

THE MODERATOR: Then hole 11?

DOUG GARWOOD: 11, hit a hybrid off the tee. Hit a 6 iron to about 6 feet and just snuck that one in the corner.

THE MODERATOR: And then 14, I believe the par 5.

DOUG GARWOOD: 14 -- oh, yeah. Hit a driver down the middle. Hit a 3 wood on the green to the back fringe. Rolled it down to about a foot and a half. Still had a lot of break for a little foot and a half putt, and then got that one in.

THE MODERATOR: Bogeys on 16 and 17, but 18 playing as one of the toughest holes today, and you walk away with a 3.

DOUG GARWOOD: Yeah, I got a little fortunate. I hit it right -- I was blocked by the grandstand a little bit so I got a drop. It was a little cuppy lie. I was going to hit a 4 iron. Just as I got over the ball, I said don't try this at home. I don't know why I thought that.

Hit a shot that landed on the front left and released up and broke right, and it was about six inches from the hole.

THE MODERATOR: Those kick-in birdies to end the day are pretty nice.

You have one top ten in 2017, but last few weeks seem like you've been trending in the right direction. What has been clicking for you in both rounds this week?

DOUG GARWOOD: I think it starts with the putter for me, or with anybody really. You've got to make putts to play golf well.

My putting had been poor. I had a back injury a couple years ago, and my putting is -- it's spotty. Sometimes it hurts just to bend over. I went to a wider stance, which seems to take a little pressure off the back. I feel much more stable over it. I rolled the ball really, really well these last two days. My ball striking, about the same. So it's really the putter that's made the difference the last couple of weeks.

THE MODERATOR: Let's open it up to some questions.

Q. Hi. I was there on 18, and you were obviously taking a while before you hit it. Then you stuck it literally 6 inches, and it rolled up. Not that that was a great shot, but coming after a couple of bogeys --
DOUG GARWOOD: No, it was a great shot.

Q. It was a great shot, maybe the best of your life. The point is the fact that, when it happened, the last hole here after bogeys, you know, obviously still early in the tournament, but I'm assuming that was a big, big boost for you.
DOUG GARWOOD: I think as the evening wears on, it will be. Certainly, making the two bogeys was disappointing. I missed a 4-footer on 16 that was straight up the hill. 17, my chip ran a little by. So they weren't terrible bogeys. They were just bogeys. I really wanted to make par on 18 just to avoid the bogey, bogey, bogey finish.

The line was a little iffy for hit 4 iron. I was thinking, you know, you chunk this in the water, you make double. They're talk about Garwood being inexperienced, choking off the end, da-da-da. So knocking it 6 inches was very nice.

THE MODERATOR: The weather yesterday a lot of guys who came in here said, boy, it was just perfect. A little cloudy, not much wind. Today, a little more wind but pretty similar conditions?

DOUG GARWOOD: It was a lot more wind, it seemed like. We didn't have a lot of wind in the middle of our round yesterday. It's getting a little hotter, a little more humid. So maybe because I was near the lead my hands were getting a little wet. I figured it was the humidity.

I think it's playing tougher. The greens are rolling out faster. The 1st hole, I hit an 8 iron at 7:45 in the morning that bounced up in the air. So the greens are firmer. Scoring won't be as good today, I don't think.

Q. Doug, the last several years, you've had some health issues to deal with. How frustrating has that been for you? How do you get through that?
DOUG GARWOOD: Well, it has been frustrating because I know I have the game to play at this level, and I've won out here. I've had a lot of good tournaments. My swing is not what it was even a couple of years ago, based on my back, just ability to turn and stuff.

But it is what it is. I use the analogy of a three-legged dog. I've got to quit trying to run like a four-legged dog and just run like a three-legged dog. What I got is what I got. When I won last year, my swing still wasn't that great because of the injury.

It's frustrating, but I just do what I can do. I stretch. I try to -- I see doctors about it. I research it. I do what I can do. Usually, the best thing is just laying on my butt.

Q. Just to follow up on that, you said laying on your butt. What do you have to do to get your back in shape and recover?
DOUG GARWOOD: There's really nothing I can do. I just had a bilateral transforaminal epidural last week -- I've got a picture with four needles in my back -- to try to take some of the stiffness out of it.

I basically have three issues. I have a herniated disk, I have some arthritis, bone spur action, and then some misalignment of the spine or whatever. So it just is what it is. Advil doesn't really touch it. It's not an inflammation thing. It bothers my feet. So when you see me occasionally limping around, it's not the back. It's the feet. So it's a whole mess.

Q. The arthritis is also in the back?
DOUG GARWOOD: Yeah.

Q. But you said laying on your butt. You don't have to take a break in the middle of a round or anything like that?
DOUG GARWOOD: Well, Tuesday in the practice round, I had to lay down during the round. But last two days (knocking on wood) it's been very good.

Q. Doug, have you had to have surgery on them in recent years or anything of that nature?
DOUG GARWOOD: No. I saw about four doctors when it first happened. When it first happened, it was so bad, I couldn't stand up to brush my teeth. The biggest name I saw was Watkins, who does Kershaw and all those guys. He said, well, do you have to golf? I said, well ...

But none of them wanted to operate. It did go away, but as soon as I start golfing and twisting, it just comes back. It's not totally debilitating, but when you're try to play at a high level, a little bit matters.

Q. When did the problem first surface for you?
DOUG GARWOOD: Oh, it was Pebble Beach in 2014. I finished sixth, after that happened, at Hickory, taking a cart. And I would hit a shot, sit in the cart. I'd hit a putt, sit on the edge of the green. Couldn't have done it without a cart.

It's much better than that now. I don't mean to play it up. I mean, I'm fine right now. I have no excuses. It is what it is.

Q. The Champions Tour means a lot of things to a lot of different people. You see a lot of names extending their careers. It seems like that's how web.com, you've come through probably a lot of mini tours and whatnot to get to this point. What does it mean for you personally to be able to do this at this point in your career?
DOUG GARWOOD: Well, it is an extension of the career because when I was 47, 48, 49, I wasn't quite beating up the young kids like I used to, and I probably would have retired by 50. But it's true for all of us, we're able to compete on a level playing field again.

So it's exciting because we all have the same feelings, you know, the drives, the desires, the emotions, the competitive nature. Granted, it's not against the best of the best, but it's of the best of our age category. And for what it is, it's a real treat to be able to do.

Q. You mentioned your putter's been a strong suit now that you've kind of readjusted your stance. How have you putted so well on some pretty difficult greens this weekend?
DOUG GARWOOD: Well, yesterday, the greens weren't that fast because they had a lot of rain the previous night. Even though there's a lot of slope, you could still give it a good hit, and I think it's easier to control distance when that's going on. Today, they were a little quicker so it was a little tougher. But my ball wants to go in the hole so there's really nothing I can change about that.

THE MODERATOR: Doug Garwood, 9 under par, 131 through 36 holes. Best of luck on the weekend.

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