MARCONI PENNSYLVANIA CLASSIC

September 23, 2001

Larry Mize

LARRY MIZE: Thanks.

LARRY MIZE: You know, this year has been -- I haven't played very well, and so having a tournament like this was great. I need to play well at the end of the year, and, you know, this is a start of my end of the year stretch. It's a great way to start off. I just played really good this week. I hit a lot of good shots and putted good. I guess I could be happier if I won, but other than that, I'm very pleased. It was a good week, and to shoot 65 today when I needed to play well is very satisfying.

LARRY MIZE: Well, I think it was pretty big. I just bogeyed 17, and, you know, I said don't worry about it. I hit a good shot in there. I didn't hit the greatest chip in the world but it wasn't an easy up-and-down. I just was very happy, I just said forget about that and let's birdie 18 and rolled that put in there. I think it was pretty big, because I know a number of us were at 15, and it put me in second and I don't know how it will finish, but it was a big putt.

LARRY MIZE: Yeah, I was excited about it. You know, it just -- obviously, you always like birdieing the last hole, especially when you are up there in good shape. Birdieing the last hole normally is a good thing.

LARRY MIZE: Well, I started working with Kip Peterbaul (ph) a few months ago, and he's really helped me with my swing. I had kind of gotten -- I had gotten off-track, I guess, and so that was a big difference this week. And also, my putting. I really got the putter going, and that was big. The only other thing was my attitude. I really said, "You've got to start playing more aggressive." When you are not playing well, you start playing defensive and I really tried to turn that around this week, playing as aggressive as I could, and I did a good job.

LARRY MIZE: What do you mean, with him shooting good?

LARRY MIZE: I didn't even look at the leaderboard today. I guess I finally looked at it on 15, because my approach today, as it was all week, was tee it up on the first hole, try to birdie it, tee it up on the second hole and try to birdie it. So I was not concerned about anything but taking it as deep as I could today. Five shots back, I didn't think the chances of my winning were great, but I said, "Let's just keep the momentum of a pair of 67s going." Just keep the attitude of trying to play aggressive and birdie every hole going in. I did see I was three shots back there at 15 and tried to birdie the last three and got a birdie and a bogey in there. My mentality just stayed that way all week.

LARRY MIZE: I think one of the biggest keys is I've gotten very quick at the top of my backswing. I think my tempo is -- people like my tempo and I do have a good tempo with any swing. My tempo can still look okay, even when I'm quick out of the top, but he really helped my transition at the top of my backswing, starting down and to get more aggressive through the ball. Those things right there have been a big difference.

LARRY MIZE: I think one of the most important positions in the golf swing is the change of direction, and that had gotten very quick, and so we really tried to slow that change of direction down and gain momentum, so everything is at the bottom of the swing.

LARRY MIZE: Yes. No question. You know, when you got upset this week, it was nothing like normal, and I have to confess, the last hole, I was probably about as excited as normal, so I got caught up in the moment on that one. But otherwise, your emotions were not as high or as low as normal.

LARRY MIZE: I came -- the philosophy I'm taking at the end of the year is I'm believing in myself and believing I'm going to make the Top-125, so I didn't send an entry into Q-School.

LARRY MIZE: I was 42nd starting the year and I'm not in it now. I guess there is a chance I could get back in the Top-50 and still miss it. This week is going to get me close, maybe, back in it. I'm playing bad at the wrong time. I guess I could miss that exemption with the money; it's changed so much, everybody is making so much money now.

LARRY MIZE: Yeah, this was a huge step in the right direction, so I'm going to play five more tournaments. Maybe six if I need to and we'll go from there.

LARRY MIZE: 1, I made just a nice, routine par. 2, I hit a 9-iron in there about 18 feet and made that for birdie. 3, I went for it in two. Was just short of the green, chipped it up, sand wedge and made about an 8-footer for birdie. 5, I hit a really good 4-iron in there about six feet and made that for birdie. 6, I hit a sand wedge in there about ten feet and made that for birdie. 11, I hit a good sand wedge in there about 12 feet. Made that for birdie. 12, I hit a really good 7-iron in there about three feet. Made that for birdie. 13, I hit a -- I hit my driver to the right and this may have been my best swing all day. I just ripped a pitching wedge from the rough to about 12 feet and made that for birdie. 17, I hit a good 5-wood. It just landed just on the back of the green and jumped into the rough and I made bogey there. Then 18, I hit a sand wedge in there about 60 feet and made that for birdie -- just joking. About 18 feet and made that for birdie. (Laughter.)

LARRY MIZE: 95 yards.