THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT

May 30, 1996

Steve Lowery

WES SEELEY: Steve Lowery, 35, 32, 67, 5 under par; leads by one. Tell us how the day went.

STEVE LOWERY: Well, just kind of, you know, evolved there on the back 9. I played solid on the front 9 and had two birdies and one bogey, and birdied 10 and, you know, it was just kind of cruising along there and then made a nice shot out of the right rough on 14. Get in there close and made birdie and eagled 15, and that really kind of got me going. And I made a nice putt there on 18 to get to 5 under, but I was playing really solid, but made a few putts there towards the end, kind of got me going.

STEVE LOWERY: Let us see. Was it 4?

STEVE LOWERY: I made about a 15 foot birdie putt there on 4. Hit a 5-iron. 7, I hit a 3-wood, a really good shot, went right by the flag just in the back fringe and kind of hit a bad chip about probably 18 feet by and made the putt for birdie there. 8, I hit it left of the green, hit a good pitch about five feet but missed it, made bogey there. 10, hit a 6-iron about 18 feet, made the putt there. 12, back bunker on 12, pretty good shot but just little long, and didn't get up-and-down, missed it from about 15 feet for par there.

STEVE LOWERY: 14, I hit a wedge from the right rough, which was probably the best shot of the day for me. Pin was in the back right, really tough position, and I hit it probably about eight feet, I guess, and made that putt. And 15, I hit a 3-wood, about 25 feet, I guess, and made that putt for eagle. And then 18, I guess that was about 15 feet, and I hit a 7-iron there.

STEVE LOWERY: I don't know. It has been, you know, this year has been a little bit of a struggle, and I have played -- I have hit the ball well; just haven't gotten a lot out of it today, made a lot of putts. I guess putting last year, I think, I led the Tour in birdies, 7th in putting this year, haven't been making those putts, and today, you know, I made five birdies and an eagle. So I think putting has been the big thing, because I have hit the balls good this year as I have the last couple of years.

STEVE LOWERY: No. Just changed the grip on my putter that I didn't like this week, and changed it yesterday and, you know, felt a lot better.

STEVE LOWERY: Let us see. It is a Tour wrap, putting player grip, and a Ping grip that was on there.

STEVE LOWERY: It's in great shape. The rough is really, really tall. I mean, it is as tough as I have ever seen it. The course is kind of playing soft. The ball just hits in the fairway and stops. And the greens are a little softer than they have been when I have been here before. You can stop it by the hole a little bit easier, and it's a little bit easier to putt. I think it is going to dry out. If the wind keeps blowing, it is going to dry out and it is going to make the fairways play tougher and be tougher to stop it near the hole.

STEVE LOWERY: Yeah.

STEVE LOWERY: It was in the first cut over there, but you know, the pin was just right over the water there, so it was kind of a touchy shot and it was -- pulled it off about eight feet right of the hole there.

STEVE LOWERY: Before.

STEVE LOWERY: Definitely, the course playing longer is going to favor my game. I hit my irons a long way and I am pretty long with the driver, so I definitely think you know, I tend to play better when the courses are playing long.

STEVE LOWERY: I did. I have changed putters. It is the same type of putter; just a different model. I mean, a different metal because I am playing a little harder ball went from the Tour ball to a professional ball so I am playing the nickel metal versus the stainless steel, whatever I was playing last couple of years, to soften that a little bit, but I use the other putter for a long time. I just use this one for maybe a couple of months or so.

STEVE LOWERY: Yeah, I wasn't in the rough a whole lot. But that particular hole is a short hole and you want to hit it in the fairway so you can spin it out -- I had a pretty touchy shot there.

STEVE LOWERY: No, I don't.

STEVE LOWERY: That was about 125 yards.

STEVE LOWERY: I am sorry.

STEVE LOWERY: Let us see. I think it was 240.

STEVE LOWERY: I played here; finished 11th the last time I played here and I think last year my daughter, my second daughter was born, so I wasn't able to come, but I really like the golf course. I won International which was, you know, a Nicklaus designed golf course, and I have played you know, really well on these types of golf courses - premium on putting, and length and just suits my game well.

STEVE LOWERY: Yeah.

STEVE LOWERY: I have been fairly long and this year I have been hitting a lot more fairways. I have been driving the ball much better this year and averaging probably about 270, I think, something like that.

STEVE LOWERY: What is that?

STEVE LOWERY: I think scoring average and money and tournament wins is where I am looking -- (LAUGHTER)

STEVE LOWERY: 125.

STEVE LOWERY: I changed a great Big Bertha driver that I have hit really well this year. I think, you know, everybody hits those drivers because they hit them farther, but I think I hit them a lot straighter. I don't know if it's the shaft or whatever, but I have been driving the ball in the fairway a lot this year. I played well. I just, you know, my putting hasn't been as good this year as it has been last couple of years.

STEVE LOWERY: Yeah, just didn't like the way the other one was feeling, just -- I don't know, needed to change something to get a better feel, so went kind of to a grip that I had on my old putter and it just feels a lot better.

STEVE LOWERY: It was just a Ping grip.

STEVE LOWERY: Okay.