JOHN DEERE CLASSIC

July 26, 2002

J.P. Hayes

TODD BUDNICK: We welcome second round co-leader J.P. Hayes 10-under 61 today, a new course record ties the tournament record new, career low round, previous was a 63 twice at the Milwaukee Open.

Let's just get right to it. Quite an incredible day today.

J.P. HAYES: Yeah, it was a lot of fun. I felt like I was going to play well, but you never expect something like that, but the putts started going in and I hit the ball probably as good as I hit it yesterday. So that made the difference, putting.

TODD BUDNICK: I saw 14, it was a short putt there that maybe you had a chance, it lipped out. Any other chances?

J.P. HAYES: Well, started off the day hitting 9-iron to about eight feet and lipped out there, caught a good part of the hole.

And then 13 I hit it about six feet there and caught a real good part of the hole.

Then 14, 4-footer there caught a good part of the hole there it didn't go in; 3 pretty makeable putts, but all and all, I am not complaining.

TODD BUDNICK: Let's go through the round.

J.P. HAYES: 2, I managed to hit it in the bunker on No. 2 again. I get a little greedy off that tee, I guess, and I keep trying to go a little too far right, had to lay up then hit a wedge to about a foot maybe for my first birdie.

4, I hit pretty good drive but it stayed in the first cut of rough in this little island that's kind of in the middle of the fairway. Then I hit an 8-iron to about eight feet there for my second birdie.

5, I hit a real good drive and I hit an 8-iron, I thought was perfect, went over the green and then I chipped in, pretty simple chip as far as chips go, but I was fortunate to get that one in.

TODD BUDNICK: 6.

J.P. HAYES: 6, I hit a good 7-wood off the tee and I had a perfect number for my pitching wedge and hit it to about three feet. Made that.

7, 5-iron to about ten feet. Made it.

I hit a fairly good tee shot on 8 and where it should have bounced right it took a little left turn went into a bunker had a good lie, just hit a poor bunker shot ended up plugging it in the front bunker of the green and actually couldn't even get that one onto the green and was fortunate to get up-and-down for bogey.

10, had just a little sand wedge from about 85 yards and hit it to about a foot and a half.

11, I hit a 9-iron to about 20 feet, that was probably the longest -- -well not the longest putt I made, but it was a downhiller. It was the toughest putt to that point that I had made.

12, another perfect distance for my 5-iron and hit it to about four feet.

15, I hit my drive in the first cut of rough on the left, really didn't have a good shot at the pin and I had to play a little bit right and hit a 7-iron pin-high about 30 feet and that was the longest putt I made all day.

16, and 8-iron to about twelve feet. Made that.

18, hit a real good drive and 9-iron to about 15 feet, made that.

Q. Did you have a shot birdie on 17?

J.P. HAYES: Yeah, I hit a perfect drive on 17 and had an iron left into the green, 3-iron left into the green, hit it right at the pin and it kicked left and the ball came to rest in the fairway grass, but right up against the first cut. And I really had and awkward chip and I probably didn't go about it the right way. I was a little bit confused in how to hit it and hit a poor chip and had about a 20-footer that I didn't make.

Q. What did you try to play there?

J.P. HAYES: I tried to play a sand wedge just like I would have if the rough hadn't been there, but just didn't work out. I couldn't get down to the ball and ended up blading it, actually by the hole but with the second shot in the air I was dreaming of 59.

Q. You were thinking about --

J.P. HAYES: Oh yeah, I knew if I hit good drive on 17 that I could have and iron in my hand and the way things are going, the way things were going all day I thought why not, you know, certainly was a realistic possibility.

Q. Did you say you felt like you struck the ball as well yesterday as you did today?

J.P. HAYES: I did. I just feel really good. I have been hitting it good for two days now. The difference today was the putts went in. Then that chip, little things like that, just change the momentum.

Q. Was the course pretty much defenseless out there this afternoon the way you were playing it or was it -- did you think it was playing a little bit tougher?

J.P. HAYES: Well, it was playing tougher than yesterday because of the wind for one. We didn't really didn't have that much yesterday to speak of. Today there is was a little bit of wind. But it wasn't anything that was too difficult.

Then the greens just like everyplace we play are better in the mornings so you expect to have good greens and make a lot of putts in the morning rounds. But obviously it doesn't always work that way. But when you are putting well, like I said, when you are putting well it doesn't matter you don't see anything on the greens. You just see the line.

Q. How were the greens holding up?

J.P. HAYES: They were good. They were very good. I understand it's very hot here and they have to keep a little bit of moisture in them. So they are excellent greens.

Q. Is the 17th tee the first time you thought about 59?

J.P. HAYES: No, actually. After I birdied 15 and -- after I birdied 15 I thought about it and I thought if I could finish birdie eagle birdie obviously that would be 59 so I was thinking about it on the 16th tee. I hit a great shot there, made birdie. I thought: Here we go. Then a perfect drive what I thought in the air was a perfect 3-iron, but it didn't work out. But it was fun for a while.

Q. What does a round like that feel like when you are playing that way?

J.P. HAYES: It was great. It was very low stress last two days. Yesterday I didn't make a bogey. Today I did make a bogey. But for the other 17 holes I really had very little stress. I hit a ton of greens and never really had -- never a -- besides 8 never really had a putt for par that I didn't think I was going to make.

Q. Had you been playing pretty well coming in?

J.P. HAYES: Yeah, I played -- I have been playing very well. I played well in Milwaukee. Made a lot of birdies there. I think I made more birdies there than anybody else and finished 5th. And played fairly well last week although my finish didn't show it. I felt like I continued to play well, and it has been going on for a couple of months. I have been feeling pretty good about my game, and so been pretty happy with it.

TODD BUDNICK: Last 10 rounds of par or better.

Q. Were there some changes that you made right before you get on this run or what transpired --

J.P. HAYES: Not really. I have been working ---

TODD BUDNICK: Mid-western comfort?

J.P. HAYES: Yeah, I am a cheesehead, so get me in the Midwest, I am pretty comfortable. I have been working on - just like all of us out here - we're constantly working on things in our swing, and I am no different, I didn't feel really good about it in the beginning of the year. But I knew it would come around, kind of like what it did last year for me. That's pretty much what has been happening, but I am always trying to get better, not making any changes that don't need to be made but just improvements.

Q. You said the putter, the same situation with the putter, you say that that has been improving as well?

J.P. HAYES: Yeah, I actually putted with a long putter for four weeks and had some pretty good finishes with it. But I thought that it improved my stroke quite a bit with my short putter. Ever since I have come back to the short putter. And, you know, I changed irons in the middle of the year too and now I am back to my old irons. I kind of joked with my caddie -- I am back to my old driver now too, kind of joked with my caddie that it feels like we're getting the band back together. That, you know, everything is back where it was. I thought I needed some things that I guess I didn't. So it's working out well.

Q. When did you go back to the short putter?

J.P. HAYES: I went back to the short putter at the Western Open about four weeks ago, I guess, and putted pretty well there. But I hadn't even touched a club before that tournament for quite a while. So I didn't expect much. I could have putted, 1-putted every green, I think, and I wouldn't have played well there.

But then in Milwaukee it really came around the last week and then this week obviously I feel very good with the putter.

Q. Why hadn't you touched a club?

J.P. HAYES: I spent eight days in Alaska with some friends fishing and we did not play any golf. I don't even know if there's a golf course there, but we didn't play any golf, and spent some time in fishing before I went fishing, you know, before that. So there was about 12, 13 days where I didn't do anything.

So when I came back to the Western Open I was pretty rusty.

Q. Where did you fish?

J.P. HAYES: On the Keynap (ph) Peninsula, a place called Alaska Rainbow Lodge, fly fishing only and it was a great week.

Q. (Inaudible)

J.P. HAYES: Some guys in our group did. Mostly rainbows, and Saccus (phonetic).

Q. Did you take any time off like that before? Is that something normal for you or not?

J.P. HAYES: No. I was a little bit nervous about it. I hadn't done that in the middle of the year like that before, so I was a little bit nervous about it. But I am to the point I think in my career where I need to do the things that I enjoy that don't include golf. It was kind of a big step for me and I had planned the trip a year in advance so, of course, I am thinking all right, well, I will make my money, you know, I will have two or three wins before that Alaska trip and everything is going to be great. But I left with -- I wasn't exactly in a big hole; on the other hand, I probably left at a time where I needed to be maybe a little bit more focused, but as it turns out I think you can gain a lot from getting away as well. So it worked out great. It didn't take me as long to get back into my form as I thought it would. I think it actually washed away some daemons that were with me as far as, you know, being tired, and just a little frustrated. I came back fresh and ready to go.

TODD BUDNICK: Had a couple of putting streaks this year, haven't you, eight ina row at --

J.P. HAYES: I birdied 8 in a row first round of the year, and I thought all that hard work that I did in the off-season was going to was incredible. I thought oh, here we go again, to shoot 63 everyday. It didn't happen. But, yeah, I have had some great streaks of putting and if I get on good greens and just get a little bit of confidence I feel that I am as good as anybody.

Q. (Inaudible)

J.P. HAYES: At Palm Springs, the Palmer course.

TODD BUDNICK: You had 6 in Milwaukee; did I see that?

J.P. HAYES: I think I had five in a row the first day but I shot 28 there on Saturday on my last nine holes. Shot 28 in Milwaukee my last nine. So I have been kind of making a lot of birdies lately.

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you, JP. Good luck on the weekend.

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