FEDEX ST. JUDE CLASSIC

June 7, 2001

J.P. Hayes

J.P. HAYES: Played very well. I felt it coming on for quite some time and worked very hard this year, and it's been a little bit frustrating for me, and I begin to feel the hard work paying off, so I felt a good round coming. I felt a good stretch of rounds coming. I'm starting to build some confidence. After the start I've had this year, it's starting to be a lot of fun.

J.P. HAYES: Yeah. I hit 5-iron on 14 to about 15 feet and made that. 16, par 5, I hit -- I was just in front of the green in two and chipped up. Made about a 10-footer. Really, kind of a poor chip, but made a 10-footer there. 18, I hit a really good drive and a 6-iron there to about eight feet and made that. Then 1, I hit a good drive, again, and another 6-iron to about five feet. My last birdie was on 5. I hit a good drive and a real good 3-wood to maybe about 15 feet there for eagle and just 2-putted. Parred the rest of the way in.

J.P. HAYES: I made one good save on 6. I hit, again, a good drive and what I thought was a good second shot. Came up short in the bunker and hit a so-so bunker shot to maybe eight, ten feet and made that putt. That was my only real scare all day.

J.P. HAYES: Well, you know, I've made some adjustments, some changes in my swing. It has not been the easiest thing to play through those changes, but I knew that eventually, you know, that I would start feeling comfortable. Just two, three -- maybe three weeks ago, I just all of the sudden hit a couple more solid shots each day, and the days built up that way. You know, now I'm really hitting it good. It was slow, so I know it's not -- it's not something fluky. I know it is working. It's not just a good round among a bunch of poor rounds. It's something that I've felt coming and doesn't surprise me, and I really think that I will continue.

J.P. HAYES: Yeah, it got to that point and that's when I felt there's something that's happening, that's good. But then you have to trust it on the golf course, and that was -- that's not always the easiest thing to do, but it's gotten easier. Just if it is a couple shots a day, over several days or weeks, that makes a big difference and I think that's where -- I don't think that I'm there yet, but I think that's where I'm headed.

J.P. HAYES: It is playing all of whatever it is. Very rarely would your ball advance from where it landed. There's some good mid-iron shots and some long iron shots out there that you have to hit. Yeah, it is playing as long as it possibly can, I think.

J.P. HAYES: Just fundamental changes. Grip, posture, that leads to -- that leads to some things in my swing that I've always -- well, my poor grip, my poor posture have always led to some things that I didn't like in my swing. The changes in my grip, the right hand, if you want to get really specific, my right hand was very strong and led to a pretty closed club face and a steep downswing. So gradually I got to where my grip feels better and is better, and my posture and so forth. Just everything is starting to change, as far as my downswing and, you know, things like that. It's kind of boring stuff. But I've played well last year, but 75, 80 percent of my money was made in three or four tournaments, and that's not the way I want my career to be. I want to be a solid player week-in and week-out. I knew that with some changes, I could be that way. But it's been hard. It's been slow, and like I said, I'm starting to see the daylight.

J.P. HAYES: I've been working with Mike Wilson, who works with Mike Weir and Paul Stankowski. He's an excellent teacher. I have a lot of faith in him, even through the bad times.

J.P. HAYES: Well, you know, we were fortunate that we were able to play. Much more rain, and I don't think -- I don't think we would have, because it is very wet. There's no wind; doesn't seem like there's going to be any wind all day. It was a pleasant day. No wind; and lift, clean and place. Just a little bit soggy, but just a pleasant day. Nice to be able to get it in. I think the people in the afternoon will find it quite nice.

J.P. HAYES: The greens seem like they are holding up pretty well, so I don't think they are going to find it -- the greens, anyway -- that bad. And the fairways, with lift, clean and place, they will always have a perfect lie if they hit it in the fairway. But I was surprised if when we teed off this morning to when we finished. The fairways did not seem like they had drained any at all. They were really saturated, so I don't think it is going to dry up for them too much.

J.P. HAYES: Yeah, I mean, very seldom do you shoot a round that you think that you can do better on, but I think it is the highest I could have shot today. I had -- I think I missed three greens and was putting on one of them, so only two greens where I was actually in a trying-to-save-par situation. I felt very good with the putter today, but unfortunately I didn't make as many as I would have liked. But as high as I could have shot, I think.

J.P. HAYES: 7, I didn't hit my drive on 7 as good as I could have. I had 216 yards to the pin and hit a 4-iron. So, imagine some guys could be hitting 3-irons and maybe even some woods going in there. But there's a lot of mid-iron holes. A lot of good tests.

J.P. HAYES: Well it's been quite a while since I played here. I don't remember really getting it that far down on that hole. It's all been a long hole. But I can imagine 165 to 170 yards if you get some roll and release.

J.P. HAYES: I don't know. I don't know why I stopped, really, because I really like the golf course. I enjoy Memphis. The tournament is well run. I don't know why I stopped, except it must have just come at a bad time where it was -- like all of us. We need breaks every now and then and maybe it was just a good time for one. But I really like the course and the practice facilities and everything is good about it, so I don't know why. I don't imagine skipping it in the future.

J.P. HAYES: I believe '98 was the last time I played here.