JOHN DEERE CLASSIC

July 27, 2002

Mike Heinen

TODD BUDNICK: We have Mike Heinen, 66 today, has him at 15-under, 198. Mike, playing pretty well there 'til the end, went threw a little roller coaster, tell us about that.

MIKE HEINEN: Yeah, I thought the conditions were really tough today. I thought as long as we're making birdies, as we have been out here, I tried grinding it out, not make any mistakes, snuck in a couple of birdies, felt like I was in good position. Wind kind of died down the back. I was getting a little tired. I don't think I missed a fairway the first 10 or 12 holes and then I hit it in the hazard on 15 left, made a great bogey, so kind of felt like a birdie. And then hit it two feet on 16, and then 17 I drove it right and I kind have had a tough lie in some trees, tried to knock it out, didn't quite get it back to the fairway short of the green, didn't get it up-and-down.

Then I hit a great shot on 18 about 15, 20 feet right of the hole, just off the fringe and made it. Overall, I guess it was a good finish. At least I made birdie after a bogey instead of bogey after a birdie like I normally do.

TODD BUDNICK: Let's go ahead and run through the rest of them starting at 1.

MIKE HEINEN: 1, I hit a driver off the tee and I hit a pitching wedge short of the hole back up off the collar and made it from about 20 feet.

7, I hit a 6-iron about 20 feet right of the hole trying to catch a little ridge, trickled down and it didn't. Made it. So didn't matter, about a 20-footer.

8, I hit A wedge about 4 feet. Made that one.

Then 10, I hit a sand wedge about three feet, made that one.

14, I hit a sand wedge about four feet. Made it.

TODD BUDNICK: Questions.

Q. The scoring is totally different today than it was the first two days. How do you account for that?

MIKE HEINEN: The wind was howling. First 6 or seven holes it was pulling really hard. And I have been hitting, you know, driver 4 and 5-iron into No. 2 and today, I hit it over that bunker, so I think I played with Tim Petrovic, and he hit -- I think he hit a driver off the -- perfect drive and hit a perfect driver. He was just off the left fringe on No. 2. So it was playing kind of crosswind off the tee, then straight into the wind on the next shot. So if you go there today, I heard one of the marshals say he only saw one guy get there and I guess Tim was too. It was playing pretty tough.

Q. Tomorrow, anyway to predict what is going to be necessary?

MIKE HEINEN: I don't know. I don't know how the weather is going to be. I was kind of hoping for a little rain. I mean, it rained the whole night last night. I was kind of hoping for a bit. Fairways were drying out and the course was playing pretty short. I'd rather the course play as long as it could. So kind of got my wish last night. So I had to go out there and try to get it done today.

Q. Did you hear the stuff going on last night lightning and thunder?

MIKE HEINEN: I sure did. I think everybody did. I was talking to a bunch of people that heard it. I heard it about 1, I guess, 1 or 1:30, woke me up. Seemed like every time I almost fall asleep, again another thunder would wake me up. Then at 4:30 I got it again. But it wasn't too bad I still slept all right.. I could sleep in with a two o'clock tee time.

Q. Did you soundproof that trailer?

MIKE HEINEN: No, that's a nice pitter-patter on the top of the roof, so it's not too bad.

Q. What do you actually have, and you use it just the summer?

MIKE HEINEN: Just probably half the tournaments, just to break it up. I decided to come this far with it. I don't normally come this far with it. I usually just use it around home. It's an American Dream Coach, and I have had it for five years, a 40-footer. It's satellite, washer drier, and everything, so it's a nice little home away from home.

Q. How many guys on Tour have one, do you know?

MIKE HEINEN: I know Bob May is staying right down from me. He has got one. I heard Davis just got one. John Daly has been having one off and on. Blake has one. A few guys -- there's a few guys on the BUY.COM Tour, I have been splitting my time between -- new guys out there have them too. It's more than one when I first got mine, that's for sure. I think before it was me and John and John always stayed at the golf course so I never saw him.

Q. What do you really like about it?

MIKE HEINEN: I just like to go where I want to go. It's been tough to travel since September 11, and it's just dealing with the hassles of checking your bags and going through it and everything else. It's just -- it's tough. I live in Lake Charles. It's got one airline, Continental, and I have a hard time getting in and out, and the expense of it, and then being a conditional member out here, you don't get to play when I want to play. Can't buy my tickets in advance. It's is just kind of a nice thing, just getting in it, just start driving, and I have got a friend of mine caddying for me this week staying with me so it's nice, we get to hang out.

My parents actually have one and they are staying in the same camp site. We're cooking out and hanging out. Right on the Rock River right down the street. It's perfect.

Q. Is the camp site nearby?

MIKE HEINEN: Yeah, Lundene's Landing (phonetic).

Q. Is that what you do before you go to a tournament, you check out the camp sites?

MIKE HEINEN: I have got a big camping book, pretty much on the way I just kind of look at it, and I have done it now for five years, so pretty much know all the camp sites at all the -- kind of like all the players know all the hotels; I know all the camp sites.

Q. Chris said he won't look at the leaderboard tomorrow. He will pick a number and just try and shoot it. Your approach?

MIKE HEINEN: I don't normally try to pick a number. You kind of just try to shoot as low as you can, I feel. But I like to watch leaderboards a little bit, but not too much. I don't -- I mean, you birdie the first few holes, you start looking -- you see yourself on the leaderboard; that doesn't mean anything. You got a great start, you know that, but it doesn't matter if you have a one-shot lead, two-shot lead or two behind because you have got so much to play. So yeah, I mean, I don't necessarily pick a number. I just try and shoot as low as I can. I am going to you know, try to fire at some flags and make some birdies, but not do anything you know, too aggressively. So it's kind of a fine line there, but I guess when you get down towards the end I want to know you know, getting into 16, 17, 18 I want to know do I need to aim for the flag or do I need to play it safe.

Q. Feel like a shootout here?

MIKE HEINEN: Yeah, you know, obviously with the scores that low the first you know, two days, it was definitely a shootout. I think the rains kind of softened the fairways; made it play a little longer and the wind blew a little bit today, it might have separated the field a little bit. I know with the conditions before I don't think I would even be close with shooting 5-under today but with the conditions the way they were, able to kind of jump back in there and get in the hunt.

Q. Why do you like a longer course?

MIKE HEINEN: I am one of the longer hitters out here, so I like it long. A lot of the fairways were running out, I was hitting them through the fairways, the first few days, and so when the rain came I didn't have to worry about doing that.

Q. It's been a while since you put that PGA victory on the board, do you start to get that feeling now?

MIKE HEINEN: Yeah, I mean, it's not even that. I mean, it's just trying to get back out here. I feel like I can play well enough to be out here full-time. I felt like that the last 3, four years but I just hadn't been able to do it. That's what is great about this game it's up to me to do it. Tomorrow I can go do it.

Q. Think about winning tomorrow or money at all, exempt status?

MIKE HEINEN: I have got to win. In my situation yeah, I guess a second will move me up and stuff like that, but I have got go out and win but then you know, you don't you hit some shots doesn't work out well then I am thinking about Top-10 because it will get me in Buick two weeks from now. It's kind of a few things I am thinking about, but everybody is thinking about the win. Nobody out here is going well, I am going to go ahead and lay back finish third and so I can make my money. They are trying to win.

Q. Do 10 doesn't what is the deal with The INTERNATIONAL?

TODD BUDNICK: Invitational.

MIKE HEINEN: (Inaudible) Will get me in so I will get in Buick the next week.

Q. Last time you were in this position?

MIKE HEINEN: Well, playoff earlier this year at BUY.COM. I missed a playoff by a shot in Virginia Beach and Lafayette, I lost in a playoff. I have to kind of -- had some close calls so far this year on another level, but it's -- I played both Tours pretty consistently last four five years, and there's not a big difference I can tell you that.

Q. When was your last time in this position on PGA TOUR events?

MIKE HEINEN: Well, I played pretty good in Memphis, I was -- I don't even know what position I was in but right around the Top-10 going into the last day and actually I think I was the same score as Len Mattiace who ended up winning, so -- but he played a great round and you know, I played pretty good but I just didn't make the putts. And I guess two years ago I think I finished fourth when was last year Boston?

Might have been three years ago I finished like fourth. In Tour events -- I have had a lot of Top-10s on BUY.COM's, but Tour events it has been awhile. Only playing four, five year a year kind of hard to get in there.

Q. How far is Lake Charles?

MIKE HEINEN: I don't even know. Heck where are we? (Laughs) I have been bouncing around so much I started out in Memphis went from Memphis to Hershey, Pennsylvania to -- Pennsylvania to Milwaukee; Milwaukee to New York, New York to here.

Q. You had to think?

MIKE HEINEN: I have had the motor home out every week. But I know it's a good haul home, so I like to go out and play a real good one tomorrow; make it a lot easier drive home.

Q. Is it going to help you tomorrow having been in that position on BUY.COM?

MIKE HEINEN: I think so. It's a lot of pressure out there. Any time you are trying to win at any level it's tough, and I have got more wins out here than I do out there. So it's just kind of a thing you just get in position, got to give yourself a chance, got to go out and play well and got to make the putts at the right time, and hit the shots at the right time. First three days I have been doing that so I am hoping I can keep on.

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