FEDEX ST. JUDE CLASSIC

August 2, 1998

Jeff Sluman

JEFF SLUMAN: I mean, I played just the way I said I was playing yesterday. Hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens. I think any time you go out and you are one off the lead and shoot 65, usually that is good enough. In this case, Nick played a wonderful round behind us. Which I don't think really surprises anybody. He is a great player and took him 74 holes to win the tournament this year. But, overall, I did all I could. I didn't make any bogeys and six birdies, so, as I said yesterday to one of the reporters, they asked if I was disappointed I hadn't won more. In situations like this, really, what can you do? I didn't make any mistakes. Like I said yesterday, just got to tip your hat to Nick and say he played a level better.

JEFF SLUMAN: 1, I had about 160. 7-iron in there about six, eight feet left of the hole. 3, good drive again and layed up. Hit a sand wedge from about 85 yards to about eight feet left. 5, good drive, and hit it in the left bunker. Had a pretty difficult shot, but hit real nice bunker shot down there about three feet. From there I just played some pretty solid golf. Got to No. 9 and hit a good drive and I think I had about 145 and right on the front. I hit it about ten feet. Made that. Just hit a bunch of good shots after that, had a couple of birdie chances, but had a good shot on -- 3-wood on 15 and then had a 9-iron from about 134. I think on TV it is -- probably says it was about 20 feet. That was the putt that I was really kind of looking for at that time. Pins were relatively difficult out there. It was tough to get them real, real close. That one I kind of felt got me over the hump and then I hit the just into the right rough and couldn't go for it. Had the tee up on 16 and the pin in very eable-able - I don't know if that is a word or not - so I had to lay-it-up. I had 85 yards and hit it in there about, I think, about 4 foot back of the hole. Made a couple of nice saves on the last two holes, I have had trouble all week on 17 off the tee. There must be a magnet over there in the left rough and I made a nice recovery and a good 2-putt there, and 18, kind of liked to fade my irons for the most part. Where the pin was, you just can't really, at that point in time, try and hit a fade, so, in regulation and in the playoff I hit similar shots with 6-irons from about 185. You know, just like everybody's swing, there is one shot there are real -- not real extra confident about and trying to hit that hard little draw in there at that time, I just hung both of them out to the right. But relatively easy up-and-downs, green was all running towards the pin and kind of looked like all you had to do was get the ball started and it was going to end up pretty close.

JEFF SLUMAN: Not really. Hit pretty close on 2, about eight, ten feet missed that. And then went from there on, the opportunity weren't -- wasn't real, real close, but at 14 I hit a good shot right over the pin that was about 20 feet, which at the time on 14 the way that hole plays, pretty good shot. I had a decent chance maybe at 11, but overall really I felt I played a good round of golf and shot a good score.

JEFF SLUMAN: 3-wood.

JEFF SLUMAN: What went through my head? How about 0 for 5? I was 0 for 4 in the playoffs going in for this. I guess that is what kind of went through my head initially, but I hit a really nice shot up there and I really felt like was going to make the putt for par because it is right -- it was a little closer than the birdie putt I hit today on 12. That was another opportunity. So I really felt like I really wasn't -- didn't really obviously want to do that but I really thought I was still going to make 4 after I hit my third shot. But I never had the opportunity because Nick made a great putt. But I really hadn't hit any shots like that all week and was trying to once again kind of draw it instead of maybe taking it down the left edge and fading it. Just pushed it a little and that was about it.

JEFF SLUMAN: 6-iron.

JEFF SLUMAN: I didn't think there was any chance of Nick really missing that putt, like I said, before, just looked like everything kind of fed toward the hole there. Tim Conley who I played with made a real nice birdie there, just a little outside -- anything -- like I said, it just -- at that point in time, I was going to be very happy if I got back out to the 18th tee, and I hit a great putt. I didn't see it just heard the reaction because of where he was with the camera angle, actually not the camera angle, I was out watching, I guess he kind of horse-shoed it off the right edge and on that, but he hit a great second shot in there and at that point you are not really thinking: He is going to miss. Anybody that is 16-under at that time, got 8, 10 feet, you are figuring -- he has made his share for the week so he is probably going to make one more.

JEFF SLUMAN: I hit it right in the water. That is what happened.

JEFF SLUMAN: I think I shot 66 yesterday. So if it was two 65s, I would be a winner.

JEFF SLUMAN: You know, I think at the Kemper when I lost in the playoff to Billy, I might have shot even lower on the weekend, but I would have to go back and check that, but I am not real positive of after that. I shoot 131 and -- I didn't -- I don't think I made a bogey -- actually I didn't make a bogey because I didn't have a chance to make it on the playoff hole. So, you make 11 birdies and no bogeys on the weekend, that is nothing to really hang your head about.

JEFF SLUMAN: Yes.

JEFF SLUMAN: I am playing next week probably not as much as anybody in the room -- looks like they have monstrous trees out there and the golf course is probably going to play very long and difficult like any major championship should. So I look forward to going out there and I just hope I can keep this momentum going.

JEFF SLUMAN: I heard a big roar. I thought it was probably Nick when he hit his second shot. I don't know how close he made it, but he hit three eagles there this week. That was the question I asked him before we teed off on 18 in the playoff. "How did you play on 16 this week?" He started laughing. At that point, when you hear that roar, you have got to figure that he is probably hit it in pretty close for eagle. But, I can't really worry or be concerned too much about what he is doing or -- I can trip myself up, so figured he was going to make it. I figured I probably needed at least one more to maybe win or get in a playoff.

JEFF SLUMAN: To me it was kind of almost like -- Nick and I are good friends, we like to joke around and he has got a great sense of humor. It was just fun. Just trying to lighten the mood and all that. When we -- it is serious and we both want to win and that, but there was a lot of good sportsmanship going on.

JEFF SLUMAN: It is never easy in a playoff for me. So I don't know. But, I don't know. I don't know how to answer that. It is just one of those things. This is what I was playing off against and you know, really can't choose who you do or don't want to playoff against. But makes Nick is a great champion, and we had a good time.

JEFF SLUMAN: Obviously I played real well this week. I think I played real well at the Open this year. I drove it just played well. Hard to tell you that I played well and I shot 8-over, but I really did. That was the top 10. I finished third at Colonial just a couple of weeks prior to. It was kind of similar to this, you know, Colonial I think I only made three bogeys all week, so, I think my game has been pretty consistent. And, you know, if you are making so few bogeys, you have got to be doing a lot of good things out there, hitting a lot of fairways and a lot of greens.