NEC WORLD SERIES OF GOLF

August 21, 1997

Jeff Sluman

JEFF SLUMAN: Well, I think Jose Maria's 61 is not in danger out there. But, you know, the golf course -- I have not really been here that -- this is my second time and, you know, it is just an unbelievable golf course. It demands every shot and it is long and the wind was very, very difficult today to really determine if it was -- obviously, you know if it was right-to-left or left-to-right, but it was very difficult to really determine a lot of times whether it was into you a little bit or helping you a little bit. So it was very tricky out there with club selection with the irons. Like I said, I played poorly last week and really kinds of upset me because I thought I would be playing some pretty good golf for most of the year coming into the PGA and to go out and miss the cut play poorly like I did, you know, I didn't know really what to expect. I was kind of searching a little bit on my swing and made, you know, just tired last couple days and went out and played fairly solid today with two birdies and one bogey and drove the ball in the fairway and, you know, didn't stick any irons real, real close. But, I kept hitting 20, 25 feet all day and I made a couple. And, you know, 69 at the end of the day is a pretty good score here.

JEFF SLUMAN: I would take four 69s and run to the clubhouse and kind of see what happens. It may not win, but it may very well may also. The weather, the way the golf course is right now, I think it is probably an advantage for real, real long ball hitter, Tiger, Davis, Ernie. Those type of guys are going -- I think they are going to have, I think, a distinct advantage because they carry it quite a bit further than most of the other guys. But, they still have to go out and still have to do it. Got to drive it in the fairway and got to hit the right club from there. But, the golf course, I think, right now is a little more of, like I said, a longer-type of golf course for the hitters versus if it was playing hard and fast, I think that kind of narrows the gap for everybody.

JEFF SLUMAN: Money-wise it has been pretty good so far and with the win, obviously, in Tucson, that obviously was a shining point of my year so far. But, as far as consistency, it has probably -- it has been a little up-and-down this year. I missed a few more cuts than I would like to and I have just struggled a little bit a couple of times, trying to find some rhythm, you know, especially starting the year out, I kind of struggled with it. So, that was kind of doubly surprising that I won at Tucson because I was not playing very well leading into that tournament. So, it has kind of been a year of ups and downs for me.

JEFF SLUMAN: How many years was it?

JEFF SLUMAN: Nine years, I guess if I can count correctly, 1988 to 1997. You know, I think it probably actually meant -- it meant a lot to me the fact that when I come into a pressroom now you guys aren't going to ask: "Are you finally going to win one again? It has been nine years and six months and four days," but.... (LAUGHTER)... That is your job, but I think it was actually more gratifying to my family and my friends. They seemed to enjoy it as much or more than I did.

JEFF SLUMAN: It is never a burden. Never has been. You know, I think after a watching last week and watching, you know, Davis win, it really -- it makes me feel even better to have my name on the trophy with a real close friend of mine. Now he has got his name on the trophy and you could see how much that meant to him. And, you know, I was probably -- I was 30 years old and really only -- I think it was my third PGA I played in when I won, and a lot of times that is what it takes, you don't really realize how significant it is until a few years afterwards. And, when I came close in 1992 at the U.S. Open finishing second to Kite, you know, I kind have had the wind go out of my sails after that. You really put a lot of energy into those tournaments and it makes what Nicklaus has done all the more amazing, you know, how many seconds he has had in Majors; let alone wins, that he could, you know, continue to play like that. But, you know, like I said, it is never a burden to win a tournament, but it was -- it is a little more special even now than I took it at the time, I guess. It was one of those weeks that I stayed with Willie Wood and my wife was down and it was just kind of real casual type of week. And, I was playing great and it was, let us just go to the golf course and play and, you know, so -- not that it didn't feel like a major. It was just the whole atmosphere of the whole week was, you know, real relaxed and casual. So, I look back at that, like I said, it is a little more special even now.

JEFF SLUMAN: Exactly. Need to go to tournaments that I have friends that live on the golf course with guest homes.

JEFF SLUMAN: I am so close and, you know, it is not that you are disappointed because I didn't -- Tom won the tournament. No one else really lost it. It just takes a lot out of you emotionally and I probably played too much right after that in 1992 and got myself pretty tired at the end of the year. And, went into 1993 not very well rested and kind of played poorly all of 1993 and early 1994. So, I think if I had it to do all over again, after those tournaments, I'll take a little bit more time off.

JEFF SLUMAN: I have loved this game and I don't think I have ever really lost my desire. I have told Pro Am guys -- they say, "How do you do it? How do you do it?" (laughter). "I have been playing four games in a row just to get ready on Wednesday, we are exhausted." But, there has really only been two days that I can really remember where I didn't want to come out and play in all the years I have been out here. I think that is pretty good. I venture to say that everybody in the room hasn't -- has had a few more days that didn't want to go to work that be two in their life. So, I feel like I am definitely ahead of the curve on that.

JEFF SLUMAN: Just kinds of days you weren't feeling well, you were a little frustrated. But, like I said, no, never lost my desire. I think once you lose your desire to play you should probably not play at all.

JEFF SLUMAN: Or 1-under.

JEFF SLUMAN: I think so. Looking at the forecast tomorrow they said a high of 62 or something; is that right? Boy, this is Rochester, New York in October the weather here. But, you know, I guess more than anything it will depend if it is breezy and I think if it is going to be 62, probably got a good chance of having some pretty breezy wind out there. You know, it is just playing so long that eventually the golf course kind of jumps up and bites you. But, you know, what guys shoot out here day in and day out, it is just really amazing. You look at what Davis did last week at Winged Foot, I mean, I don't think anybody could have bet or believed that any anybody could shoot 11-under at Winged Foot (laughter). Three rounds 66, one shot off the course record, that is absolutely incredible how talented guys are out here. I mean, you look at the field here, everybody has had to win a golf tournament obviously to get in here. There is a lot of guys out here that could shoot low numbers. So, you know, 4-under, yeah, that might be pretty good. But, I mean, it is -- just never know out here. If somebody gets hot, they can just burn it up.

JEFF SLUMAN: Birdie was on No. 3, hit a good drive down the right side and hit 8-iron, pin-high left about twelve feet. My bogey was on 8. I drove the ball very -- actually perfect down the middle and kind of in between clubs there. I made a mistake and tried to hit easy 5-iron instead of a solid 6 and went in the left bunker, pitched out to about six, eight feet and missed the putt. Then 9, I drove it pretty long down the middle and I think I had 184 to the pin and hit 5-iron about 20, 25 feet left of the hole and made that. And then, you know, the rest of it was just -- some of them weren't standard pars, but they ended up being pars out there. But, kind of played pretty consistent.

JEFF SLUMAN: All right.