PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

August 12, 2002

Tim Herron

TIM HERRON: Thank you.

TIM HERRON: Some opening thoughts? Well, I'm from the area. I think I got in by a couple (inaudible). I'm pretty glad to get in. This is special to me. I haven't played my hometown since the Walker Cup back in '93, I think or longer. Yeah, really special. It's going to be a fun week. I like the golf course. It sets up well for me. Bigger fairways, bigger greens. Everything's bigger. And I can get home. Depending on the wind conditions, I can get home to some of the par 5s. If I play the par 5s well this week, I have a good chance I think here.

TIM HERRON: Well, it's important that -- the 3rd hole is a great hole, a great par 5. That's one that probably we won't be getting to unless it's downwind and playing really fast off the tee, which makes it a harder drive to actually get on the fairway. It's all set up by your drives. If you miss the fairway with your drives, you're probably not getting there in three, or you're hitting a wood in or a very long iron. Even if you hit in the left bunkers, they won't let you hit probably more than a 5-iron out of that bunker. I think it's a very well-designed hole. The rough isn't super deep. You'll be able to advance it somewhat down the fairway, but you still have forever in.

TIM HERRON: Yes, 16, it's funny, my caddie -- I played the Back 9 just before I got in here. My caddie caddied here in '91. The wind was blowing a little in, about 20 into our face. He says, "I think it's an easy 1-iron." I go, "No, it's a 3-wood." He forgot the grandstands were on the back of that tee box in the Open. Where the PGA is going to play it from, it's going to be even a harder hole than I think in '91. Right now it's playing a little soft. Your yardage that you have off the tee is probably where the ball is going to go. That's going to be the deciding hole I think in the tournament coming down on the weekend. A lot of disaster can happen on that hole.

TIM HERRON: For about 20 minutes (laughter)? Let's just say in the wintertime here there's a big tournament, one of the biggest tournaments of the year, it's called the Chilly Open. They actually play it on the lake, on the ice. You play with a tennis ball. How long are the holes? I haven't played it. It's in February. About 50 yards to a hundred yards long. You have to get a tee time. There's a big cup presentation, right next to a bar. Actually, growing up here, it's five months. But a lot of the weather is tough weather. You play in all different kinds of conditions. I remember growing up, hopping on golf courses before they were open. There were no holes, no pins in the greens. There's actually holes that they left from that fall. We'd hop on it in spring. There's ice still, but there's some grass, it's not green, it's all dormant. You know, you hit out of the ice. Depends on where your ball lies. You try to remember where the hole locations were from the last fall. That's my 20 minutes (laughter).

TIM HERRON: I think it really helps to make it tough. 16, 18, 9, 8, those are some disastrous holes. I think 8 is another kind of -- if you get wind in, that's probably one of the harder golf holes out here, one of the harder golf holes to make big number on. Easy to make a big number, actually. Yeah, so this is probably the hardest wind out here. I've played it all last week. It's always been kind of northeast to northwest. It kind of switches.

TIM HERRON: Yeah, I played here on Saturday. The course has started to firm up. The rain a little bit last night, today, softened it up a little bit. It's going to help for growing grass. The course looks like it's in great shape.

TIM HERRON: Well, I'm just trying to kind of -- last week no one was out here, they were just building the sands. It was a little easier. I'm going to just probably play nine holes a day, you know. I don't get to play in my hometown, so I'm going to be courteous to the fans. That's kind of why I wanted to get a lot of work done last week so I know the golf course. I'm just going to prepare by getting the feel of the greens, staying loose, just hitting some shots, be ready to go, concentrate, really focus for the championships on Thursday.

TIM HERRON: No, I mean, I've handled it. My sister lived in Chicago for many years. She'd come out to the Western. I've done enough traveling. I've had a lot of friends come out here and there. It's going to be fun. It will be exciting for me having the fans out here.

TIM HERRON: I remember, we played the up tee. I remember hitting driver on 16, then just hitting a little L-wedge into that. We were playing up tee, it was downwind. I was 14. You weren't really worried about the creek. You were always focused on the fairway. You're a little more positive when you're a kid. You took the game a lot (inaudible). It was easier. You'd just hit it and find it. That's probably what I remember the most. I remember caddying for Jacobson. He drove 10. That's some of my memories. You can kind of get it down on that front edge down there on 10. But it's a pretty risky move. I don't know how many guys are going to try that.

TIM HERRON: With the baby? Yeah, I've been getting my sleep. He sleeps pretty well. Still have a little bit of anxiety, I guess. You never know. Sometimes you dream that he's crying, and he actually isn't. You wake up, "He's asleep." Everybody who has had kids probbably felt that a little bit. No, but it's been fun. It's going to be great. I'm going to enjoy my experience through life with my son. I'm really looking forward to it.

TIM HERRON: Yes, I did. I forgot what days. I mean, that was a while ago. I think I was out Thursday and Friday.

TIM HERRON: That's a good one. I don't know. He was not caddying for Payne Stewart back then. I don't think he won the major with Payne.

TIM HERRON: It's about 125 yards longer than last time I played it. It's long. It changes, you know, the hole. I really like the PGA, what they did. They came in and widened the landing area. Before it was like hitting it in a thimble. You couldn't even hit it in the fairway. It's hard enough to actually reach the fairway there. I'd say it's about 245, 250 carry. They widened it out where you have some room now a little bit to the right. You can kind of move it away from the bunkers a little bit. But generally what you're doing is laying up probably in the same spot as you are in '91. Instead of hitting a 5-iron for a layup, you're hitting a -- instead of a 6-iron, you're hitting a 3-iron to a 3-wood, depending on the wind. You're trying to kind of lay it up in the same spot. If you hit it in the fairway, you have a longer second shot. But the third shot, it doesn't do you any good to advance the ball anywhere from 50 yards to 90 yards from the green because it kind of runs down into the right rough anyway. You're trying to hit it up on a plateau from 120 yards out to the green. Same thing. Just the hole is longer. If you miss the fairway, it's going to make it even a longer hole where you're not going to get it home in three. It will be very difficult.

TIM HERRON: That's a good question. I usually take off the week before the majors, kind of get organized. Everyone's different. Tiger Woods usually takes off before his majors, and he's done okay. But he won last week. I'm sure he'll do just fine this week. Not too worried about Tiger. But for me playing, it's important to have a balance in that your schedule works. I do like playing into big tournaments, but not too many. I don't want the major to be the fourth or fifth tournament in a row for me. It's nice to have a week off, it's refreshing. It's in my hometown, so it like I have two or three weeks here.

TIM HERRON: Yeah. They all say -- we have the signs with Tiger. Just joking (laughter). Actually, no, they know it's a show. We know he's an important part of golf right now. He's going to be important for years to come. He's great. Where he is today is probably just napping and resting. He actually came in and played before, so he kind of knows the golf course. He probably feels like he could use the day off. I don't know, you'd have to ask him. Maybe he's shopping. I don't know.

TIM HERRON: What do you mean?

TIM HERRON: I'll tell you what it means to me. Of course, it's one of the four majors. But I'd have to say the way the PGA is set up, it's the fairest major. (Inaudible) pins on huge slopes, try to trick it up. This is a golf course. You guys will put a pin in a tough location, but not unfair location. "You guys have at it." I mean, some years you'll see 5-under, 6-under win, other years 15-under or something. You know, that all depends on the weather. I really like the way the PGA is set up. They play the golf course. They don't (inaudible) the golf courses up. I think it's a very fair and challenging major. That's why I like the PGA.

TIM HERRON: I hit 3-wood right, then I hit a couple 1-irons, then I actually moved the net a little bit. Don't put that in the paper (laughter). I'm just joking. I wound up from all the -- I wanted to see if I could get 1-iron into the fairway from all the way back. I did. I had to hit really solid just to hit a 1-iron. The number one objective is to take the front water out of play, then you work the hole from there, you know. My first ball I hit fine, hit it in the left first cut. From the nets, it was about 15 yards up. I'm like, "Well, 15 yards? Who knows if that is going to clear the water." 220, 225 into the wind carry over the water into the fairway.