THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT

May 30, 1997

Scott Hoch

SCOTT HOCH: Well, yeah, I'm fooling a bunch of people, including myself this week, so that's great. We had ideal conditions out there today. And luckily I did what I needed to do, what you need to do here, hit a lot of good iron shots, a lot of really good putts. I made a number of them, so I feel fortunate. It's just disappointing bogeying the last hole. I just barely hit it in the rough and that's kind of trouble here.

SCOTT HOCH: Well, I hope so, but it's still pretty early. I'd like to feel better about my game. Now, obviously the score is no indication about how I feel about it, but I'd just like to be more assured that I'm going to hit it the way I am actually hitting it. I've changed a few things, to hit it better the last couple of days. Hopefully it will continue, and I made the right adjustment.

SCOTT HOCH: Well, it's grown, not overly so, but it's gotten a lot better than it was when I first got here. I really like this course. I haven't scored on it particularly well the last couple of years. I'm really hitting short right now, but I think I might have figured out something the last few holes, although I did miss some fairways, but I figured out why I'm not turning it over, and I was really hitting it short, and by doing that, I was having to hit longer irons on the greens. But while I'm hitting them really straight, that's not a problem. But I'm not always going to hit them straight, so I need to get them uphill where I can hit a club or two left.

SCOTT HOCH: Well, I'm just going to go out there and the old phrase, just do the best I can. Just go out there and hit the shot, not try to think ahead too much, just take one shot and try to concentrate on it, and not lose my concentration. So if the weather is good there will be a lot of people out here and there's going to be a lot of commotion, so keeping your concentration is paramount.

SCOTT HOCH: Yes, I did, and I played -- I wouldn't say, awfully -- poorly the last day, but every club I pulled was the wrong one, every yardage I had was wrong, every putt I hit. Other than that, it was a good day. It was -- we had ideal conditions and then Sunday things changed and I didn't adjust to it, and once I made a few bogeys I started pressing, which -- that shouldn't be the case anymore.

SCOTT HOCH: Nothing owes you, no. You've got to go out there and play well. And you have to play well because the other guys that are here aren't going to give it to you. So they're out to try to catch up to you and I'm going to have to play well to see that they don't do that.

SCOTT HOCH: Well, sure it did, yesterday. But after being up there yesterday, then you kind of think about it, the things I've been working on and trying to do I did well again. I made a lot of putts. I didn't have any tap-ins, they were all within 12 feet, right to left breaking downhill putts which usually aren't the ones you want, but those are the ones I was making. Seemed like I had them about every hole. So luckily I did make some.

SCOTT HOCH: No, if you really feel good about your game and feel solid and feel really confident, it just feeds on it. But that wasn't my case. It felt good to play much better than I had been, and score well, but it was something that it's a day-to-day thing, and I just wanted to go out there and try and maintain what I had done the day before and if I didn't, so be it. But it seems to be getting better, and I'm getting more confidence in it. So I'm looking forward to the weekend.

SCOTT HOCH: Sure, give me an eight, ten shot lead I'd love it. But that won't happen. You always like to be -- I always like to be leading, then you don't have to catch up. You can have a few mess-ups and make some bogeys and whatever and don't worry about it too much. But if you're behind and do it then it's trouble.

SCOTT HOCH: Let's see, what did I do? First hole, about 20 feet. And then --

SCOTT HOCH: I had a 6-iron to about 20 feet. On 5, I had a 10 wedge to about 12 feet. On 6, I hit a 5-iron in about 20 feet. On 7, I hit a wedge in about 15 feet and a divot on that one, I had two divot shots. On 8, I hit -- I think I hit a 6-iron in and I hit that about ten feet. 11, I hit a sand wedge in about ten feet. On 15, I hit a 9-iron in about 8 feet. On 17, I hit a 9-iron about 12 feet. On 18, I drove it in the rough, hit as good a shot as I could to the green, just got on the green, so what did I have, about a 60-foot putt? And left it about five feet short. Paul putted right before me and his stayed high, so I said well, played a little less break, since I had seen his. And I hit mine a little too easy and mine broke. Mine broke what I thought it would do originally. So his putt really actually messed me up.

SCOTT HOCH: I heard a noise from the crowd, which isn't a problem, it's always constant. And then all of a sudden I heard the people go shh, shh, shh, and then that was what caught my attention. So then I stepped away.