FEDEX ST. JUDE CLASSIC

June 26, 1997

John Wilson

JOHN WILSON: That is part of the game. Got off to a good start. Had about 9 putts the first 9 holes and 14 holes, we still had 14 putts. And, I drove the ball pretty good today. I hit two bad shots. One on 14 -- actually, 3 bad shots. 2 on 14. I hit 2 balls in the water there, but, overall, really satisfied with my game. Golf course played about as easily as it could today. Just about every par 5 was within reach for longer hitters. And, I don't consider myself a longer hitter. But, you know, you can still get it close enough to where you can hit a chip and we probably left, besides the hole on 14, we made bogey at 18, but I think, besides that, I left one shot out of the golf course. I made just about everything I looked at today. And I have I really got to give credit to Ping because they finally sent me out a putter that feels good.

JOHN WILSON: No. Because I am probably 1 for 4 of making the cut here. I have never shot better than 68. And, I called my wife last night and, you know, I said I should just come home, you know, just take this week off because I haven't played here well yet. I think our best finish is about 20th in 1991. And, she said, you know, just hang in there and, you know, don't come home 'til you make a bunch of money. So, I told her I will stick it out and I will come home the week of the PGA. I still got a long stretch ahead of me.

JOHN WILSON: Yeah. This is my 27th straight day of golf and three more days will make 30. Monday I have got a Pro Am. Tuesday practice round. And I am taking -- next Wednesday I am only going to play 27. So..... Next Wednesday I am going to go out to Jerry Rich's place outside of Chicago. It's his own golf course. He has got about 25 greens and 50 tees. And I was there in Chicago Saturday, Sunday and Monday of this past weekend, and we got to play every one of his holes. And there is a par 3 and par 4 and par 5 to every green. So, I mean, it is really unique. He has got 2,200 acres of farmland and I went out there and practiced all day Monday and kind of gave me a good feeling about the week. So was able to get off by myself and, you know, collect my thoughts. When you are on the road all the time, sometimes you just don't really have time to think for yourself.

JOHN WILSON: Obviously I missed right. Hit a 6-iron and, you know, I felt pretty good. When I addressed the ball about halfway through the backswing, I decided I was going to hit a cut. Top of the backswing, I was going to hit a draw. About two-thirds of the way down, I was going to hit it straight. I ended up pushing it. I didn't guess right on any one of those swings. Not any -- none of the thoughts weren't any good. Then I had a drop which wasn't pretty. I dropped it in some hay. I chunked it right in the water. Again, luckily, it cleared a little bit of land so didn't have to hit the same shot again. I was able to chip up to within about a foot and take my customary 1-putt for the day for a nice little 6, but, I came back and birdied the next hole and hit a pretty good shot in the par 5 for my third shot, kind of spun back about 15 feet and I 2-putted there. But, I was very satisfied with my game today.

JOHN WILSON: I had about four feet on one and about 15 feet on 2, about five feet on 3. And, really didn't hit those putts, the first 3-putts, very good, but I thought I really made a good stroke on No. 4 and just went to the right edge, knocked it right on the right side of No. 5 and chipped it up and with the greens being a little soft - I didn't practice my chipping this morning - the ball kind of came up ten feet short and just missed it. And, then I knocked in about 35-footer on 6. And then hit a good drive and 4-iron into 7 and knocked in about 18 feet, maybe 15 feet. Then next hole I made another bomb. But I'd come to Loren Roberts' Pro Am about five weeks ago I had basically the same putt, so I told my caddie, I said, get it out of the hole, because I have hit this putt before, and made a good 2-putt on 9. Got a little distracted on the -- one of the marshals about the middle of my backswing called over to another marshall across the fairway on No. 1 and, you know, just my concentration wasn't real good at the time and I ended up a little bit short. But, knocked 5-iron in there about five feet on No. 10. I said, "Oops, here we go again." And, I got it up-and-down on 12 and then 14, I had kind of a brain cramp there and knocked it in off the green about 20 feet on 14 -- on 15.

JOHN WILSON: I don't know, broke about four feet but it was about, I'd say, about 30 feet.

JOHN WILSON: Last night. I call home about three times a day, minimum. And, I got four kids at home and my wife can't handle them all. So I had got to do the reprimanding over the phone. They usually just say, yeah, dad yeah, I won't do it again. But by the time I hang up, they are at it again. My wife is probably my biggest supporter.

JOHN WILSON: It's expensive. Yeah, I do, but it is expensive. I have get a daughter going to summer school now, so I told my wife if we can just hold off on vacation coming out in the summer and not go to our rental property up in the mountains that we will take them down to Australia this fall. So, if we are in contention over the weekend, my wife will fly out. She hasn't had a lot to come out to the Tour for lately.

JOHN WILSON: Sure do.

JOHN WILSON: About a thousand square foot. How did you know that? You read it in the media guide. I got an 18 year old son that maintains it. He is going off to college in the fall and I don't know what I am going to do. I give him $25 a month to mow it five days a week. That is pretty fair - for me.

JOHN WILSON: No, tees up, only played 185 yards there, is 18 feet right of the pin and 160 yards left of it. And I hit it right of the pin. There is no -- I haven't had too many negative thoughts like that. Been working with my teacher, Craig Chapman. He has been out the last two weeks, just went home after Westchester. Mike Springer also works with him. He has got us both swinging pretty good. Kind of thing we have been lacking is the putter. He just says just trust your stroke, being a little more conscious at impact rather than your stroke and impact today was pretty good.

JOHN WILSON: I didn't play the Pro Am. I played nine holes on Tuesday. I played the back 9.

JOHN WILSON: Oh, when we were here six weeks ago there wasn't a hole lot of grass, but the greens were in good shape and so, Loren is with the same management company I am with, and, you know, I just kind of got a feel for the course. It doesn't change much from year to year. I was just seeing if there is any new tees or they made any length additions. But, the course is the same as it was last year.

JOHN WILSON: No, I mean, same thing that goes through my mind if I made 14 pars, you know, just get up there and hit the best shot you can. Sometimes you become -- some guys aren't comfortable at being under par like that. And, I have shot 59 a couple of times back home, and scared (sic) it a couple of more times. So, it was nice, I played Colonial yesterday, and I was thinking, geez, 59 at this golf course and they have new greens and they told me how bad the old greens were and it was a little bit of an inspiration yesterday - so much, that I hung around an extra hour went out and drove around the golf course again. Go back and see that once in a while. Would be nice to have a Pro Am over Colonial, wouldn't it? Is that it fellows?