U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 29, 1997

John Bland

JOHN BLAND: You know, he just said to me, it was a tough day. And mentally, it was a very, very hard day for both of us, but we played very well being out there in front, and it was a very tough day. The golf course was set up very, very hard, and you had to be very careful with it all the time. I think that's why you saw so many dropped shots out there. It was tough to make birdies, and it's a wonderful champion round.

JOHN BLAND: The greens have dried out. The greens have gotten faster, and the pin placements were tough. You had to think where you were going to put your drive. You had to think where you were going to put your second. The USGA did a wonderful job. I thought they did a wonderful job the way they set the golf course up for us. It was fantastic.

JOHN BLAND: The first hole, I hit only 2-wood, 2 putts for birdie. Then, I 3-putted the next green from about 15 feet, dropped a shot there. And where are we? 5, I drove it in the rough and couldn't get up to the green, and made a bogey there. And then at 7, I also drove it in the rough there and made a drop shot there to 37. That was 2-over. But still well in the golf tournament at this stage. And then pars all the way through from 8 to 14. And at 15, I also drove it in the rough, again just off the fairway, and couldn't make anything out of that, dropped a shot there. And then I had a chance at 16 to birdie. Very difficult putt down the hill, though. I hit it a little too hard from 8 feet. It would have gone 12 feet by. Then, birdied 17 from about 12 feet, and then dropped a shot at 18 out of the bunker at 18.

JOHN BLAND: No, not really. We both wanted to win the golf tournament and, you know, we went up there, and as I say, we both played pretty good today, and it's a tough tournament to win. But, you know, he is a good friend, and he's a wonderful champion. But you don't really think about that when you're out there. I'm trying to beat the golf course. I'm not trying to beat Graham. And at that stage, I was saying to my brother who caddies for me, "It would be nice to be the only guy to break par in the championship." And, you know, that's what I set my goal as: Try and make birdie at 18. I made bogey at 17 to put me back to level par. And tried to birdie 18, but that's what I was trying to do. I was trying to be the only player, and Graham happened to be the only player to break par in this tournament, which I thought was going to be very good.

JOHN BLAND: Yeah, the driver, I missed my driver a wee bit, not bad, came up just off the fairway in the rough and, you know, I thought the wind was coming off the right-hand side, so I hit a 3-iron for my second shot. I knew I had to put the ball close to the flag. I aimed it slightly right and hit a beautiful golf shot. The ball came right up the middle of the -- I think I may have hit it too well because it stayed in the air for such a long time. It never moved. It was about 15 feet right of the flag. You know, if I thought the wind had -- I think it would have come up pretty close and hit on the green, and it was the right longevity. Everything was right for me. Unfortunately, it went in the bunker.

JOHN BLAND: About the shot, obviously you try to hole it from that stage or try to get it very close. I sort of just didn't judge it properly by about a foot. I hit a very, very good putt, and that just stayed out. So, at least I didn't bite Graham's ears off.

JOHN BLAND: About 18 feet.

JOHN BLAND: Distance on the 3-iron was perfect for me. Once my brother gave me the yardage, it was 195 yards, and I know if I hit my 3-iron, as I say, it was a beautiful mark. The pitch mark in the bunker was about 10 yards of the -- pitch carried about 185, would have run up quite nasty. Quite close, but at least I would have had a chance at the putt.

JOHN BLAND: Well, it was a very difficult shot there. I had no choice. I had to drop the ball. I had no shot at it. I tried to just get it on the green a little and trickle down there. Even if I landed on the green, the closest I would have gotten it was 15 feet from the hole.

JOHN BLAND: No, I actually drove the ball very, very well today. As I say, mentally, it was a tough day, but I drove the ball in the fairway. A lot of times when I did miss the fairway, I was really just in the semi-rough, you know, except for one drive that went into the long grass.

JOHN BLAND: You know, he's a wonderful player, Graham, and I knew he was going to be a tough competitor. I said that yesterday, and he just got off to a funny start today, but then he settled down. And, as I say, it was a tough golf course today, you know, and so, you know, it's just -- he's a wonderful champion, though.

JOHN BLAND: No, I was going to the flag. I was trying to get the ball as close to the hole as possible. You know, 18-hole playoff tomorrow, that would be tough. But, you know, I just birdied 17. I was very, very confident. And, as I say, I hit a very, very good shot. It was just a matter of a couple of yards here or there.

JOHN BLAND: Well, I knew that Graham, you know, you get forced into a situation, but what I'm saying to you is, I'm still trying to get that birdie to break par in the tournament, so that's what I was aiming at. I was very confident coming off 17, just having a birdie there and going back to level par, and I desperately wanted to get a birdie on 18. So you may as well have a go at it.

JOHN BLAND: We both played pretty well, and, you know, somebody has to win a golf tournament. I would have loved to have won the golf tournament, but we're going to be here next year, and we'll fight another battle next week. So, I'm disappointed. Obviously, you do get disappointed when you don't win. But, how can I put it to you? Dick, help me out here.

JOHN BLAND: Yeah, it's difficult words. You are disappointed that you haven't won because you have played so well the whole week, but, you know, golf is a funny game. It's not a fair game at all. And nobody said it was going to be fair.

JOHN BLAND: I thought Graham would make it, you know. But when I looked at it, it wasn't that easy. He actually had a tougher putt than I did. Mine was a couple balls left and going to the right, and his looked like it was almost straight but it would go to the right. He hit a good putt, yeah.

JOHN BLAND: I glanced up at the leaderboard, but we could tell from the beginning that the course was going to be tough. The 2nd hole placement was tough, the third hole was tough. So we still had all those holes to play, and the guys were not going -- when I glanced at the leaderboard, I think Hale Irwin was the only guy that had done very well or been 4-under. Everybody else seemed to be over par. So we knew we were in for a tough day.

JOHN BLAND: No. The most pressure I ever felt was when I arrived on the Senior Tour and played L.A. and won that tournament to get into the -- after you go to the school, you know, that's the operation of the Senior Tour. You have over a thousand entries, and you only have -- they only choose eight. Many are called, but few are chosen they say.

JOHN BLAND: Thank you, sir. Thanks guys.