U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 28, 1997

John Bland

JOHN BLAND: Yeah, I'm fine. I played very, very well today and just dropped a shot at 16 and 17 but, otherwise, it was almost a perfect round of golf. I drove the ball very well in the middle of the fairways and hit everything on the greens all the way coming in until I 3-putted 16. And then I drove it in the bunker at 17. So really, the only mistake I did make was the drive at 17 where I drove it in the bunker. Otherwise, I was looking at a pretty good score.

JOHN BLAND: The course played very, very well. The greens have dried up nicely. It's just a fantastic golf course. The condition is excellent. The ball is doing exactly what you want it to do, and it's just wonderful.

JOHN BLAND: I birdied the first one. I hit it on in two.

JOHN BLAND: Big hitter. Two putts there. Then I birdied the fourth hole from about 12 feet. And all the way through that, made 33, 2-under.

JOHN BLAND: Yeah, I just drove it up to about 6 inches. It lipped out for an eagle, and I then made a birdie out of that. So that was, as I say, I birdied the fourth one from about 12 feet. That was 33. Then I birdied the par 5, the 13th hole from about 15 feet, a very difficult putt down the hill for a birdie. At that stage was 3-under for the round and 4-under for the tournament. I was tied for the lead. And, as I say, I put my second shot on the green at 16 and 3-putted, but it was a long way away going up the hill and 2 feet by the hole. Then I drove it in the bunker at 17 and dropped another shot and finished with a par at 18. So I was quite pleased with my round. It could have been a couple better, but you just take what you can get.

JOHN BLAND: Yeah, it does. We've sort of learned throughout the world -- we've played golf all throughout the world -- is to manufacture golf shots. And this does help when you get on to very hard, fast greens. You know, we keep the ball down on the ground all the time. And, I don't know about Graham, but that's what I've found that's helped me a hell of a lot this week.

JOHN BLAND: Well, you know, he's been a fantastic players over the years. He's won over 60 golf tournaments. He's a very tough competitor. Just came off a wonderful win last week, and his confidence is very high. He's playing very, very well this week. I had a practice round with him. We go back 30 years. We know one another well. I know how tough he is going to be tomorrow to beat.

JOHN BLAND: No. It goes back to Europe many, many years ago, yeah.

JOHN BLAND: Actually, I could have played much better today. The greens have gotten much quicker, but it's dried out a lot. Obviously, it's still very tricky with the wind blowing. That keeps it very tricky. The wind funnels down through the trees. But it's just a wonderful golf course to play, and it's played more or less the same over the three days. You know, we're hitting the balls, and the ball's going the same distance. So it's pretty good.

JOHN BLAND: Well, I know, as I say, Graham is going to be very tough. I think we have to shoot a low number tomorrow. Probably the lowest low round of the tournament. I don't know what the low round is so far.

JOHN BLAND: Yeah. Probably looking at 66, 65. The course is in such good condition, when you start rolling the ball well on the green and you put it on the fairways, you can do that.

JOHN BLAND: They don't need to. It's more target golf over here, and sometimes it's very difficult for us to get away from that when you've grown up -- when you've grown up for 20 years and you sort of putt the ball from off the green. Where the Americans don't really do that. They chip it, where we'll putt it from off the greens. It's just a different way. There's nothing wrong either way. It just depends on how you feel. We've obviously learned on rougher courses where your courses are more excellent condition and all that. It's more consistent.

JOHN BLAND: Yes, back in the early '70s.

JOHN BLAND: You know, we go back a long time. We played in Europe and South Africa and all over, yeah. We've known one another for 30 years. Far too long, anyway.

JOHN BLAND: Yeah, you know, we know what we've got to do out there tomorrow, and we'll just play our best.

JOHN BLAND: No. You play against the golf course. You don't worry about the other guy. You try and play -- I try and play -- every guy is different. Some guys like watching the board. I don't mind looking at the board every now and then, but I like going and playing one shot at a time, one hole at a time. I don't particularly worry about who I'm playing with or anything like that. Sometimes I look at the board; other times I don't worry about it. Each guy is individual on this one.

JOHN BLAND: Yeah, many years ago in England, we were playing the Benson & Hedges in England. We were coming down the stretch. We were tied up, and he holed a wedge on me. I've been annoyed about that ever since.

JOHN BLAND: He won the tournament. I came in second.

JOHN BLAND: No. You'll have to look it up. About '76 or '77, somewhere around there.

JOHN BLAND: Thank you.