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SENIOR BRITISH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 22, 2005

Craig Stadler

ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Okay, Craig, a fine round of 3 under 68 today and you're at 1 under par through 36 holes and leading the tournament. Couple brief thoughts about the round today and how it compared to yesterday.

CRAIG STADLER: Well, I hit the ball about the same as I did yesterday, actually. I just didn't make quite as many mistakes. Some good up and downs. I'm still playing the 3 pars horribly. I think I hit two greens out of 8 so far.

But pretty much played the same way. I drove the ball fairly good. Kept it in play. Some good bunker shots. A couple good saves on the last two holes out of the bunkers coming in. Not playing great, not playing poorly, I'm just converting the opportunities I'm having for birdies. And I made one bogey today on the first hole. So if you can go around here with one bogey a day, you've done pretty well. But I would say conditions were very similar to what they were yesterday. A little cooler. Probably 10 degrees cooler or so. But very much the wind was about the same, I thought.

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Okay. We'll just run through the birdies and the one bogey. And where you had your good saves, if you could.

CRAIG STADLER: I bogeyed 1. Good tee shot there, hit a pitching wedge I hit a pretty good shot, I just hit it a little left and it caught the wind and hit left, spun right, went all the way off the green, down the hill. Made bogey there.

2, I hit a good wedge from the right side, just a good sand wedge in about five feet. Four feet. Made that.

3, I hit 3 iron about 30 feet. Made a good putt for birdie there.

6, par 5? Right? Okay. What the hell did I do there? Oh, yeah, yeah. I drove it left. I set it to the left and it didn't cut. Tough shot from the heavy stuff left and actually hit a heck of a second shot with a 7 iron over those two cross bunkers down the left side. Again, it hit the side of the slope and all the way across and into the heavy stuff on the right. Chopped an 8 iron out from there about 25 feet, made it for birdie. So that was a plus 2 hole. Could have been six very easily.

Other than that I made a very good up and down on 10. Hit a horrible tee shot in the stuff to the right. Pulled it left of the green all the way down the hill. Hit a great little pitch shot coming up the hill around the bunker about, oh, a foot or two. Made a good save there.

15, drove it in the green side bunker on the left side. Perfect spot. Came out just a couple inches or so. Birdie there.

Then 17, I hit it in the right bunker with an 8 iron. I hit a good bunker shot about two feet.

And 18 drove down the right side and the wind didn't catch it, so I ended up in the stuff over to the right. Didn't hit a very good second shot there up in the top left bunker. And again hit a good bunker shot within three feet there and made it. So a couple goods saves on the last two.

Q. If the conditions were just as difficult as they were yesterday, are you going to be slightly pleased with how well you played considering the scoring?

CRAIG STADLER: Well, I would say the conditions were the same. It had to be colder this morning. I don't know what it is now. It's the wind might, looks like it's kind tapering off a little bit this afternoon maybe. So far. But you never know.

I just, I haven't been spectacular at anything, but I've been pretty solid. The two or three times that I hit poor lag putts, I made the come back putts. But especially going out, I think I played very well going out, I haven't played very well coming in. But I hit a lot of very good knock down shots. I hit two good shots on 3 each day with 3 irons. I hit it 25 and 30 feet. Which, I mean, a couple hole in one's or something there yesterday, I think you ought to get a couple cases of wine just for hitting the green.

But I do need to improve on the par 3s. I missed 11 both days. I missed 17 both days. I've gotten away with one bogey and three pars, so. Finally I figured out that it's not a pitching wedge on 8. Which I flew about 40 yards over the green yesterday.

But the other good thing is, the other thing I think is important for me anyway is that I, the more I play here, I only played four rounds of golf here, and the more I go around it, the more I kind of learn where you want to hit it and every day you're finding new spots where you don't want to hit it as well. So and I pretty much found every one of those I think so far.

Q. Do you like the course?

CRAIG STADLER: I do. I do. It sets up well for me. I think it sets up good for a fade. Some of the tee shots are a little tough going out. I got to swing it so far left that if the wind doesn't get it, I'm never going to find it again. Now coming in, driving the ball it's pretty easy for me holding it against that left to right wind.

Q. Looking at the scores yesterday, it seemed that maybe in the afternoon that maybe four, five, six over par would win the championship.

CRAIG STADLER: It still might.

Q. Are you surprised to find yourself in such a good spot at the halfway stage?

CRAIG STADLER: No, I would rather be 8 or 10 over par, scrambling to get back in.

(Laughter.)

Q. Is it surprising to you?

CRAIG STADLER: No, I don't think. The golf course is hard, but it's very playable. As I said, if you just, you know, keep your wits about you and limit your mistakes, just make sure that your bad holes you're going to make a bogey and not a double. And make sure that you are driving it, which I have been. I mean, I've driven it pretty much, with the exception of the one little hole, 14 today, I've driven it, except for that hole, every hole where I can play it from. And I hit probably the best drive I hit all day on 14. Over that bunker. And ended up in stuff like this. And advanced the next one about 40 yards. But fortunately it was down slope and it got on the front of the green. But as I say, just, as I said earlier, to go around here with one bogey and even if it was wherever it is, but it was on the first and kind of got it out of the way and played pretty solid from there. You certainly can't complain with one or two holes over par out here. Especially if the conditions stay as they are.

Q. Is it possible to enjoy yourself or is it just hard work given the weather conditions?

CRAIG STADLER: You can enjoy yourself, but it's a lot of work as well. You certainly, you know, a lot of holes out there, especially a hole like 16. It looks like a fairly simple driver, down wind, you can get it over the hill, no problem. But if you're not careful at all you're hitting into the gorse to the left. And Johnny Chillas hit what I thought was a perfect drive today and he's dropping for his second from the bushes. So you have got to be careful. You got to work your way around this golf course. You can't just get up and blast away and find it and hit it again. That doesn't work out here.

Q. I guess a lot was to do with temperament and keeping a balance, really.

CRAIG STADLER: Well, then I probably wouldn't be your leader if that was the case.

(Laughter.)

Q. I think I think that was the

CRAIG STADLER: I'm a lot calmer with my kid caddieing for me, though. He's a calming factor.

Q. It looks like at the end of the day you'll be leading. Are you comfortable in the lead? Good front runner?

CRAIG STADLER: I don't have a problem with it.

Q. Is your record as a player a good front runner?

CRAIG STADLER: I don't know. I don't pay attention to that stuff. It's probably not good or bad.

Q. How has your season been so far?

CRAIG STADLER: It's been, this year's been a struggle. I didn't get out real well. Played one good event where I should have won, actually, in L.A., at Valencia, I hit a couple shots on the last two holes coming in that cost me. But I had, for about six, eight weeks there I had elbow and back problems, which I've never had before. I think I took, what, did I skip four events or something? I took four weeks off just to get healthy again. And I'm healthy, everything feels good. I played okay in New York. Almost won that. Had a good chance to win there. Couple weeks ago at Ford, never got anything going at Ford Players, but maybe this is what it takes. I haven't, I told them outside, I haven't made a conventional swing with an iron since I've been here. I just haven't got up and just hit a nice solid 8 or 7 or 6 iron somewhere. You can't do it. And I'm knocking down everything and trying to hold it against the wind, trying to turn it over and roll it with the wind, pitch and run and a little bit of everything. So maybe that's the wake up call my game needed. But so far so good and just, like I say, just keep trying to do the same things on the weekend I've been doing the last couple days.

Q. Are your injuries okay now?

CRAIG STADLER: Yeah, everything seems to be fine.

Q. What's your son's name?

CRAIG STADLER: Chris.

Q. What's his, what way does he keep you calm on the course?

CRAIG STADLER: Oh, he doesn't, really. I just, I have a little more sanity to me with him out there than my normal guy, I guess. Not necessarily, but I've been fine around here. You can't afford to get upset out here. You got to be patient. And so far I've done a pretty good job of it.

Q. Is this the one who played in the U. S. Open last year?

CRAIG STADLER: No. No, this is my youngest one, he's just taken up golf.

Q. How old is he?

CRAIG STADLER: He's 23.

Q. Alluding to temper, as we appear to be doing

CRAIG STADLER: You appear to be doing.

Q. Sorry.

CRAIG STADLER: You brought it up.

Q. All right.

CRAIG STADLER: No, go ahead. What?

Q. Are you calmer these days, are you more easygoing?

CRAIG STADLER: I think I've been a lot calmer in the last probably 10, 12 years. Than, depending upon how far you want to go back. Late '70, early '80s, I was a freaking maniac. And I'll be the first to admit it. And it readily hurt my game. There's no doubt about it.

But I still get upset at a bad shot. But by the time I get to the next one, I'm way over it. And I'm thinking I've been that way for probably 8, 12 years any way it's changed. And a lot changed since I started putting better. A little more consistently better. And that helps. I've always said the one I don't care if I hit a poor shot and make a bogey or make a double, but the thing that really pisses me off is three putts. And it always has. And I've very much limited those the last six, eight, 10 years. So, and accordingly, I mean, my mind still is whacked, but it's not as bad.

(Laughter.)

Q. Your past record in the Open Championships was, I mean have you always quite liked links golf? Is it something you've enjoyed?

CRAIG STADLER: I've always enjoyed it. I never had a whole lot of success at it. I played well both times at Muirfield. Played well until Sunday at Birkdale. And the year I played, I thought I played my best I finished like 20th or so. But the one year Lytham, I played very well all day, every day, and never got anything out of it. But I do enjoy it. I enjoy bump and running the ball and I made a shot like, what is the one with the wall on the berm? 13, 14?

Q. 13?

CRAIG STADLER: 13. Yeah. Drove over the berm and then I had 87 yards to the hole or something, I took an L wedge and I landed it short of the wall, bounced it over and rolled it up about eight feet from the hole. And if I, from the lie I had, you know it was a little skinny and a little down, and if I would have flown it on the green it would have gone right over, ran through, right up on the back. And you never would even consider hitting a shot like that at home. But even when I I wasn't trying to, I was trying to fly to know the front of the green and I flew it about 20 feet short and it just hit, hopped right over and right up there about 8 feet. Missed the putt, but, you know, it's just, it's fun to really, especially this week, you have to invent shots and have a very good imagination around here or you're not going to get it done. And I enjoy that type of golf. I enjoy doing that.

Q. You said in response to an earlier question that six over might win. But more realistically do you think your score 1 under could be the winning score?

CRAIG STADLER: I have no idea. And it doesn't, to me it doesn't matter. Whatever it is, whether it's 5 under, whether it's 5 over, as long as you can get in the house one better than the rest of them, then that's good enough.

Q. So you're not setting a target then?

CRAIG STADLER: No. No.

Q. You're the only man under

CRAIG STADLER: What's the reason in it? I never understood that.

Q. You're the only man under par.

CRAIG STADLER: You guys always ask the question, "2 under's leading, is it going to be 4 under? Is it going to be 3 under?" Well, don't know, don't care. As long as you get one better than everybody else that's just fine.

Q. But I'm going to say you're the only man under par that must be quite satisfying?

CRAIG STADLER: It is. Today was very satisfying. I hung in there, as I said, I took advantage of my opportunities to make birdies. Four birdies and a bogey around here is pretty good. I still, I will not say that I hit the ball perfectly, because I didn't. And far from. But I just, I kept it in play and was patient and pretty much got as much as I could out of it. But every day you finish on 18, you walk off 18 every day, and you will hear on the weekend as well, and it's very easy to just walk off the green and look at the card and think, well, there's four or five I saved. And that's the way you play around here when the wind blows like it does.

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Craig, thank you.

CRAIG STADLER: Okay.

End of FastScripts.

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