DORAL-RYDER OPEN

March 8, 1998

Michael Bradley

MICHAEL BRADLEY: I'm pretty tickled. After that putt on 11 today, I was not really sure what was going to happen after that, but I buckled down, and I hit some good irons coming in, made a good putt on 16 to tie Billy, and then I was in the left-hand bunker on 17 and could tell by the crowd that he made bogey, so I figured make two pars, odds are you might win. And I was fortunate enough to do that.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: Yeah, there was too much fringe. What I really thought about was going in the water. I really didn't realize how tough a chip I had from the fairway after I hit my second shot, I didn't realize it was that tough a chip. Obviously, if I don't make it, I'd like to have an uphill putt, but from the pin and the edge of the green is not too much room. If you miss it you better miss it short, and keep it out of the water. But under the circumstances I thought I hit a pretty good chip.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: 7-iron.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: Probably six feet.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: That's what they said. I was over the second shot, just don't miss it left. That's the only thing that can kill you. I could have fired at the flag, but if I pulled up 15 feet, 20 feet, I'm in the water. I just figured hit it right of the pin somewhere, and just try to get it up-and-down or 2-putt, worst thing that could happen making a bogey going into a playoff. But in the water you'll go from 10 to 8 and not get a playoff. I wanted nothing to do with that pin on 18.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: It was getting real stiff. It did it yesterday, too. But I think just with all the adrenaline and just the moment. If I was out there just playing with the guys, I think it might have bothered me more than it did today. I didn't have a choice today. I had to play, I had to perform. So I try not to let it bother me.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: I still don't know what happened. I got back, took a couple of practice strokes, I usually don't take anything for granted. It was a 360 degree horseshoe. I was like, okay. But fortunately I hit a good drive on 12, and I think that settled me down a little bit, because for me that's a tough driving hole for me. And to hit a good drive it settled me down a little bit. I played the hole fairly well, hit some decent shots the next couple of holes, and hit good on 14, 15 and 16, my approach shots, it settled me down.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: Which putt?

MICHAEL BRADLEY: I'd say a foot and a half, 18 inches, 15 inches, foot and a half.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: Probably. Yeah, I 5-putted from 6 feet at AT&T one year. Every time I hit it I had a 5-footer back.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: Tough. Playing such a premium in driving in the fairway where the pins are. If you drive it in the rough you have no chance. If you drive it in the bunker and draw a good lie, you have a chance, but if you're driving it in the rough, with the pins you have no chance to get it close. If you can get it 20, 30 feet, you've hit a really good shot, where the pins were today.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: The one at Callaway was about a 12-footer down the hill left-to-right, it was a 6-footer up the hill, this was easier.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: Yeah, I guess so, definitely. I'm happy it was in my home state, where I had my fans and family and friends. A lot of my friends came down to watch me play. So it was more special.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: Just going and stretching for 20 or 30 minutes. I've been in there pretty much the last guy in there, Tim Herron and I were the last ones in yesterday. And I was the last one in there today, I was the last one trying to get stretched, trying to loosen my back up and keep it warm, hit some practice balls. I hit a lot of L-wedges on the range, nice soft swings, to loosen my back up.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: Oh, that's right, I forgot about that.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: I totally forgot about that. Well, I don't know. I totally forgot about that.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: No. No special preparation, just hopefully I'll do better than I did last year.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: Yeah, I felt fairly relaxed coming down the stretch. I didn't really feel as nervous as I have been in the past. Why, I don't know. Maybe I felt like I had a better grasp of my game than I did years ago. Maybe I felt -- deep down I felt like I was a better player. So maybe in turn I was more relaxed, not worried about where the ball could go.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: After I made -- I missed my birdie putt on 12 and ran it two feet by. And after I made that, I pretty much forgot about the putt.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: No, not at all.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: No.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: I don't know. If you -- 156 guys playing, if you asked 155 guys if they'd have taken the victory they would say, "Yeah, I would have." No, not really. Yeah, this is more special to win a 72-hole event, obviously. A win is a win, but this is definitely more special, just because it was 72 holes, the toughness of the golf course, the strength of the field and just the way I played and having to do something coming in the last hole was really special to me.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: Oh, yeah, I'd rather be one up than one down going into 18, especially that hole. I hit a good drive. That was the key for me, I just said get it out there somewhere, and I figured if I'm in the fairway, I should have a decent chance to make four.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: I've always been a streaky player, that's just me. I've always been streaky, especially with my putting. My ball-striking for the most part is pretty consistent day in and day out, but I think putting is where I have my lapses sometimes. I don't putt as well some days as I do others.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: It was with a 7-iron.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: No. If I hit that with a 5, I would have been taking my ball out of the water.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: 170.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: 6-iron.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: No, I was appreciative that the crowd acknowledged my play for the previous 71 holes. And I was going to enjoy the moment, regardless if I had gotten up and happened to chip it in the water and made double and finished 8, and didn't get in the playoff. I was going to acknowledge the crowd. It was nice for them to do that, and I enjoyed the walk.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: It's not life or death for me anymore. It's a cliche, and people say, sure, but it's really not. I would have been disappointed if I hadn't won. I would have been disappointed if I lost by a shot or two, but like I said, it's not life or death for me.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: I think when I was younger. I think I had more intensity when I played, probably back in Junior Golf and Amateur Golf. I think I was a little more intense.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: That's never been me. I've never been one for the limelight. I've never liked to be the focus of attention. I always kind of like to be on the side and just kind of -- not just get by in life, but I've never been the one to be the center of attention, that's not my personality. But I came to the conclusion here a couple of years ago that if you're going to play golf and you're going to be out here and play year in and year out, you're going to have to -- you're going to have to deal with it or you're not going to play out here, simple as that. You can't go out and barely make the cut and finish 50th every week, and keep your card, it's not going to happen. There has to be a point in time where you have to say, "Hey, don't be afraid anymore, just play."

MICHAEL BRADLEY: Just like I said, getting nervous down the stretch, not trusting my swing, having negative thoughts, just the basic stuff that golfers have.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: I felt very positive, very comfortable today, none of those thoughts crept in my mind today.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: I don't know, maybe because it's not life or death for me anymore. It's a job, but it's also -- it's a job that you want to love to play, so I like playing golf. It frustrates me especially coming down the stretch or whatnot, that I know I can do better than I'm doing. It frustrates me and I've had that for a long time. It just eats at you. If I was no better than a guy that's going to come out and make the cut on occasion, finish 30th or 40th, but I know I have more talent than that, and not to be able to show that on the golf course frustrates me.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: Not as much now. Like I said yesterday, I've always known I have the physical talent to play out here, it's just mentally it's held me back. But I think that going back to the -- not being the center of attention, exposure and all that, I've been kind of the shorts and tee shirt kind of guy, not the three-piece suit.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: Hopefully. All I can ask for myself when I tee up on the first hole is just try every shot, give 110 percent, that's all I can ask of myself. If I go out and try on every shot and don't give up, I can live with the result now, regardless of what it is.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: Make the putt. I felt like I putted fairly well today, I really didn't make anything, had a lot of balls running over the lip. I was fortunate that was about the easiest putt I could have had on that green, I had a 6-footer and basically straight up the hill, maybe a hair left, but not much. It was the easiest putt I could have had. In that respect I was fortunate that I didn't have an 8-footer downhill or 7-footer swinging left-to-right or whatnot.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: If you go back and watch the tape, I made a couple of good putts, but I didn't perform well down the stretch. 15, I hit it in the bunker and knocked it out 20 feet and made it. 16, I made a good drive and had an L-wedge in my hand, and knocked it 40 feet by the hole. And I drove it good on 17, had a sand wedge and hit it 20, 25 feet. 18, I blew way right, and blew it in the grandstands almost, and chipped it up 10 feet and made it for par. You can't win golf tournaments coming down the stretch like that, I was hanging on.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: Yeah, a little bit. But hopefully I've grown, and I will continue to grow from this experience as I get older.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: Yeah, like I said I didn't realize my chip was that tough when I walked up there, and I walked up there and I saw I was 12 feet over the back of the green and I saw the slope, and I was going, "This isn't going to be as easy as I thought it was." All I can say is, like I said, I'm delighted. I'm really happy. I hit a good chip, good putt, and I beat a good field this week, kind of in my backyard. I couldn't ask for anything better.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: I think he had put a little nick in it. I said, "Yeah, take it out."

MICHAEL BRADLEY: It obviously gives you the confidence. It's nice to be able to perform under pressure, the spectators and the media and the TV crews, and your peers. I think you get a new respect from your peers, too. I'm not saying that they don't think you're a good player, but I think they're going to respect you a little more now. Not that they didn't respect you before, but I think there's just that little edge now.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: I'm really debating if I'm really going to play Honda. The only reason because of my back, and now I'm going to Augusta now, I figured I'd probably play the Florida swing and take two weeks off, rest my back. But now Honda, Bay Hill, TPC, and then one week off and then go to The Masters and I play MCI and I play Greensboro, it's like where does it end? Especially with my back, and I'm afraid -- I don't want to do too much to it. I don't know, I'm going to call my wife and see what she thinks. It's only been three weeks for me in a row, but it's going to be six after THE PLAYERS Championship if I keep on going.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: She was a bride's maid in a wedding today at 5:30. She had to leave on Friday, and she was actually coming back down.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: I talked to her this morning.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: No. The wedding was 5:30, and it's almost ten to seven.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: No, she's not that type. She's pretty good about that stuff.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: 1, I drove it just in the first cut, and hit a 7-iron, just kind of ran it up the front fringe, about five feet off the green and chipped it up about two feet and made it. 16, I hit a horrid drive, that was probably my worst drive of the tournament on 16. I had this big old slice cut in the bunker and had 152 yards and hit a really solid 8-iron, about 12 feet, and it was pretty much right up the hill, maybe just going a touch left. And made it.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: I've worked with my father, he's been my only teacher.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: John Bradley. I'm not a mechanical swinger, I can't think mechanically when I get on the golf course, I just try to pick out a target and set up and swing. I can't think mechanics on the golf course. And that's what I like about my father, because he doesn't teach mechanics.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: He's retired. In fact I think in '54 and '55, I think he played out here part-time, in 1954 and '55. He's a lifetime Class-A, he retired here five or six years ago. The place where I play, he gives lessons. I play out at -- actually Bloomingdale Golf Club at River Hills.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: Yeah, I was pretty much born and raised on a golf course.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: The earliest golf course I can remember would be Diamond Hills. I was probably about 6 years old, five, six years old, I can remember being out there with my father. He used to be out with the guys playing, and he'd let me tag along and hit shots. I spent a lot of my time growing up with my father.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: Not really. I think it's fortunate that you can have someone that you're close to like that that can teach you, because all I have to do is hit a few balls, and he knows my swing so well, it's usually one of a few things that goes wrong, so he knows pretty much what's wrong.

MICHAEL BRADLEY: No, he was actually -- my mom and my father got sick from my daughter, Brooke, they were over and they got something and got sick, so they're kind of just getting over being sick. But he'll be at Bay Hill and at THE PLAYERS Championship and I guess at Augusta now.