U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

May 29, 1996

Pat Bradley

PAT BRADLEY: It was one of those putts where your toes inside your shoes are curling, but it was a gripper.

PAT BRADLEY: Well, I think we're very fortunate to be on this golf course here and playing this major championship. It is really one of the -- I've played many -- I've been playing Opens for almost 20 years now, and this is one of the better Open golf courses that I've ever played. It just flows from start to finish. It has just a nice flow to it as you're out there playing. And there's no gimmicks out there. It is straightforward. I think a big key, of course, with many Open golf courses, will be to drive it in the fairway. On some of the long par 4's you're able to maybe bump-and-run it on some of those long par 4's. So I think it has a nice variety of golf holes. I think the last four holes coming in are really stretched and it's really going to make for an interesting finish. But I also feel that someone -- maybe more than one, but there's going to be a few that are going to get a feel for these greens, and they're going to run the table on them. They're beautiful greens. They're rolling well. There's no gimmicky slopes to them either, where you have to pass Geometry 101 to figure out a line. And I think somebody is going to get a good feel and really make a lot of putts. It could be a Lopez. They might not be quite as fast as we had had in some of the past, and Nancy just might get her feel for these greens.

PAT BRADLEY: Well, I feel very good. I had a good Open last year. And you tend to rise to the occasion when it's a major championship. This is a championship that you dream of as a young amateur to covet. I've been fortunate enough to do that in '81, but it's a different atmosphere here. Even though it's a golf tournament and you're playing a golf course, there's a feel here that is different from most, which makes it very special and very unique. But as I say, coming into this week I haven't had a bad tournament, I've been hanging in there, maybe this will trigger and will get the ball rolling here.

PAT BRADLEY: Well, I think one is if they could wait until we're finished in asking for autographs. I know between greens and tees it's going to be very -- it's going to be very compact and lots of times spectators think that's the time to maybe get an autograph, while we're going in between holes. And that's kind of hard because you're trying to maintain your concentration and your focus. The typical standing still, no movement. I think one of the keys for spectators is be sure they have lots of fluid, because once you leave this clubhouse, you don't come back to it. So they need to be sure and take care of themselves out there.

PAT BRADLEY: No. I think one of the most common distractions is fellows or somebody counting their change in their pockets. That's probably the most common. But I don't know of anything really weird. I think spectators are very knowledgeable and I think they know their etiquette very well.

PAT BRADLEY: Well, tunnel vision is -- I have had it a few times. Yes, I would like to be able to turn it on at any time, but it doesn't seem to work that way. Tunnel vision is taking yourself out of the conscious part of the mind into the subconscious. And as I say, it's easy to talk about, but it's not that easy to get into. But many a player has gotten into it, because they speak about it, and I know I have. And it's a state of mind where you are totally focused. Your thoughts are just within what you're doing. Your mind is not wandering. For four-and-a-half, five hours it is very difficult to keep your mind from wandering. But when you are in that tunnel vision, it does not wander. As I say, it's easy to talk about; sometimes it's difficult. My motivation is to win. I still feel that there are tournaments out here with my name on it, I've just got to make sure I don't take the week off at that time. But I still enjoy the competitiveness of it. I enjoy the challenge that this game gives me every day. I think that's probably one of the biggest keys is it challenges me every single day. And I'm out to meet that challenge. So that's what motivates me.

PAT BRADLEY: Absolutely, sir. My mission in life out here was to get into the Hall of Fame. And yes, I have reached that. But I honestly felt that it didn't need to end at that moment. So, yes, I am out here dedicated to win, dedicated to meet the challenges that this game gives me, and so that's why I'm here. I'm not here to bide anyone's time, it's too valuable for that.

PAT BRADLEY: Well, if it stays damp, I do believe a longer ball striker will have a little bit of an advantage there. It has to be a long striker, as well as an accurate one. But I think in the Open they try to test your creativity. Not every tournament is won by fairways and greens. You do come up against different tests. And the way these greens fall off on one side or in the back, you are definitely going to have some creativeness out there. I think -- I think of Laura, she's very creative. Laura Davies is extremely creative, and Nancy is. Also, I think Annika is a very creative player around the greens. This type of an Open could be open to many a player out here. I thought they wanted to give -- they wanted to give Laura the trophy last year at Broadmoor because the light air, she's going to bomb it, she's going to reach these par 4's on one. And as it turned out, it wasn't necessarily that way. So I think that a golf course like this, it could open -- it could bring in a number of players.

PAT BRADLEY: It is that, and the convenience of staying just around the corner does does alleviate a lot of the hustle and bustle to try to get in here. It's a trip trying to get in here with the security and all. But the convenience of having a private home not far or having rooms right here at the golf course where you can walk out your door, that's what I enjoyed last year at Broadmoor. You leave the car in the lot and you just walk to the first tee from your room. And you try to make as much as you can as easy as you can because the week is so involved, and it can -- it will get very stressful come Saturday and Sunday.

PAT BRADLEY: You know, I never really -- I just saw my time and just went with it. I know that we're on the east coast, which the times are usually later. They have been. And now we're going to be televised in two sessions. So I really didn't dwell on it, but I know a number of players have discussed it. The players that are 7:00 and 11:00, that's not bad tee times. I just saw my time and I'm just going to adjust to it.

PAT BRADLEY: Well, I think that I've seen some transitions on our tour, but I think it's the normal cycle of competition. This is my 23rd year, and I'm still enjoying my playing very much and the challenge, but I know that there are 20-year-olds that are making their way on the tour. And I made that -- I made my way on the tour with the Whitworths and the Rankins, the Carol Manns and the Haynies, so it's just the normal cycle that it's kind of a revolving door, and I'm happy to see it. I think, as you can see, the tour is very strong now in its depth; not one person will carry the tour like it might have done in years past. And I think that is very, very healthy, and we're just beginning to make noise.

PAT BRADLEY: Well, we don't have that many 54 hole tournaments. I don't think that is something to really worry about. Our stamina is just as good as the men's stamina when it comes to having to play four rounds. So that is not even an issue. The stress and the build up of an Open does take some preparing, and you need to have a moment to yourself and try to understand and know that when you walk out that door of the locker, room it's going to be a very busy time with a lot of people coming up and you just -- you know before you go out that you bide your time. And this is all involved in a major. If you let it get to you, if you let it psych you out, then you're in trouble. But you just prepare yourself. During the evening you might -- whether it be with your family or with a friend or just by yourself, you can discuss and let yourself know that, well, tomorrow is going to be a busy day, it's the first day of the tournament, I better maybe go a little bit earlier, people will be maybe wanting a few more autographs, so you just try to prepare yourself so you're not in a rush situation, you don't get taken by surprise.

PAT BRADLEY: My '81 win was at LaGrange Country Club in LaGrange, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. I can go the whole round with you, if you want, from 1 to 18.