BOB HOPE CHRYSLER CLASSIC

February 13, 2001

Curtis Strange

CURTIS STRANGE: Okay.

CURTIS STRANGE: Well, the Top-10 will make the team automatically. I don't know, we've been working on it. As all of you know, it's a huge task for any captain and wife to undertake and prepare and live up to the expectations that's been set beforehand for all the other captains and things like that. So, we've been working on it. That's pretty much it. It's just constant right now. I'm pretty much finished with all of my stuff; stuff, meaning things that I have to do. Sarah that's another sore story, because she's been helping me. But that's pretty much it. I just watch, listen, learn what the guys are playing like. It's so early, though. You have to understand that it is so early for me to even think. I look at this every week, and, you know, I look at it like probably a captain would look at it. But it really doesn't mean anything right now. There's still so much golf to be played and points to be made. So I'm just preparing myself and my situation for, you know, going over there. The players take care of themselves, you know, the Top-10 do, anyway.

CURTIS STRANGE: Brad Faxon, you know, has been playing well, and I just -- you know, he's got experience, past Cup experience. He is one of the premiere short-game talents we have on TOUR. You know, I can't -- I don't want to ever think that -- I'm not going to ever talk about an individual being on or off the team, but I just sent him a note. I sent him a note not so much as a Ryder Cup captain after he won at Hawaii, but I sent him a note as a friend of his and somebody who knows that he's coming back and still has a lot of golf to play, and hopefully, he reaches his potential, which is ahead of him. You know, I'm not going to -- as a captain, I'm not going to send notes -- I shouldn't say -- well, I support everyone. I want everybody to be playing great. I want the top 30 guys to be playing as good as they can possibly play come Sunday of the PGA Championship. But you're right.

CURTIS STRANGE: When do I start paying attention for real on how the players are playing? The Top-10 take care of themselves. I look at the remainder -- it's the first time I've done this -- probably as the summer progresses. It could be more important as it goes on, but, you know, probably mid-summer on, I suspect. But it makes a big deal playing up to the PGA Championship, I would suspect. I'm guessing right now, but I would suspect British Open on, possibly. Something like that. Because once again, it just changes so much. The points being double this year, this list has changed quite a bit in the last -- well, since this year started. You know, last year was not a whole lot of bouncing around and this year there's already been a lot.

CURTIS STRANGE: Do I have an opinion on how many captain's picks the European team has? Does it matter to me? Does it matter to my team? Well, you know, Sam is the one that is involved in that and I'm not. Sam is the one that has said that he likes the system as it is with only two picks. I don't, first, know exactly who is playing over here full-time this year. I know Olazabal is, Jimenez, Sergio, that's three, Parnevik is four, Langer is going to be or is not -- I've heard -- is he?

CURTIS STRANGE: Okay, Langer, and I don't know. What is the latest on Colin? That was back and forth, too. But anyway, they could have -- Sam could have a tough situation, tough decision to make. He certainly could. I don't know. I have a tough decision to make as well, picking two guys. But Sam could have a tough decision to make. I personally, on a personal note, want them to have the best team they can possibly field. I do, as I want my team to be what I think would be the best team that I can possibly field, because that would make for the best matches we could possibly have.

CURTIS STRANGE: Well, you know, talking about logistics. I've been to the Belfry already. I'll go back there this next summer. It is amazing to me what goes over the desk that involves the Ryder Cup. It's an eye-opener. It's fascinating. We all sit back at tournaments and say the Ryder Cup matches and whatever, and we just go and play, and we go and write about it, and we never know about with goes on -- the nuts and bolts of what happens. There's a lot of nuts and bolts that go across -- behind the scenes -- that go across my desk, and Sarah's. I'm finished with all of the outfits, all of that. I'm finished with -- everything. It's been kind of a blur, at times to think about it. Organizing with the PGA of America, scheduling with the PGA of America on the entire week. Anybody who ever says or insinuates that picking out shirts and sweaters and slacks is easy, come see me. You know, it sounds kind of easy, but it has been a big part of my last six months, it really has, and thank goodness for Sarah . Yeah, we are finished. I'm finished with that. So, just everything. I mean, everything.

CURTIS STRANGE: I got a sense from Ben that this type of thing was full-time. I haven't talked to those other guys. Kite never said much, and I've been around him quite a bit. He was more involved with the matches, and we talked about statistics and things like that every time I've seen him since I've been named. But Ben was the one that took on a huge responsibility. Remember, it was played in the U.S., so he had much more responsibility than I have. You have to remember, we are a guest. They do a lot of the stuff, most of the stuff, and so I have less to do. But it's been fun. Actually it has been fun.

CURTIS STRANGE: Absolutely. First of all, I don't know -- you know, my pick in '95 was solely up to Lanny. I never talked to Lanny once before the announcement. So other than I was picked, I don't know exactly why or whatever. What I'll do is very simply, I'm going to find the two best players that I can possibly find. You know, what that comes down to, it comes down to game. It comes down to part experience. It comes down to part heart, because it will be an atmosphere that you don't play in front of every day. It will be part of a lot different things. But the bottom line is how good a player I can find, the two best players that I can find. I've said that from the very beginning and I truly believe that.

CURTIS STRANGE: I went to the Belfry Monday and Tuesday before the British last year. I will go back and actually play the Benson & Hedges Tournament over at the Belfry opposite Dallas. I thought it would help me better understand -- they have redone the greens on some of the golf course. It will help me better understand what the players faced during the Ryder Cup matches -- and does that help us? I don't know.

CURTIS STRANGE: For them to go over there? No, I'm not going to ask them to do that. These guys are world-class players. The only player that I think has played there before is Davis Love that will maybe be on the team, possibly be on the team. The Belfry is a straightforward golf course. I will not ask them to go over there before. These guys have busy schedules.

CURTIS STRANGE: Mike Hulbert. I've had Mike. I named him shortly after me being appointed as captain. He's going to be helpful during the week. The assistant captain is there to help me and help the players in whatever comes up during the week of the matches. It is not on official appointment by the PGA of America. It is just somebody who can help in any way, shape, or form during the matches.

CURTIS STRANGE: Yeah, in '89 when I played there.

CURTIS STRANGE: They gave it what I just like to call a facelift. They give it some mounding. It is basically the same golf course but they put a little bit of character in it. They mounded around some greens for spectators. They redid all of the greens, but the greens are basically the same. They redid the third and 4th hole. That's pretty much it, what we saw, if I remember correctly. The 18th hole is the game same. The 10th hole, the great par 4 is the same. The whole back side is the same. They just redid 3 and 4.

CURTIS STRANGE: No. 3 was a good par 4 and 4 was a par 5. They made 3 a par 5 and 4 a par 4. So just -- I don't know, but it's fine what they did. All of the players over there like it. I've talked to Parnevik and I've talked to a couple of the players, and they like the golf course. But it is an American-type golf course that has no -- really not a whole lot of local knowledge, I don't think, involved. So the players will be fine.

CURTIS STRANGE: No, it's "we" when we do well and "them" when they don't. (Laughs).

CURTIS STRANGE: You make a good point, and I watched that. Obviously I would be stupid if I did not look at pairings and what Kenny did up there. I went up there on Saturday and watched all of that. But when I first played the Ryder Cup, honest to goodness, alternate shot we did very well in. In 1983 and 1985 and 1987 we did pretty well. And then it turned a little bit and we always didn't do as well in fourball. Now it has turned the other way. Why? Who knows. You're right. Everything about the Ryder Cup week throws you out of your normal routine. So those who adjust the best will play the best golf. Now, with that said, alternate shot is the game that really throws you out of your routine, and maybe -- I don't know if it is teams. I think it is -- just personalities and individuals who -- some adjust better than others. Now, remember they don't play anymore than we do, actually less now with the Presidents Cup. So they have to adjust and we have to adjust, and I think it is just luck of the draw and coincidence and everything above, I really do. I think you do have possibly a team that, on paper, do better in alternate shot than a best ball, and vice versa. You might have a team that will do better in best ball than alternate shot. It depends on the players on your team. I didn't answer your question, and I don't think I can answer your question, other than I have to wait and see the 12 players that go over to the Belfry and pair them up in what I think is best for both formats. But how well they do -- well if they win they win, and they don't they don't.

CURTIS STRANGE: Well, I understand, and being at home, I watch every minute. I'm a fan just like every other person in America, and I might understand a little bit more, but it just happens. If the guys -- bottom line, if the guys play well, they win and if they don't, they don't. And alternate shot they could play well one day or not the next, I don't know. There's really no rhyme or reason to what goes on in the Ryder Cup matches and that's part of why we all like to watch it and write about it and part of why it is such a big event now. You know, me as a player, I always felt my game was better in alternate shot because I was a birdie-making machine. So, if I paired with, say, Jay Haas for instance, we had similar games, put it on the fairway, put it on the green and didn't make many mistakes; that's good in alternate shot. Best ball, it's not worth a damn. Par is going to get you a quick ride back to the clubhouse. So it just all depends. You know, it all depends on the guys that make your team.

CURTIS STRANGE: I said last year -- how much have I changed my personal schedule with playing and broadcasting? I said last year I was not going to change at all and I don't think I'm going to change. As the year progresses, I will not change my broadcasting. I'm still going to do 18 events this year, because I'm obligated, and I want to. It will not affect me in Ryder Cup duties. If anything else, it gets me out on TOUR and I get to see the guys more. Now, playing, I'm going to play that by ear. I have a schedule for the first three or four months, and as we get closer, we'll see. We do have that long stretch up through the British Open, ABC does, so I'll probably play some of those. But as we get closer, I'll just wait and see. If I'm not prepared, if I'm up to my eye balls with ABC and Ryder Cup and worrying and things like that, then I'm not going to go spin my wheels on the golf course. Not that I haven't been spinning my wheels anyway, but I'm not going to go if I'm just totally not prepared at all. But I don't think it will change too much.

CURTIS STRANGE: What you're trying to say is should Lickliter hit a driver after Phil hit it in the junk? What you're saying -- as an analyst, everybody under the heat of competition does what they think is right at that time. Now, we all now, we are all armchair quarterbacks, and I'm not saying that after the fact, as a player when you get a chance to sit back and reevaluate what you're doing on the golf course , sometimes you might say I might have done something differently at that time. But at that time under the heat of competition when you don't have 10 minutes to think this out, you do what you think is right. So I would never be one to -- gosh, I'm trying to think. As an analyst, you certainly have got to throw it out there that playing the short of the bunker at 17, for instance might be the prudent play. But in defense of Frank, he doesn't know really where Mickelson's ball was. We are talking about one example. So he doesn't know if it is actually down in the canyon or over the rough or whatever. So he has to play the way he thinks he can play to win the golf tournament. Driving is his strength. I do know that because of what I do. So the chances of him, that he's going to hit it left in the canyon behind Phil are slim to none. Well, Slim had not left town yet. Hey, I've been second-guessed on shots I hit on the golf course and saying later on, well maybe they were right. You take offense to the second guessing but maybe they were right. And a lot of that comes up in the Ryder Cup, because you're in a situation and you're in games you are not used to playing, being match play. Match play makes you do a lot of things you ordinarily would not do. You have to play a game ordinarily you would not play. We saw that in the Match Play in Australia. So match play is a whole different animal all together. And getting back to what you were talking about with Mickelson and Lickliter, they were in a match-play situation. When Davis is out, they are head-to-head match play.

CURTIS STRANGE: What difference does it make what I think now? Go ahead and say it, stupid things. I've got to go through this a lot this year? Julius, do I have to do this a lot (Laughter)? No, I know what you're saying. He's all, no, you're on the West Coast. But no, you're right. You make -- you're right. It makes you -- it's not so much the game. It's the pressure of the game. The game itself is pretty much nuts and bolts Point A to Point B to Point C. The pressure is what makes you react differently and hit shots that make you say, "Never in my wildest dreams would I have hit a shot like that." So it is the pressure, who can handle the pressure, who can suck it up and -- I said a minute ago, I want guys who can play well, but I want guys with big heart, too, on this team. So it is all part of who can handle pressure, who can think clearly when it is like that, you know, all of the above. All of the above.

CURTIS STRANGE: Coaching style, I think my coaching style is dictated by each personality on the team. You know, I've thought a lot about this, and I always come back to basic fundamentals of these guys are world-class players. They have been in this situation as much as I have, most of them, and they know how to react to the different situations. I might just get in their way. Now, coaching style -- coaching is the wrong word. Being involved I think comes more into play if a young guy makes the team and it is his first Ryder Cup team and first team event, to prepare him for what is at hand -- not only the pressure, but the atmosphere over there, things like that. That's when I think I can become more important and teammates become more important, to get him ready for that. But, you know, the Mickelsons of the world and Lehmans, guys like that, they have been there. They don't need me to tell them things that are the obvious. Now, with that said, yeah, there's things that go on behind closed doors that have been said to me and I've learned, how to act and react to different personalities and players. So with that said, I have no clue. (Laughs) It is going to depend again on the individual and the situation and if I can add something, I don't know. Will I be Seve? No. I won't run around and be so hands-on like Seve. That's not the kind of player I am and that's not my personality. Will I be just the opposite? I don't think so, either. I just -- I'll be involved. I'll be very much involved. You can't help but be involved. That's what is part of the fun. But I can imagine how -- I can't imagine how helpless I am going to feel during some times of the matches because I'm not hitting the ball; I'm just rooting like another fan, really, and hoping he makes a putt or, you know, he hits the shot and that we win that match or win the matches. I become -- just watching. Once I make the pairings, they are big boys and, "Go play. Make me look good, guys." Really, seriously that is what it comes down to. You know, the tough part is leaving four guys out each match, because I have 12 world-class players. But with that done, the eight guys that go out, you know, I'm going to put them together if it is best ball or alternate shot, the best pairings that I can possibly put together with input from some players. I'm not -- I'm not arrogant enough. I'm not stupid enough to think that I can do this all on my own. There will be input from my assistant captain. There will be input from some of the players, yeah, that have been there a lot. I have to. That's the way it is always done. You know I've been on five of them. It's always been done like that. You have to have input, because I don't care how well I know the players, the players who are fighting each other each day know each other the best, because I'm a little bit removed from every day playing and contending out there. Thanks very much.