DORAL-RYDER OPEN

March 5, 1998

Curtis Strange

CURTIS STRANGE: Well, I played -- scored very well. I've been scoring okay. I don't know, I played a little sloppy. Hit some good, some bad. But I score well, and obviously don't like to finish with a couple of bogeys, but it's not the first time I've ever done that and it won't be the last. I hit some decent shots on the last two holes, so I can't be too disappointed. But I played okay. I'm happy with -- I'm tickled to death with 68. I've been hitting it okay. I'm getting a little bit of confidence back, a little here, a little there. You never know.

CURTIS STRANGE: I only played nine holes yesterday.

CURTIS STRANGE: That was on the first 9 and I quit -- no. I quit, I went to bed. I had to go to bed, I'm fine today. But I was in bed all day. Please, I'm fine. Allergies, I guess, I don't know. I was nauseated. My games made me nauseated.

CURTIS STRANGE: I played three tournaments so far this year, and I played poorly in the Hope, but I shot two good rounds in the Hope, and shot some decent scores, I played at Tucson, I played two poor last rounds of even par and one under. You get passed by the world on that. I was right in there both tournaments to finish well. So I went home and practiced. And have been practicing good here this week, or hitting it solid this week. Who knows, I haven't been playing real well, so for a long time, so each day I have to take as it comes, and each day is a little different. I'm hitting it okay. I'm doing all right. I guess more than anything else, to answer your question, my short game is real good right now, for some reason. I'm saving some shots here and there, and making a few birdie putts. If you're doing that, it certainly makes the rest of the game easier.

CURTIS STRANGE: Good, other than these allergies or something I get down here every year, I'm fine. Does something look bad or do I look wrong?

CURTIS STRANGE: Actually, I forgot. I'm fine, now. Yeah, it lasted three and a half weeks, and you never know when it's going to leave. I found out one thing, if you ever have anything wrong, do not get on the Internet. It will scare you to death. Really, I'm serious. I could play. I practiced at home during that time a little bit and it was -- other than wanting to rip your eye out every once in a while, I was okay. I was working out, practicing. I just couldn't move the left side of my face. And D.A. Weibring had a hard time with it, I guess he had a hard time with it still. It took two or three weeks to get back a hundred percent.

CURTIS STRANGE: I got it Christmas Eve. Spent Christmas Day in the hospital.

CURTIS STRANGE: They don't know. They don't know. I guess it is. All it is is a virus that gets that 7th cranial nerve, that affects the muscles -- don't miss that -- the 7th cranial nerve that affects the muscles in the side of your face. And it gets a virus. I had a bad cold, and I actually thought it was the vodka, I didn't know (laughter.) But it went away, I was lucky.

CURTIS STRANGE: No, they can't really do anything. They can put you on steroids a few days for the inflammation and swelling, and that's it. There's different things you can try, but other than just kind of waiting it out, that's all.

CURTIS STRANGE: No, I tell you the truth we were having dinner at the club Christmas Eve and I looked at Sarah and said I can't work my left eye. I can't blink my left eye. She said I noticed that. I woke up the next morning and was completely paralyzed. I talked like this, is the way I talked (indicating). I had to hold my mouth, I was going to TFC to work. I had to hold the left side of my mouth and then I could talk. D.A. had pneumonia, the virus gets that nerve.

CURTIS STRANGE: Yeah.

CURTIS STRANGE: I just drooled a little bit. I tell you the things you end up doing, like I said, you know how -- you never realize how tender around your eye is until you play with it and trying to blink and pulling on it. Then you get irritated in the eye and you want to rip it out. You bite the side of your mouth a hundred times a day, and the left side of your tongue. And tell you another character is your left ear or your ear volume is raised a couple of notches, I mean your hearing.

CURTIS STRANGE: It was better, yeah. And I couldn't sit next to Sarah at a basketball game. She blew me way. The volume is raised a couple of notches, for whatever reason. Really that was true.

CURTIS STRANGE: Yeah, really do. I don't want to sound -- the reason I hesitate, I don't want to sound like one good round or a couple of rounds -- hey, I know I have a lot of work to do. I had a really good chance last year. I think the opportunities are fewer than they used to be, but yeah, I still think so. Every year I have -- no matter how you play you end up near the lead somewhere on Sunday once or twice, and so, yes, to answer your question. But I don't say that with a huge amount of confidence, but it turns out you do. Every year you have one or two chances to do well, and what hurts then is that you haven't been in the lead or near the lead for quite a while, so you have to -- it's tougher.

CURTIS STRANGE: I am. I've told them and I've told you all, and I'm first and foremost a player right now. And when I'm not, I'll let you know. I'll play 20 or 21 tournaments this year. That's about -- it's about all I'll play if I wasn't doing TV. I might play a couple of more, but no more than 23 or 4. With TV I'll do 17 this year, and that puts me on the road for 30 weeks this year. And that's way more than I want to be at 43 years old or right now. I feel like I have a great opportunity with ABC, and I don't want to let that go by. That's why I success it up and I'll do that for a while.

CURTIS STRANGE: No, I've heard people say that. I don't know what they mean yet. I don't know how. The way you improve is on that practice tee, as far as I'm concerned, not watching golf. I've heard both Murphy and Colbert talk to me about it. I'd rather be out there doing it than talking about it late Sunday afternoon. I enjoy the other part. It's fascinating. It's more difficult than some people give it credit, and to really try -- to go from -- to explain to the people and let them understand what these guys are going through, and some of the inside stuff on -- I don't know if it's just strategy or what they're feeling or the type of shots they're trying to hit, trying to relate that to the public, because I always got into that, that's why I think it's neat. So I'm trying to make it where they understand the game a little better. Trying to. And I don't think I'm doing anything that other people haven't done. But it's just another southern accent on the air, who knows, I don't know (laughter.)

CURTIS STRANGE: I don't remember if I did or not, I'm honest with that. I don't remember.

CURTIS STRANGE: No, I wasn't going to throw it. I had two more holes left.

CURTIS STRANGE: Do you?

CURTIS STRANGE: At that point in time I made plenty, so I couldn't get too upset with myself. That's all part of trying to play the game and knowing how to play the game. Sometimes you can do a better job than others. That's as important a part of this game as hitting two irons on the middle of the green. It's learning to control your emotions and using them for the next shot, and not live in the past and live on that shot and things like that. So those who do, do well. Those who don't, don't do very well. And the best of the world has never done it all the time, either.

CURTIS STRANGE: They are. I was surprised. Like I said, I didn't practice yesterday afternoon, and they have more grass than they've had in a long time, and they're quick, they're very quick. The course is in the best shape it's ever been in, simply because of the new grasses in the fairway, and whatever it is 419, I don't get into that stuff. But the fairways are perfect, and the greens are always pretty good down here.

CURTIS STRANGE: Well, there's so much sand out there you don't get in the rough very often. Miss a fairway and you're in sand, miss a green and you're in sand. It's out there. With the greens being firm, to hit it in the rough you're going to hit flyers, it's tough to stop on the green. Birdied one, up-and-down from the left bunker to about a foot. Parred 2, 3.

CURTIS STRANGE: Hit a 4-iron to about ten feet and made that. 5, 6, 7, hit a 7-iron to 12 feet, made that one. 10, up-and-down from the right bunker for birdie. 10, it was three or four inches. Then hit a wedge to 14, to about 6 feet, made that for birdie. 6-iron to 10 feet, made that for birdie. Missed the green on 17 and hit a poor chip, made bogey. At 18, hit a driver, 5-iron and 3-putted.

CURTIS STRANGE: Had kind of a -- it was 40 feet, yeah. I had a good second putt.

CURTIS STRANGE: No, it was seven or eight or 9. It was not --

CURTIS STRANGE: I guess, I don't know. It was a real tough putt, and I just didn't -- I kind of hit a little fat. I've already forgotten. You asked and I've already forgotten.