THE HONDA CLASSIC

March 12, 1999

Eric Brooker

ERIC BOOKER: Forget about the score card because I don't know where I made my birdies.

ERIC BOOKER: You guys know what I did; right? Why do I need to know?

ERIC BOOKER: You guys were on me yesterday so I thought I would try to pay more attention.

ERIC BOOKER: Let's see, the par 5, long hole.

ERIC BOOKER: You know, the par 5s out here all play about the same to me. I just -- I always leave myself about 90 yards to the pin, so it is basically a driver, whatever my lay up is going to be to that distance. That hole there I almost holed it out, it was about two feet, made that to start the day and holed 4. Then 6, I hit like a -- let's see, I hit a little 8-iron in there, about, oh, about five feet past the hole, made that. The next hole -- I actually had -- that was a good putt there. I had a left-to-right brake on that and it was about 30 feet. I hit a bad shot left to the hole, it was downhill and must have had a three foot break and just gauged the speed perfectly and it dropped right in the hole, so I was just happy to 2-putt there, hit a good putt and it went right in. No. 9, hit a good drive hit a nine in the bunker, hit the bunker shot out about four inches, you know, simple 32, I wish it was that easy all the time. On the backside, those two birdies there, actually both puts were, you know, probably out about 20 feet.

ERIC BOOKER: 13 and 14.

ERIC BOOKER: 13, I hit a -- I was pretty proud of myself on that hole because it is a short hole, but the pins tucked right, so you have an option to maybe hit like a 3- or 4-iron off the tee, hit yourself like a 9-iron into the pin, but the way the pin was and the green slopes away from you there, so if you take 3-wood over that left side and hit it just right, you have a direct shot at the pin, which is the play I took and so I was just sitting there, you know, perfect and hit, you know, pulled a sand wedge a little bit left and had a little left to right put there and made it.

ERIC BOOKER: I think the big putt, I had -- what was that, 16, par-3?

ERIC BOOKER: 15, par-3, I hit 5-iron and came up short, and then my chip checked up a little bit and, you know, I had to make like an 8-footer for par, which I did. And also 17, I hit a good drive, but I was in the rough, kind of had -- I didn't -- I had an awkward stance, I had to stand out of the bunkers, so I was right up on top of the ball and had to hit it like 166 to the pin and choked up on a 7-iron, and I had to go a little steeper in my swing. I hit a good shot, went a little right, a little flop shot that came out about two feet from the hole and made that for par. I hit a good driver on 18, which was the key on that hole, you just got to aim it at the corner of those bunkers, you hit a solid shot, perfect. If you're in the bunkers, hopefully you got a decent line and still make par from there. So the game continues. Go off into the weekend.

ERIC BOOKER: Well, you know, it's nice to go out there and -- when you shoot 65, 63, generally, you know, it's difficult to come back with a decent round, so I kept my composure well, went about my business and, you know, had a good round. That's the game plan tomorrow. Obviously there's going to be -- you know, it is going to be the question how is this Booker guy going to play on the weekend. I'm kind of curious myself. But that's what I'm out here for. I'm trying to get myself in these kind of situations and, you know, more times I'm in this room talking to you guys and fighting for the championship on the weekend, you know, I'm going to breakthrough. I don't know if it is going to be this week, I hope it is, but somebody has got to win this tournament and it might as well be me.

ERIC BOOKER: No, not really. Actually the last seven, eight weeks I have been disappointed. So I'm actually really relieved.

ERIC BOOKER: How good am I at what?

ERIC BOOKER: Oh, at karate.

ERIC BOOKER: Yeah, we need to update that. That was a few years ago that I met a guy, I was giving golf lessons too, he was a black belt, actually a police officer in Detroit, Michigan, I was giving him some golf lessons and he was relating things to karate. At the time I was interested in, you know, karate for, basically golf, it was a lot of mind control and discipline involved, and also, you know, just for self-defense. But I wanted to kind of learn the stuff that you could use. I don't want to be in there with the katas, even though I practiced, which are the motions that you learn for positioning, you know, where it becomes second nature to you, you know how to move properly, if somebody is bothering you, you basically know how to defend yourself. It was really interesting to learn about the pressure points on the body, and the areas where you could actually get -- somebody is bothering you in a bar, or wherever, you can get their attention real quick by just putting your fingers in the right place.

ERIC BOOKER: I don't know if I can take care of myself. What I'm trying to do is hopefully I'll get the person to think twice about messing with me by just, you know, doing a few moves on him.

ERIC BOOKER: No. No.

ERIC BOOKER: No, I kind of did private training with this guy. He is the Master up in Michigan, or actually, you know, went to the Olympics and was a champion in the Olympics. He doesn't like his name thrown around, but his nickname was the Angel of Death. He was -- he knows Chuck Norris back in that -- I mean he's from that time, but he's about five foot six and, no. You know, obviously built like a stump. Just a solid -- nicest guy. He is the first guy you pick on in a bar. If somebody is looking for a fight, I'm going to take the little guy over there and that little guy will probably kill you in a matter of 10 seconds.

ERIC BOOKER: Yeah, I haven't seen him in a while, but I hear he's pretty good. He's actually improved quite a bit. I wound up working with the police officer, then we got to know the other gentleman, and then I kind of was teaching both of them at that time.

ERIC BOOKER: I saw him -- he actually teaches Ishu-Ru karate, he's impressive. He trained -- this is when he was a teenager, this guy trained like I would train for golf, he trained for karate and obviously going to the Olympics you gotta be pretty good, and his father was in the Marines and actually met, I don't remember the gentleman's name that started Ishu-Ru karate over there on the islands, you know, the kind of people if you touch them, surprise them or something they react in the proper way, so.

ERIC BOOKER: I'm always nervous, that's just part of the game. You have to sort of work constantly work on your composure and confidence while you're playing so that you can perform. I did notice that they got a little bigger on the back, but, you know, basically I don't look into the galleries. If you're playing well people are trying to get your attention, they want to get the leader to look at them or say hi, whatever. Next thing you know you see somebody you haven't seen in 20 years and then you got to hit a tee shot and you are thinking about high school, you know, something. So you gotta sort of keep your mind on your game.

ERIC BOOKER: No, it's just the way my life has kind of matured. You know, some guys -- good things happen to them at an early stage. I could have been out here eight years ago if I had the right financial backing and the right support. It just took me a while to get that. I actually went to work for five years, saved all my money so I could sponsor myself and then I actually got some help from some people, but, you know, it's all about a support system out there. I don't care what sports you're talking about, basically it's business. You've got to have people around you that love you and want to see you succeed. It's nice if they're rich, too, somebody can help you out there because this game is expensive and it's -- you gotta have money to improve. These guys are trying to make it out of college and they got a couple of thousand dollars to play in a couple of professional events, that's not going to get you anywhere, they're just throwing money away. But you really need to get people behind you. It's nice if you grow up in a nice country club, you know, your parents have money or you're around people that do and they kind of give you a support system. I just never had that and so it took me a little longer to get where I want to be to fulfill my dream. It doesn't really matter, you know, when you get there, it's what you do when you get there.

ERIC BOOKER: My dad was in the cement business up in Michigan, and he retired fairly young. He actually retired ten years too soon as far as I'm concerned. If he worked another ten years I'd be okay, but he doesn't like hearing that. You know, you just go about your business, there are all kind of hurdles out there. You got gentlemen out there to get where you're at had to go, you know, through whatever, hard times, or trying to get -- impress the right person, meet the right person to open the door for you, that's basically the same in golf.

ERIC BOOKER: Team Tabasco company is called Chile wear and they are -- the gentleman that started up this clothing company is good friends with the family that owns Tabasco. I don't know the particulars of the deal, but they bought the rights to the Tabasco name. They're paid whatever fees they're paid for the name and they started to design some clothing. When I came out this year, I think they got like 12 or 13 players that are wearing it, like Steve Pate, you've probably seen him, he's playing well this year. I kind of like the clothing. It is a little different than your standard white polo shirts, you know, it's got a little bit of color to it and it's getting a lot of attention. This one is a little faded, but they got some nice -- they got some real nice stuff. It's kind of neat.

ERIC BOOKER: People want to know how they can get some shirts. Oh, I like your shirt, where do you get them. I don't even know where they're at. They're new, they've been out for a couple of years, you know, I'm sure they're trying to get into the Dillards of the world, and pro shops, but I haven't seen any clothing.

ERIC BOOKER: Yes, I went up to Michigan, where I'm originally from and started working in PGA section, get my class A, which is your qualification to be a head pro and then I ended up working at Warwick Hills for my last three years before I qualified to play the Nike Tour and then I have been playing ever since.

ERIC BOOKER: Well, you know, everybody playing this tournament can win. They've all won somewhere at some level. To win at this -- to win on the PGA TOUR is very difficult and I think what -- there's no lead that's ever safe. You just gotta really be tough. I mean I'm talking mentally tough and you've got to really believe in yourself, and basically you're learning to do that out here every week. I know I got the talent to win, it is just a matter do I -- can I do it.

ERIC BOOKER: Well, the tough thing is going out there and doing what I know how to do, just go about my business and stay focused out there and don't get ahead of myself, don't think about winning, you know, doing a lot of stuff you all know I should do. The good thing is I have been doing this for a while, I'm just happy to be in this situation, to be in this position.

ERIC BOOKER: I think in the long run I think people -- I mean if it was me and Nick Price coming down 18, I think they'd rather like to see me win this because Nick Price is a millionaire and I'm not. So I think everybody likes to be involved, if it's basketball, or whatever sport, so I like to -- it always makes it easier for you to play if you got people rooting for you than rooting against you.

ERIC BOOKER: Well, I hope it happens. I don't know what it is, it must be the karma here I think. Monday qualifier, Kenny Knox, right back in '86 or something.

ERIC BOOKER: Yeah?

ERIC BOOKER: Yeah, they're coming along.

ERIC BOOKER: Gordon Booker