KEMPER OPEN

June 7, 1997

David Sutherland

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Well, I'll be honest with you, I don't think I'm going to be the only guy who is going to go out and shoot a good score in the morning and all of a sudden, I mean, jump up. There's only 7 shots between the cut and first place, so obviously I wasn't, you know, necessarily thinking to myself, I'm going to shoot 65, but I actually thought -- I didn't think this would happen, and all of a sudden I would be near the lead. So, I mean, it was just an unusual situation with the cut, everybody being so bunched up.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Oh, the first hole birdie. I do need to tell --

DAVID SUTHERLAND: That was a 7-iron, I think. And I made a long putt, actually about a 30-footer. And quite frankly, the greens are significantly faster right now than they were yesterday. Of course, I finished last -- I was the last player to finish yesterday, so obviously they were spiked up and had grown a little bit. I hit a 25-footer. I thought I left a fewer feet short. It kept going, going, going. I mean, it went in it but half scared me because it was like, holy cow, these greens are fast. Then I bogeyed No. 2, so got back into my comfort zone. Then I birdied 6 --

DAVID SUTHERLAND: No, I birdied 6.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: I sure hope I did.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: I birdied 6 with a sand wedge to 2 feet, you know. Then the situation where, in looking back at my round, it was unquestionably the turning point. I hit a poor drive, the right side over the creek, hit some trees and came out okay where I could lay it up. Then I sand wedged to a birdie. So in hindsight, I suppose that was important, because if it had gone in the water or whatever, it would have been, you know, potentially bogey or so, and I turned around and made a birdie. It was an easy one too. I hit it about 2 feet, and so that was a birdie. Then I birdied 8 with a 4-iron to maybe 10 feet, made it.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: 11, I hit an 8-iron to about 20 feet, made it.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Hit an 8-iron to about 10 inches, tap-in.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: And 16, I hit a sand wedge. It was downwind. I'm not that long, but I did hit a sand wedge in there, and I hit it maybe 15 feet, made it. Then I birdied 17, 4-iron to about 15 feet, putted good, great.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: No, I hit a good drive. Actually, in looking back, I hit every fairway, because the shot on 6 actually ended up in the fairway. I didn't hit every shot good, but I did hit every fairway. I hit the fairway on 2, 2-iron; and then I 8-ironed the left bunker. It's not a good place to hit it in the bunker.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: 15 feet, which is about as good as I felt like I could get on a not a very good shot.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: I mean, the one on 15, I mean, it wasn't like I hit a bad drive. That's an awkward shot, quite honestly.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Yeah, on 6, I felt that way. I thought well, maybe. But on 15, I don't really know what happened. So it wasn't like when I was in the fairway. I was -- if you would have seen the shot on 6, you would understand. It was a much worse shot. The one on 15 I thought was in the right rough. I was just trying to make par, you know. It wasn't like I was thinking, well, I hope it's not in the water or something like that. Does that make any sense?

DAVID SUTHERLAND: So, quite frankly, at that time I was already playing well. And it was like I wasn't thinking. I was actually just thinking let's make another birdie, quite honestly. Because I had only about a 9-iron. But you're right, it was a good play.

started off (inaudible) and ended up in the lead?

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Not that I remember, quite frankly. I may have. I don't know, though. I don't remember -- you know, anything -- I mean, I have in tournaments but never on the PGA TOUR.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Oh, this is the third time I've played in the Kemper. I played on the TOUR '91, '92. I lost my card. Did a little bit of NIKE TOUR, did a little bit of ASIAN TOUR, did a little bit of everything and got my card back. I've actually played better the last couple years. This time I got my card, I felt like I was a better player. First time I got my card was right out of college. It was like going to camp. I was enjoying the traveling and stuff. It was like playing with Greg Norman was the greatest thrill in the world to somebody that was 23 years old. I was pretty naive then.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Well, that's a good question. I mean, I wasn't thinking that this morning. But I was thinking about it last night. You know, teeing off and only seven shots out of the lead, I mean, you're never -- you can play golf for 20 years and probably never have that situation where you're 7 shots out of the lead and teeing off six hours before the leaders are teeing off. So, I mean, yeah, I knew in the back of my mind if it was a good round. But, I mean, it's the lowest round I've had all year, so I wasn't necessarily saying -- I don't do a lot of score thinking, because I -- I'm always afraid if I think about shooting 65, if I get an 8-under, then I will be like I can make two bogeys. I was thinking make a good round, if that makes sense. But, I didn't have a number in my head like shoot a 65 or shoot a 64, but I knew with a good round I could get back with a chance to lead the tournament.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Yeah. You know, the real key, I putted great today. With my confidence, my putting is as good as I've been all year, quite frankly.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Oh, I was just using a hypothetical situation. I may have in a par course, but I was just using more of a hypothetical situation. Where, you know, it was just -- I don't regret, you know, having so much -- enjoying what I was doing and stuff, but I wasn't necessarily just as goal-orientated then. I mean, you know, everybody's first year of a new job is, you know, it's always different than when you've been doing it for seven, eight years.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Now, I mean, I would look forward to it because he's a fantastic player, but I wouldn't necessarily look at it as like, you know, I mean -- I would actually look forward to it, just as a, you know, I mean, anybody who's -- listen, any time you're in the top ten or whatever you're going to be tomorrow, you're going to play with an awful good player, so we're not the same or anything else, but I'm 31 years now, and it's different than it was then. I wouldn't necessarily be intimidated if that's what you're asking. By the same token, any time you play with a player of that caliber, you give him a lot of respect and stuff.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Yeah.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Well, you know, what I've been looking for some key swing shots, and after I hit the drive on 6, I hit a few drives like that this week. I actually -- I'm kind of -- I talked to my teacher last night, and he told me just to slide a little more with my lower body, which is kind of a technical term. But it kind of insinuates to avoid maybe spinning out. And I said to myself, my layup shot on 6, well, let's just do what Don told you to do. I wasn't just going to give in. I thought I could figure out before he could. I hit a 6-iron laying up, and it went like perfect. It was just like, wow. Did my second shot to 2 feet, drive on 7 hit the middle of the fairway hit a 3-iron to about 10 feet. Hit it 10 feet on the next hole. This is working. I just did that. I mean, literally I went from hitting the ball kind of average to hitting as good as I hit it all year from that point forward. It was kind of a key swing -- more like we got past that hole to make a bunch of birdies.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: No, I've hit better. I don't know. It's hard to read. But it's -- I hit it good, but there's been times where I've hit it that good. I mean, I don't want to sound like I do it all the time or anything, but hey, it's not like it's never happened.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Yeah, Kevin.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Very close. Kevin is two years older. I would suppose that most of you know that Kevin lost the playoffs this year at Houston Open. I would assume that's old news. But he's two years older. He's 32 right now, and I'm 31. But schoolwise, he is two years older. This is actually the first tournament that I've played in that he hasn't played in, because he's played six weeks before this week. But very close. Lives in the same town that we grew up in. Went to college together for three years. You know, we've never competed against each other, you know, as far as like in hoping you beat him or anything like that. It's always been a very -- it's always been a very good relationship.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: You know, it's a tough question to answer. It really is. He's made $300,000 this year so, yeah, I guess he's playing better than I am.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: You know, I don't know. But historywise, we've been pretty, you know --

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Yeah, that was -- I think that was kind of hard, quite frankly. I don't mean talking with him, but that was a bit awkward because as an older brother, you know, and Kevin was always -- it just, you know, the qualifying school, it's a very -- it's very strange. It can -- you know, he wasn't playing better or worse than I was, he just didn't get to the golf rank school, and I did. Then he got through last year, played well last year on the TOUR, made like 150,000. He's played awful good for a couple years now, quite frankly.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: I assume I'm going to tee off at about one o'clock tomorrow so I can sleep in. I don't know. That's a hard question to answer. I'll tell you tomorrow.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: I don't know. I hadn't thought about it. You know, I'm going to tee off 24 hours from now. Yeah, I mean, I don't know, I have actually been in this situation before. I finished third in a TOUR event when I was on TOUR my first year. I mean, that's an awful long time ago, but I mean, it's -- I have had at least one venture into the, you know, that sort of a situation. That was in the Southern Open which is in Columbus, but, you know, I'm not the most experienced guy out here. I'm sure I'll be nervous. You know, damn, you should be, you know what I'm saying? The only thing I can tell myself is I expect to be nervous so I won't try not to be nervous. I just tell myself, you're nervous. Don't worry about it. Do your normal routine. Just hit the golf shot. I mean, listen, it's not like I've been doing this for 20 years. It's going to be a bit nervous. But I don't expect a lot of -- I think there's -- I mean, I want to win just as much as anybody else does.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: No, I played horrible.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: The strange thing was I was playing good for the qualifying, I played horrible in the qualifying, and then I didn't play real good -- yeah, I mean, I wasn't necessarily expecting going into this week that I would be in the top ten going into the last, you know. But that's just kind of nature of the sport. I mean, it is just a strange thing. You hear of guys missing 7 cuts in a row and then winning a golf tournament. But I didn't play good at Woodland. I'm not going to make any excuses. I just didn't play any good.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Yeah. When I was in college and my first two years on TOUR, I mean, it was my whole game. I relied completely on my putting. Then I became a better ball-striker, and I wasn't putting as well. When you're chipping it up and tapping it five feet --

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Yeah. But I did putt real good today and, quite frankly, that's -- if I would have putted this good at Woodlands, I probably would have qualified. I'm hitting a lot better than I was --

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Yeah. I did hit as good as I maybe ever have. I've never hit but maybe six, four 3-irons where I hit a ball inside of 10 feet. Even on 12 at that tough pin, I hit it at about 8 or 9 feet, and I almost --

DAVID SUTHERLAND: You know what, I -- a few years ago, I remember I read an article by a good player one time when he said that the way he play in the winds is he factors it in and swings the club normally. Meaning that he doesn't try to manipulate the club, punch it or whatever. That's kind of what I did. If it was into me, I hit an extra club. And I hit it good today.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: I was the last group. I was the last guy in. But that's the nature of the golf high school, too, I mean you can be the last guy in, I mean, you feel like you should bring the pins in.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Yeah, I didn't --

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Oh, yeah, ten times better. But I didn't necessarily think the greens were horrible yesterday. I mean, listen, we're awful spoiled on this TOUR. I mean, listen, these guys need to all go to play in Asia with me, like I did last year, and they'll never complain again.