MERCEDES CHAMPIONSHIPS

January 2, 2002

Hal Sutton

HAL SUTTON: What is this, 21 or 22 years for me now? I think I'm going to expect the same thing. It's kind of getting to where you're wanting to play your best each year and you try to continue to compete with the young guys however you can. I'm just as excited this year as I was in 1982. That was my rookie year.

Q. Is that true really?

HAL SUTTON: In some ways I'm more excited even. Just over the last five years, I think I've kind of begun to touch on what I'm capable of. In '82, I had a lot of time to do that in. Now I don't feel like I have a lot of time to get the final product out basically. You know, I'm kind of in a march against the clock, if you will.

Q. You have no idea how fast that clock is ticking either?

HAL SUTTON: I don't. Do any of us (laughter)?

Q. Does it seem faster with all these younger guys that people want to talk about?

HAL SUTTON: Well, I don't know. I don't think so. I mean, you know, I think there's guys in their 40s playing pretty darn good golf. I think there's some guys that are, you know, not just 40, but into their 40s that are competitive. You expect to win some golf tournaments, you know. That was not the case in the middle '80s when people got through their 40S, late 30s and 40s, you kind of thought their desire level wasn't there, or whatever. I don't know if -- in looking back, I think it's just they lost their desire to compete. I think if they would have wanted to, they could have.

Q. Is this all good for the Tour? You've been around as long as anybody. Is it good to see this influx?

HAL SUTTON: That's the way I feel. I do feel that way (laughter).

Q. Nothing meant by that.

HAL SUTTON: I know. This is 21 years. I think it's extremely good for the Tour. I think it's neat. You go back to when Jack won the Masters last time in '86. I mean, what was he, 46 at the time?

Q. 46.

HAL SUTTON: You know, I mean, can you think of too many things that were better for the game than that was at that time? I mean, you know, if you have guys in their middle 40s that are really playing well, I think that's good for the game.

Q. The flipside of that, maybe given these young punks too much credit too soon? They haven't really done anything, won a major.

HAL SUTTON: I don't know. It depends on who you're talking about when you say "young punks." You got to clarify that now. If I'd have said that, if I'd have said that, everybody would say, "Who you talking about being a young punk?"

Q. Certainly cut it off before we get to 24. Anyone under 26 maybe.

HAL SUTTON: I think the Tour is rich with young talent right now. I think there's going to be some of those guys that you're talking about that are going to do some exceptional things in the years to come. I mean, I think all I've noticed is that people are made aware of them. I don't think they've been given too much.

Q. Of the young talent, which ones have you played with or seen? Which ones do you think highly of or have a bright future?

HAL SUTTON: I've seen them all. I've not played with any of them. I assume you're talking about the same four or five guys that they put in Golf Digest or magazine, whatever it was. They're all talented. Every one of those guys.

I think it's going to come down to what it always does, you guys know this better than I do, it comes down to what's inside a person. We can see what's on the surface. We can go out on the practice round, at times we can all look pretty damn good. You've got to reach inside somebody to see what it's really all about.

Q. Do you look forward to playing with Ty Tryon this year?

HAL SUTTON: Yeah. I look forward to that. I'll enjoy seeing his game. He must be an exceptional player.

Q. They're going to do some exceptional things in years to come. Do you think there's a tendency -- there's some excitement about them to expect them to do things right away, we forget it might take a bit of experience?

HAL SUTTON: I mean, if you rephrased that question, if you asked me what advice would I give them, the advice would be not to buy into everybody else's expectations, but to buy into your own expectations, and to move forward at a pace that will challenge you but won't overwhelm you.

Public perception is, when we cast the shadow of greatness over these guys, then they move into the side of the expectations that is being overwhelming. You know, there's a fine line. You don't want to back off to the point that you don't feel challenged by your expectations, but you don't want to be overwhelmed by them either.

Q. Before THE PLAYERS Championship, we were all writing how Tiger is in a slump. You kind of admonished us. You said, "You're going to scare him away from this game if you don't lessen your expectations." How do you think the year played out for him? He wound up not winning any majors after the Masters, didn't finish in the Top 10. Do you feel the Tour is in a better place with Tiger and the attention level?

HAL SUTTON: You know what, every time I get a chance to plug for Tiger, I mean, I could be a great marketing person for Tiger. How can you go wrong with a guy like that? I mean, this guy has all the talent in the world. He's a gracious person. He's just as good in defeat as he is in a win. You know, he finishes the tail end of the Grand Slam. How can there not be some letdown involved in that? How can there not be?

I mean, I think probably, you if want to say he didn't have as good a year. That is what you're trying to say?

Q. It was actually like five questions rolled into one.

HAL SUTTON: I kind of got out of what you were saying that maybe he didn't live up to the expectations that we're talking about.

Q. In a way.

HAL SUTTON: In a way, okay. Well, to me, he's overwhelmed most people's expectations. I mean, he did me, and I play the game at a whole lot better level than you do. I mean, I know for a fact that I was overwhelmed by his ability. You know, I guess what I'm trying to say is, as his focus goes, his level of greatness will go from here to here to here to here (up and down) where we're all in here. Occasionally one of us goes like this, stay there for a bit, then (going down).

He's a talented person. I don't know whether it's hard work. You ask me the question, "Is it hard work? Is it God's grace? What is it?" I don't really know what it is. At this late juncture in my life, it's not going to make any difference with me one way or the other, you know. If I'm playing well and he's playing well, I'm going to step on the first tee and I'm going to think I can beat him. I'm not going to concede on the first tee. It's like, "I may have to concede at 18, but let's play to there."

Every chance I get, I think we are very lucky to have Tiger Woods in the sport. I really think we are.

Q. You said before last season, after what he'd done, the separation, there was going to be a lot of soul searching going on.

HAL SUTTON: Two things happened after that. It was going to happen. When he separates himself that far from the field, everybody is going to reevaluate. The second thing that was going to happen was, what do you do for an encore?

Q. Which was it? Did Tiger come back to the field or did everyone catch up to him?

HAL SUTTON: I think -- I'd say everybody caught up to him somewhat because everybody reevaluated. I think after the Masters last year -- I mean, this is pure speculation. The guy won how many times after the Masters?

Q. Twice or three times.

HAL SUTTON: Twice or three times?

Q. Three plus Germany -- three including Germany.

HAL SUTTON: Three including Germany. You know, I mean, I have a hard time saying he backed up even after the Masters. You know what I'm saying? I mean --.

Q. He backed up?

HAL SUTTON: You think he backed up?

Q. He definitely backed up. Last ten tournaments, nine times not in the Top 10, he's backed up. He's never done that before.

HAL SUTTON: I'm going to tell you what, the guy needed a break. The guy lived at the highest level for so long. It's unbelievable. I mean, it's time to sit back and enjoy life a little bit. You know, I applaud him for being able to do it.

Q. Probably natural reaction to winning four majors in a row.

HAL SUTTON: You know what I notice about Tiger Woods? Whenever it is called upon him, you know, either the fear of missing the cut, the fear of not living up to his expectations. You know, there's two or three times last year he looked like he was going to miss a cut, shoot 5- or 6-under for the last eight or ten holes. When he takes his focus to the level that he can take it to, he goes to a level that most of us don't know anything about that.

Q. Given that he did have a little downtime at the end of last year, human nature, does that make you think, "This year maybe he might be rejuvenated, be ready to pop another big one"?

HAL SUTTON: I thought y'all wanted to talk about me. I didn't know we were going to talk about Tiger Woods (laughter). I mean, man, I might ought to go consult Tiger and make sure I'm saying all the right things here.

Q. What do you think Tiger thinks of your game?

HAL SUTTON: Oh, man (laughter). You know what? I think we're in the midst of good times, I really do. I say this every time I get an opportunity to say it. I am excited to be part of the PGA TOUR. I'm excited about the charities that are involved. I don't know if y'all saw the piece we did on December the 16th before Tiger's tournament. Did you see that piece on TV?

Q. Heard about it.

HAL SUTTON: Phenomenal piece. The Tour doesn't do a good enough job, we're working on it all the time to do a better job, but how many people are affected by the PGA TOUR. You know, we've got so many good guys in this game, talented players, not just talented players, but good guys, too. I enjoy being out here.

Q. Anything new in your bag as far as equipment?

HAL SUTTON: We're around to a Hal Sutton question.

Q. Anything in your bag that Tiger doesn't have?

HAL SUTTON: Actually, I have a whole new set of irons. "Exactly the same" as the last ones, as close as you can make them that way. A new putter that's "exactly the same." But they're all new to me.

TODD BUDNICK: At what point do you feel it's time to change that? You're sticking with the same equipment, but changing. At what point do you feel your old equipment is not good anymore?

HAL SUTTON: I use forged irons. When the grooves get less than desirable, I'm going to put in a new set. I don't need to give up any more advantage than I can.

Q. How long does it take you to wear out grooves?

HAL SUTTON: In today's world, playing sandy golf courses, about one year. Might get two out of them occasionally. Short-irons especially get bad.

Q. Not for the young guys or Tiger, as much as you're around the players, more than we are, who do you expect a big year from that might surprise people? Anyone come to mind that you've seen?

HAL SUTTON: Well, I haven't seen anybody since THE TOUR Championship last year.

Q. So Mike Weir.

HAL SUTTON: Mike Weir. Mike looks good all the time. His golf swing looks good. You watch him practice on the practice tee, he looks good all the time. He's subject to play really well anytime.

Q. Do you think there will be more of a push by the tour this year, tasted maybe a bit of it in Houston, to deal with rounds that are taking longer and longer?

HAL SUTTON: Slow play has been an issue for 25 years on the tour. This is my third year on the board. It's been an issue at every meeting, how to solve slow play. It's a real mystery to most. None of us have been able to figure that out.

I think most of our rules allow slow players to kind of hide in the grasses, so to speak. They've got it figured out. They see a tour official come up. They say, "We're timing you." Okay, sure, I'll speed up now.

To me, I don't think the way our system is set up, I think it's real difficult to affect anybody other than the guys that's already playing fast. He'll go ahead and try to play faster. I think slow play will be an issue for a long time.

Q. What would you do?

HAL SUTTON: What I would do would probably not be the most popular move in the world. I would probably not tell anybody that they were being timed. That would be number one. I might even hire additional people that nobody knew anything about to do the timing. When they see a rules official come up, they automatically, even if they're told or not told. The fourth thing I'd probably do would be probably I'd reduce the size of the field. That would be the least popular of all of them.

Q. What about the length of the golf course? I talked to Bob Estes who said it was an issue in Canada that the longer the golf courses become, the greater the issue of slow play and rounds taking longer.

HAL SUTTON: You know, I could build a case for that. But on the other hand I could build a case for the fact that with the equipment the way it is today, there are no par 5s anymore, that everybody is going for par 5s all the time. Consequently, that is slowing us down. If we were playing them at three-shot holes, there would be some distance spread between us.

Q. Better flow.

HAL SUTTON: Better flow. I don't know. You know, there's no perfect solution to this problem.

Q. What about on the greens? Aren't tour players slower on the greens than anywhere else?

HAL SUTTON: I don't know. I don't notice. There's a couple of guys that are slow.

Q. The slow play that you see, where do you see it? Do you see it on full shots?

HAL SUTTON: I see it just a general personality. Some people are just slow, some people aren't (laughter). You know, I don't know.

Q. When you get these undercover timers out on the course in your ideal world, is the penalty money or strokes?

HAL SUTTON: You know, you start talking about strokes, and everybody starts thinking you're talking about their livelihood. I don't see it any different than hitting the ball out of bounds. It's a subjective call, people think, whether a guy is slow or not. To me, if a guy is on the clock, goes over the time frame, it's not subjective.

Q. Put everybody on the clock from the first tee.

HAL SUTTON: Well, that's not exact -- that won't work. I'm playing to the speed of somebody else. In a perfect world -- see, I'm a fast player, but I can't make somebody play to my speed. They can make me play to their speed. That's what's wrong with slow play. See, if there wasn't anybody in front of us, I could just run off, that guy would get penalized if he didn't stay with me, then he goin' to speed up, you know.

Q. Worst part about slow play is that there are 25 million people in America playing golf, they watch you guys as role models, they go out and do the same thing, looking at four different ways. It affects Saturday mornings at any golf course in America.

HAL SUTTON: Well, they're playing for a two dollar Nassaus and we're playing for $4 million this week.

Q. What do you think the rounds should be on tour?

HAL SUTTON: I don't see any way to make a round less than four and a half hours with threesomes. I don't see any way to do it. I think we're talking about splitting hairs. I think we're talking about when we get some guy to speed up for a whole minute or whatever, I don't know. That minute may turn into ten minutes at the end of the day, you know...

I think it's a real tough issue. I think the thing that we notice the most about slow play is what we're standing around waiting. That's what I'm talking about when I say if we were to reduce the size of the field. I mean, I need to tell my whole story on what I think.

If, in fact, one day it came to reducing the size of the field, I'd like to see a lot of the money we got out of the TV deal go into our, if you will, secondary tour, Buy.com, move those purses from 800 thousand to a million dollars to where those guys made a really good living on that tour, and we had only 132 guys a week out here playing. Then you're not going to see everybody waiting all the time.

If y'all covered Callaway Gardens last year, we didn't wait a shot. We only had 132 guys in the field.

Q. Television would be happier, too.

HAL SUTTON: Well, probably.

Q. I liked your suggestion in Houston. Why can't Finchem carry out what you suggested at Houston? Basically call the guy in his office and say, "You play slow, play faster." Bob Knight can call a guy in and say, "You're not shooting free throws well, I want to you practice your free throws, you need to improve your vertical jump." Wouldn't that help?

HAL SUTTON: See, that's been my contention the entire time, that we're kind of covering it up for all the slow players out here. We're not talking about them or anything else. I mean, if Shaquille O'Neal fouls, they call a foul on him. They single him out in front of 20,000 people. "Hey, you hacked it. Get off his back." He wanders around over there.

I mean, I really think we've got to be able to do that sort of thing. Everybody knows who plays slow.

Q. Would it affect your round to a matter of a stroke or two? Is your game off kilter because of slow play? Is it costing you strokes?

HAL SUTTON: I don't know that it has cost me any strokes. It cost me some strokes in Houston because I tried to speed up.

Q. You're saying it's a significant issue that needs to be addressed?

HAL SUTTON: Well, it's not a Hal Sutton issue. This is an issue for 25 years. Ever since y'all been covering golf, hasn't slow play been an issue?

Q. Nicklaus invented slow play, so yeah.

HAL SUTTON: That's what I thought.

Q. Changing the subject. You've been around the block a few times. You might be one of the only guys that have seen the rotation of the majors. Nobody knows anything about Hazeltine. Even Augusta will be different. What's your take on this rotation of majors? I don't know if you've seen Bethpage.

HAL SUTTON: Never seen Bethpage.

Q. You know you played Hazeltine.

HAL SUTTON: Yes.

Q. And Muirfield, right?

HAL SUTTON: Hazeltine is a good golf course. It's not a traditional, old-style golf course. It's certainly a good challenge, good test. Where is the British Open this year?

Q. Muirfield.

HAL SUTTON: That's one of the best over there, one of the very best, I think.

Q. You've been as eloquent as anybody on the issue of The Ryder Cup. Now that we sit here knowing The Ryder Cup is nine months away and the team is set, is there any different feel? Are you more excited, less excited?

HAL SUTTON: It will certainly have a different flavor this year than it's ever had because of the fact that the team has been set for a year. I really don't know whether it will be -- personally I'm neither. I'll get juiced as the time gets here. There's a lot of things that I've got to be ready for before that time, so I don't want to get caught up in thinking nine months ahead of time. It's bad enough get thinking about the next hole when you're on this one.

Q. Come October, they're going to be looking for a new Ryder Cup captain. Your name will come up pretty strong. What are your thoughts? Obviously you're interested. If it's offered, I know I'm throwing around speculation, do you have to admit that you're done playing The Ryder Cup? What, are you 39 now?

HAL SUTTON: I'll be 44 in April (laughter).

Q. I couldn't resist. He wants to know would you want to be captain and not a player?

HAL SUTTON: You know, that's not here and I don't know if I even need to think about that thought right now. We won't even deal with that. I think to be asked to be the captain of The Ryder Cup team is one of the greatest responsibilities, accolades, however you want to word it, that anybody could place on you.

It's something, regardless of when it takes place in your life, probably wouldn't be anything you'd want to turn your back on. You know what I'm saying? No matter what level you thought your game was.

Q. In this day and age, so much attention given to The Ryder Cup, as opposed to 20 years ago when there were some captains who also played, is it feasible for somebody to be a player and captain?

HAL SUTTON: I don't think so. The reason being I don't think it is is because I think you need to be able to be around the golf course and watch how everybody's playing. I mean, it's so competitive, you can't hardly miss a beat. You have to get the right guys. You have to pair up the right guys together for foursomes. You have to pair up the right guys together for four ball. You have to see how guys are playing. Anybody that plays this game enough and has been to The Ryder Cup, the pressures are great there. Sometimes it's kind of like playing in a bad wind. Mistakes are just amplified. You have to be able to see who is handling it and who is not. If you're playing, you're too busy worrying about how you're handling it.

Q. You talked earlier about the clock ticking. What goals do you have left, whether they be Hall of Fame, Ryder Cup captain, winning four majors this year? How much time do you think you have to compete, challenging at majors?

HAL SUTTON: I don't know if I even want to think about it in terms of years that I have left. I think I'm still getting better, let me put it that way. I think my game -- I understand the game better now than I ever have in my life. I'm still charged up to make changes.

I mean, I stopped and talked to Butch about something I'm working on before I came in here because I'm charged up about it. I want to be better than what I am right now. It would be easy for me to say, "I've done enough and I want to think about hunting and I want to think about my kids."

I mean, I still have things I want to accomplish. Specific things I'd like to accomplish is I'd like to win another major, I really would. I think on the right golf course, I still think I have the ability to do that. I get kind of charged up, other than Sam Snead, I think I'm tied for the second most wins in your 40s. I'd like to see just how close I could get to that for most wins in their 40s. I think that's kind of a neat thing, you know.

Q. Do you credit that to your strict workout regimen every day?

HAL SUTTON: My strict workout regimen? Yeah, I work out hard. I tell you.

Q. There's an irony there. Everybody out there is working out like crazy and you're beating everybody in your 40s. Is that because of the understanding you're talking about?

HAL SUTTON: Yeah, that slump helped a lot of things. That give me a taste of things I didn't really want to taste. Kind of reminded me I don't have to be reminded of it very much anymore how bad it can be.

We're only a short distance from being bad most of the time. That's not something most of us like to say publicly. But, I mean, it doesn't take much to lose the train of thought that keeps you at a high level. The difference between a guy finishing 70th, a guy on the Money List, and a guy finishing in the Top 5 to some may look like a lot, but it's probably not near as much as you think.

Q. What is it, confidence?

HAL SUTTON: Yeah. That's that part inside that I talked about when I first came in here. TODD BUDNICK: Thank you, Hal.

End of FastScripts....