U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 14, 2000

Hal Sutton

HAL SUTTON: I have not. This will be my first round today. I can't tell you, other than it looks beautiful.

HAL SUTTON: Well, it's been a good year so far. I've played a lot up to this point. I was fortunate enough to have the last two weeks off. I was glad to get that two weeks off prior to this week, to get a little rest in.

HAL SUTTON: I played Pebble Beach quite a lot. It's a great test of golf. Probably one of the most scenic places in the world that I've ever played golf. And we're seeing some very good weather; so we get to see scenic at its best, I guess. It's warm. I'm surprised how warm it is.

HAL SUTTON: Well, obviously that was a highlight of my career, winning at that tournament, and certainly winning against Tiger. I felt like my game was really good going into that week. I felt like the golf course suited me, because it was kind of from point A to point B, strategic-type golf, and that usually suits my game. And it ended up working out for me somehow.

HAL SUTTON: It wasn't by design. My back was bothering me the last couple of days; so I didn't do much. I was trying to make sure that I give it a chance to get a little bit better before I pressed it.

HAL SUTTON: I think that's true that. Anytime you win a golf tournament you have to have luck. But at a U.S. Open, and the golf course set up as difficult as it is, luck even plays more of a factor. One thing that I think always plays out is that it is a true champion that wins the U.S. Open, too. He may have to have a little luck going, but he better have a lot of game along the way, too.

HAL SUTTON: Your expectations are unbelievable. Actually, I've had an Achilles heel problem, and that bothered me. And I probably shouldn't have played during that stretch, because people, like you, think that whenever you play, you play poorly, and you get reminded of it. I was thinking the whole time that I probably shouldn't have been playing in that stretch, because everybody was going to say: "Well, what's wrong with Hal, he finished 50th?" So I had a little Achilles heel problem. I'm getting old. What can I say?

HAL SUTTON: Well, I think that in every U.S. Open, you'd better drive the ball straight, and driving is an important part of the game. When a golf course gets hard and fast like this one is, from what I hear, that makes it even harder. You better hit it even straighter. So to answer your question, I drive the ball decently, and I think that's one of the most important things.

HAL SUTTON: My game is a lot different now than it was then. I was more of a gambler. My short game wasn't nearly as good then as it is now. I'm not quite as much of a risk-taker now as I was then. I think what I do now is more calculated. I'm going to play the percentage shot most of the time. I only play a risky shot when I think I really need to.

HAL SUTTON: Well, every time -- it seemed like every time I've been to a tribute to Payne, it gets tougher. Nothing seems fitting, especially in this setting. I was sitting there thinking about how beautiful this is, and he's missed the opportunity to be present and be the defending champion, to walk the fairways thinking "I won this tournament last year." As beautiful as all that was today, that void is still in Tracey's life, as she mentioned. And I think we'll always miss him. I think what Paul said was tremendous. No matter what you do, and you can do great things in life, you will be remembered, but will you be missed and who will miss you. And I think that's very fitting.

HAL SUTTON: It is okay.

HAL SUTTON: Well, there's so many factors that go into winning a U.S. Open. You can look on paper and you can say: This guy has got a good chance, because he's got this sort of game; this guy has got a good chance. But you know what, we're not transparent. You cannot look inside a person. And the one thing that I think majors bring out the most is what's inside the person. And we would all like to win one. We'd all like to win more than one. We just have to go out there and get it done, and it's both the things you see as well as the things you can't see that are parts of getting it done.

HAL SUTTON: I was just hitting balls yesterday morning really early and I felt a catch in my back, and it hurt pretty bad. I went over and tried to play one hole and it was hurting pretty bad. And I thought, rather than push this, I'm not going to try -- I felt like I changed my golf swing trying to do that; so I decided to get it worked on. And they said, "You'd probably be better off if you didn't play today." So I didn't play. But you know what, I only played nine holes in the practice round at the TPC. So practice rounds are not everything. You all make a big deal out of that. It doesn't have to happen.