THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 25, 2000

Hal Sutton

HAL SUTTON: Overall I had thought I played very well today. Golf course was again in excellent shape and the wind was a little bit fairer to us today. I was happy with the way I played, really. I'd like to recall the shot on 17, but I am not sure I'd play it any differently. I put a good swing on it and the ball just stayed in the air a long time. Had 145 yards to the hole and 151 or two over the green and just hit a little 3-quarter 9-iron, that is usually -- that is taking into consideration downwind too. I don't normally hit it that far. I don't know that I had done it any differently. Pitching wedge wasn't the right club.

HAL SUTTON: Did you?

HAL SUTTON: No, I didn't think it was too long. I needed to carry it up on top and anything that landed just short was coming back down obviously. His ball took off really fast. My ball just -- I just kind of tapped in, you know, it just stayed in the air a long time. I still liked it while I was in the air; I didn't think it was going to be too long. I won't make a big deal out of it, but every shot I have played on that hole this week I have had to watch somebody go in the water in front of me including the shot when we dropped it. And that doesn't give you positive vibes, you know, when you are standing on the tee (laughter). I still made a good swing. I was very happy with the swing. I didn't think I overplayed the shot. I was aimed about six feet left -- eight feet left of the hole; that is where the ball went, so ...

HAL SUTTON: Yeah, it wasn't -- it was obviously deflating, I'd like to have the 4-shot lead back, but you know, obviously it happened for a reason because I played the shot the way I wanted to play it. I will just take what I have got and go do the best I can with that tomorrow.

HAL SUTTON: That is what I play golf for, is to be paired in THE PLAYERS Championship with the greatest player in the world, you know. He is ranked No. 1 in the world, so I don't want to start anything but he is one shot down right now starting tomorrow, so. . . . (laughter) Tiger is a great player, but as I have said many times this week, I can't do anything with Tiger. All I can do something with is Hal Sutton, and that is what I will start trying to do something with right now is myself.

HAL SUTTON: You know, we can hash this out anyway we want to. We can talk about this for the next hour. All I can say is I made a good swing on it. I am accepting it.

HAL SUTTON: Yeah, I am very confident. I feel real good about what I am doing. To stand up there on 18, I mean, after making triple bogey and letting Tiger back into the tournament like that, I played good, 3-wood off the tee, I was going to play 3-wood even if I birdied that hole, I already made up my mind I was going to play 3-wood off that hole. I hit a perfect 5-iron in there right on the exact line I was looking in. So I felt like I had control of my golf swing out there.

HAL SUTTON: I feel good about my short game. Everything has been working good. I just need to stay confident and stay in the present and stay patient; pick my spots where I am trying to do something with it.

HAL SUTTON: After I watched him hit it in the water the second time, you know, it is like, well, how hard is the back of this green, you know. Omar plays kind of a driving-type shot, so, I couldn't take a chance on the ball, you know, on landing it back there on top and it going over again. I had to try to hit it right to the edge of the crest which I did. I was just a foot or two short. It comes back up against it. The reason why I called for a ruling was there was a microphone there, I don't know what it was for, but it was a little bitty microphone. I was really, as much as anything, biding for some time to try to figure out how to play this shot because that rough is like wire first of all, and it is about that tall, (indicating three inches), so it is taller than the ball. The fringe is like this, so I have got to hit it down into the fringe like that and I got to pop down on it because of the fringe, the rough being higher. So I mean that brought in another thing, I could have easily, if I had been too aggressive with that, putted that ball across the green in the water from right there. So I mean, I was hollering uncle the whole time and couldn't get away from the hole. I played an absolute -- my fifth -- the shot for the double bogey, the putt -- I made an unbelievable putt. I thought it was in all the way. It didn't go in. I guess only beauty of that was I was able to tap in and finally finish the hole, but --

HAL SUTTON: I think -- you know, I think part of playing well here is you have got to expect the unexpected so to speak. You have got -- not really expect the unexpected, but be willing to accept the unexpected. If you are not willing to accept it, I can't move on and go play the next hole - something catastrophic happens on the next hole. It was a triple bogey, but it wasn't the end of the world because I had it to give back. That is why I said I had to accept it and move on.

HAL SUTTON: I was playing really well on the front nine today. I played a lot of good shots. I mean, I played, you know, I was maneuvering the ball exactly the way I wanted to. I overdid it a little bit, overcooked it on 16. I planned on trying to take it right around the edge of the trees on 16. But other than that swing, I basically did everything I wanted to do with the golf ball all day long.

HAL SUTTON: Yeah, that was a lot worse swing than the shot on 17.

HAL SUTTON: There is no winning in this conversation, is there? (laughter) You know, the point is that you have got the greatest Championship in the game and you have got the best player in the world according to the World Rankings right there on my tail. Now that doesn't mean he is going to win tomorrow. Even though everybody else in the world is trying to figure out a way for him to go ahead and do it. I don't have to make any other points. The only point I really want to make is driving it in the fairway tomorrow on the first tee. I will start trying to make my points after that.

HAL SUTTON: Well, I knew Tiger was playing well today. I mean, it was obvious - to see his name on the board, I was trying to answer everything that he did. I am not going to roll over and play dead, I am going to tell you that. You all can figure a way for me to do that, but I am going to figure out every way not to.

HAL SUTTON: I really don't know. Only you know what you feel.

HAL SUTTON: I don't know, you all figured out a way for me to try to figure out that I can't do anything with him, so I don't know how in the world somebody from way back there behind us is going to do anything with him. (APPLAUSE) We can be funny about this and all that sort of stuff, but this is what we dream about doing. This is -- as a little boy, a long time ago for me, I will be 42 years old next month, that is the only advantage Tiger has got tomorrow is that he is a lot younger than I am so he may not be quite as tired as I am. You know, this is what you dream about being in. You want to be in that position and I am not going to try to figure out a way where I wish I was in the group prior to that, you know. I am glad I am in the last group playing with Tiger Woods.

HAL SUTTON: Oh, yeah. Yeah, there was a point in my career where I wouldn't have welcomed this, but, you know, I feel good about my game. I don't know how good my game will be tomorrow. I hope it will be good. I will keep trying to do the same things that I have been doing to this point. I don't feel like I need to go out there and work on anything right now. I think it is there.

HAL SUTTON: Well, there is a lot different about me. My short game is a whole lot better in 2000 than it was in '83. I am a lot smarter player than I was back then and my family life is great. My little girl started walking yesterday, my twins, both of them started walking on the same day. That is a pretty good omen right there, isn't it? I thought that is pretty cute. I walked into the house and both of them started just walking up to me, I thought that was pretty neat.

HAL SUTTON: Not really. I won't -- I don't know that I can draw anything off of that.

HAL SUTTON: Totally different scenario.

HAL SUTTON: Probably be just business to business. Tiger doesn't talk a whole lot while he is playing and neither do I. We both got some work to do so we just have to get out there and do it. Probably going to be some dirtiness in it, you know, like we will have to get down in the dirt and fight a little bit probably, you know.