THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 23, 2000

Hal Sutton

HAL SUTTON: I was very happy to get that 69. I thought the golf course was showing its teeth out there a little bit today. The golf course played a little faster today than it has been playing in the practice rounds; and, you know, you couldn't get through without making some bogeys. So you needed to make some birdies whenever you get the opportunity, and par 5s played -- they were accessible today. So you had to catch them, because some of those other holes were playing pretty difficult.

HAL SUTTON: Description of it? Cool and breezy. (laughs) The wind was kind of gusty, and that made it pretty difficult. And especially when you get on some of those holes where you need to be exact on where that ball comes down.

HAL SUTTON: Very pleased. When I got here this morning, I knew the round was going to be difficult. I knew that there were going to be some bogeys made out there by everybody. And the main word that I kept running through my head all day long was "patience," you know, just show a lot of patience out here. I got tested early. I hit a good drive on one, hit a real good second shot in there; landed about ten feet short, sucked back off the green all the way back down the hill, and left me with a really difficult up-and-down, which I didn't get it up-and-down. So just kind of take it on the chin, go on. I felt like I played two really good shots, went to the next hole, 4-wood in there about eight feet; made the eagle which turned around.

HAL SUTTON: Yeah. You want to stay away from a big number if you can. I mean, that is -- I will give you an example. On the 4th hole today, I hit not a bad drive down the left-hand side. It bounces just into the edge of the rough about a foot. I am sitting there looking at this lie. I am thinking: You know what? Best case scenario, I could probably carry it across that water, but if I don't carry it across that water have to get it up-and-down for 5. Bring 6 into play. So you know what I did, I just chipped it out in the fairway, knocked the next one on the green. Almost made par, and made my bogey and walked off. That is what makes this golf course great. There is always that urge to test it, to see if you can do that, whatever it is there. It is -- you can do it. That is what I think has made this golf course great through the years. The risk is there at all times with a reward out there too.

HAL SUTTON: Well, when you get rough like they have got here, I mean, this stuff is like wire. And it is only about three, four inches deep. But I mean it goes all the way to the bottom. I mean it is gnarly stuff. You can get yourself in some serious trouble trying to hit it hard out of this.

HAL SUTTON: I had about 120 yards to the front of the green, about 140, 2 or 3 to the hole.

HAL SUTTON: I did. I tell you the wind -- I thought the wind affected the putts a little bit. I had three putts on the back nine downwind. I had a birdie putt on 13 that I -- it was gusting. I kind of backed off; didn't hit it quite as hard as I wanted to. The wind let up; left it about this far short (indicating inches) dead center. Same thing on 15 with a par-putt. Then on 18 I had that birdie putt on 18. I mean, it was so fast going down there, I thought we were downwind with that putt, too. I thought, just be gentle with it. If it goes in, great; if it doesn't, let's have a kick-in.

HAL SUTTON: I am lost. My mind can't think out there. We are at TPC at Sawgrass right now. That is the only place I want to be right now. I can't think of another course right off the top of my head that does this. I don't know right off the top of my head. This is at the top of the charts on that, though.

HAL SUTTON: He was over and under on how long it was going to take before somebody asked me that question. Actually, went over. I couldn't believe it took that long. I said on NBC in there or SKY, I said, I think -- I can't wait, somebody is going to ask me shortly, I know: What did I think; how did I beat Tiger today. No, never crossed my mind what Tiger was doing. This game is hard enough to play your own game. I mean, this golf course has got all the challenges in the world to it and I find it difficult just to manage my own game much less worry about what somebody else's game is doing, so...

HAL SUTTON: No, I don't.

HAL SUTTON: Yeah, probably hit a wedge from there with a downwind like it was.

HAL SUTTON: About what I said?

HAL SUTTON: Did somebody know about it or something?

HAL SUTTON: What are you referring to about what I said about it wasn't over?

HAL SUTTON: No, I just -- I think it would be bad business for one to take a defeatist attitude like that. I just -- sure, he is a great player, but there is still a lot of golf to be played in every event. He is just as capable of making a mistake as anybody else is, you know, on this golf course, there is a lot of mistakes to be made on this golf course, so.....

HAL SUTTON: I will tell you what, that is what I think makes this a major. Major championships are just about always you got to be patient and when conditions get difficult on a great golf course where there is a lot of risk/reward - you asked me the question a few minutes ago about risk/reward - Augusta National is a big risk/reward golf course. When you have got that kind of situation you have got to be smart enough to know where you need to take those risks. Usually it takes a lot of patience, especially on a difficult day.

HAL SUTTON: Well, today Stuart Appleby had to take it in front of me. He fanned that ball out to the right; hit it in the water. That threw me for a loop when I saw that, too, because Stewart is long. He hit a little 8-iron. I was thinking it was a nice smooth 8-iron for me too. When he kind -- I knew he blocked it - there is always that. Well, I wonder how he really hit it. I didn't hit the shot. I didn't feel the shot. So I don't know. I was thinking, man, I wish I'd be the only birdie on the last hole so I didn't have to see that shot ahead. (laughter). But I went ahead, I hit 8 -- I went ahead and hit it harder, flew it all the way to the back; sucked it up. So, yes, when you do see the ball bounce on 17 -- you know, 17 is not that hard a hole, but when you get conditions like we had today where the wind is gusting up, things like that, I mean, you don't have total control over what that ball does. That is a hole where you like to have all the control and you don't when the wind is blowing like that.

HAL SUTTON: No, I don't know about that. I have seen a lot of good shots hit the top part of that green go over in the water. So I don't quit looking. I knew that ball today couldn't come back in the water because that rough is too high. I knew it could come up to the railing there, but there is about that much (indicating a foot) of that wire, I was telling you about, of rough around the front collar of that green there. So it can't come back in the water.

HAL SUTTON: Yeah.

HAL SUTTON: No. I sure hope I don't have to hit any shots from that drop area this week too.

HAL SUTTON: No, but that is kind of like taking that defeatist attitude that you were all talking about with Tiger.

HAL SUTTON: I don't know. That is preparation for a bad result is what that is preparation for, you know. If you put four good swings on that tee over there, you won't be hitting it from that drop area.

HAL SUTTON: Depends on what the wind is doing.

HAL SUTTON: Today, it was easy to go to the drop area.

HAL SUTTON: I'd say Augusta might even be a little bit ahead of this one in risk/reward only because just like on 16 where I said there was that little wire around the fringe there where the ball couldn't come back in the water, they shave everything down. They want you to take the risk and get punished for it. (laughs) That is really what they want. So here you can take the risk and if you hit the shot most of the time on dry land, it will pretty much stay on dry land. You won't see guys chipping it in the water, things like that here.

HAL SUTTON: I have told you about 1 and 2. And 4 --

HAL SUTTON: 15 feet, just 2-putted for bogey. 6, 9-iron about a foot. 10, I drove it in the right rough and went for the green and pulled it just into the left fringe and had the worst lie I have ever seen in my life; knocked it out 25 feet behind the hole and 2-putted. 11, I hit the green in two with a 3-iron and 2-putted from about 45 or 50 feet. 12, I hit a pitching wedge in there about ten feet behind the hole, made it. 14, I hit a 9-iron about two feet, made that. 15, I drove it really good, just hit a bad iron shot out of the middle of the fairway, missed the green to the right; had a terrible lie again. Hit a pretty good chip from where I was at about ten feet behind the hole, left it short. 16, 4-iron on the green about 35 or 40 feet, 2-putted.

HAL SUTTON: 2, I hit a 4-wood in there about eight feet for eagle, made it.

HAL SUTTON: My putt at 17 was 17, 18 feet, something like that.

HAL SUTTON: 18 was about ten feet probably. It was one of those that if I made it, it was just going to creep in.

HAL SUTTON: Even on this golf course in some cases you know you have got ten feet, you kind of expect to make it. These greens are perfect condition. But where that pin was sitting today, that is a really difficult putt. It kind of -- either if you putt it out to the right of the hole it will go right. If you putt it out to the left of the hole, it will go left. Your speed has to be exactly right. I mean, the way you'd really like to hit that putt is to hit it firmer, but you can't do it putting downhill, straight downwind. I mean, you can do it, but risk/reward again, you know.