FEDEX ST. JUDE CLASSIC

June 12, 1999

Hal Sutton

HAL SUTTON: Obviously, I don't sit here very happy with the way I finished up today. I hit quite a few good shots, and they didn't work out today. Making that bogey at the last hole, I wasn't really happy with that. I hit a real good putt. I hit it right where I was looking, and it broke all the way across the hole and come out. So you just have to deal with that. Eagled -- I birdied 3, I hit a 3-iron in there about 20 feet -- no, 15 feet and 2-putted. 4, I hit a 6-iron out to the right of the green. I hit a really good chip-in there about 6 feet; missed it. 5, I hit 3-wood in there about 12 feet and made that for eagle. 6, I hit a pitching wedge about 12 feet and made that. 11, I hit a 7-iron in there about 15 feet and made that. 12, I hit a 9-iron in about 20 feet and made that. 14, I hit a 4-iron just over the back edge, just over the back fringe, and I putted and putted by about seven or eight feet and missed it coming back. 15, I hit a 3-wood off the tree; it caught the tree and kicked it back. I had 173 yards hitting into the wind, and I hit a 6-iron and thought it would hold it; but I had an impossible up-and-down, really. 18, I hit 8-iron from 164 and came up just short of the green, and left it short about five feet. Hit a good putt; didn't go in.

HAL SUTTON: You know, the golf course played harder today than it's played any day. There was a lot of wind out there today, and it was swirling around, and it made it difficult to get the right club in your hand. I missed a lot of putts today. I had it there to really go low, and I didn't do it. You know, David or I, neither one -- we kind of got real loose there at the end of the day. Nothing was going very good for him, and I kind of fell in that category with him there the last few holes after I made the first bogey on 14. Just have to regroup and come out here tomorrow with a fire in my eyes.

HAL SUTTON: I didn't notice them being any faster. In fact, I thought they were a little bit slower at times. The putt I hit way by the hole on 14, it's straight downhill right there. And most everybody was going by the hole there. So I didn't think so.

HAL SUTTON: I don't know what I'm going to need to do to make that team. All I'm really concerned about right now is what I've got to do in order to win this tournament tomorrow; so that's stepping out a little bit further than I want to step out right now.

HAL SUTTON: I felt like I played pretty well today. I didn't capitalize on quite a few opportunities that I had. I played the way I could play. I mean, I shot 69. That's about what I deserve with the way I played. I hit a few bad shots and made some bogeys off of it; and hit good ones, and made birdies. And that's probably what everybody else did. I'll have to regroup. I'm not happy with my finish. Anytime you're 3-over through the last six holes, that's not very pleasant to have to deal with. A couple of those, I felt like I hit good shots. But I'll just have to take it. Is that what you wanted to know?

HAL SUTTON: That's one way of looking at it. But I felt like I kind of had control of it for a while. But I'm sure David Frost thought he had control of it yesterday, too. Things can change in a hurry in this game. There's a lot of people within two or three shots of the lead. It will be an exciting tournament tomorrow; and I promise you, the guy that wins this tournament will make a lot of birdies tomorrow.

HAL SUTTON: I looked at scoreboard once, but I don't think it had anything to do with what I did. I hit a good shot at 14. I could go right back over the rounds. I played every -- 16, I had 235 to carry the bunker. I didn't think I could carry it. I was trying to hit it in the front bunker. I hit a 2-iron and carried it over the bunker; went over the green and up into the Bermuda rough on the downslope setting down; so I played as good a shot as I could play right there, and didn't really have a play. 18, I'm standing right in the middle of the fairway, and I hit a shot and the wind dies. I mean, I needed the wind. I was planning on the wind to get a shot there. I don't hit an 8-iron 16 yards. It seemed like every time I needed to do a consistent thing or a constant thing, it flipped on me a little bit there.

HAL SUTTON: I really didn't. I hit a bad tee ball on 15. That's the only shot that I really hit bad. I got a reprieve in that it kicked out in the fairway. But it was into the wind 173 yards. David Frost made the statement to me: I thought you holed that shot. That's how good it looked. And didn't even get a 4 out of it. That's golf. Sometimes you hit some of the best shots in the world and they don't work. That's why we love this game, isn't it? Or that's why we come back every day, anyway.

HAL SUTTON: I'm not going to do anything any different. I'll just go have dinner, watch TV. I'll probably reminisce a little bit about the last six holes. You know, try to figure out if I should play them any differently. But I probably would not.