ENERGIZER SENIOR TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

November 9, 1996

Bob Charles

BOB CHARLES: Well, thank you for the kind words. Actually I didn't have a full year on the Grand Masters. I am looking forward to next year to get a full year and see what we can do. Anyway... Right, well I parred the first four holes. The fifth hole I made my third straight bogey. We were told to speed up and I kind of hit it the 6-iron. I wasn't kind of thinking too good, but anyway, I hit it over the green and rolled it down, oh, four and a half feet from the hole and missed that for a bogey. Then the next hole I drove it down the middle of the fairway and wound up in an old divot, and kind of hacked it out of the old divot left of the green; chipped it on about 15 feet and 2-putted with a bogey. 8, hit a tee shot in the bunker, hit a horrible second shot coming out; had a full 7-iron to the green, and hit it less than a foot from the hole. So that was the birdie. 12, I was last to hit, fortunately, and both Jim and Mike came up short in the bunker with their 7-irons so I hit a 6-iron. By watching them go in the bunker I kind of figured I knew what was the right club; then I hit a 6-iron. Well, it rolled over the edge of the hole. Then it went in the hole. I guess it finished again less than a foot from the hole. And 17, I hit a 5-iron about 27 feet short of the hole and made it for two. And did you say "a few comments?"

BOB CHARLES: Okay, yeah, well, yes, it is very nice and a bit of a struggle out there today, obviously, Moody had a great day. What did he score?

BOB CHARLES: He must have had a 68 or 69. Must have had a low round of the day almost other than Jay Sigel. Anyway, he posted -- I was looking at the board, obviously, keeping pace with everything and after the two bogeys on 5 and it could have got away from me very easily, but I pulled an iron into 7 and missed the green and a weak chip, but I holed a 6-foot putt, curling 6-foot putt for a par, which was -- kind of restored my, what shall we say, (Laughter), confidence a little bit because if I bogeyed three holes in a row that would have really been a blow. So that kind of got me together. Then the birdie on the next hole settled - made me feel good and I didn't exactly coast. It was hard work coming in with the conditions, finding the right club was not easy and hitting the right shot. The greens are considerably quicker today. They obviously got the old roller out there and they appeared to speed up somewhat, so playing conditions were difficult and certainly there was -- not certain that I was going to shoot 1-under par today and well, I won the Grand Masters by 5, yeah, five shots. As I said, I could have lost it very easily in those early holes.

BOB CHARLES: Oh, I can freewheel it tomorrow with a little extra money in my hip pocket, yes. No, we have got -- it is certainly nice to win the Grand Masters and have a good start and I just hope that the momentum I have had the last three days can be sustained and carry over to tomorrow. I have got to obviously putt very well and I have got to have -- as I said to the television, I have got to have a sharp wedge and a hot putter because the par fives are out of my reach and if I can get the ball in close on the par 5 -- make birdies on the par fives, I have got a chance. But I have struggled this week. I think I have made 1 -- I think I am 1-under on the par fives. I'd like to know what Jay is. I am sure he is about 6- or 8-under, I would think, on the par fives, because he can reach them in two. So the rest of my game I am pretty happy with. I am driving it quite well, although, I didn't drive it well today but I can attribute that to the cold weather. It is hard to keep you rhythm and momentum going in cold weather conditions like this. I like it -- anything under 75 degrees, I don't feel as loose as what I'd like to be and I'd like to have it at 80 degrees and here we are, we have only got it at 50 degrees, so we have just got to grin and bear it.

BOB CHARLES: Well, as I said, I have got to have -- I am using sand wedges and wedges into the par fives for my third shots and I have got to be sharp with my wedge game. If my wedge game is not sharp I can't compete with him. But if it is sharp, I feel like I can compete, but. The par 3s, I think, gee, I must be about -- I am probably -- well, no, I had three bogeys, that is right, on the 4th hole, but I am -- well, I think I am under par on the other -- on the par 3s anyway.

BOB CHARLES: It is tough out there. The conditions are not easy. You can't make mistake. If you miss greens it is not easy to get up-and-down and if you hit greens you can 3-putt very easily out there. So, I have managed to keep control of my game pretty well. I have had two bogeys each day, six bogeys in all, so that makes me worth 12 birdies; doesn't it? This is the kind of course and the kind of conditions where if you can keep the bogeys off your card you can, you know, hold your own with anybody. It is --

BOB CHARLES: Oh, cold, oh, geez, cold. There is no choice. Here I have got four layers of clothing on and I would have liked to have had my fifth layer of clothing on which is a rain jacket, but that restricts my swing. I'd lose at least another 10 yards and every layer of clothing I have got on I am losing five or ten yards off the tee. I couldn't handle that, so I have got to kind of stay cold and hope that I can still make some kind of a turn in the backswing and generate a reasonable distance.

BOB CHARLES: First two days.

BOB CHARLES: His length, his power. His ability -- well, the -- the 4th hole he can get on in two. He got on there the first day in two and I don't even think about it. I use the 3-wood or 2-iron off the tee and a 3-iron down and a wedge to the green, but he is on in two and 2-putting for birdie. 15 is the same. He eagled it there yesterday. Hit a driver and 2-iron. I am hitting -- I hit a 3-iron and a 3-iron and a wedge. He is hitting driver and 2-iron and on the green putting for 3 -- well, he is on the edge of the green putting for 3. So that is -- that is the best part of his game, his power. But -- well, he has control, you know, he can -- but that is -- his strength, I should say not the best -- well, I suppose if you look at the SENIOR TOUR, he is in the top, what, 5 in distance?

BOB CHARLES: So, yeah, that is definitely the strongest part of his game is his power off the tee. Which he uses it to his advantage.