CANON GREATER HARTFORD OPEN

July 5, 1998

Stewart Cink

STEWART CINK: I played the back nine the way you designed it if you were trying to win a tournament. I made five pars and four birdies. That's the best I played the back nine all week. When I was standing on the 10th green, I really didn't have an idea of where the leaders were. I knew they were way ahead of me. I hadn't done anything. I was one over for the front nine, and I thought that I needed four birdies to just have a good finish. I didn't really expect four birdies to be in the playoff. The way this course is designed the last four holes can mean, you know, good things to some players and bad things to some players. I played them in, let's see, two under, and Larry played them in four over; that's a six-shot difference. That's a huge difference. Especially when you're talking about playoffs and people tying. Honestly, when I finished on 17, I really didn't think I had a chance at the playoffs. Someone said Larry bogied 16, and after that I knew that 17 and 18 were difficult to win, I had the wind blowing, I did what I could in the playoff. I gave myself a chance for a birdie. I had had a good iron shot. I'll take away some good experience from that.

STEWART CINK: Well, that happens in golf. The longer you're around, it happens more and more. It's an unlikely shot that he would sink it in a playoff to win. But at the same time you have to expect -- you can't come up on the green in a playoff and think I'm the only one on the green in two. That means I'm in the driver seat. These guys out here play good golf and they can make it from anywhere. That's just proof out there.

STEWART CINK: Three iron.

STEWART CINK: I had it going straight and a little left. And then, you know, I wish I had the putt over now. I know it's a little slower than I thought. And it broke to the right. I was in a little disagreement with my caddie whether it would break right. I thought it would break right and he thought it would be straighter. I decided to go with him because he's been better reading this week than I have. Not that it was his fault. I should have given it more speed still. It was not an easy putt to read. It was coming kind of over a spine in the green and a hump in the middle. I had to go over it, so it as two breaks, not the kind of putt you dream of having to win or tie, but I had an easier putt on the regulation to do it.

STEWART CINK: Regulation?

STEWART CINK: Playoff? 15 feet.

STEWART CINK: Yeah.

STEWART CINK: Well, I knew it was on the line I wanted it to start on, but then when I saw it wiggle right halfway up, I knew I didn't have a chance. I needed it to go straight and then break left to go in. Next year when they put that pin there, I'll remember that. I've hit that putt two times now, last year the last hole and this year, both times I missed it both times and next year I'm going to make it.

STEWART CINK: Regulation, it was another difficult putt. At that time Duval had putted just before me, and his ball broke right, not on the same line, it led me to believe my ball would stay straight or straighter. It was a pretty big slope. It was downhill and very fast. I played a little less break than I thought I needed to, after I saw his ball, and it just didn't happen. It broke like crazy and missed low all the way.

STEWART CINK: The time went by fast. I hit balls. I hit drivers. I went to the practice green. I kind of listened to what Larry was doing over, the official radio, and so I probably was 20 minutes after I signed my card until I left to go to the tee, about the same as last year waiting.

STEWART CINK: I was 12 under when I hit my tee shot on 15. And I got up to the green there and I saw the scoreboard that Larry had gone to 18 under. I didn't think I had a chance to do anything. Because I was -- I was 12 under. He was 18 under. I was sitting there with a pretty difficult clip on 15 for an eagle. No birdie is guaranteed there. That's a tough green. So I didn't think I was in it at all. I thought I needed to make -- have some good holes finishing to make a good check, and finish in the top five or so. And I made a good birdie there, and 16 almost made a hole in one. I didn't make a birdie. My ball bounced right by the hole and went on about 15 feet past. And then 17 I played. It's just like it's supposed to be played. I hit in it the fairway and hit it about four feet with a six iron. I played it beautifully. I thought if I birdied the last two holes, I'd be in the playoff. Really, on 16th green, I thought after I birdied 15, knowing the way the last four holes are here, anything can happen and I just -- I've played enough golf and been close to the lead enough times in NIKE events and college events, these tournaments out here to know that you don't ever give up. You keep going full steam ahead the whole way and let the other guys fight it out. I gave myself a chance to win in the playoff.

STEWART CINK: No, I couldn't really find a good swing shot today. I've been driving the ball great all week. I haven't looked at the stats. I'm sure I was real high up in the fairways. And then today I get out there and I busted off one, busted off two, busted off three. And when I turned back into the win, I didn't hit another good drive until 10. I hit them right, left. Didn't hit anything good at all. I just was having a tough time finding a good swing shot on my driver. A good aggressive swing shot and put the driver away for a few holes back on the back nine, hit three woods where I had been hitting drivers. And then really I didn't hit another good driver all day. I hit it to the left a little bit on 18 regulation at the end of the first cut, and, luckily, I had a good enough lie to be able to hit the green. That's why I went to the range instead of the putting green. I was trying to figure out my driver.

STEWART CINK: No, no, it didn't.

STEWART CINK: No, I think I did pretty good of putting all the outside defending champ behind me on Wednesday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Tuesday, you had a big day with interviews and appearances. Wednesday, I had the governor and Mr.`Morase and Karl Krapek, tournament chairman, Ann Parizo. That was a nice group and fun day, but after it was over, I knew it was time to get down to business and it didn't take anything out of me at all, because it's really a pleasure to come back here where you've won before. So I wasn't distracted at all from being the defending champion. If anything, it helped me play this week.

STEWART CINK: I've seen it played -- last year I thought it played more difficult than this. The first year I played, I remember the greens were hard as rock. This year, it was a birdie fest. The greens were soft all week. I played pretty good on it. All three different kinds of conditions, you can bet I'll be committing to this tournament again.

STEWART CINK: I wouldn't say there's a hole I'd like to have back. I can think back to some short birdie putts I missed I'd like to have back. Obviously, two putts on 18 green today I'd like to have back. If I had my driver on the front nine, if I had it growing straighter, it probably would have been a different outcome, but that's all part of it. You know, the driver counts just as much as a tap-in put. I guess the three bogies I made on the front were pretty bad. Tough holes, very tough holes.

STEWART CINK: The back, yeah, it wasn't as windy on the back. It's more in the trees, I guess. The front nine was very windy.

STEWART CINK: It was going in the fairway. It hit the pinetree and went straight down. It took away the chance for me to go the green.

STEWART CINK: all right.

STEWART CINK: Okay.