U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 10, 1999

Frank Conner

FRANK CONNER: Well, I got out here at 8:00, so we started at 8:40. And I am not sure the weather conditions have changed much. It was cooler this morning when we started, and the wind was already blowing. So I don't think there was any big advantage. Obviously, there was advantage on the greens. The greens are in perfect shape when we played. I played obviously better today than I have in the last couple of days; but really, I felt like I played pretty much pretty good all week, even though 79 I shot, I just putted horribly. I made like the first hole the first day. I hit a perfect 3-wood right in front of the green, nice chip 3 foot from the hole, 3-putted making bogey. That was kind of the start of my tournament. And then I made double-bogeys on 4, 5, and 6. So basically, that was my 79 right there. But since then, I have played real well.

FRANK CONNER: 62 (laughs).

FRANK CONNER: Not many 62s out on this golf course.

FRANK CONNER: I am 53. I don't remember that many birdies. I don't know. I started -- today, I started off on No. 1. I hit my tee shot. Simon Hobday, who I played with, he and I just had it short of the green in the right rough. All we had to do was pitch the ball over the bunker, and it rolled down there, rolled about four feet past the hole. And today I made it. I made a birdie on the first hole. That is the farthest I have been away from the hole on the first hole in the three days that I have played it. And today, that got me even par. Yesterday, I made par from about three feet. Today, I finally made a birdie. So it was kind of a nice start. Then I hit a 9-iron on No. 3 about ten feet, so made a birdie there. Par 5, I hit driver 4-wood on the green; 2-putted for a birdie there. And then I was on the right edge of the green, so probably 30-footer. Then the next hole -- next two holes, I parred made some good pars. Only problem is I can't see this. (laughs). I don't have any glasses. But then I made a bogey on 8. I 3-putted 8. 9, I was -- 7th hole, I am sorry. I hit driver off the tee, which I hadn't been doing. But it was really -- the wind was really blowing into us. It is a short hole. I hit my middle wedge in about two and a half feet, so birdied that hole. Then I 3-putted 8. On 9, really good drive. Best yesterday and today, hit real good drives. I was down at the bottom of hill yesterday, hit a 3-wood, caught the grass right in front of me. Ball only traveled 20 yards. Then I still made par yesterday. But today I hit 4-wood, it got over the -- I tried to go for the green. Didn't quite catch it all, and was just short of green, just over the water. Pitched it up about 15 feet, missed it. Then my bogey on 10. I hooked my 3-wood, it went in the water, made a real good bogey there. 11, hit driver, 4-wood, went off the back of the -- I don't know -- about a yard into the first cut. Just had a very difficult pitch shot. Used my 58-degree sand wedge and kind of flopped it on the green, just rolled downhill. Went perfect, right in the cup for a 3. So it was -- I was probably 25 feet. On 14 I hit 8-iron and the wind was really swirling because right after me, Simon hit a 7-iron, went in the bunker, but I hit really good 8-iron, hit on green, rolled down there about four and a half feet left of the hole. Then I birdied 16. I hit 3-wood off the tee, hit my middle wedge and made a nice 15-, 18-footer. Bogeyed 18. I hit a perfect drive, actually hit it a little heavy, knock down an 8-iron, hit it a little heavy; went in the bunker; knocked it up about five feet; missed the putt.

FRANK CONNER: I am sure the greens are going to be getting faster as this wind is going to dry them out some. They were holding real well for us, so Eich and Ed Dougherty are probably going off four and a half hours after we are, so with the wind, that is going to dry them out some. The pin positions were hard, but as fair as they can be on the golf course, you know, just very difficult to find four pin positions on some of these greens. But the golf course is just -- golf course itself is just playing excellent from the tee to the green. It is in beautiful condition. And it played so different today. Golf course changes everyday. Like today on holes like 12, instead of hitting 3-wood down there, 3-wood wedge, you are having to hit driver, 8-iron. So par 5s that you can reach now today hit driver, driver and I still had 40 yards to go. So yesterday I hit it driver, 4-wood on the green. So the golf course is playing completely different. I mean, it has kind of played that way the whole week, you know, one day it will be downwind on a certain hole like the second hole we played today, I hit a good drive. I had 3-iron to the green where we were going to hit 9-irons the days before. So it is just -- with the wind it just turned completely around.

FRANK CONNER: Off the tee it was into us going left.

FRANK CONNER: Yes, so I had to hit a driver there and I tried to hit -- I probably should have hit 6-iron for my second shot. I hit 7-iron just short of the green; pitched up so saved par.

FRANK CONNER: Yeah, the trees -- obviously they didn't want par 73 on the golf course, but, yeah, those trees are always going to bother you. I was in the right cut and where they -- the pin today was back left. The trees were in my way.

FRANK CONNER: Yeah, if you got to hit 6-iron you know they are going to be in the way.

FRANK CONNER: I thought that was a very difficult pin. I hit a 5-iron, I believe, off the tee and just barely got it on the front right edge of the green; had to go overhill, down-the-hill. I rolled it about six feet by and missed it.

FRANK CONNER: Is the 18th a USGA green? No. (laughs). 18 is just -- still you don't have enough pin positions. Luckily today they got one way left. I mean, they got that thing in the bottom and on top, just very difficult to get the ball anywhere near the hole. Anyplace you put it there, it is -- unless you hit -- it is just so difficult if you are -- if it is anywhere back where you can run the ball back to it, but if you are in the rough and you got to fly it over the bunker to get it there, it is just very difficult to get the ball to stop once it hits the green.

FRANK CONNER: Oh, I really can't even think about that right now. I mean, I was one of the first groups out so a lot of people are shooting good scores. I saw some other players playing very well. A couple of other guys are shooting under par, so, I mean, Ed could shoot 4-, 5-under and the tournament is over. It is just -- so it is really hard to say right now.

FRANK CONNER: Absolutely, thank you.