FORD SENIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

July 10, 1997

Dana Quigley

DANA QUIGLEY: It's hard to say what it's like. This all happened so fast today, you know, I was just trying to hold my wits about me and not, you know, after a start like I had, I was just -- I tried to think if I could get it back around par, it would be kind of a good score. And, through 12, I got it back to even par. I birdied, I think 5 and 8, to get back to edge on the front 9. I don't know what happened. I birdied 13, I hit it just in the back fringe about 15 feet from the hole in two, and made a pretty good chip for eagle, didn't eagle it, but I made birdie there. Then 14, I don't want to jinx myself on that hole, but I hit a 3-wood right to the edge, hit 8-iron about, I'd say, 13 feet and made the putt for three. That felt pretty special there just getting by that hole with a three. And then it felt like I ran 3s out the rest of the way. I made three on the par 3. I had about a 15-footer for birdie and didn't make it. Then I made three on 16. I hit a 6-iron in there about five feet behind the hole and made three. Then I made four on 17. I played very conservatively. Hit my drive right out the middle and laid up with a 5-iron, got it up-and-down from, I think, 75 yards, made about, I'd say, a 9-footer for birdie there, 8-, or 9-footer. And then, gee, just hit a nice drive down the middle on 18, hit a 7-iron about 20 feet, made just a real curl and left-to-right putt. I already told someone else, when you get on rolls like that, you know, nothing seems very hard in this game when you're on rolls like that. It really doesn't feel like it's any effort at all. You know, you are just kind of like on some kind of almost like a monorail or something. I don't know how to explain it. It's just so easy to play golf when you're just thinking, just hitting the shots. I'm sure that's where all the great players are most of the time, and when guys like myself get there, it's kind of special. Somehow I got to work on it and figure out how to do that more often.

DANA QUIGLEY: Actually, the front 9 wasn't a struggle. You know, I made -- I was 15 feet from the hole on 2, on No. 1, and tried to get real cute with a chip shot, kind of fluffed it. Took 3 with a putter to makes 6. That happened before I even got my tournament shoes on, it felt like - I was 2-over. I hit a lot of good shots on the front 9 and made two of the birdies, so I was really pretty happy with the front 9.

DANA QUIGLEY: I tried to chip in with a sand wedge. I don't know if you know, in the long roughy grass right around the fringe of the green, you can go right under it. The greens are so fast and a little firm back there. I left it right on the fringe there. Probably another foot on that chip and it would have been fine.

DANA QUIGLEY: Yeah. Then I tried to make it, ran about five feet behind. It was a nice wake-up call.

DANA QUIGLEY: I'd have gone back, I can tell you (laughter).

DANA QUIGLEY: Yeah, I'd love to talk about it.

DANA QUIGLEY: I'm going to tell you -- I can tell you now what I feel about it. I didn't feel it when it was happening. I turned 50 April 14th. The PGA of America gave me an exemption into the PGA Seniors Championship. I played pretty well. I was really nervous and excited to play. I didn't know anything about the SENIOR TOUR. It's something I wanted to try, but I didn't know anything about it. So I went out. After that tournament, I think I finished 38th or somewhere in that vicinity, but I had a lot of good memories from that tournament. I went out the next Monday so I'm a Monday qualifier - with absolutely no expectations. I shot 69 at the Bruno's in Birmingham and didn't get in the tournament. So that was kind of like my first welcome to the SENIOR TOUR, was shooting 69 and not getting into a tournament. Since then, I've played seven Mondays, counting the US Senior Open, and my highest score on any of the seven Mondays has been 2-under-par. And I've gotten in four events. So, when I tell you it is extremely hard to get into golf tournaments on this Tour, I'm understating it, believe me. So I never -- knowing how hard it was to get into golf tournaments, I never -- you know, this wasn't even any schedule, any kind of schedule that I could make. This was a week off. I was basically going to go to St. Louis to play in the Senior Series. Never dreamed about playing in this golf tournament because it's off - money - obviously. Somehow I finished fourth at Philadelphia, made 60,000, and then I went to Ameritech in Chicago the week after and made just under 10,000, and then I was off for two or three weeks. I shot a couple more 69s, and didn't get in, or 70s, and didn't get in tournaments. I went down to the Monday of Atlanta, I shot 69 there and didn't get in, 70 and didn't get in the tournament. I went down to a Senior Series event in Lady Lake, Florida, and won the event, won $20,000, which was before the 60, was the highest amount of money I ever made in my life playing golf. You know, that was just a spur of the moment thing, went down and there and played. Then I qualified for the Senior Open, and from what my friends tell me, I really don't remember it. I was in third place with about five holes to play. You know, when you're out there, you don't add up where you are; you really try to stay where you are, actually. I made some bogeys coming in there, extremely hard holes. So I think I finished 12 there. That's what got me here.

DANA QUIGLEY: Well, I've been thinking about it for several years. The press in New England who has been very, very good to me, I think for the last three years have probably written about it. "Well, you're getting ready for the SENIOR TOUR." That's been a ton of stories about it. I wanted to give it a fair shot. When I played the regular Tour in the late '70s, I certainly wasn't honest with myself or honest with anyone enough to really give it the best try I had. So I think I'm going to do it, I'm going to try this Tour this time, this way, this time, and give it every effort that I possibly can. And if I have success, I'm going to be happy with it. But, if I don't, at least I'm going to at least be calm enough to know that I tried anyway this time, my hardest. So, you know, it's something I've dreamt about probably since I've been in the club pro ranks. I just really -- I'm just really fortunate to be able to have had some success so far.

DANA QUIGLEY: Drinking, not training, not believing in myself. My attitude was as bad as my preparation. I didn't believe in myself. I didn't believe I was good enough to play the regular Tour. I didn't think I was as good as the players. I was very intimidated. This time around, I'm still in awe of some of these guys, but I'm not intimidated by them. I still respect them. They're still my heroes. But, I really feel I can play with them now. A whole different mental approach.

DANA QUIGLEY: Well, I worked with Bob Rotella in October last year. I've been friends with Bob Rotella for many years. I don't know if you know him. He's the sports psychologist that has worked with many of the Tour guys. He thought he could help me, and he really changed my thinking around to more involved with how I play rather than how the other people are. He got me not to worry about a lot of outside things.

DANA QUIGLEY: Yeah.

DANA QUIGLEY: Very recent. I went down to the club pro series in Florida, won five events. The last five years, I haven't won any events. So it was an immediate -- somehow something that he talked to me about clicked inside of me for it, you know. It changed my whole thinking around on the golf course. Basically, you know, in a capsule, he got me to learn to play to win, rather than to play to just be one of the participants. And, it works. Obviously, the greater the competition you have, I think the more that you need to be thinking that way. You know, it's okay when you're -- like the events I played in New England where I was the top guy, everyone is gunning for you, it's tough to be negative when you're the top dog. But when you go in there against the guys that are great, you really need a sound mind. It's so much mind. I haven't changed my golf swing. I haven't done anything. There isn't one thing different from Dana Quigley today than Dana Quigley last year other than what's up in the squash.

DANA QUIGLEY: Yeah, that, too.

DANA QUIGLEY: No, no. That one owes me. I'm going to play that one tomorrow.