THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 26, 1997

Tim Finchem

Greg Norman

GREG NORMAN: Thank you. Deep emotional pleasure being here, Wes. Sitting beside you on this auspicious occasion.

GREG NORMAN: Okay.

GREG NORMAN: Questions?

GREG NORMAN: I am playing very well. I actually think I am playing just maybe a touch better than I was going into Doral. And my feelings, I feel great. I am looking forward to the next -- I play six of the next seven weeks, so my schedule is very bunched up this year. I am playing a lot of golf between now and the end of August. And, after that, I am not playing very much. So, I am feeling pretty good about things.

GREG NORMAN: Well, I think A-game physically is there. Whether the A-game mentally is there is another thing. That is why I decided to play New Orleans next week. If I was going to play, take a week off. It would be pretty hard for me to play in that competitive mental frame of mind as you go out there and play. So, that is why I think it is important to play competitive golf. So what percentage that would be, I don't know. I am probably about 75% ready to go play right now in the head.

COMMISSIONER FINCHEM: He is Australian and I am Irish. (Audience laughter.)

GREG NORMAN: I think the theory didn't develop between the two of us. It is like anything in business, you are not going to agree on everything 100%. It is how you work those disagreements out is the most important, crucial thing. And I know that just as much as a business as it is on the golf course. If I take a double-bogey on the second hole, I am not going to take that double-bogey to the third hole because it will ruin my rounds, so you have to drop it; forget it; work the situation out in your head. It is the same with any business. Same if I am sitting down at a board room, if you have a disagreement with the board of directors, you have got to work it out. That is one thing that Tim and I have done. It is contrary to what the perception is perceived to be out there and probably hurts both of us because we are both working for a common goal. I have my agenda to work for and he has his, and ironically, they work together. That is why all the way along, yes, we have had disagreements. But at the same time, we have sorted our disagreements out in a professional and manly manner. Our relationship as friends is still the same. Irrespective, we do have a disagreement. That is why I wanted Tim to come in here because it is important that we all understand that there is no feud between the two of us. There never has been a feud between the two of us, and there will probably never be a feud between the two of us. I think that is important for you to know.

GREG NORMAN: Probably.

GREG NORMAN: I can't fire him. He can fire me, but I can't fire him. No, I think we will keep him around here. Like, you guys weren't privy to the meeting we had last night, but the meeting we had amongst all the players was a very upbeat meeting. Like I said to Tim in our last meeting, I said he is in a very, very strong position because the game of golf -- I have never seen the game of golf as strong as where it is right now. Not only from the players' point of view, but from the sponsors' point of view from the media exposure. I think we have more people covering the game of golf now from the spectators. I have never seen it this strong. You can go back to the mid-'80s when there was a lot of corporate money around and people were spending money not only just in golf, but in everything. The game of golf is so healthy, and I think we are all very fortunate to be involved in it right now. I think going -- what Tim was saying last night at our meeting, PGA TOUR has got a very, very strong grip on the direction they want it to go. And that is all credit to him. And, I can honestly say, when I first came out on the TOUR, our former commissioner wasn't anywhere near as open and easy going with the players as what this commissioner is.

GREG NORMAN: Have we fished together?

GREG NORMAN: If I was going to get rid of him, I would take him diving. No problem. It would be the easiest thing in the world.

GREG NORMAN: All right. In answer to your question in the back about the media and article in the paper this morning, I didn't read it. I have only heard the players talking about it. I think you will find that the majority of the players understand the responsibilities we do have. We understand that there is going to be a negative approach thrown in every now and then towards players or certain players. We accept that. We accept that responsibility. You will find that the majority of the players, that probably all the top players, accept that responsibility. As much as when it happens, we don't like it, but we accept the fact. We don't shy away from the media. We never have. I haven't seen -- I know I haven't -- I might have skipped maybe two press conferences in 21 years of my life. If I go -- if I am asked to go, I go. I think that is the responsibility of being one of the top players. You have got to take the good with the bad.

GREG NORMAN: Well, unfortunately, it has probably diminished by at least 50%; maybe more. You have got the rough up this year, but the rough really only comes into play when the fairways are firm because the ball has a tendency of getting through the fairways. The rough is severe, yes. But with the fairways as soft as they are, the ball is only rolling maybe 1 foot, 2 feet. So that means if you are driving the ball well, you shouldn't really be getting yourself into too many bad positions in the rough. Obviously, the greens are soft, absolute pure putting surface. So, I would say it diminishes by at least 50%. So if you are shooting 18-under, under these conditions, normal conditions would be 9-under, that type of thing.

GREG NORMAN: I think it is great. I mean, you have had Arnold Palmer and now you have Jack Nicklaus. You have had two of the greatest icons in the game of golf. I think it just gives stronger credibility to The Presidents Cup.

GREG NORMAN: Yeah.

GREG NORMAN: How do you know? (Audience Laughter.)

GREG NORMAN: I think that is a player's prerogative of what putter he feels like. I don't think players go out there to putt with a putter just because he knows he is going to get 800 bucks. I didn't know that existed, to tell you the truth. I do tinker with putters. I tinker with them at home in my backyard. I always end up going back to the same putter that I have putted with, with that Ping. I have probably putted with that now four years. This is probably my fourth year. So first part, yes, I do tinker, but eventually, I don't come out into the real world under the gun with a putter that I don't feel comfortable with. This putter war, everybody is trying to build everybody a perfect putter, I suppose, and in search of the holy grail - this game is. You never get it. You never find it. You think you have got it. I am trying a couple of drivers now. I think I have got it, and I don't have it. That is just what this game does to you.

GREG NORMAN: I think so. Sitting in the meeting last night, 12 months from now, I think they have got a very positive step on it. I think they are understanding the overall dynamics. I mean, I am just very new in the business world, but I understand the dynamics of business, and they have got a lot of good heads on their shoulders. The boards of directors, the outside Board of Directors, the Dick Ferrises of the world and Red Polings, those type of guys, I think, have all really put their right advice in at the right time. And, just from reading and understanding and hearing what I am hearing, yes, I really do think they have.

GREG NORMAN: Oh, yes, I am very comfortable now. I mean, it is one of those deals that I really don't think about it. I think about the shot that I want to hit instead of the swing I have to put on it before I have hit the shot that I want to hit. So, I am just eliminating a piece of the equation.

GREG NORMAN: Well, I think, by far, this is the strongest tournament we play in all year. If my memory is right, it might be -- the PGA Championship might be the next one out of the top 50 that play. You probably know that better than I do. But, from pure strength point of view, this is the toughest one to win. But from a stature point of view, you have got your four Majors. We discuss it every year. You have got four Majors. Leave them where they are. Then you have got the best of the next. And, I would say the TPC is, by far, ahead of the best of the next because of the strength of the field. And, the guys love coming here. They do a great job for us here. Every year, it seems like it just gets that much better. How they do it? I don't know. But, it feels that much better.

GREG NORMAN: Yes, I have.

GREG NORMAN: Return visit to? Golf?

GREG NORMAN: I am sure there will be a return visit, yeah. We have discussed that. And -- just one of those unfortunate accidents. He is going to be tied up. He is not going to be able to do the things he likes to do for a while. Then again, it might have been good for him to slow him down a little bit too. I am not saying hurting yourself is good for you, but looking behind every dark cloud, there is a silver lining, somewhere, for some reason. And, maybe just slowing him down a little bit in that regard might have been good for him.

GREG NORMAN: Oh, yeah, we are pretty much over it. At the time, before last week, it was difficult because you were there all the time. I played an extremely low profile on the whole thing. I didn't want to get involved with the getting on talk shows and stuff like that, which I turned down every single one. I never did one of those because I didn't think it was my position to do that. I am not that type of person anyway. I think from our point of view, my wife's point of view and mine, we were looking forward to having a friend over for a couple of days, and as it turned out, that friend hurt himself. And, you know, you feel bad if anybody hurts themselves at your house, but it compounds the problem when it is the President of the United States. So, you know, it is one of those unfortunate things. We're over it. We talked about it a little bit more. Some of the players have asked me about it, so I talk about it with them. But, you know, I won't go into the nitty-gritty details of it - that is for sure.

GREG NORMAN: It was terrible. It was ridiculous. There were people hiding in the bushes. They have got a photograph -- I wasn't in it, thank God -- but my wife and my attorney were sitting there and one other person, and I don't think he is in this room, but they got this photograph. How the hell they ever got this photograph, I will never know. Bunch of grapes out in front of the house. They must have been camped out in there with camouflage on to do that. That is the type of -- there were helicopters flying over the house all the time. It got a life of its own. For some ridiculous reason, it got a life of its own. That is why I refuse to get up and do any interviews and talk about it. I have made a press release, and that was it.

GREG NORMAN: Dozens. Literally dozens. So everything from the morning talk shows, from Larry King, all those people wanted to get my idea or my view of what happened.

GREG NORMAN: Pete and I have been working now nearly four years, and we basically work on stabilization and speed and obviously flexibility. I am not as young as I used to be, but I have a poor back and a poor hip. But, you know, the work that we do basically -- kind of like isolates each and every one of those, and you build up the muscles around each problem, and, that is how I protect myself, through good stabilization. And, I guess if it wasn't for Pete, I may not be playing now. Because '91, '92, when my back was really bad, when I decided to do all this, if I look at my back in X-rays now, I wonder why I am out here playing. But, it is because of the way we have worked at it, and basically picked out certain muscle groups and studied the rotation of the golf swing to put them into our exercise program. I am not out there to build bulk. I am out there to build stability and flexibility.

GREG NORMAN: Every day at home, basically I probably go five days a week. He always likes me to have two days off, either Wednesday or Sunday, or somewhere along the lines like that.

GREG NORMAN: Under the conditions, they are -- like they are, as we speak, they are not as difficult as what they would be if they were extremely firm. Mainly because you have got water behind the green on 16 and 17 and when you have got firm conditions and you are going at the green on a par 5, you have a tendency -- you could land on the downslope of the green and run through the back of the green and finish in the water after hitting a good shot. Same with 17. Very difficult to get it close on that back tier on 17 when the green is firm. So, it is not as terrifying with the greens when the greens are soft as they are when they are firm.

GREG NORMAN: 18 is just two solid shots. That is all it is. You have got to hit good driver, then you have got to hit a good 5-iron, 4-iron or 3-iron, like today it was like a 7-iron shot, so those type of -- every shot has got to be solid. Even your first putt has got to be solid. If you don't hit a solid first putt, you have got a 4- or 5-footer off so the last hole is a good finishing hole because you have got to hit four good shots to get your day done.

GREG NORMAN: Oh, I don't know. Anything is possible now on this TOUR. It is hard to say. A guy gets hot is a guy who gets hot. It will be hard there. It might -- they may tie it, but I don't think it will get beaten.

GREG NORMAN: Harbour Town, Hilton Head.

GREG NORMAN: Atlanta will be my last one. Two of those weeks, I am not in this country. I am out of this country.

GREG NORMAN: I always thought Stuart was really one of our -- two of our young stars, Appleby and Allenby have really shown that they can take the game on and come over here and win. Robert hasn't, but Stuart has. Robert has done very well every other part of the world he played. It is only a matter of time before he does it here. But with Stuart, you know, when you've got two guys like that, like I played with the two of them today, it is just impressive to see those two just going along with each other. They kind of egg each other along, but they also give each other the need to tell which is needed. So if there was good friendly rivalry out there within Australia, now with two young players, I would say that would be the two. It is just time for Stuart to win here, just as much it is time for Robert to win. So, you know, that is what I said, welcome. He deserves to win. He is a good enough player to win. Once you win over here, you get A little bit more confidence, and he could have easily won one last week too, and he has got the game to win this week. He is long and strong.

GREG NORMAN: We talked about it prior to me going down to Australia way back in -- what was that? -- January, February, I think it was. At the house, no, we didn't discuss that. We didn't discuss golf at all. We touched on one subject, but that was about it.

GREG NORMAN: President Clinton?

GREG NORMAN: I don't know. I don't know what his schedule is like. I know what his schedule was like to get him to come down for two days. What is it like to get him to come down there for President Cup? I know he would love to be there. I know he loves Australia. We did talk about that. After his visit down there, he absolutely fell in love with the country and fell in love with the people. And he said he is going to come back before his second term is over, so hopefully that will be for The Presidents Cup because I think it will be great for us to have him down there.

GREG NORMAN: Well, I don't think the President of the United States will sue me.

GREG NORMAN: I don't know. I don't think so.

GREG NORMAN: I would have to say yes to that. Sometimes it is harder for me now to get myself up for a golf tournament, and yet when you go to a major championship, I think you automatically get yourself up because of the stature of what you are playing for that week. So, you know, I would have to say yes to that question.

GREG NORMAN: The closer you get to the tournament time, the simpler it's got to be. If you working on anything, on your golf swing on Wednesday night before a major championship, you're in for a hard week.

GREG NORMAN: I have got a lot of good thoughts. I was interviewed about that just recently about some of the holes out there. Even though it is a straight-out, straight-back type of golf course and the postage stamp, one of the great little par 3s, I like it. I've got a lot of good memories and thoughts about it. When we played it, it was extremely hard and fast, so it will be interesting to see when we get back there, whether the conditions are the same.

GREG NORMAN: No, I am not changing anything. I am going to do my press conference and deal with it like I deal with every other press conference and every other golf tournament I go to. I accept the fact that there will be a lot more hype about it, I suppose. Some of that might play in my favor too. I think there might be a lot of good sentiment out there amongst the gallery. Who knows, I am even getting it out here now. And it is not good luck this week, it is good luck in a couple of weeks. I think people feel that. I can tell you I got a lot of mail after The Masters last year. I am getting almost the same amount of mail leading up to the Masters this year. Obviously some of the people wrote to me afterwards. I am not saying they are. Same people who wrote to me are writing back to me wishing me well the next couple of weeks. It has just been an interesting flow, the sequence, the last 12 months.

GREG NORMAN: Of mine?

GREG NORMAN: Retirement. I think that would be the best bet. Just stepping down one day because I can tell you, when I took that three months off and I didn't play golf for two months, except for the Andersen, I never had a hip problem; never had a back problem. So, that tells you one thing: It is playing the game of golf and hitting golf balls which fatigues my back and inflames the problems that I have there. So, I enjoyed it. Believe me, I enjoyed it waking up every morning without having an ache and pain and having to stretch out to get myself going for that day. So, that is the only answer. I don't see myself having to have surgery. Even though one person said I should do and two others said I shouldn't do. So retirement would be the best way out of this whole thing.

GREG NORMAN: I think if I keep my routine going as I am doing, I think I will be strong until I am 60 because I have got a very discipline approach to life and the things I do my workout and things I eat, and my attitude towards life, so as long as I keep that, I don't see any reason why because I think -- I know I am fitter now than when I was in my 20s and when I speak to people in their 50s they feel they are fitter than when they were in their 30s. So, you keep that approach, you shouldn't have any problem.

GREG NORMAN: Yes, they did.