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FBR OPEN

February 4, 2005

Michael Allen

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Michael Allen, thank you for joining us after a 5-under par 66, one of the best scores of the afternoon. Talk about the course conditions. The scores were a lot lower this morning. I don't know if it's toughening up out there or are the greens getting harder.

MICHAEL ALLEN: No, they're actually kind of soft. They held shots well. They had the tees moved up. They were expecting wind and didn't get any.

Yesterday they weren't expecting wind, so the tees were all the way back. It was playing as well as it could in the afternoon.

Q. Talk about your position going into the third round. You're 3 off the lead so you should be in good position going into the weekend.

MICHAEL ALLEN: I wish I had one more hole to play so I could have made another birdie. I was kind of tight making the turn, and then all of a sudden I started making a few birdies, chipped one in on the 2nd hole, and all of a sudden I got things going.

The last two holes I made some birdies, hit a couple 8-irons real close, so uneventful.

Q. I think it was 94 the last time that you played in this tournament?

MICHAEL ALLEN: That's what they tell me. It seems like at least that long.

Q. Is this something you've really been looking forward to, to getting back in here?

MICHAEL ALLEN: I love playing out here. I think this is one of the best tournaments of the year. I love the crowds, the enthusiasm out there. You don't get that unless it's a major or an Open. I love the enthusiasm, everybody being out here. I think it's great. It's nice to be at home. Of course I play a little bit anyhow, ride my Harley over here this morning, get pulled over.

Q. You did get pulled over?

MICHAEL ALLEN: Yeah, driving in the bike lane. I thought I had a bike (laughter).

Q. Did he write you a ticket?

MICHAEL ALLEN: No, he was nice. He gave me a ticket for not having a license and stuff, but I'll get that next week (laughter). He was all right.

Q. So you rode your Harley to the course today and you got pulled over by the cops?

MICHAEL ALLEN: I'm only two miles from the golf course (laughter).

Q. What are you thinking at that point?

MICHAEL ALLEN: I'm hoping the guy was not going to cuff me (laughter). It was pretty funny. He wasn't having that much fun with it.

Q. Did you tell him you were among the leaders in the tournament?

MICHAEL ALLEN: No, I didn't want to go there. I used my badge. I showed it to him, there you go. Had you taken the course, you would have known you can't ride in the bike lane. It's two wheels, it's a bike.

Q. He did give you a ticket?

MICHAEL ALLEN: Yes.

Q. Do you have a license?

MICHAEL ALLEN: No, I don't. I just got it just the other day, so I was just going to go get one next week, do one of those courses. I never thought I'd get in trouble two miles away from home.

Q. It happens out here a lot in Scottsdale.

MICHAEL ALLEN: Well, especially when the Birds' Nest is right here, two miles can be a long way.

Q. You know, you haven't really played that well this year, and all of a sudden, boom, you're playing really well. Is there some reason?

MICHAEL ALLEN: Well, I've been working a lot with this guy Mike Mitchell out in Palm Springs on my swing, and so it's taken a little bit.

It's been nice to have that time off to actually do those things in the off season. Again, I've been on the range hitting the ball great. I've been working. I just haven't put it in play. The last few weeks I've played decently, but when I make a mistake I compound it. I lose a ball left in the rough and then I three-putt it. I'm just kind of making the worst out of every situation, and so far this week I haven't. I feel like I'm playing pretty well.

I'm driving the ball nicely, too, right now. I drove the ball very well, so I haven't been in the rough very much, which on this course really makes it a lot easier. When you get in the fairway you can make some birdies out here.

Q. How far was that drive on 18 that set up that first birdie? What did you have, a sand wedge in your hand?

MICHAEL ALLEN: I did. I had like a 100-yard shot to the green. Yeah, I told my caddie, he was just about fired there. If I can get to that bunker I should be hitting driver, and I hit it 20 yards past it, so it worked out nice (laughter). It's nice to have a sand wedge.

Q. What's that, about a 360-yard drive?

MICHAEL ALLEN: I don't know. I'm too old for that.

Q. How long is that hole?

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: 440.

MICHAEL ALLEN: They had to tee up a bit. I play this course a fair amount, and it plays so short. When I get out there normally, when you get on 6, it's a driver, 7-iron. Today I hit driver, pitching wedge. It plays short for some reason when they get the tournament going, I don't know why.

Q. On the 2nd hole you came up short and then you chipped it in. What happened on that shot?

MICHAEL ALLEN: Well, I was just in the rough. I could have taken a pitching wedge. I only had 100 yards to the front, 110 to the hole. I took my pitching wedge just out of the rough, didn't know what it was going to do, so I took a sand wedge and it came up short. I was just playing to the front edge.

Q. How are you going to get home?

MICHAEL ALLEN: Well, I don't know. He told me I've got to find someone to ride it home for me. I might risk it, I don't know. It's all about risk-reward, isn't it (laughter)?

Q. Could he have just stopped you right there and not let you go any further?

MICHAEL ALLEN: I guess. He said, "well, you're just going in there."

Q. Where did you get pulled over?

MICHAEL ALLEN: Where I turned left on Hayden off of Bell. All those cars were coming around where they were stopping everybody, so I went around in the bike lane, which I've seen everybody do for years. I thought, this is great, I can do this now. So I went by, showed my badge, and he got on his bike and pulled me over.

Q. Then he showed you his badge?

MICHAEL ALLEN: He didn't have to. I saw it. It was kind of a shocking start to the day, you know.

Q. But kind of a good ending, though.

MICHAEL ALLEN: A wonderful ending so far, for golf anyhow.

Q. You know, last year when you kind of made your move late in the season and finished 2nd in Greensboro, are you playing like that now?

MICHAEL ALLEN: I think so. It's just a matter of how I'm competing. Again, the physical things are there. If I can get out tomorrow and relax and go make my five or six birdies and not have too many mistakes, that's what it comes down to really, if I can just not get my own way.

I'm always my biggest detriment, that's for sure. If I can stay relaxed and just go out and play golf like I know I can.

Q. Does that mean John going to have to drive you to the course the next two days?

MICHAEL ALLEN: I might not be able to have the Harley the next few days. I think he's looking out for me, you know. I feel it's that good karma, I need it.

Q. The Harley is how old?

MICHAEL ALLEN: Two days (laughter). I already got in trouble. I got rid of all the sports cars and stuff. He said, "there's two points on your record." I haven't had one for a long time.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: If we can touch on your round and we'll take one or two final questions. You started out on the back side, bogeyed the pay 3, 12th.

MICHAEL ALLEN: I hit what I thought was a pretty safe shot, ball carried pretty far. I hit like a little 6-iron just 175. I hit to kind of the middle of the green, like 50 feet, and I just bashed it right through everything, hit it eight, ten feet by.

Birdie on the par 5, 15th, hit it just in the rough, laid up, hit a little pitching wedge, like a 95-yard pitching wedge into the wind, to about two or three feet.

18, hit that great drive down there and just a sand wedge to about three or four feet. That was nice. I made really a nice putt on 16, too. I kind of hit it left of the pin and kind of bashed that one, too.

I chipped in on 2.

Then made a birdie on 3, hit a driver, 5-iron into 3, just up on top, about 30 feet to the hole and two-putted.

8, the tee is so far up, I couldn't believe it. I hit driver and 8-iron from like 145 yards into the wind to about two feet.

Then the next hole, hit a drive and a 7-iron to about six or seven feet.

Q. When you see guys who you've been around a long time, Magee, two Top 10s in a row, Armour, T7 in Hawaii, does that inspire in any way? Are they related in any way?

MICHAEL ALLEN: I think Andrew is a good inspiration, you know. TA is hard to inspire anybody (laughter). But he's a good role model (laughter).

Andrew is a good story. I think it's wonderful. He hasn't been able to play for the last few years when he couldn't walk, and I think he finally just saddled up because he needed some money, and he's playing great. He's a good player and has always been a good player. I think that's a great story to see him out playing so well. He is an inspiration.

Q. You guys are doing well, what does that say of guys in their 40s? They're taking better care of themselves, have skills? Does it say anything?

MICHAEL ALLEN: I think it says a couple things. I mean, the money keeps guys out here and keeps them in good shape. It's a great way to make a living.

I think the equipment has helped the guys out a lot. I think for me anyhow. I was just talking to Jeff Maggert about it, how I'm 46 now and I'm hitting the ball 20 yards, 30 yards past things I could do 15 years ago, and back then I was one of the longer hitters on Tour. Now I'm just middle of the pack.

I think equipment has kept a lot of guys in the game, too. It's just made things easier for everybody, and I think with the money being so good, guys are going to take better care of themselves and keep a job. I've tried working the other side, and I'm not very good at it, so I need to keep this job if I can.

Q. Was it just two years ago that you didn't have a place to play?

MICHAEL ALLEN: Well, I was on the Nike Tour or Nationwide, whatever, yeah.

Q. Wasn't there a year when you stayed and played at Mesa Country Club?

MICHAEL ALLEN: Two years ago I got my card back and then I lost my card in the last two years, but I was trying to work in 2000, 2001. I worked at Winged Foot for a while, I tried to build homes here, worked at Sun Ridge Canyon and was trying to scrounge out a living.

Q. That was in 2001?

MICHAEL ALLEN: Yeah, 96 I lost my card, 97.

Q. So when did you go back out and get it and start playing again?

MICHAEL ALLEN: I think I started playing again in probably like 2000, 2001. You'd have to check it out in the book. These years run by so fast now.

2002 I got it back, and I know I played a year before that on the Nike Tour, so it probably was about 2000, 99. I mean, I was just scrounging around.

Q. I remember I wrote a story about you.

MICHAEL ALLEN: You were the only guy that talked to me.

Q. You were going to be a club pro, you were trying to find a job.

MICHAEL ALLEN: I went through, did all the things for the PGA of America. I got all the letters. I went through and did that so I could have a chance. You've got to take care of your family no matter what, and that's what's going to happen no matter what.

Q. You were an assistant at Winged Foot?

MICHAEL ALLEN: I was an assistant.

Q. So how many assistant jobs, Winged Foot, and where else?

MICHAEL ALLEN: Well, then I taught out at Sun Ridge Canyon, which was over in Fountain Hills there, and then that was kind of it. No one knows what happened to me. I put out resumes all over.

Q. Were you a good teacher?

MICHAEL ALLEN: Well, I started out not very good, I can tell you that. I thought I was. I gave everybody Hank Haney and this is what you do, and I found out they're not able to handle that. As I went, I got a lot better at it. I thought I was good because I was a decent golfer, but that doesn't make you a good teacher.

Q. Was there one thing that kind of got you back into golf?

MICHAEL ALLEN: As a matter of fact there is. I was actually here in 99 or whatever it was, sitting here with like a buddy Ron Burroughs, and we're sitting up on 16 having a good time drinking like everybody does. He goes, "Man, you should be playing, I don't know what you're doing." He went out and raised money for me without me even knowing and got me to start playing again.

So I went back out, whatever year that was, and started qualifying. I qualified the first event Top 25, made some money and was able to keep playing. But those guys from Mesa kind of got me out there.

Q. Wasn't Ron the guy that carried you at the Tommy Bahama?

MICHAEL ALLEN: That's right.

Q. Actually Desert Marlin, right?

MICHAEL ALLEN: Right.

Q. What was that worth?

MICHAEL ALLEN: A lot of laughs. We had a great time.

Q. But there was a check there, wasn't there?

MICHAEL ALLEN: Yeah, we made about $15,000, $18,000. It was fun. We had a great time. It was a good drinking tournament. If I could get everybody out here to drink, I'd win a lot more tournaments, I can guarantee you that (laughter).

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Michael, thanks a lot.

End of FastScripts.

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