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FORD SENIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

July 14, 2006

Jerry Pate

DEARBORN, MICHIGAN

DAVE SENKO: Give us a little quick rundown on your round.

JERRY PATE: Well, I hit the ball extremely well today. It could have easily been a 61, 59, if I had a really strong putting day. But missed several short, key putts that were potentially would have maybe changed my rounds. I missed two greens in the bunker on 4 and 8, and up and down both of them. So that was really a turning point. Really hit a good 5 and 6 iron. Pulled both of them maybe a couple yards. Both of them hit on the collar and spun left and bounced on the bunker. So it wasn't like I hit really poor shots.

Other than that, you know, No. 1, I missed a short putt. 15 footer for bird.

2, I made birdie, ten feet.

3 I missed about a 20 footer.

5, I make it for birdie.

6, I missed a three footer.

7, I make an 8 footer.

9, I make a 6 footer.

10, I make a 10 footer.

12, I make a 15 footer.

13, I make about a 10 footer.

14, I missed slipped out a 20 footer.

Next hole about 10 footer.

Next about 5 footer.

17, I hit it about 10 feet and missed that.

18, I hit it on the collar, but I had a about a 22 foot putt straight downhill. It was the only green I missed coming in so and I drove it well. So in spite of the way I've got some issues with my right shoulder. In spite of that, I'm hanging in there and trying to make good swings.

DAVE SENKO: Do you remember how long the putt you made was on No. 5, the Par 4?

JERRY PATE: Five was about 15 feet for birdie.

6, I MISSED a 3 footer right behind

Birdied 7 and 9 and 10, so came back pretty strongly after that. Missed a couple of fairways that I probably shouldn't have. I think I missed about on the back 9 I missed 11 and 14 11 and 13.

And then the front nine I think I drove it near the fairway on the front nine. I think so. I drove the ball pretty well. But it's fun, you know. If I get this putting thing figured out Quigley and Doyle will quit yapping so much. They're already afraid of me. They're just beating me because my putting has been poor. I've got a little wager with both of them this week, who's going to beat each other.

So, you know, I'm taking a few weeks after this. I withdrew from the British Senior Open yesterday. So I don't play there. My son's graduating from college, so we'll see.

Q. (Inaudible.)

JERRY PATE: I think it started it's gradually I know I've had four left shoulder surgeries related to golf. I have what's called hypermobile shoulders, which means I have multi directional instability in my joint, which is good. I'm very loose jointed. For my size and my speed and my swing I hit the ball pretty long.

But on the other hand, it's like a baseball pitcher. It wears on you. After playing golf for over 45 years, I think my ride shoulder is starting to wear out. We knew it was loose when I had my fourth surgery three years ago, Dr. Jimmy Andrews (phonetic). Just been hanging in here. About Christmastime I knew it started bothering me.

Unfortunately, it bothered me when I was fishing and shooting a shotgun quail hunting. That's the most important thing. I got to I've played a lot of golf in this lifetime. I've got a whole hell of a lot of fish I want to catch and quail I want to shoot, and ducks.

So I started feeling it right about in my biceps tendon in my interior part of my deltoid and my shoulder, a little twing. As the year's gone on it's gotten more I can feel the instability through the hitting area with the driver. Not with the irons, though. So it's something I'm going to try to go get fixed next week.

Q. (Inaudible.)

JERRY PATE: Quail's population goes up any time I want to write a check at my farm. You write a check and they deliver those suckers by the truckload. You put them out there and you shoot them. We have a release bird program, which in the south most of the places today release birds. The quail has had a hard go the last 30, 40 years, so there's a big concerted effort to try to bring back the habitat to reproduce more of them and bring them back. So that's my hobby really is quail hunting.

Q. (Inaudible.)

JERRY PATE: It isn't now. I've taken lots of Advil. My endorsement for Advil is you can throw all the prescription pills in the garbage, other than Vioxx. Vioxx your shoulder just falls off. You don't feel it. Vioxx was probably the greatest pain reliever of anti inflammatories, but they're hard on your system.

But, again if you don't take too many but I played with Vioxx before. Advil I'm able to take, two, four times a day and spread them out over 24 hours and it's unbelievable. I think if you talk to most Major League Baseball pitchers, football players, golfers, it's incredible how great a drug Advil has been for inflammation of the joint.

And that's what you get when you hit a golf ball. You get the pounding. Subluxation on the joint, when you throwing a ball it's not the throw, it's the recoil. When you come back it's the recoil of the shoulder jamming back in. So that's when it's painful.

But you only have to hit a ball about every 15 minutes. Not like pitching when you have to throw a ball about every 40 seconds. Heck, I was playing with Rick Rhoden last week. He was laughing at me at me after four holes. He said, Yep, it's the bottom of the second inning and that fast ball is starting to slide. They're jacking them out of the park right now. Wait until you get to the sixth hole. I said the difference in your sport is they sit you on the bench. In my sport you got to make it for four days. No relievers.

So he said he could relate to it. Shoulder starts getting heavy. But mine's doing great. I'm optimistic that it's not going to keep me from winning this week. Mind over matter this week and keep playing.

Q. (Inaudible.)

JERRY PATE: Lowest score. The guy with the lowest number after 72 holes.

Q. (Inaudible.)

JERRY PATE: You know, I don't think you're going to see any very high scores among the leaders that are in contention come Sunday just because the golf course is in such perfect condition and it's very receptive to shooting low scores if you play well.

Now, if you don't I played with Bruce Lietzke yesterday and he shoots 5 under. He birdies 1 and 2, hits it flawless. Missed the fairway on 3 and missed the green in the bunker and bogeyed there, and next thing you know, he shoots 80. And I'm telling you, he didn't play poorly. It was incredible. I felt so sad for Bruce. He's my brother in law. I'm dying out there watching him. My caddie is going, keep focusing on your game. It was hard when somebody that close to you is struggling. So that's the difference, and I felt so sorry for Bruce. At times it was hard for me to concentrate, because I wanted him to do well. He's a good guy. He's a great guy.

Plus, we split all our winnings at the end of the year. We talked about that one night. We said, why don't we just play one year and just put it all in one pot. Rose, his wife, she can manage money better than my wife. She saves money; my wife spends money. We'll out it all in one pot and let Rose manage it and balance it and we will split it at the end of the year.

Is that against the rules, to split? It's against the rules to split, but if you're related I don't think it is. And then we won't have any pressure, because you'll be playing for my money and I'll be playing for my yours.

But, yeah, I was dying watching Bruce. He's such a great player. And, again, that's what I'm saying. If a guy gets a little sideways it doesn't take much. You get it on the short side of these pins and it's stuck up and down. I was just blessed on the two bunkers that I missed. I short sighted myself, but I hit good bunker shots and made some good putts. Made some 8 footers for par. That turns your round around.

Q. (Inaudible.)

JERRY PATE: 4 and 8 are the two 3s.

DAVE SENKO: Thanks Jerry.

JERRY PATE: Bye bye.

End of FastScripts.

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