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OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE PRO-AMFebruary 17, 2007Andy BeanLUTZ, FLORIDA PHIL STAMBAUGH: 4-under par 67 after being the only guy yesterday afternoon to shoot even par, given the conditions, had to be somewhat better. ANDY BEAN: We were very fortunate, teeing off at 7:10 but you know, the golf course is in good shape. And you know, Amy and the staff and Outback, Chris, everybody, they have just done such a good job getting the golf course ready. The golf course is in good shape. If we get some good weather, it's going to yield some good scores. It looks like this afternoon it will it probably warm up a little bit. It's just good to be -- I'll probably be within a few shots of the lead by the end of the day. So I think that I will be in pretty good shape. PHIL STAMBAUGH: On the stat sheet you had 24 putts. ANDY BEAN: I had 24 putts, but I was probably no more than 15 feet four or five times there, I was right on the collar of the green. When the pins were tucked, I was still hitting them at the flag. Sometimes you can get a 1-putt stat when you really putted it twice. But I'll take 24 putts tomorrow; I'd be happy no matter what. PHIL STAMBAUGH: You just want to go through the round if you could. ANDY BEAN: It's funny, yesterday I played and I didn't make any putts so to speak. I made a couple little short putts. Made a 4- or 5-footer for an eagle and a short one somewhere, I can't think where it was right now. And today I started off, I hit it, I don't know, about 12, 15 feet on the first hole and made that. I hit a really good shot in on the second hole about eight to ten feet and made that. Third hole, I miss-hit, I hit a wedge and I miss-hit it just a little bit and it bit and I made probably a 15-, 16-footer there. So all of a sudden instead of being even par, I'm 3-under. And my round yesterday, I hit it close the first few holes and I didn't make any putts. Then let's see, I missed the green, No. 4, chipped it up about eight feet and made that. 5, I missed a 15-footer. 6, I 2-putted. 7, I should have laid up. I didn't have a real good lie. If anything, in the first cut of the rough, and I tried to knock it on and I should have laid up. I hit it in the bunker and didn't have a very good lie. Then I buried it right up under the lip about two feet from the top of the bunker for my fourth shot. Then my fifth shot, I knocked it about ten feet. Next hole, I hit 3-wood, 6-iron and I was on the collar again. Probably got a no-putt on that hole on your deal, or did I? PHIL STAMBAUGH: It says no putt. ANDY BEAN: I was about that far off the green (indicating) and I made that. Let's see, 9, I hit my second shot a little bit heavy. I chipped it by about eight feet and missed it so I made bogey on 9. Then at the turn, 2-putted ten for par. 11 was another one of those. I was a foot off the green and I was maybe 15 -- 12, 15 feet from the hole and 2-putted that. You're telling me I one putted. I'm right; you're wrong. (Laughter) No matter what the stat but that's okay. 12, I actually hit a pretty good drive. I had 230 or something like that and the wind was blowing. I had a little mud or something on the ball and just said, 'I'm not going to do what I did the other day,' so I laid up. Hit a sand wedge in there to about eight feet and made that for birdie. I got a 1-putt stat. I did chip it from just over the back of the edge, chipped it up about two inches and made it for par. The par 5, I hit it in there probably 10 or 12 feet at the most and missed that, made par. 15, I was in-between clubs and I hit it out to the right. I must have had a good 35-footer and 2-putted that for par. 16, I hit a 3-wood about 144 yards. Hit it about 15 feet, made that for birdie. 17, you're getting me again on the stats on 17, but I was off the green there. I was about four feet off the green, I was in the moat area, I 2-putted from off the green for par. Then 18, you're going to get me there, too. I hit it just on the front edge, and I was probably six inches off the green and I putted it up about a foot short and made that for par. So all in all, I mean, I've given myself a lot of good opportunities the last two days, yesterday maybe even better opportunities than today, and if I can keep that up, then we'll do okay. Q. 26 putts, wasn't a bad round -- ANDY BEAN: I would even go with 28. But I really did I hit a lot of really good shots. Any time you're hitting it 15 feet, you're hitting it pretty good. Especially when it's cold and you're hitting 6- and 7-irons. I'm striking the ball very solid right now. I need to get my driver still a little bit better. That's probably the weakest part. I hit fairways today but I didn't hit it anywhere. But straight is good. Q. What about the delay, did that bother you or did you know before you got here? ANDY BEAN: No, I just walked in the clubhouse probably about a quarter to -- maybe ten to 6:00, and I think they made the decision just right before 6:00. So I had not put -- basically I really had not put on my shoes to go to the range. I think everybody was liking the delay. I didn't hear anybody -- you know, guys complain about decisions; I didn't hear a soul complaining about that. Then when we were out on the range and they said 30 more minutes because frost was still on the ground. It just took a little longer than what everybody wished to start today. Q. When everyone was struggling in the afternoon group yesterday, how were you able to keep it together? ANDY BEAN: I played well in the wind. Most of my -- probably almost half my tournaments that I've won either are in Florida or in Hawaii. I like warm in the wind instead of cold in the wind. I'm able to control the trajectory of my ball. If you can control that, then you can control your ball in the wind, and the wind just doesn't take it so much. I don't hit it hard. I just try to hit it -- I try to hit it like a good 80 percent shot instead of trying to hit the all-out shot most of the time. Q. Even though you might be a few behind depending what happens this afternoon, is it nice to know that you're done and for the guys this afternoon most likely are going to have to come back in the morning? ANDY BEAN: The one thing about it, playing in the afternoon like I did yesterday, I hit those -- when I hit the putts this morning, I knew they were in the hole. And when you've got this many guys playing, and in some areas, the greens were a little soft, you can get foot marks, it was a lot easier making the putts on the front nine than it was the back nine for me. Because the guys that already played, started on the back nine had played the back nine. But the greens are in good shape. I mean, there's no doubt about that. But when you've got the advantage of those -- I had nine holes that they were really perfect, if you don't make some of those, then you know, then you're giving shots away to the field. So this afternoon when they dry out a little bit, they get a little crusty but they are a little tougher to make the putts on I think in the afternoon. Q. Tomorrow are you guys going to be aware of the network television; does that make it special to you guys, or is a final round just a final round? ANDY BEAN: Man, I'll trying to win a golf tournament. We're glad that it's on network TV. We're glad that it's on GOLF CHANNEL. Maybe it makes a little bit of difference, but I can't really say that it does to me. Because I'm going to go out and just try to concentrate on what I'm doing. Hopefully smile for the TV after 18. But Koch in the booth working, so maybe I can get a guy to say something good about me if I make a putt here or there. When you're playing any other sport, or if you're in the office, a lot of times when you're in the office, you don't hear a lot of other things going. When you've got something, a deadline that you've got to do, you're into what you're doing, and we're into what we're doing out there. I think, you know, it doesn't matter what TV is out there. Because you've got Murray out there, he's going to entertain everybody. So really like I said, I'm glad we're on TV. I'm sure we're going to have quite a few viewers and hopefully we'll put on a good show for them. Q. Last year after the win, just wondering if after all you've been through especially with a lot of the injuries and things, how satisfying that was? ANDY BEAN: I think it was relief more than anything else. I came out my first year, and I putted very poorly. I came out my second year and my putting was very poor. You know, the funny thing, the middle of last year, I went to my caddie and said, I've got to do something different, this is driving me crazy. I started doing the Claw on the short putts; I don't miss short putts any world. My world is like way better -- his world is, too. The thing about it was, I told him I was going to Claw and he looked at me and said, "We couldn't do any worse." Really, I wasn't consistent on my short putts, and when you're not consistent on your short putts, you're not going to win. These first few weeks of this year that we've played already, I've putted the ball well, I haven't driven the ball as well as I usually drive it. So once I get all that together -- I think I'm just a lot more comfortable out there now because I know I'm going to make the short putts if I read them right because I can read them on the line I had them on. That just develops your confidence and in your confidence, you're more at ease at whatever you're doing. Q. Long putts you still use conventional? ANDY BEAN: Yes, because unless the putt is really fast, I put the same way I always have, more or less about -- if I'm inside say about somewhere between 15 and 20 feet, usually depending on the speed of the green. The faster the green, the more I can Claw it and I seem to get my distance really well. PHIL STAMBAUGH: Do you remember where you made the switch? ANDY BEAN: I don't know, but once in -- I think the Senior PGA. I think the Senior PGA last year after the first round. When you're used to hitting the ball in close and not taking advantage of it and you see other guys making 20 and 30 feet, wherever, it's just frustrating. Because I'm not really caring as much as about what they are doing, but you know that you can compete with these guys, and when you're not doing it the way you feel like you're capable of playing, scoring, then it's frustrating. Especially when you've won before. Q. Do you do it the way Chris DiMarco does? ANDY BEAN: No. I was playing one day with Chris at Memphis a few years back before I was on the Champions Tour. I was looking at that, and I was kidding him about it, and I thought, man, if I could hole one or two that way, I would do the same thing. But being taller, it's more awkward for me to do it with my hand like he's got it. But since he started doing that, I mean, he came from an average player to a very, very good player. His confidence level went from here to there and that's what it takes to putt good. Because when you're confident and you stand over the putt, you've got a lot better chance of making it because you're not questioning yourself. You just focus in, you stroke it, you look up and it's in the hole. Q. Correct me if I'm wrong here but it was a long, long time ago that anybody who broke from the traditional grip of putting was pretty much admitting defeat, if you went left hand low, you were trying to salvage your career. Now it's open season on anything that will work. What was the change of attitude? ANDY BEAN: I think that was all you knew for so long. You know, when guys started using long putters, I started using that type of claw, but playing with Brad Bryant out here, I mean, we play at home during the off-season, and we hit it about the same, pretty close to the same. And he was making two or three more putts a round than I was. And when it starts getting into my pocket, it starts getting my attention. But it was -- the days I played really well, I beat him. On the days I played so-so and we both played so-so, he would edge me out a shot or two. So it's I think there are more guys willing to try that now because now you see more players doing it, plus you have people helping you do that, you know, teachers teach you to do that. If you're not doing it that way, well, I ought to go this way. There's so many different versions of the Claw, that type of grip, but what it's doing, it just planting your right hand down and you're not flipping as you hit through the putt. Whatever it takes to do that, guys are doing. Q. Are guys on this tour who are more set in their ways possibly, are they more reluctant to make changes than the young guys now? ANDY BEAN: Well, I wasn't really set in my ways. I was stuck in my way. But it was because, like I said, that was what I knew. I think the older the guys, it was just you played -- traditionally you played a certain way. And I had success playing that way, and I think the older guys had success playing the way they played. Whereas the young guys coming out, it's just like, you know, now they are metal wood. We grew up playing wooden clubs. It's out there for you. There's so many different kinds and options you have now. When we first started playing, we didn't have any long putters. If anybody has ever tried anything, it's Langer. He's tried every kind of grip, every kind of stroke you can try. But what he's wanting to do is to get the ball in the hole. And I guess if you want to say it, it doesn't matter as much as it's accepted to use different styles. When they work, they sure are accepted a lot better. You know, the bottom line is getting the ball in the hole and whatever you have to do to do it. I'm seeing guys, Blaine McCallister, right-handed putter who putts left-handed sometimes, and he plays golf right-handed and ended up putting more left-handed all the time. He felt like he putted better from that side. You know, it really doesn't matter how you do it as long as the little score on the bottom is the lowest score at the end of the week. And when I go -- you know, when I go from having 30 putts a round, you know, 31 putts a round to 24 putts or 26 putts, I've obviously done something better that day, and whatever it does to get there, that's what I'm trying to do. PHIL STAMBAUGH: Thank you very much. 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