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GINN CHAMPIONSHIP AT HAMMOCK BEACHApril 1, 2007Tom PurtzerPALM COAST, FLORIDA PHIL STAMBAUGH: Thank you for coming in. Tom, we just had Brad in here. And we counted up, out of the last 12 players to play 18, 10 of them made bogey at the last hole. It was a tough day in the last four holes, actually played the four hardest. Just a couple of thoughts about the stretch there. TOM PURTZER: It's a tough stretch. 15, I 3-putted from not too far away. I hit two good shots to get in there. And that kind of, I had just made a really good birdie on the 14th hole, hit a good drive, hit a good second there. And I thought this putt was really going to be fast going down the hill. And it wasn't. And I left it pretty far short. It hit the cup, spun out. But I mean the last four holes really played hard. Just the wind, the particular direction that the wind was, was an awkward one, especially 16. Ideally, you kind of want to try to hit it over the bunkers there. And Keith, both of us kind of pushed it a little bit. And mine went into a bush. And his almost was in a bush. But just 16 is really an awkward hole with the wind blowing in that particular direction. 17, you know, I thought I made the putt there. And then 18 I killed the drive down there. I was in great shape. I don't know how long it was before I got to hit my shot. It must have been 10 minutes. But sitting around trying to wait to hit a 3-iron is not ideal. So that was kind of unfortunate. But I just didn't have a very good second shot in there. PHIL STAMBAUGH: All in all, though, a really good month of March with the wind. TOM PURTZER: Yeah, pretty good. No complaints. I think more than anything today I just ran out of gas. I think I just need to get in a little better shape and get stronger and stuff. Because each day I think I kind of had a hard time with the last few holes. That's my goal. Q. You're not the only guy in the situation now where you're kicking yourself going, "boy, coming down the stretch, a shot here or there," you know, the winner ended up at only 12-under. He was at 14. Everybody seemed to be in a situation where they're kicking themselves a little bit because of a shot here and there down the stretch. Is it easier to take knowing that so many guys had that happen down the stretch or is it still aggravating? TOM PURTZER: You know what, you can't control what anybody else does. It was hard. I was in good position except for the one tee shot there on 16, on every hole coming in. And I just -- you know when you're playing good you don't expect a 3-putt from 25 feet, 30 feet. And that might have had some effect on my tee shot on 16, too. But you really can't control what anybody else does because they're struggling. I mean I guess you could say, yes, everybody had a hard time. But if you're in good shape, you know, if your tee shots and stuff like that, you don't really have much of an excuse. Q. When Keith went to No. 16, I guess he was 14-under and he put his tee shot there in the shrubs, too. 14-under standing there, and where you were at, I have to find out where you were. TOM PURTZER: At 12. Q. Were you thinking this is going to be hard for him to stay at 14? That doesn't go through your mind? TOM PURTZER: No, because you don't know. He might be down there, it might look worse than it was. I mean you kind of just have to play your own deal. You just kind of have to -- you can't count on anybody making a bogey or a bad score. You've just got to kind of take care of your own business. If you start worrying about one guy, then another guy will jump you. So you just kind of got to take care of your own business and control what you can control. Q. Was it ever a surprise to you in any way to learn that Keith only won three times in a PGA TOUR, and any surprise it's taken this long to win a Champions TOUR knowing what you know about his abilities? TOM PURTZER: Yes, I suppose you could say that. Keith's been a really good ball hitter for a long time. Struggles with his putter like some of us. But I think that's probably what's kind of held him back. He made a beautiful putt there, the second putt on 17. And I think that was probably the whole key to his tournament is making 3 there. If he misses that putt, only a 1-shot lead on the last hole, now he's got to make sure he makes 4. But he made a beautiful putt there. And he might have got a little anxious on that tee shot a little quick, but he ended up making -- that third shot was, even though it wasn't very far, it was still a hard shot. He had a great shot in there. Q. (Off microphone) TOM PURTZER: That's right. But that stuff happens. He chipped it. He hit it in the water on like the third or fourth hole and chipped it in for par. And then he holed it out of the bunker on 10. We're six feet, both Brad and I are six, seven feet for an eagle. And he knocks, he makes eagle and Brad made his. I missed mine. So it was like his week. And that's great. I'm happy for him. He's a great guy. PHIL STAMBAUGH: Tom, thank you. End of FastScripts |
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