	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

EDS BYRON NELSON CHAMPIONSHIP

April 28, 2007

Michael Allen

IRVING, TEXAS

STEWART MOORE: We'd like to welcome Michael Allen to the interview room here at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. Congratulations on a great round of 64 today, puts you at 202 through three rounds, 8-under for the event.
You Monday qualified for this event earlier this week by birdieing the last two holes to get into a playoff. If you could maybe talk about going from that emotional Monday to kind of having to finish strong to get into the event to where you are now with a chance to win.
MICHAEL ALLEN: Well, it's one of those things where you're just trying to -- right now it's very tough to get into tournaments. My number was not very good out of TOUR school. I had to take six weeks off. You need to play eventually, hence you've got to Monday qualify.
I guess my number would have gotten in at the end, but you certainly don't know that being sixth or seventh alternate. In a way, though, I said I've got to go there and at least it'll be another competitive round. I haven't played in six weeks until New Orleans, so I didn't think it was the worst thing.
You go out and you play a course you're unfamiliar with and you've got to hit your shots. Right now it was a good round and I kind of needed that. It was nice to finish up the way I did with a couple birdies and not have to go into a playoff. I felt terrible for Michael Boyd because he hit a great putt on 2, on the second playoff hole. I'm probably lucky to be here as it is.
But it's been nice. You get in the tournament, you feel like you're playing well, so it's nice to finally put together a good round on Saturday. That's been my nemesis for a long time.
STEWART MOORE: I noticed one of your interests happens to be motorcycles. I assume you've noticed the custom chopper out there this week?
MICHAEL ALLEN: Yeah, I'd have to put some different wheels on it, I can tell you (laughter).

Q. Do you remember the last Saturday like this that you've had? When would that have been?
MICHAEL ALLEN: (Laughing) God, let's get the TOUR book out. I don't know. I've played a lot of good rounds on TOUR, probably not Saturday ones. I've played -- you know, that's a good question. I really don't remember when I shot 64 on Saturday.

Q. Greensboro a couple years ago.
MICHAEL ALLEN: Was it Greensboro?
I've shot some good rounds, but I'm focused on tomorrow.

Q. Did you think about playing Nationwide or anything during those six weeks when you were off? I mean, were there options for you?
MICHAEL ALLEN: Yeah, there were options to go and play, and a lot of guys do. For me I had two things. Number one, I've kind of hurt -- I tore a tendon in my elbow so I really couldn't play; and number two, I don't have any problem on the Nationwide, it's been a wonderful thing there, but it's not where I want to spend my time. When I have time off I'd rather be with my family and my kids. Once you start setting up about two or three weeks it's hard to get out of there actually.
It's been a nice time. There's been a time -- this whole year I didn't know if I was going to get into any tournaments. I prepared and I somehow qualified and got in one, all of a sudden I qualified for another, all of a sudden I had played five weeks and I really hadn't gotten ready to play at all.

Q. Is that how that happened?
MICHAEL ALLEN: No, that happened falling off a bicycle in Mexico (indicating left elbow). We'll leave it at that.

Q. Can you explain what the flyover was like for you, the moment of silence?
MICHAEL ALLEN: I thought it was special. It was certainly a great moment for everybody that plays golf to honor such a special individual in Mr. Nelson.
I personally have never been a part of it, you know, so I thought it was a wonderful moment, and I'm certainly proud of the TOUR to do that.

Q. Are you playing your best golf at 48?
MICHAEL ALLEN: You know, I do believe so. The last few years I worked with a guy Mike Mitchell, and he's just taught me so many different things. I started with Mac O'Grady, I've worked with a lot of people over the years, and I feel like now I know what I should be doing.
I do feel better. I used to play this course and I used to go, God, I hit it right in that bunker and now I can just hit around it and hit a shot in. Mentally I think I'm better, physically I think my talents are better. We'll see if my nerves hold up. I don't know.

Q. You've been to Q-school more times than --
MICHAEL ALLEN: No.

Q. -- just about anybody.
MICHAEL ALLEN: That's not true.

Q. You've come out of Q-school more --
MICHAEL ALLEN: That's right, I made it through Q-school more (laughing).

Q. In all those times did you ever consider, the heck with this, I'm going to go get a club job somewhere?
MICHAEL ALLEN: Yeah, after I played the first six or seven years on TOUR, after I came back from Europe and stuff, I played for six, seven years and then I quit because I was terrible. I went and worked at Winged Foot and I worked at Sunridge Canyon for a bit in Arizona. I tried doing some things. I tried building homes, tried medical sales, tried to do a lot of things, and I just found after about three years that this is really kind of better for me. I enjoy it more, and I'm probably better at it if I can do it well.
So since coming back in about 2000, I've enjoyed it more than I've ever enjoyed it. The opportunity is so much greater out here than it was -- God, when I finished third in Phoenix I made $50,000.
It's a tough choice, your kids growing up, but it's something that I do enjoy doing, and this is fun, when you start playing well in a good golf tournament.

Q. What were the other things you said you did, building homes?
MICHAEL ALLEN: I built a couple spec homes up at Troon North. I tried to get into medical sales but I couldn't get a job. Old golf pros are not really in high demand.

Q. What was the least enjoyable gig you tried out during that stretch? Was there anything where you said, oh, forget this?
MICHAEL ALLEN: I enjoyed teaching golf somewhat, but it was very trying. It's not something that's easy to do, to teach beginners. So that wasn't my favorite thing. I probably did a lot of things that weren't my favorite.
I guess life has never been that bad for me.

Q. Going into tomorrow do you feel less pressure in that maybe you don't have anything to lose or do you feel more pressure in that you haven't been there recently?
MICHAEL ALLEN: I haven't been there a great deal in the final rounds. But I've certainly played a lot of golf. You know, I don't assume I don't have anything to gain; I don't really have anything to lose. You're on the bottom, you've got nowhere to go but up. I feel it's all a positive for me. I've always felt I could play great golf, and it's nice to have an opportunity.

Q. Do you think in people's minds Monday qualifiers are just written off automatically when these things start?
MICHAEL ALLEN: I think so. The guy is hitting it rough, near the bottom, whatever. It's like the TOUR, there's so many good players on the Nationwide and Europe and in the world, these people out here have the opportunity, and that's what the TOUR is, is an opportunity, and that's -- that's what I push for when I'm in the pack.
It means that people should have an opportunity to show themselves. Everyone loves Camilo Villegas and some of these young kids. There's a lot of great players everywhere, but here is where you get the opportunity.

Q. Monday qualifying, Sony and here, two times this year?
MICHAEL ALLEN: And LA.

Q. Three times you got in?
MICHAEL ALLEN: Yeah, three out of four.

Q. You and Armour are tied, huh?
MICHAEL ALLEN: God, I've made like one in my career before this. I was like 1 for 38 or something. Now I'm 4 for 38.
STEWART MOORE: Could you hit a couple of the hot spots in your round today, six birdies, 12 pars?
MICHAEL ALLEN: Yeah, kind of the key to today was the first hole I hit a beautiful tee shot and then had like 100-yard shot to the green. I hit it right with a sand wedge. I had a nice lie, I was about 15 feet, 20 feet from the hole and I chipped that in.
And then next hole I hit really I thought a beautiful shot right in the middle of the green, ended up over the green. I didn't hit a very good chip and I made about a ten-foot putt there.
So after that point I got a little more relaxed, and I really felt comfortable and I started hitting some putts and they started going in. Through the front nine, the first ten -- the 10th hole I had a lot of like eight- to 15-footers and I made kind of all of them. Just the ball was going in.
The next six, eight holes I couldn't make a ten-footer and I had about two or three of them, four of them.
So it was a little up-and-down, but the key was really the start, getting off to what really could have been a bad start to a good one, and I got relaxed because I was really playing well.

Q. What happened with the bike accident, and were you in Mexico on vacation?
MICHAEL ALLEN: We were in that tournament and they had bicycles, and you'd kind of go around the resort, and I had a cocktail in one hand and was braking with the other, and it happened to be the front brake and I went over the handlebars. I'm stronger than I think I am.

Q. What would you change -- what about the tires would you have to change on that thing? What don't you like about the tires?
MICHAEL ALLEN: Those are too small. I'd get some nice big tires, especially that front one. That back one needs to get bigger, too. You need some girth under there, you know? Sure looks nice, though. I like blue.
STEWART MOORE: Thank you so much for your time.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297