U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 26, 1997

Steve Veriato

STEVE VERIATO: Could be better. Could have been worse. I enjoy this type of golf course, the older style. I think a lot of it is right there in front of you, put it in the fairway, hit it on the green, and usually below the hole would be the best part. Sometimes it's not possible, but that's what I've been trying to do is stick the ball below the hole.

STEVE VERIATO: The book is probably right. I immediately heard like you're not under par, you know.

STEVE VERIATO: So, I don't know. I'd have to look.

STEVE VERIATO: No, I believe it can be tougher. And I'll let any one of you go play No. 12. Try it.

STEVE VERIATO: I take that back, No. 11. Play No. 11.

STEVE VERIATO: The way it could have been better is my driving. I don't recall hitting the fairway but maybe once or twice with my driver. I think I hit the 3-wood about four times, and missed the fairway once or twice. But hit it once in the short rough. The 5-wood, I believe, I played once off the tee. So it could have been better with the drives for sure. I believe my putting was very good because I put the ball below the hole many times, and when you do that, you can putt a little more aggressively than trying to nurse it down to the hole. I think I had one birdie downhill and it was that par 5, I believe. That's the only birdie I made downhill.

STEVE VERIATO: Okay. The first hole -- I'm sorry, another downhiller was 1. I hit a sand wedge in there about 15-feet beyond the hole and made it for birdie. No. 6 was a three putt -- is that right -- No. 6, par 3.

STEVE VERIATO: 51 years old, I lost my memory when I was born. We'll try No. 7, I'll kind of refresh my memory with these -- 7, up the hill, hit an 8-iron in there about 8-feet below the hole, made a right-to-left putt. No. 9, hit a 9-iron in there about 5-feet past the hole, so I had an uphill putt, made it. 11 was on the green with a 6-iron and I 3-putted from behind the green. The par 5, I was about 8 foot to the left side of the hole, slightly downhill putt, made it. No. 15, hit a 9-iron about 6 feet to the right, made it for birdie, putting uphill. Then bogeyed the last two.

STEVE VERIATO: You bet I will. I got to play the last round with Gary Player, I believe, last year, and Gary's a very personable golfer, very friendly, and you can get very comfortable with Gary playing golf, and he acknowledges the good shots and keeps you right in there.

STEVE VERIATO: Part of it, you're aware, you know, where you are, obviously, I was 3-under and I think the only red numbers up there. My wife is my caddie, and she reminds me to slow down, calm down, get back to a routine and tee the ball up and let it fly. But both my drives -- all my drives went to the right today except for the last one, went left.

STEVE VERIATO: No. I told Karen I was more concerned about the tree right in front of me, and it was pretty heavy rough. I thought I might get it on, but it was pretty heavy and come out of there a little slow. Hit a 7-iron, I think I had about 194, something like that. I was happy where it came out to. I was hoping it would be more right.

STEVE VERIATO: More like 8.

STEVE VERIATO: Yeah. A very comfortable putt, though, I think I just pulled a little bit.

STEVE VERIATO: Yeah, obviously it helps, but my stepping stone started maybe 30 years ago. Every round is an experience. I believe I qualified twice for the U.S. Open. I think I played in about six or seven PGAs. The goal then was to make the cut. I made one of those. So making a good tournament last year in this event helps for this event, and every round of competition, every round of major competition, makes you realize what kind of shots you need to hit and how some of you may call it, safe golf, really counts.

STEVE VERIATO: My goal now would obviously -- or maybe not to you all -- but to me is try to play as steady as I did today and put a number up and see where it ends up.

STEVE VERIATO: Yeah, I started last May, and I think I only played twice where I played consecutively. I don't plan to play each one. I usually plan if I'm in one, for example, I won't go to Cincinnati this week unless I have an invite. I usually skip a week in between. The reason for that is, Mondays are so important to get into the event and it's too difficult to leave the event that you just played on Sunday, go to the qualifying site, which you never saw before, and try to put a good round in. So what has worked for me is skip, go home for four or five days, go back out prepared for the next Monday. I could learn to like this, guys, I'm getting pretty relaxed up here.

STEVE VERIATO: That's a bad experience, yeah, but -- a bad experience is when you get into a threesome or a foursome of qualifiers and you're putting all you can into the round of golf, and then you get to play with two or three guys that are beating the ground, mad, throwing clubs, things like that. That's the disappointment. A lot of those fellows take away from your effort. And sometimes I'd rather be playing with guys that you don't know or fellows that are really trying like you are. So that's disappointing.

STEVE VERIATO: Yeah, I think you can't choose when you're going to win. Because there are several other fellows that are choosing to win also. They're putting in an effort just like you are. A lot of times you can put in your best round you've ever put in in your life and someone beats you and that's happened to me several times. So just do the best you can and put a low number up there as low as you can and see if you win.

STEVE VERIATO: Is that a sneaky question? Who's asking that? Karen's -- we got married about a year and seven months ago, so it's about that recent. But, you couldn't find anybody who believes in me more. She believes in me more than I believe in myself.

KAREN VERIATO: Yes.

KAREN VERIATO: Ask him.

STEVE VERIATO: She plays well and I'd probably bet half of you all in here you couldn't outdrive her.

STEVE VERIATO: Nothing, just plays. She wouldn't take them anyway.

STEVE VERIATO: I think I play as safe -- I would say safe -- as wisely as I can play. And if I'm close to making a go at it in the last 9 holes, things may change.

STEVE VERIATO: I sure can.

STEVE VERIATO: I'd say about 4-under is possible.

STEVE VERIATO: Somebody will do it.