	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

SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 26, 2007

Eduardo Romero

KIAWAH ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA

KELLY ELBIN: Eduardo Romero, ladies and gentlemen, the leader after three rounds of the 68th Senior PGA Championship. Two stroke lead over Denis Watson and Nick Price.
Eduardo, comments on your round today and taking a two shot lead into the final day.
EDUARDO ROMERO: Yeah, I played good again today. Well, I'm obviously still leading by two, but I made couple mistakes on the back nine, especially 17 again I make bogey on 17 again. But well, just one more round to go. I play exactly the same three days, go try to have good concentration, I played very solid, and I'm still there. Just one more round to go.
KELLY ELBIN: Could you go through your birdies and bogeys, please.
EDUARDO ROMERO: I think that today was first birdie was number 7. Another fantastic drive, 325 yards over the bunker. 7-iron in again.
Then just chipping just on the front of the green and chip one putt from two feet for birdie. One foot for birdie. Yeah, it was 1 foot.
Second birdie was No. 11. A good -- well I missed the driver to the rough and then chipped and lay up and the chip and 1-putt from birdie from one feet.
I think the best birdie of the week was on the 14th hole. Fantastic 6-iron. I put the ball one and a half feet short of the hole and make birdie.
Then bogey at 17. Bogeyed the 17. I miss to the left in the bunker, just chip it and miss a putt for par from three feet. And then good bogey at 18. Just it ran down the green and then a chip and I missed a putt from three feet for par.
But 71 is a good round. I talk with my caddie and before I start today and he said 70 is good round for today. But I make 71. But it is okay. It's good.
Then I still leading by two, But Nick, I play with Nick today, really enjoyable. I play before with Nick. He's a fantastic player.
Then tomorrow playing the game tomorrow. I do the same for tomorrow. No changes.
KELLY ELBIN: For the record Eduardo has birdied number 7 and No. 11 all three days. Open it up for questions, please.

Q. You don't look quite as happy in here today as you have the first two days, does that have anything to do with the bogeys on 17 and 18?
EDUARDO ROMERO: Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. I make a stupid bogey, especially on 18. The 17 is okay. That's okay. It's a good bogey because it's difficult hole.
But stupid bogey on 18. And then it was perfect drive and 145 yards to the flag and then just a little push, a little bit. And then just run off the green.
But it is okay. It is okay. I'm very hard on myself, but it is okay. It is okay.

Q. Just before you made your chip or your chip on to the green on 18 both Nick and Joe Ozaki had done so and come up short, did that have anything to do with the fact it looked like you charged it a little bit and it went through the cup?
EDUARDO ROMERO: Exactly. But I think that I tell to my caddie, don't leave short, please. Because if leave short come to me again, the ball. It's probably I make double bogey. I tried to hit it hard, just past the flag and then maybe have lucky hit the flag. But it's not. It just missed.
But it's all right. It was a stupid, it's, I think that it -- the key, the problem was the second shot. Putter and chipping was already. Just made a mistake on the second shot. But it is okay, I'm still leading. I'm still leading. One more round to go.

Q. Without any in your history without any Major Championships, do you, are there any experiences you can draw from to gain confidence or what do you look to do tomorrow before you go into the round?
EDUARDO ROMERO: Well, tomorrow it's a different day because the guys behind me is Nick. Complete difference of players. Probably tomorrow and then I use different system for tomorrow. I tell you tomorrow when finished. But I think tomorrow is different, different players playing behind me. Nick is a tough guy. One of the toughest guys in the world. I have to be very careful. But I tell you tomorrow when we finish.
KELLY ELBIN: Eduardo is looking to win consecutive Majors on the Champions Tour having won the Jeld-Wen Tradition at the end of 2006.

Q. Could you just clarify once more the origins of your nickname?
EDUARDO ROMERO: The cat. Well, I have two histories. When I was younger, when I was seven years old, I'm still up on the tree all the time, on the roof and trees. And my grandmother just says, this kid like a cat. This kid like a cat. And then cat come here, cat go there, cat, cats. And the other story was a friend of mine was professional in Argentina, he tell me, after the third round I been waiting in the second or third round position and wait for the, to win the tournament and stay like a cat. You know. And you like the cat because after the third round you waiting for the catch of the leader. But I think the true history was really my mother told me, the cat.

Q. When Nick was in here, he said that you weren't playing like you were protecting any kind of lead out there today. You seemed to be aggressive the whole time. Has that been the strategy all week and you say that's not going to change tomorrow at all?
EDUARDO ROMERO: Well, probably change tomorrow, but it's good change. I try it and then I do the same. My swing, I never change, no changing for tomorrow. But the technique for tomorrow probably is different. But I'm still the same. I'm doing the same.

Q. When I talked to Nick yesterday and he was talking about the fact that he has the three Majors on the Regular Tour, but he said this is a whole different situation on the Champions Tour. You do have a Major on the Champions Tour. So who has the advantage in that regard do you think?
EDUARDO ROMERO: Oh, yes. Yes, it's complete different. I say exactly the same. The Regular Tour is complete different from the Champions Tour. Somebody tell me why? Tell me why? I don't know the true, but it's different, it's tough, it's very tough. I feel very, you know when I play the Champions Tour, my concentration was different than the normal the Regular Tour. I'm being more nervous. I don't know why.
Because, you know, I think it's because a lot of guys strong guys, come from the Regular Tour to play on the Champions Tour like Mark O'Meara, Jay Haas, Loren Roberts, Fred Funk, and then this is like a Regular Tour not a Champions Tour. I think this is a very tough TOUR. A win here, it's like exactly same if you won on the Regular Tour. For me, this is the Regular Tour, not the Champions Tour. A lot of good players. A lot of good players.

Q. What would it mean for your country and all the people in the southern hemisphere for you to win tomorrow?
EDUARDO ROMERO: Oh, yes. It's very important. Then I saw on Internet this morning the papers in Argentina is the first page is my face. And then a lot of players, the golf in Argentina has grown up and up and up. It's unbelievable. We have 125 golf courses only in Buenos Aires, 125 golf courses, but that's 16 million people live there in Buenos Aires, you know. But it's very important for the not for me, it's for a lot of Argentineans, Latin Americans, South Americans, it's good when any Latin American player's won a tournament, it's fantastic. And then I'm dreaming, I say yesterday, it's a dream for me winning in America. Especially against these players. In Argentina the people are crazy about golf.

Q. Just out of curiosity, do you own a cat, has your family ever owned a cat? Do you have a cat?
EDUARDO ROMERO: Yeah, well, I have two cats. But I have 45 dogs.
(Laughter.)
I have 45 dogs in my farm. I have two cats and 45 dogs. But dogs come from the streets without owners. Just my daughter just pick up the dogs, they come to my farm. I have 45 dogs right now.

Q. So it's better to be known as the cat than the dog, right?
EDUARDO ROMERO: Oh, yeah. Right. Yeah.
KELLY ELBIN: For the record the last international player to win the Senior PGA Championship was Gary Player in 1990.

Q. The grass on these greens is a different strain of grass for this country, I was just curious, are the greens in South America, do they resemble this type grass at all?
EDUARDO ROMERO: Yeah. Not in South America, but in Europe like the links golf courses like St. Andrews, like Kingsbarns, Carnoustie, very similar greens. Very, very similar greens. Exactly the same. Because I'm, I am happy with the greens.

Q. You're the leader after all three rounds, each one of the rounds. You got a two stroke lead. Is there more pressure on you heading into the final round or the players trying to get you?
EDUARDO ROMERO: Oh, yes, of course. It starts tonight. I think I do it the same, you know. Just nothing change for tomorrow just try to put it in the fairway. Don't see the scores. Don't see the players, just make birdies and go.
KELLY ELBIN: Eduardo Romero after the third round of the Senior PGA Championship. Thank you.
EDUARDO ROMERO: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297