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JOHN DEERE CLASSIC

July 12, 2007

Neal Lancaster

SILVIS, ILLINOIS

STEWART MOORE: We'd like to welcome Neal Lancaster to the interview room here at the John Deere Classic. Neal, fantastic opening round today, 64. Bogey at the last, but altogether a really solid round. Talk a little bit about it.
NEAL LANCASTER: Yeah, I just went out and tried to not put any pressure on myself. I haven't been playing very good for about the last six years, so I just went out and kind of played it as a practice round, just tried to enjoy it, didn't know what to expect. I was hitting it so bad on the range yesterday, I just basically quit hitting it. Didn't even go to the putting green all week because I've been putting so bad for a few years, I just kind of said I'll just go out and what I see, I'll hit it.
I saw Butch Harmon last week was talking about all the guys putting. He said everybody is trying to be too mechanical. If they just kind of use their natural ability a little bit -- so that's what I tried to do today.
I played good. I hit some loose shots out there off the tee. 18, I hit it in the right rough. Last hole I hit it in the left rough dead, and I actually made a great bogey. I was just trying to lay up short of the green on 9, landed in the hazard. One of the guys said it took a bad kick. I hit a great shot out of the hazard about eight feet and missed it. But I was happy with the bogey.
STEWART MOORE: Talk about conditions a little bit. Obviously a beautiful day out there but it seems like the wind is picking up.
NEAL LANCASTER: Yeah, we got 12 holes in, I think, and then the wind picked up after we were on the par 3, 3rd hole when we got to the fourth tee the wind picked up pretty good. It looks like it's getting up. It's probably going to blow 30 miles an hour it looks like. It's picking up pretty good. As a matter of fact, our whole group on the last hole, the 500-yard par 4, I hit 3-wood off the tee. I think the two guys I was playing with hit driver, wedge, and the hole is 500 yards.
With no humidity the course is going to dry out over the next three days. But the wind is picking up. Some holes are playing longer. The greens are soft, very receptive, and you've just got to make putts on this Tour. If it's not the Open, you've got to make putts.

Q. Where does a round like this come from? You talk about just playing it like a practice round and you say you've been playing poorly for six years. Lightning in a bottle this week?
NEAL LANCASTER: No, actually I played a few tournaments this year. I think this is my -- I played seven times on the Nationwide, might have been eight, I'm not sure, and I played three TOUR events. I'm playing in the Past Champions category, which has been kind of tough to get in this year, into tournaments. I've been second in all of them, about four of the last five tournaments I can get in, which is actually not a bad thing because I enjoy being home a lot.
When I've been home I've been practicing on my game a little bit. I'm trying something different every day. Don't be surprised if I'm trying something tomorrow on the 3rd hole out there being 10-under par (laughter).
But you know, it's one round. It's kind of like the first turn at the Daytona 500, we haven't even taken off yet.

Q. Is it hard to get into any kind of a groove when you're getting opportunities to play so little?
NEAL LANCASTER: Actually for some guys it is. For me it's probably not. I played so many tournaments for so many years, I probably averaged 30 tournaments for 15 years. Not playing as much, you know, I know I've got to play well, and the way my game has been lately, it's -- my goal is to either win or withdraw. It sounds crazy (laughter). We all want to win, but everybody can't win.
I've had a good career on TOUR, but it feels -- you're never satisfied with your career. No one is. I'm sure Tiger kicks himself a few majors he lets go by, and other guys. But it's win or withdraw right now for me it looks like.

Q. A lot of guys on the leaderboard who have similar stories to yours, not getting into a lot of events, that kind of thing, had some success early and kind of been fighting it of late. Why is it such a fickle game?
NEAL LANCASTER: Well, we all get in our way. You know, we all go out and try so hard. You look at the money, a million dollars is usually first place every week. There's so much money now in the game that guys are working out and stuff like that. You know, you get out there and you just get in your way lots of times. I know I do.
I know when I play with my buddies at home I shoot 66 every time I play just because we're out having fun and just playing. Once I got to 8-under par today, I got a little bit in my way coming in the last two holes, and it's a hard thing to get out of your own way. It sounds easy, but it's really difficult just to get out of your way and not try to be perfect. Everybody wants to be so perfect out here. Golfers are a rare breed.

Q. You're a guy that tended to beat yourself up a little bit when things didn't go right. Have you gotten past that?
NEAL LANCASTER: I think with age you get more mature. I used to be a club banger, beater, hellraiser out there. Now if I hit a bad shot, I think I've seen so many of them, I'm just used to them, and I go, oh, what the hell, I've seen that before (laughter).
I've been thankful for the career I've had, and as tough as it is now, I'm glad I'm not coming out of college trying to make a living playing golf because it's just really tough now. The only reason I would want to be coming out of college, though, is for the big $3 million contract or something. We didn't have those when we started.
You know, it's a crazy game. You just stay out of your own way and do the best you can. I can sit here and tell you this now, but I'll probably be in my way by the 4th hole, trying to say what are you doing out here, Neal? Just relax and play. Easier said than done.

Q. You said you get in your own way. Give me some specifics. Let's say you're doing really well, you're 8-under, what kind of comes into your head that might clutter up your approach?
NEAL LANCASTER: You start trying to get even more perfect with every shot. You know, you start saying, man, I'm really going to hit this one in there close, and you really don't have any control after you hit it. You're thinking, you know, if I can just make three or four more birdies, trying to force the issue, instead of just playing the course and playing the game.
You know, it's tough, you really can't play the leaderboard. You can look up there at it, but you can't play it. You've still got to play the holes. You start worrying and a lot of guys worry about what somebody else is doing. We all do it, but you shouldn't do it. It's easier said than done.

Q. You seem like a guy who would have been a better fit for the TOUR in the '50s and '60s.
NEAL LANCASTER: Oh, would have loved playing then. My first year on the TOUR was '89 or '90, and that's the first year that we were still using woods then. I don't know when the metal wood came out, but it wasn't real popular. It just had started coming out then.
These guys out here are great guys, but 15 years ago it was a lot more fun (laughter). Guys would go out to dinner more, and it was a lot easier. But hell, the traveling is so much harder now. If we all had corporate jets, it would be nice, but it's not going to happen. I think one day they all need to make all those politicians fly through those airports, all of them. Let them see how we sit around and wait on them. But that's a different story.
Yeah, I think I would have had more fun in the Trevino days. I would have rather have been on TOUR back then. Looks like those guys had a lot more fun than the guys do now. Not that the guys don't have fun nowadays, but they have fun different ways, like running eight miles. That's not fun to me. Running eight miles? That's not fun.

Q. What's your fitness regimen?
NEAL LANCASTER: Smoke two packs of cigarettes a day and have a lot of Mountain Dew.

Q. You're kind of on the John Daly plan?
NEAL LANCASTER: Well, me and John started together on the TOUR, so I guess we're about alike. Of course I've been divorced once, he's been a few times. My alimony payments aren't quite his.
It's just a different game now. Balls are different, wedges are going 140 yards now. Everybody is driving the ball 320. But, you know, you have to adapt to it. Golf swing has changed, and really it hasn't, but that's what I've never understood about golf teachers. Why do they all teach something different? Why wouldn't they all teach the same thing? Because everybody's theory is different, I guess.

Q. Has anybody ever talked to you about TV? You're considered one of the funniest guys around.
NEAL LANCASTER: No, I'd love to try it one time and do TV. I like to talk. When we play out here, there's not a lot of talking anymore on TOUR. You talk with some guys, but we carry on -- we love to see guys throw fits. Now if you throw a fit it costs you.

Q. What are your thoughts on this course and this tournament, how it's grown?
NEAL LANCASTER: That's one thing, that the course is in as good a shape as any that we play anywhere, and it is every year. They made a few changes for the good. They brought the water up the side of the green on 2 and backed a few tee boxes up. This course is in magnificent shape.
I saw a stat the other night that of all the TOUR events that from ten foot in, there was more putts. The average was 88 percent for the field from ten feet in here last year, more than any other putts made -- I'm watching too much Golf Channel (laughter).

Q. What would a Neal Lancaster reality show look like? John had one. How much fun would that be?
NEAL LANCASTER: It would be fun. I don't know how many months or years it would make it, but it would be fun. But there's some reality shows, and all of them are fake. The one that kills me is the Man Versus Wild. The tough guy is the guy carrying the camera (laughter). That guy is nothing.
I saw him the other day, he said he was stuck in a hole and he was looking up a cliff thinking how he was going to get out, and I'm thinking, how about the cameraman? How is he going to get out? Those shows are unbelievable.

Q. Many years ago you were in the pressroom at Oakwood, and you said you'd just as soon be home as out playing golf.
NEAL LANCASTER: Yeah, I love being home. I live in a small town of about 10,000 people. Everybody knows everybody. I live right at the club I grew up at. We have about ten of us every day and we meet out at the club and have lunch and play cards and sit around and decide whether we're going to play nine holes of golf, go fishing or just sit there and look at the water (laughter).
But yeah, it's pretty nice, a small town. You know, but when you've been home a while, three or four months, you want to come back out. But you don't want to come out for four weeks.
I was playing with Greg Owen today, and he's been gone -- his family has been home for six weeks. He hasn't seen his five-year-old kid in six weeks. He missed her birthday, and he was talking today about it. And he's a great player. He's I think ready to see his family. It gets old traveling.

Q. If you weren't trying to make a living out here, what would you be doing?
NEAL LANCASTER: Probably selling cars because my dad, he was a car salesman 42 years. Actually when I started, I was just hanging around when I was 20 years old, and he said, what are you going to do? I said, I have no idea. He said, well, you can't hang out with me the rest of your life.
So I started playing a little more golf, and a couple guys gave me some money and I went to Tour school and got lucky and made it, and kind of everything snowballed from there. Before I knew it I was 44 years old (laughter).
STEWART MOORE: Great playing today. Thanks for coming in.

End of FastScripts

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