U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 26, 1997

Dave Eichelberger

DAVE EICHELBERGER: That's it.

DAVE EICHELBERGER: All in all, I played really well. I drove the ball as good as I could do it for the first 12 holes, and I guess, there on the bogeys, on the front 9, 3, 4 those two and bogeys at 10, 11 and 13 were just from -- boy, I mean, right in the middle of the fairway. 9-irons to the green, and just simple shots that just somehow, I guess, lack of concentration or whatever, just to me, if you miss the green with a 9-iron or a wedge, you've really kind of done something stupid or lack of concentration or I don't know how to -- I don't know what other reason to put on it, but those right there were just letting it go somehow. 13th hole was a drive into the -- or 12th hole was a drive into the trees, which was a legitimate bogey. Same thing on 16, drove it in the rough, and couldn't get it up. I mean, those two -- I mean, I feel like I shouldn't have made the two bogeys, but the other -- that's all part of the thing. I really have no explanation -- usually I play a little more consistent than that, but it was just a little bit of everything today.

DAVE EICHELBERGER: Oh, I'll feel positive. I mean, you have to look at the overall score. I'm glad to shoot even par. Any time you can do that in an Open-type course, it's got to be a pretty good day. So, it's definitely a positive round rather than a negative, although it was, you know, a chance to shoot 62 or -3. Yeah, if everything -- you don't have everything go right too often.

DAVE EICHELBERGER: All right. First hole was right in front of the green in two and just chipped to about 6 feet and made it for birdie. Second hole was a good 5-iron to about, once again, about 6 feet, made that for birdie. 3, that's a tough hole. Boy, big, long drive right in the middle of the fairway, 7-iron, just in the mode -- just right in the collar right there 25 feet from the hole, just a little short and right, going up the hill, 3 putts, left it short. Then 4th hole, right in the middle of the fairway with a pitching wedge, missed the green to the right into the bunker. Bogeyed there. 5, I putted in from off the fringe there. I was just pin-high left in the collar there, maybe 15 feet, putted that in the hole. 7, hit a sand iron to about 4 feet, made that for a birdie. 8, hit a 3-iron just -- once again, was just in the collar but maybe 12 feet from the hole back there on the back left of the green and putted in for a birdie. 9, hit a good iron up there about 4 feet for birdie. 10, way down, hit a 2-iron off the tee right in the middle of the fairway down 130 yards to the hole downwind, pitching wedge hit just short of the green, came back in the rough there and poor chip 2-putts bogey. 11, just simple, simple shot right up to the -- just kind of fanned a 7-iron over to the right and hit a good putt there. That could have gone in. 12, bad drive left, hooked it left over in the trees, and hit it out in front of the green, pitched on and 2 putts. 13 was right in front of the green in two, 80 yards to the hole, pitched it over the green into the fringe beyond and then 3-putted from there. 14, 7-iron to about 5, 6 feet, made that. 16, drove in the rough and couldn't hit it out -- well, hit it out into the bunker up left of the green and blast on, 2 putts, bogey. 17, ball hit the rake there in -- the tee ball hit the rake that was laying beside the fairway bunker and careened over through the bunker and up into the rough where I'm on the side of the hill, and then from there, I hit it right of the green, and the pin was cut close there on the right side and pitched it back over all the way across the green, made it from 50 feet for par. Then 18, hit a great drive down the middle, 8-iron to about 10, 12 feet and 2 putts were just a little harder on 18. That one would have gone right in the middle, could have made 8 birdies.

DAVE EICHELBERGER: No, I don't recall that lately. Not like that, no. I guess I must have done it, but I can't remember it. I feel like I did a little bit of everything.

DAVE EICHELBERGER: Yeah, it's hard if you don't drive it in the fairway, but it seems -- I'll have to say, I was a little surprised the scores weren't lower. It doesn't seem like the course was playing that long. I guess it was just a little dried out this afternoon, but I hit a lot of 8- and 9-irons.

DAVE EICHELBERGER: That's exactly right. There wasn't much gray in my round. I either hit a good shot or a poor shot, it seemed like. I hit a lot of good ones and then, man, a lot of bad ones.

DAVE EICHELBERGER: No, I can't -- there's nothing that I can -- I felt like maybe I got to going just a little fast sometimes when I was really -- when I was having a string of the good shots, it was like I couldn't wait to get up there and hit a good one again. And I kind of maybe got a little bit ahead of myself on 10 and 11 which started me on that string of bogeys there that hurt. So, just try to keep it just a little -- slow things down a little bit and take it easy.

DAVE EICHELBERGER: Thank you.