DORAL-RYDER OPEN

March 9, 1997

Steve Elkington

STEVE ELKINGTON: I feel great, obviously. I didn't really expect to sort of be in this position, being this is only my second event I've played this year. But, my golf was so solid this week, I golfed to such a good start today, that I holed my 6-iron shot on No. 3 for eagle; never even touched the green, just went straight in. And, just after that, I just felt really confident, felt really calm and relaxed. And I road the momentum all the way in. I really only had a bit of bother there on No. 13 and 14 where I was in the bunkers. But, other than that, I was real pleased with the way everything went, obviously. On No. 1: I drove in the pair way bunker, hit a 9-iron out, hit a sand wedge to 8 feet, birdie. 2: Was a 4-iron, 9-iron, 2-putt, par, 12 feet. 3: Was a driver and 6-iron that flew in the hole.

STEVE ELKINGTON: 150 yards, exactly, straight into the wind. I was actually, when I hit it, the pin was cut way to the right. On the 3rd, if you miss the green to the right, it's going in the water, automatic. When I looked up I thought maybe I hadn't hit it far enough, but I was sort of saying, get up, and it did, right in the hole. 4: I hit a 5-iron to about 20 feet, 2-putt par. 5: I hit 3-wood, 7-iron about 6 feet, missed. 6: I hit a 3-wood in the fairway bunker, 2-iron left of the green, pitched out, up about 10 feet, made it for par. 7: I hit driver, sand wedge to about 12 feet, par. 8: I hit driver in the fairway bunker, laid out with a 5-iron, hit a wedge about 6 feet and missed, birdie there. And 9: I hit a 7-iron, just on the right fringe and made that from about 30 feet. Then 10: I hit a 3-wood, laid up with a 5-iron, and then I hit my approach into about 12 feet and made that one. 11: 2-iron, 7-iron, 35, 40 feet, 2-putted. 12: 5-iron, 9-iron, 2-putted from 20 feet. 13: I hit a 3-iron in the right bunker, came out 10 feet and missed. 14: I hit my 3-wood in the bunker off the tee, hit my second shot in the bunker, came out about 10 feet, missed. 15: I hit a 7-iron about ten feet, missed. 16: I hit a 3-iron and an 8-iron about 40 feet, 2-putt. 17: I hit driver, 8-iron about 30 feet, 2-putt, par. 18: I hit a driver in the fairway bunker near the water, just a pitching wedge out and then I had 138 and I hit a 9-iron in there about 6 feet and made it. That was a long 9-iron under the circumstances.

STEVE ELKINGTON: I didn't really have any good chances for birdie -- I had a good chance at 15, that was it, really. The holes are so hard coming in. It's not realistic that you're going to -- I knew that -- I was playing good golf, and I knew that it was hard for me to get the ball near the hole. I was hitting my irons probably as good as anyone, so I knew it would be hard for them. So I was obviously protecting my lead. I was protecting my lead from the 10th hole on. I played, not conservative. I played aggressive, but I played smart golf. If you watch the telecast, you noticed I was on the wide side of most everything. I just tried to play sensible golf and came to the end of the round where they're not going to be able catch you, especially on a hole like 18. When I made 4 there, that was it.

STEVE ELKINGTON: No. It would be different if I was tired or one behind or something, but I was probably looking at hitting a 2-iron out of that bunker. And I just don't hit that many good bunker shots with 2-iron, I really don't. I wish I could sit here and say I felt comfortable hitting it clean out of there with a 2-iron, but there's no way.

STEVE ELKINGTON: I didn't even ask. I didn't even ask.

STEVE ELKINGTON: Well, I've hit a perfect tee shot up there every day so far, except the second day I was in the bunker, but I hit a good shot, it just ran in the bunker. This week I've been fading the ball all week. So on that hole, I know I'm going to go right, because the wind is left-to-right and all the trouble is left, it's just a gimmie that my ball is going to the right, probably. So I just try to, really try to work hard not to go further right. In other words, I try to hook it, and I know I can't hook it, because I'm fading, if that makes sense. And I just -- that's why I hit two good ones down there. I hit what I -- I tried to hook it, for me, was a straight ball. And, I only missed the fairway. It was probably a foot from being really good. I mean, that ball had no chance to go in the water, no chance.

STEVE ELKINGTON: To be honest, I felt good at Pebble when I played the last time. I finished bogey, double-bogey par to finish 12th at Pebble. And, then I lost my clubs, and I didn't play. I told my caddie I've been working hard on my putting. Generally, for me, when I'm putting good, if I'm really competitive, I'm always near the top. And, I told my caddie after I shot 66 the second day that I can win this week, even though I haven't been playing much, and I don't feel that comfortable being out here right now, because I haven't been playing; I can win this week because my putting is so solid. I just felt like it was. I practiced a fair bit. Actually, yesterday on the front 9, I couldn't putt that good, but I did on the back. I went home last night and worked hard in the room and a couple of hours this morning on putting in the room and on the putting green early. And I just felt really solid.

STEVE ELKINGTON: I am.

STEVE ELKINGTON: I'm allergic to all grass.

STEVE ELKINGTON: It hasn't bothered me, at all. My health has been good since I had surgery.

STEVE ELKINGTON: I'm like "Doctor Allergy." I know all about allergies, and I try to get myself -- I look after -- I'm taking my tablets and everything. I know it's affected a lot of guys this week, here, some of the boys. I think Curtis had a problem with it, didn't he? But, it hasn't bothered me, no.

STEVE ELKINGTON: I hit it fat a little bit. But, that would be the tendency a little bit. I didn't try to, like, blade it, you know. Sometimes when you get in a bunker, you try to hit up on the ball and thin it. I only had 110 to the water. That's the last thing that crossed my mind was: "Don't thin this thing. If you thin it, it may go right through the wind into the water." So I fatted it. It's actually better there, I think, to be back a bit. Not as far back as I was, but until the 110 range, where you can bust a wedge. And, it was a pretty easy shot once you get that far up the fairway with the pin in the back right-hand corner, you're not worried about the water, because you've got so much room there.

STEVE ELKINGTON: Just alignment. Most of the time I aim wrong. I usually aim to the right. But, I've really worked hard on this week at aiming good. I have to get used to looking at what square is. I have a tendency to sit the club open - I don't know why - a lot of amateurs do it. When I sit it square, it looks closed. So, I have to get used to looking at it closed.

STEVE ELKINGTON: We spoke this week. I have worked with him in the past quite a bit. I know what to do. Sometimes I slip into bad habits and don't know it.

STEVE ELKINGTON: 15? The par 3?

STEVE ELKINGTON: Both bogeys came from being in the bunker. I didn't have that good a chance on either one of them, a 15- or 12-footer on 13 and the same on 14. Both were kind of sloppy putts; both were downhill. At that point, you know, it would have been nice to make one of them. But, I'm not going to do anything silly and run at it hard. I knew I had the lead and I knew I was playing good and I had to get away from the bunkers. I knew how to play -- 13 is a hard hole for everyone, par 3. It's a long hole, 230 yards or whatever. 14 is a difficult hole for me because, this week, because the 3-wood goes too far, it can go through into the bunker on the right, and it can't carry the one on the left, so you've got to hit kind of a little hook in there. And, it's a hard shot. I hit the ball not too far, but I'm saying on that particular hole with the wind the way it was today, it was really a hard fit for me, because I'm fading the ball. It's accentuating with the wind. I'm trying to go as tight to the left as I can. I just got to try to hit the best shot as I could.

STEVE ELKINGTON: Yeah, I think it's fine. I think it's a nightmare for the average guy to go out and play. But, I think it stood up fairly well. It's certainly a lot harder, and there's some controversy about the last hole. But, I think it's a bit severe until the back - I think we all agree on that - most of the players. But, I think it's fine.

STEVE ELKINGTON: No, I wasn't confident. But, I was hoping they wouldn't. Eventually you finish. One of the things about winning tournaments, I've found, over the years, is that eventually the whole field runs out of holes, so you don't just panic coming in on the last few holes. It's just as important to play the 16th hole as good as it is No. 2. Eventually you have to keep your emotions in check and keep grinding away and finish the tournament. Don't just fall over at the end. And, it would have been real easy to bogey, like 16 or 17 or make five or six at 18 easy. And, let those guys have a chance to win. But, I played solid golf from 15 in, and they had to play them under par. So I closed them out.

STEVE ELKINGTON: Well, I just missed two easy putts at 7 and 8. It was good. I got one back there. I made it at 10, too. I was just trying to play steady golf, stay out of trouble; keep the ball -- Greg Norman's always said the reason he plays good here is he knows where to go. And he knows what club to hit where to go. And I feel the same way for me. I know how to play Doral. In other words, I know -- when he says the lines are the same, he's right. Raymond hasn't changed where you hit the ball on each hole. You just have to find what club to do it with.

STEVE ELKINGTON: It's hard to say. I think '95 was more of sort of a momentum thing. This year it's been more -- I think it's better in a way because I've come from sort of scratch. I played most of my really, really good golf in '95 after starting at the Masters. And it just kept going and going. So, I'm kind of that kind of player, really. Once I get going well and get a bit of confidence I generally -- I usually go on and have good years, especially my good years, '92 and '95, is when I started out with a win at the tournament championship. That's been the trend to me.

STEVE ELKINGTON: I won in '96. It was in Thailand. But, you guys count Tiger's win in Thailand, but you don't count mine. (Laughter.) Mine was -- it doesn't count. He won in Thailand; it did count. I almost won the PGA last year. That gave me a lot of confidence. I came within one putt of defending the PGA. I can't tell you how much confidence that gave me. But, I never felt like -- I never felt like I wouldn't win again. I have worked hard in the off-season. I've lost weight and I feel fit. It's time to go, you know, you've got some good players that were all wanting to win. And, I want to be one of those guys. I was up high until the Sony Rankings a couple of years ago, and I don't like slipping back, I like to be up in that group of guys that people watch out for. This is the best field that we've played against this year, and I feel good about coming down here in beating this field. I tend to do well in the bigger tournaments, I think. I've won some big tournaments. So, I'm really, really pleased.

STEVE ELKINGTON: Well, I don't really consider today as being behind, because two shots here is like -- and if you're playing pretty good, you could be even after two holes. David Duval is a really good player, and I think he's going to win, certainly. He probably feels pretty depressed about it again. But, there's a certain -- I think there's a certain thing out here where you have to seize the time that's right for you. In other words, when you're playing good and you're near the lead, you have to push yourself right past the worry or worry that you're not going to win or worry that something bad is going to happen to you on the next hole or something. You have to push right through that and when it's your turn to do it, you've got to just do everything you can to do it. And that's what I try to do. I try to not worry about anything other than what's going on right now. I don't think about the next hole, whether I've got to play the last hole with the wind into me, I try not to worry about it. If I do worry, I wouldn't have been able to win the other tournaments I've won.

STEVE ELKINGTON: No, I knew I could go right all day long. And I made up my mind that I was going to make 5, or try to make 4 the hard way, you know. Obviously, I wanted to hit the fairway and try to hit my iron in there. But, no, 18 never really -- actually, 17 was a harder tee shot for me because I missed the fairway there all three days. And I hit a beauty down there today.

STEVE ELKINGTON: Yep.

STEVE ELKINGTON: Yeah, I think it's a good attitude boost. I think you can draw strength from that knowing that the baby is home and knowing you're going home to see the baby and be with him. I'm a real family man. I love my kids, probably have more than two, but I think it's fantastic. It kills me when I'm not out on the road with my family. But they can't be out here yet. I think it helps. In '95 when I played well, all I was thinking about when I played real good at Augusta was about the baby. So I think it relaxes you, certainly.

STEVE ELKINGTON: Bay Hill, yeah. I'm going to play Bay Hill, TPC, New Orleans and The Masters, four in a row.

STEVE ELKINGTON: It never touched anything, they said it didn't even make that big a noise, it just went right in there. I couldn't believe it.

STEVE ELKINGTON: I couldn't. I looked, because I couldn't see very good, it was real -- and it was kind of sandy looking, and I looked up, I don't see that good, anyway, but I said to Gypsy, did that go in or did it just go real close? He said it went in. I said, all right. (Laughter.)

STEVE ELKINGTON: Exactly. I felt like after that, I felt like just walking up there this is going to be my day. This is going to be my day. I'm going to make it my day, after that. I said I'm going to make this my day. No reason to back off at that point, you know.

STEVE ELKINGTON: A little bit, yeah. He's -- he seems to be okay, he got over that one bad stretch, he was going to have the surgery. My stuff was a lot worse than his, I had to have it. He says he's doing real good, I'm glad to hear that. He's got some of the same stuff I do.

STEVE ELKINGTON: No, he turned himself on.

STEVE ELKINGTON: It would be a tough hole to play even, I can tell you that. But you can play the hole like I did. If you play like I did, make one pars or two pars and two bogeys, you're going to beat the field. What did it play for the week?

STEVE ELKINGTON: What did it play for the week?

STEVE ELKINGTON: So --

STEVE ELKINGTON: Two over for the week was average?

STEVE ELKINGTON: Yes. So you play two over -- I played 1-over, so I beat the field by one.