U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 27, 2002

Fred Gibson

FRED GIBSON: I bogeyed 3 holes on the back, my first nine, and then I made a nice par on 1, and then I birdied 2. I birdied 4 and 5, hit a 3-iron to 5 and made a birdie. So that was a big birdie. And I birdied the next hole. I birdied 3 in a row. And I made a nice par on 7, and I hit a nice shot on 8, made about a 30-footer and I almost holed it on 9 from the bunker, so that was very exciting. It was an exciting round.

Q. (Inaudible.)

FRED GIBSON: Yeah, I'm probably as surprised as you are that I'm 4-under. But I've been putting and chipping well, my bunker game is good. I haven't been hitting the ball particularly well the last few months, but it's like anything else, one thing can turn that around. It seemed like I had made that turn. And it seems like, if I can get over this cold or flu or virus or whatever it is I have, I think I'd feel a little stronger and maybe able to concentrate a little better. Every day I seem to feel a little better. So, hopefully by the weekend I'll be better.

Q. (Inaudible.)

FRED GIBSON: It was definitely nicer out to play. That made a difference for us all.

Q. (Inaudible.)

FRED GIBSON: Well, starting on the back is a little harder. That walk up 11 just -- I get to the top of that hill on 11, I can't catch my breath. I've got fluid in my lungs, so I don't have full capacity. I 3-putted 11 from like 10 feet. I had a little birdie putt there, and I 3-putted, and it's because I couldn't get my composure there, after the walk up the hill. Then, you walk straight down the hill, and up another hill and then down, 17 and 18, that's a tough walk. So, it's a little more demanding, and I couldn't quite get it together. But I felt better once we made the turn.

Q. (Inaudible.)

FRED GIBSON: Yes, there were some thoughts. I had an incident out here today, my driver broke on 17. I hit a drive on 16 and it didn't sound quite right, I thought, maybe I hit it in the heel. The next hole I hit it again, and it didn't sound good. And I could hear something cracking. And I put the club down on the ground, and just went to lean on it to see if there was any noise, and the head fell off. So luckily -- I was lucky, if I would have made one more swing with the club it could have killed me, flung off there and run up and hit me or hit somebody in the crowd, it could have done anything. It just fell off. It would have definitely come off on 18. So I'm kind of lucky it happened when it did, and they got another driver out to me. And I was able to hit driver on 18, rather than 3-wood. That would have really made the hole play hard.

Q. (Inaudible.)

FRED GIBSON: Well, last time I was sick was right after I won Vantage, I got the same thing, it started as a sore throat and then into my sinuses and then into my lungs. I fought it about 3 weeks, and this is the third week. It's the same type of thing. It's annoying more than anything else. Luckily, I'm in pretty good shape, and that's kind of helped me get around here.

Q. (Inaudible.)

FRED GIBSON: Oh, let's see, 2 was probably about 25 feet. And 4 was maybe 12 feet. 5 was maybe 12, 15 feet. The next one was close, the next one was about ten feet. And then I made about a 30-footer on 8.

Q. (Inaudible.)

FRED GIBSON: Yeah, as long as you don't do it in anger. It happened during the course of play and basically the USGA guy was right there. He was standing right there when I just put the club on the ground, and like I said, I put it on the ground and the head just fell off. It was just that bad. It was ready to go.

Q. (Inaudible.)

FRED GIBSON: Yeah, you can replace it. If you do it in anger or do it in frustration, then you've got to use it -- you can't change the club.

Q. (Inaudible.)

FRED GIBSON: It worried me a little bit. I was hoping he'd get back in time to bring the driver to 18, because, luckily, I wasn't hitting first on 18, so I had a little more time and the guy showed up right as I'm hitting, it turned out to be a very lucky break for me. And that's what you need to play good golf, you need lucky breaks.

Q. (Inaudible.)

FRED GIBSON: Yeah, I think I decided like on 16 that it didn't sound right, something was wrong. And I just didn't -- first I just schlepped it off, maybe I hit it in the heel or something. And then 17, I hit the drive, I knew something was wrong with it, and that's when I put it on the ground and that's when it just fell off. It probably had been weakened yesterday, and it just -- every time -- it gets weaker and weaker, and eventually does what it did. Luckily if I hadn't just checked this club, the next swing I would have made it would have been gone.

Q. (Inaudible.)

FRED GIBSON: No, I left here before this course was ever built. I got out of the golf business in '86, and was trying something different.

Q. (Inaudible.)

FRED GIBSON: But I played it a couple of times, a year ago. I had a good idea of how it was going to play and how tough a walk it was going to be.

Q. (Inaudible.)

FRED GIBSON: No, because it's exactly the same. It's exactly the same. The only difference between the one that broke and the one that I use is the one I broke goes a little further. It's a half degree stronger in loft, so it goes a little further. That's the only difference in the two. They both are the same, the same shaft, the grip, everything is exactly the same. You have to have a backup. I have two backup clubs, one's a putter and one is a driver.v Q. (Inaudible.)

FRED GIBSON: Good. Thank you.

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