SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 25, 2001

Bob Gilder

BOB GILDER: Well, I got off to a little bit better sstart on the front side today Really, was just reading the putts a little bit better today and made some putts. It got kind of slow out there at one point and I kind of lost my focus a little bit, but it was tough there in the back side in places and a little more up-and-down on the back side. But all in all I thought that I hit the ball pretty good; I hit it close enough times. And I actually just putted very well today with the exception of one hole.

BOB GILDER: It got windier this afternoon. There were some holes that it got pretty windy there at the end. You know, I wasn't outside that much in the morning. It seemed kind of cool, but, you know, the temperature was about the same all day I think. Other than that, it probably played a little bit tougher this afternoon. Some of the scores were a little bit higher.

BOB GILDER: Well, like I said, you know, I was able to putt. I hit a, you know, I needed a good shot after 3-putting. I don't know what hole that is, that one up the hill, what is that, 14 or something? Pardon?

BOB GILDER: Yeah. We just waited for so long, and I was kind of very much in between clubs on that hole, and it was kind of a sucker pin over there, the back left. And I went with the longer club and tried to hit it up in the air and hit it heavy and left it on the front of the green. I just got through watching one of my competitors hit the same putt up there and left it way short and I did the same thing. I just lost my focus there. Then the next hole I hit a horrible, horrible tee shot on the par 3, and it was like I wasn't even there. But I almost made the putt, and the next hole, I almost made birdie there. I kind of left it just short in the heart. And then on the par 5, 17, I hit a good drive and a good second shot and was really -- the wind was kind of howling in our face there. I had 107 to the front and four more to the pin, so I had 111 to the pin. I didn't think I could get a pitching wedge there, and I hit it probably about pin-high and it sucked back to the front of the green and I hit a real good putt there and made it. And we stood around again on 18 in the middle of the fairway, and I think I was stretching a 5-iron there from 185, the way the wind was going. And I didn't -- I just wanted to make sure I got it on the green and left it front-right a little bit short on the fringe and had a long putt. And then I was able to get that down in two. So I saved some really good pars and made some birdie putts out there today that I would say was a little abnormal. (Laughing.) At least from the way I was putting yesterday.

BOB GILDER: They're not that bad. They don't hurt my swing at all. It just hurts to walk. I've just got to be careful walking.

BOB GILDER: Well, I did, just the last couple of weeks when they started hurting pretty bad. I wanted to just -- I wanted to save them so I could walk this week, to see if I could walk this week. And it's doing fine. They've been working on them, and they seem to be getting -- seem to be getting a little stronger. But it doesn't hurt my swing in the least, and it's not a problem hitting a golf ball.

BOB GILDER: I have a torn medial meniscus in both knees. The right one feels okay, and the left one is twitching and all sorts of things in there when I make a funky little move with my foot. But fortunately, it doesn't bother my swing at all. It feels better -- it felt very good to walk today. I was just trying to be careful; that's all. Not a problem.

BOB GILDER: Well, we have a long way to go yet. This is only half way through this tournament. I would say the plan would be to stretch it out to give yourself a pretty good cushion, get as far away. And if it's a two-man race or a three-man race, you know, who knows? But you can only take it one shot at a time. For me, the golf course doesn't really set up that well because I'm not drawing the ball, but I'm able to get around with a little bit of a fade. So I'm hitting the ball very solid, and I'm keeping the ball in play and I'm hitting some real good iron shots. So I feel pretty good going into the last two rounds. But I'm sure Jim Thorpe feels very good, too. And there's a host of guys right behind us that feel pretty good about it I'm sure. I like the golf course. I'm sure a lot of these other guys, too. And when you like a place that you're playing, you're generally going to have some good days, and hopefully we can have a couple more here. If the weather doesn't get too bad, I personally don't mind whether the weather gets bad or not. I'm hitting it fine, and the worse the weather gets, I think the better off a guy who's hitting it well is going to be on a course like this. If I continue puttingg well, I'm going to be tough. But you never know. There's a bunch of other guys that want to win this too. We're gonna see what happens.