FORD SENIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

July 11, 2002

Stewart Ginn

DAVE SENKO: Stewart, great start, 6-under. Maybe just offer some general comments on your round and we'll get your birdies and one bogey and open up to questions.

STEWART GINN: I just basically, the birdies were -- I started at No. 2. Made the putt there from 20 feet.

Birdied No. 3 from a foot and a half.

Bogeyed No. 4 from the bunker, came out ten feet and missed it.

Then I birdied No. 6 from about 12 feet. I hit a sand iron in.

7 was a pitching wedge in to about three feet. Made it there.

No. 10, was a pitching wedge into five feet.

No. 13 I 2-putted about 45, 50 feet.

15, the par 3, I hit it in there about five feet. I hit 7-iron in.

DAVE SENKO: Did the course play differently?

STEWART GINN: Well, they have lengthened the course a lot. The course has change changed a little bit, which is probably nicer, I think, on the par 5s. The alterations they have done seem quite good.

But still, it's still a tough little golf course. When the greens get hard and it blows a little bit, it's a bit like playing back in England and Scotland.

Q. What do you think the change on the par 5 --

STEWART GINN: Well, I think for 90 percent of the field it makes it a three-shotter, and I think it's nice to have lengthened up the course a little bit. It makes it just that little bit more golf-orientated into it.

Q. Was the wind a factor today?

STEWART GINN: The wind was changing, it was swirling and changing a little bit on a few of the shots there. It was downwind one minute and then switched very quickly. So you could be unlucky or you could be lucky on some shots. It was a bit tricky in certain spots.

Q. Players seem to be going lower and lower.

STEWART GINN: These boys can still play. 66, 65 or 70, even last week I saw a man 60 years of age shoot 60 on a very, very good golf course, which I walked off that golf course and I was astounded to see somebody 60 shoot 60. Every week is the same out here. I think you guys know that.

Q. (Inaudible)?

STEWART GINN: I was a bit more patient today. I think it's a patient golf course. It's one that -- like last year, if you hit fairways and greens, you could probably get it around here, but if you get a bit cute at it, get a little bit wayward, you could break out some numbers.

I guess this year, if you asked me on the par 5s, I think it's nicer this year that they are three-shotters. That backs you off a little bit, instead of getting the big drive down there and getting the medium iron into the green. I like playing golf that way.

Q. They were all kind of laying up there --

STEWART GINN: No, which makes it a different golf course.

Q. (Inaudible.)

STEWART GINN: Well, it depend on the breeze. It depends on the wind. I guess that a lot of the holes you have to be very careful. There's a lot of lay-up shots with fairways or 7-woods, 5-woods off the tees because you want to put yourself into position. You want to be able to attack this course, if you can attack it from the fairway, you can get at it; but from the rough, you can't.

Q. (Inaudible)?

STEWART GINN: Well, I think so, yes. That's what probably shot me up this year. I thought when I played it the last two years, I always try to take it off. But I've come unstuck every year; so, this year I said, right, you've got to be patient.

Q. Were you looking at the scoreboard today?

STEWART GINN: No, I don't look at the scoreboards. I'll look on Sunday night. Wait and see what happens on Sunday night.

Q. (Inaudible)?

STEWART GINN: I was aware of that when I finished. Someone said, you know, they are ripping this course up. But I don't think so. I think it's a very good golf course and it can bite you.

Q. What do you think about a guy shooting 7-under?

STEWART GINN: Well, as I said, last week someone shot 60 last week, and it astounded me the scores they shot on that U.S. Open, what Watson shot on that golf course. Every week is the same here. There's no point in trying to shoot around par playing these courses, or playing with this company, I should say.

Q. (Inaudible)?

STEWART GINN: It makes it aggressive.

Q. Do you feel you've got to go low?

STEWART GINN: You know you've got to go low. It's every tour now, doesn't matter whether it's junior golf or the senior boys. It's proven every week; you have to get out there and go low.

Q. (Inaudible)?

STEWART GINN: I think patiently, yes. I think on this golf course, it's a patient golf course, the way it's set up. Some of those pins out there today, I tell you what, on that par 3 on No. 10, 11 -- 12, the 12th hole, looking at that little pin there, there's one pin. I don't care who you are, it makes you stand up -- when the wind is coming from right-to-left and then is swirls around a little bit.

Q. A lot of guys -- (inaudible)?

STEWART GINN: Well, again, playing back where you've got to fly a full eight or a wedge (inaudible) 106 yards -- or if you play it closer, a 50-, 60-yarder you have no shot.

Q. (Inaudible)?

STEWART GINN: No. That's my first time with Fuzzy. He's a gentleman. He's just a gentleman to play with. It's very flies to play with guys like Fuzzy, and I like that, a gentleman to play with. It's very refreshing. The play and the sportsmanship, it's a gentleman's game, and it's very refreshing to play with guys like that.

Q. How much do you think the course will change for the weekend?

STEWART GINN: Well, they are going to get hard and fast like they are doing now, the greens -- I mean we played on Tuesday and it's just a totally different golf course from Tuesday to Thursday. If they don't go too silly and put a little bit of water on the greens, I think it will get hard and fast. Then you're going to have to golf your golf ball around there.

Q. They talk about 12 and 13 --

STEWART GINN: No, I think they are probably at 11, maybe 12. That's all coming, yes.

Q. You mentioned the idea of going low, you said all around the world, virtually on every tour. In your career, is this something that just happened recently or something that's been developing, the desire to shoot low scores?

STEWART GINN: Well, I think the bar has been raised a lot over the last five to ten years. There's a big bar there. Ten years ago, you might have had -- on every tour, you probably had 20 guys that you knew -- that you knew every week could probably get it around there low.

Nowadays, the bar has been lowered, it doesn't matter who it is. We see it as players -- I've been out there playing 30-odd years, and the young guys come out now and they have no fear. Doesn't matter if it's a legend, Tiger Woods or whatever. They just go out and golf it and they can shoot anything they want to shoot, which is fantastic. I mean, Tiger is still the man of the day, but there's a lot of young boys nipping at his heels now and he's set the bar.

Q. Who is setting the bar on the Senior Tour?

STEWART GINN: Well, I think Hale Irwin is winning this thing at the moment. I think Hale is one of the best players I've ever played with, and I've played with most of the boys on this tour, but I think Hale Irwin is one of the finest players I've played with. And I think his record proves that.

Q. What is it about -- (inaudible)?

STEWART GINN: Well, I had the pleasure of listening to him one day and I heard him say, "2-iron is his scoring club." I've never heard that before in my career that your 2-iron is your scoring club. I think that's just a wonderful quote.

And playing with the guy, he can score with any club. But, you know, it's a very hard thing. There's a lot of great ball-strikers out there, but Hale Irwin has something very different, very different in every department.

Q. Do you think he could be a throwback to an earlier time?

STEWART GINN: I think it's the length. Tiger Woods has set the bar. Because it's like Greg Norman when Greg Norman was dominating for ten years as world No. 1. He was the straightest, longest driver of golf ball. There was no question about that. He was not the longest, but he was the straightest.

I think Hale Irwin is probably one of the straightest drivers of the golf ball and same with Tiger. Tiger is one of the straightest I've seen. He proved that in all of the majors he plays. It doesn't matter if they put the fairways 20 yards, 15 yards, he still gets it down there.

Q. (Inaudible)?

STEWART GINN: No. I'd have to put Greg Norman in that category at the moment. I put Norman, day-in, day-out, straighter than Tiger. Norman is the best I've seen as a long, straight driver, I personally think. I put him in front of Tiger, at the moment. At the moment.

Q. (Inaudible)?

STEWART GINN: Yeah, it would be very good. Very difficult as an average player to play with these guys. Not many of the boys say that, but it's very imposing sometimes when they hear the oohs, the aahhs when he is cranking it 320 yards and you are hitting it 260, 270; that does put you out of ease quite a lot.

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