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JOHN DEERE CLASSIC

July 11, 2008

Kenny Perry

SILVIS, ILLINOIS

DOUG MILNE: Kenny Perry, thanks for joining us the second day in a row for a few minutes here in the interview room at the John Deere Classic. Obviously the past few weeks you've just been inundated, but it obviously isn't slowing you down; today another great round, 5-under par 66. What's keeping you going?
KENNY PERRY: It was going bad today. I was going in the wrong direction, and then I snapped the driver in a hazard on the 8th hole, took a drop, hit it in front of the green, chipped in for par. It seemed like my whole state of mind changed, my feelings changed and I birdied the next three holes, 9, 10 and 11. Nine is a tough hole. I hit the prettiest 6-iron in there to about four feet. And hit a beautiful shot on 12, and next thing I know I'm off and running again and I was starting to make putts. I got into the moment, I got into the round again, and it got me going. So awesome round, very proud of this round.

Q. Attitude has been such a big factor to your success the last two months. The bogey on 18, can you just shake that off and not even think about it?
KENNY PERRY: Yeah, I mean, it's just stay close. You know, I said earlier, my two wins this year, I came from three back. If I can stay within three of the lead going into Sunday, it's anybody's game. That's all I was trying to do. It was kind of disappointing when I showed up this morning, got on the first tee and I was six behind, or eight behind, or -- no, he's 13, so I was seven behind. Anyway, I knew I had a lot of work to do, and I got off to a slow start. But it was neat to pull it back and get it back together and get back in this golf tournament.

Q. Did knowing you were seven behind change your approach when you were standing on the first tee?
KENNY PERRY: No. I didn't feel very good over the ball today for some reason. I didn't hit it as good the first three holes. Then I got pretty good. From 9 in I hit it nice. But I was kind of out of synch a little bit for some reason this morning. I don't know, it just wasn't there. You know, out of the -- I think it's my tenth round in the 60s straight, and this was my hardest round I can -- just the way I felt physically. Not mentally, just the way I felt addressing the golf ball today for some reason.

Q. Sometimes they say it's not always the 64s and 65s that win the tournament, it's the 75s and 74s you don't shoot.
KENNY PERRY: Well, you don't normally shoot 74 or 75 out here and win (laughter).

Q. Did you save it today? Did you turn it around?
KENNY PERRY: Definitely. I definitely could have shot even par today very easily. I could have shot 71 today very easily. I'm more proud of this round than all my rounds I've shot so far. I was able to get back into the moment, in the zone, and just get back into feeling like I was going to make some birdies and making it happen, and that was pretty neat to pull it out.

Q. Do you think your footsteps are a little louder now if you're coming from behind? Do you think guys are looking out for Kenny Perry?
KENNY PERRY: I don't think so. I mean, I don't know. It's been interesting. It's been kind of funny listening to all the guys come and talk to me on the putting green and stuff. They want to touch me, rub me (laughter), and that's been -- in my 22 years out here, that's never happened. I was like, what are you doing? "What are you eating for breakfast?" It's been really neat.
I wish it would be like that. I wish they would worry a little bit about me. But I don't think so yet.

Q. Do you think there's anyone out there right now playing better than you have the last couple weeks or couple months?
KENNY PERRY: Well, I don't know. I mean, I'm not going to say. I'm definitely not the best or the best player out here. I'm just playing well. I've got a lot of experience, a lot of time behind me, and I'm just very comfortable with what I'm doing out here right now.

Q. These 22 years that you've had, this streak, are you the most in control of what you've got right now?
KENNY PERRY: It's the longest I've -- I mean, I've been in control like this before, but this is the longest I've held it together by far.

Q. How much of the streak is that your swing is in good shape and how much of this is that mentally you have it going?
KENNY PERRY: Well, I'm putting better than I've ever putted, period, in my whole 22 years out here. I'm making a lot of four-, five-, six-footers now for par to keep the round going. I'll make two or three birdies and then I'll hit that one off the green and I'll chip it six feet by but I'll make it and continue to keep the round going. That's been the difference this year than in the past. In the past I continued to hit it nice and shoot good rounds. But it just seems like I'm not hitting it quite as good as I used to, but I'm able to manage and score just as well as because of my putting.

Q. How long have you been using the long putter?
KENNY PERRY: No, I'm using a short putter. I used the belly just a little bit about the last half of last year and I used it for one tournament this year. It actually is more of a training aid than anything. It helps my short putter stroke.

Q. What is the putter you're using now?
KENNY PERRY: Ping Craz-E. It's a mallet. It's very similar to my Rossi one that I used for basically my whole career out here on the TOUR.
It's been a neat story. A guy gave me that putter back in the spring of this year, came up to me, says, "You need to putt with this putter. It's going to help you." Dead serious.

Q. Who was the guy?
KENNY PERRY: Paul Hargarten. He's one of the members at Bent Pine there in Vero Beach, Florida. I didn't think nothing of it; I just accepted the putter from him, kind of threw it in the back of my truck. And started putting bad with my Rossi, so I went and grabbed it, and next thing you won I've won $3 million with it this year.

Q. What is it about that putter?
KENNY PERRY: To me it's the most stable putter I've ever hit through impact. I don't feel a lot of heel-toe motion through impact area. It stays very stable, very balanced, and it's very dead. What I like about it is I've kind of got a little hit in my stroke. At my age I want to hit it with my right hand a little bit, and the face of this putter is very dead, so it lets me whack at it like I want to and the ball doesn't come flying off the face.

Q. What's in it for Paul?
KENNY PERRY: About ten bucks maybe (laughter).

Q. Threesomes off both tees tomorrow, a little bit later start, rain in the forecast. What does that do to --
KENNY PERRY: Well, we've been playing on a very soggy golf course as it is. It actually dried out a little bit today, got a little run today. Practice round was very soggy, Pro-Am was soggy. I don't think it'll -- it's still going to be a birdie contest. I mean, the golf course is not that long. I mean, with the greens as soft as they are, when you get soft conditions, guys make lots of birdies. It's going to be a shootout.

Q. Does it keep you on your toes knowing how scorable this course is with the cut being projected at 3-under right now?
KENNY PERRY: I actually thought the cut would be lower than 3-under, which tells me the golf course actually played a little harder today. You know, we've only had a couple of low cuts all year, maybe Hartford was 4-under, but the rest of the TOUR this year we've had even to over par, maybe 1-under. The conditions this year have been very difficult. We've played a lot of high winds, difficult conditions, and it just seems like now summer is here and the rains and the heat, and you get heat with bentgrass greens, and we're just in the part of the country that's just been flooded with rain all year. These golf courses -- it's in great shape, it's just very soft.
DOUG MILNE: Thanks for your time, and best of luck on the weekend.

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