U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

August 2, 2008

Scott Simpson

FULLAUDIOINTERVIEW

Q. Did you see this coming when you got on the first tee this morning?

SCOTT SIMPSON: No, absolutely not. I had no clue I was going to shoot 64, I struggled the first two days a lot and I putted terrible. I had 36 putts yesterday, so for some reason today -- and I did. I worked on my putting stroke, got it smoothed out last night, and just went out there today. I think I one putted my first five holes and just got some momentum going and just played real well.

Last week at the British, I made seven birdies for the week and I made eight today, so I didn't see it coming, that's for sure.

Q. A big difference in the way the golf course was set up today than from yesterday?

SCOTT SIMPSON: I think so. I think it was set up better today. I think the pins were better. There were some goofy ones yesterday. They were just really tough and playing early is a big advantage. We didn't have much wind until the last probably four or five holes, and the greens held well. They held real well early in the morning. So that's a big advantage playing early.

Q. Was there much wind? Looks like the wind is picking up a little bit.

SCOTT SIMPSON: Yeah, it's picking up a lot. We didn't have any wind through probably 13, 14 holes. Actually it only picked up probably the last three holes where it's starting to blow pretty good. It would be a real shame if it was pretty windy.

Q. That would kill you, wouldn't it.

SCOTT SIMPSON: Yeah, just kill me.

Q. Did you make some long putts?

SCOTT SIMPSON: No, I didn't make any long ones. Well, 15, 20 feet is long out here, so I think I made a couple. The first hole -- actually the second hole I made probably a 15-footer for par and then made 15-footer for birdie on 3. So I made some of those, which is a big improvement for the way I've been doing lately.

Yeah, and if you can make some, and I didn't seem to have -- well, I didn't seem to have many of the putts that were just ridiculous, you know, the ones -- I had one on 16 from about ten feet that I had to play. I played a foot of break and it wasn't enough. You get some of those goofy putts out here with the slopes but overall it wasn't bad.

Q. I want to write something about how they approach the hole locations and stuff. And you said they are a little more accessible today.

SCOTT SIMPSON: Yeah, I thought so, a little bit.

Q. What would you expect tomorrow?

SCOTT SIMPSON: Well, I would think -- I would think like today maybe. Hopefully you at least try to find a somewhat level lie around the hole, and so they were pretty good.

Yesterday, there were a couple that were kind of questionable. When you see Ben Crenshaw 3-putting and 4-putting, you know that it's pretty tough.

Q. Do you think that's part of the approach looking at it as a week-long thing, that hey, they are going to have this way one day and this way the next day?

SCOTT SIMPSON: No. I think they try to be pretty consistent as far as every day. You know, with some tough winds and some accessible ones -- no, I think they try to be pretty good. I think I was just fortunate of getting out early that the greens were holding better.

When you're playing late and the wind picks up and there's no humidity, it just dries everything out. If you're trying to bounce them into some of those pins, it's much tougher, but if you're playing well and if you hit the fairway and then you hit an iron where you can control it and hit it by the pin, and hold it, that makes it a lot easier. That was the advantage playing early, I think.

But as far as the way they set it up, I think overall they are doing a pretty good job. They are making it tough but you know, for senior golf, they make it pretty tough, 545-yard par 4s, that's pretty long, even with the ten percent. Yeah, they are not taking it that easy on us.

Q. What did you work on? You said you worked on your putting.

SCOTT SIMPSON: I was trying to smooth it out and all of a sudden it started feeling better again.

Q. Do you think all of the complaining yesterday about the conditions was warranted?

SCOTT SIMPSON: I don't know, I didn't pay attention to any of the complaining. I played late.

Q. High scores tend to bring out a little bit of grumbling.

SCOTT SIMPSON: They do. But you know, it's just the golf course, it's built on a slope and when you have greens that slope plus with the break in it, there's just some really, really hard putts. When you try leaving it under the hole and you try to work your way around it, the USGA wants a good, tough golf course, and they have got one.

Q. On greens like this, uniquely, not a lot of golf courses like it, you can probably impact scoring more directly with hole locations than on most golf courses?

SCOTT SIMPSON: They have done a good job, some pretty tough ones and some pretty accessible, but the greens are just tough. They are really tough. Castle Pines didn't have greens this tough and that's in the mountains. This one, they are built in the mountain and I'm sure they were built back in the days of 8 and 9 Stimpmeter greens, so you can get some really tough putts there.

Q. With you get on a birdie role like on the front nine today, does that allow to you free yourself up and maybe at that point you realize the course is more accessible?

SCOTT SIMPSON: Yeah and you see other good scores going up and you realize that you can make birdies. The first two days it just seemed like it was tougher to make birdies, but today the greens were holding and yeah, just seemed like you had a better chance to make birdies today. I don't know how it's going to be when the wind comes up. But seemed that way. I was just happy to make the cut. I struggled.

Q. Did you feel after the first two days that there would be some low numbers out here today?

SCOTT SIMPSON: No, I didn't think there would be anything like 64s. Once we got out there and the greens are holding and you saw some guys going low, you just try to do the best you can every shot and add them up at the end. That's what I try to do. Yeah, it's a great feeling to have one of those rounds where you make a lot of putts and birdies. Yeah, 64, in a USGA event, yeah, that's a heck of a round, so that's a great feeling.