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JELD-WEN TRADITION

August 17, 2008

Mike Goodes

SUNRIVER, OREGON

PHIL STAMBAUGH: We welcome Mike Goodes into the interview room, runner-up at the 2008 JELD-WEN Tradition.
You've become the fourth guy in Tradition history to shoot four rounds in the 60s and not win, and I know a second-place check, your best ever on the Champions Tour is going to go a long way. I think you're now in the Top-30 on the Money List for the first time all year. A couple general thoughts about the overall tournament, how you played and take us through your round.
MIKE GOODES: Well, the overall tournament, I felt leak I played real solid start to finish. You know, obviously made some mistakes, like you always do in a round of golf. But made it up with quite a few birdies, but it's pretty special finishing second, although I'm sure it's a mile from being first. But it's a start, anyway.
PHIL STAMBAUGH: Final round 68, nice birdie at the last hole to finish. Just take us through your round, if you could.
MIKE GOODES: Routine par on 1. Missed a decent putt.
2, I actually knocked it -- hit the green in two but it went just over the back edge in the rough and had the a bad chip. Didn't get it up-and-down. I made par.
Hit a good 7-iron on 3, maybe about ten feet and made it.
Hit it within maybe six inches on 4. Hit pitching wedge there right of the hole on 4.
Then I hit a poor drive on 5. I knocked it down the right side through the fairway in the rough, and then knocked it through the green, another not so good chip and made my bogey.
I just made routine pars on 6, 7, 8, 9. Well, 6 wasn't very routine. Knocked it over the green on my third shot and made a good up-and-down from back there, if anybody's walking back there, it not easy. But then I hit 7, 8 and 9 and made my 2-putt pars.
And then got it going on the back. Hit two good shots on 10. Made about a 10-footer for birdie.
Missed a decent putt on 11 for birdie.
I hit a good third shot on 12, maybe about six or seven feet, eight feet. Made it for birdie.
And then routine par on 13 and hit two good shots on 14 to about maybe seven or eight feet and made it for birdie.
So I was real happy about that time. It was going pretty good.
PHIL STAMBAUGH: What did you hit into 12 and 14.
MIKE GOODES: I hit a sand wedge into 12 and I think I hit a little 9-iron -- I hit 9-iron to 14.
I hit two good shots on 15 and lipped out for birdie.
Hit three good shots on 16. So I was playing good there, better than I thought. On 16, missed a real makeable putt. I had a straight-in, downhill putt and just hit a bad putt.
Then the rain delay came, which really wasn't that bad because we are standing on 17 and the wind is blowing pretty good in our face, 230-some yards and I wasn't really looking forward to that shot.
So the rain, I guess the good Lord took care of me for a little while. Lightning brought us in and went back out and hardly a breath of wind blowing, but I still bogeyed the hole. He only took care of me so far. I hit my hybrid there just maybe ten feet left of my tar get and it scooted just through the green, and boy, just a tough position and didn't hit a great chip and knocked it way by and 2-putted it.
Actually at that time, I knew pretty much that I was one shot ahead for second, playing 18. So I felt like my tee shot on 18 was huge. I've got to hit the fairway and I hit a really good tee shot. It was a good time to hit a good one, I hit it down the right center or right side of the fairway which gave me a great line for the flag. The flag was on the back left on 18.
My caddie and I were talking between an 8-iron and 7-iron and I think I had -- gosh, I had about 170-some yards, which would normally be a good 7-iron and I said you know I'm going to hit something hard. I'm not going to try to smooth something up there. Hit a hard 8-iron right middle of the green and turned over a little bit and I had 10- or 15-foot pin-high putt. I thought 2-putting would get me second, but when it went in, that was a bonus to be honest.

Q. It's hard to be reflective after you just finished, but can you talk about what this now means for your future on the Champions Tour?
MIKE GOODES: Right now, it means that I moved up from what Phil said, and into the Top-30, but it's the not end of the year. I've got to be in the Top-30 at the end of the year. I still have a lot of work ahead of me.
It gives me a great opportunity to achieve a major goal, which is to get in the Top-30. I need some more finishes like this, or close. But it does put me in position to where if I play good the rest of the year, I should have some status for next year.

Q. When Funk made the birdie on 3 and another on 4, when he distanced himself from the field, was there any point you thought you could win the tournament or were you thinking second all the way?
MIKE GOODES: I didn't really see how he was doing until I made the turn. I was 1-under at the turn, which put me 13-under for the tournament and I looked up and he was 19-under or something like that and I'm going, oh, well.
I looked and the next best was I think 14-under. And I told one of the GOLF CHANNEL guys who was walking with us, I said, "I need a good back nine."
And fortunately, I had one. You know, I didn't -- you can't play decent in this sport. You just go out and play the golf course, and I can't control if Fred Funk makes 20 birdies in 20 holes, but all I can do is try to make good shots.

Q. Talking to Gene Jones a little bit he said you've been feeding off one another trying to get to the Top-30; could you talk a little about that, building around each other?
MIKE GOODES: It's true. Gene's played great this year. It kind of lights a fire under you a little bit. Not that I had not worked real hard and been trying to get better, to be able to compete more out here, but you know, Gene proved to all of us early on this year that you've got to play good, and if you're going to finish good, doesn't matter whose name is up there, you've got to play good. 68, 67 is good, I don't care who you're playing, and that's the bottom line. You've just got to play good.
But we have been feeding off of each other and it's kind of fun to be honest. Neither one of us wants to get too far out of sight of the other one.

Q. Can you talk about your company, how big?
MIKE GOODES: We established it I believe in '97 and we have about six employees, small company. Actually this is considered post-consumer. We work with industries, strictly industries and we buy and sell in the neighborhood of a million and a half hounds a month of plastic. So small company but we move a lot of product.

Q. Am I correct, your biggest win other than two North Carolina State Ams?
MIKE GOODES: Exactly.

Q. What years were those?
MIKE GOODES: '89, and 2006. Only 17 years apart.

Q. What was a typical year of competition for you?
MIKE GOODES: I'd probably play eight tournaments spread out over the year. I got to play some great tournaments. I played Pine Valley in New Jersey, most people have heard of that, the Carlton Cup there. I went to Seminole down in Florida to the Coleman Cup and came out to California to the Stocker Cup and played some wonderful tournaments. Didn't win them. Played pretty good in some of them.

Q. U.S. Amateur?
MIKE GOODES: I think I played in six, not many too.
PHIL STAMBAUGH: Is there anything you learned this week.
MIKE GOODES: To be honest it's the same thing I've been learning this year and it's just what I said a little while ago, just go play good. 68s, 67s and 69s are good on any course anywhere, against anybody, and may not win, but you're going to be in good shape at the end of the tournament and it just proved it again to be honest.
Starting the day, I would have thought 68 would not have finished second, and it was, maybe by two. With the scores the first three days, I wouldn't have thought at all. So, you don't know; you just go okay.

Q. So you won't be sneaking up on anybody.
MIKE GOODES: I don't think there's anybody out here scared of me, hate to say it. (Laughter).
PHIL STAMBAUGH: Good luck next week and thanks for joining us.

End of FastScripts

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