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U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 29, 2009

Bob Tway

CARMEL, INDIANA

MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Bob Tway to the interview room. Bob's playing in his first Senior Open. He has eight PGA Tour victories including the 1986 PGA Championship, former USGA Champion a few years back, and his son Kevin is a former USGA champion. Bob, tell us about playing in your first Senior Open, expectations for wining a national championship this year and your first attempt.
BOB TWAY: It's great to be here. Obviously it's going to be a great championship. Crooked Stick is a very difficult golf course. I can't remember everything about the PGA when we were here, but it seems to be almost the exact same golf course.
It was long back then; because I remember Pete came in right before the tournament, put the back tees in and they put the high grass on the other tee so we couldn't move the tees up. So it's pretty much the same. At least now we'll be able to vary the tees a little bit.
It's very demanding golf course, you know, the good thing about it right now is if you drive the ball straight in the fairway you are getting a lot of run so it's not playing extremely long. But if we get a lot of rain and the ball doesn't continue to run it will play very long.
But it's very difficult golf course. You have to play very, very well.
THE MODERATOR: Are there things about the set-up that suit your game in particular right now?
BOB TWAY: Well, you know, I've never really found a golf course that if you are playing well that doesn't suit your game, and if you are playing bad, none of them suit your game. So, basically, the same old thing you try and do every week. You've got to drive the ball on the fairway especially, at a USGA event, you know, the rough is not ridiculous, but you really can't hit good shots out of it. So you need to be in the fairway.
Again, the difference between a guy who kind of barely hits it to the fairway and the guy who misses the fairway and the guy who hits the fairway, so you get so much roll, it might be 50 yards and almost hit the same tee shot. So you need to hit the ball on the fairway.
If you do, like I said, the golf course is not real long, but if you don't, it's very long.

Q. Can you just talk about playing senior golf in general. What you thought it was going be like and how it's been for you so far and how your game is?
BOB TWAY: Well, I haven't played that much. My first event was in Alabama, and we only played two days. It rained the whole time, so it wasn't much of an experience. I enjoyed the PGA at Canterbury a lot. That's a great golf course. It's a lot different from this golf course, you know, it was kind of a shorter, maneuver-the-ball-around type of golf course. This is more of a, you know, you are going to have to hit some longer shots and length is an advantage here, you know, of the two set-ups, I probably like this one a little bit better.
My game, you know, I've continued to play on the regular Tour and haven't played very good, and the people ask why you are still playing out there. I guess I haven't come to the realization that maybe I should move on, you know, I played really well the end of last year and almost kept my card for as little as I played, and I really liked how my game was. But this year it hasn't been very good. So expectations, I don't know what to expect. I mean, I continue to love to play and continue to work hard at it.
I guess, you know, golf is still important. I don't play every single week. I kind of pick and choose. There's other things going on that I put more importance on now that I use to. I mean, you know, for instance this Monday I wasn't preparing for this tournament I was caddying for Kevin in the amateur golf. So that's the stuff I really, really enjoy doing, more so than playing the tournaments; although I still love to do that.
But I guess when you get to this stage in your life, the other stuff is what's really not just important but what's fun. But I still, you know, I still think if I play well I can compete and do good.

Q. You've probably played a lot more the last few years just keeping up with Kevin. He's probably helped keep you in the game?
BOB TWAY: Well, there's no doubt about it. That's one of the thrills that I get is playing with him at home, you know, we've got a lot of good guys there at Oak Tree, they play a lot, Willy Wood is a guy that likes to play golf a lot, and we play a lot. And that's fun. And I've got to play extremely well to beat him. I think that's what keeps you working at it, which is neat.
So there's no doubt about it -- I still, like I said, I still enjoy practicing, I still enjoy every aspect of it. But there's no doubt about it when the kids in college come to play, or I go to Stillwater or whatever, you do not want them to beat you. So, yeah, you continue to work hard because of that.

Q. Bob, in that sense, do you compare notes with Jay Haas, who is in a similar situation with his son?
BOB TWAY: Well, I talk to Jay quite a bit about a lot of different things, you know, there's so many kid that's are leaving school early and this and that. And Jay and I talked a lot about we can't understand why they're doing it. I looked at Bill.
Bill is a great player and could have left early. But I'm not sure that everybody is ready for that. I mean, You get a lot of good experience staying in school. Not only do you learn about golf but you learn I think about growing up and everything else. There's a lot of good aspects about staying in school.
And Bill's played great. And so that's kind of the approach that we've taken. The same kind of approach they have. Unless something really crazy happened, Kevin will be staying in school and will turn pro after that. But we've talked a lot about, you know, the Champion's Tour and a lot of different things. I pick Jay's brain a lot.
It was a lot of fun when, I guess it was 2006, the Senior -- was it the PGA or -- no, I think it was the PGA at Oak Tree. Curtis and Jay stayed with me and we had a ball that week. It was a lot of fun.
So, yeah, I picked his brain a lot.

Q. In what ways has your game changed at all in the last 5, 6 years or so, anything different about it?
BOB TWAY: You know, it's kind of strange, you know, I haven't played as well the last couple years.
Unfortunately, I'm always a tinkerer, and I have been my whole career. And I've played good and bad because of it. But I've always enjoyed working at my golf swing and that stuff. And in some ways sometimes it doesn't do what you want it to do. But that's part of what I've loved about golf.
So I've kind of messed around with my golf swing a few years. Again, I like kind of where it's at. I liked how I played last half of last year. I was very pleased. This year hasn't been quite as good.
But there's so much more that goes into it, you know, last year I went from about 150 in putting the year before to first, which it was a huge deal. I mean, you don't have to do a whole lot of good things if you putt that well. So that was great. This year I'm kind of back to the hundreds again. So that's not good
So you can undo a lot of wrongs by putting well, you know, I like how the swing is. I'm hitting the ball okay, you know, my scoring just hasn't been as good. I don't think my chipping and wedge play is nearly as good as it was when I was younger. And therefore, you know, your scoring isn't quite as good

Q. The world wants to know what you did to go from 150 to number one in putting?
BOB TWAY: Well, it was a long process. If I knew all the answers I wouldn't be back to 100 something now right. I don't know what to tell you. I'm not trying to do anything different than I was last year, but I'm just not make as many putts. I don't have the answer to write a book and explain that because you have to do it -- continue to do it. But if I can get back there, I'll figure it out and tell you.

Q. Which holes out there will give you the best chance for scoring?
BOB TWAY: Well, you know a lot depends on the wind, you know, yesterday let's just say number nine, for instance, I hit it a good drive, kind of turned around the corner and hit an iron to the green. Today it's back against the wind and you have to lay up. So that makes a big difference. 15's another hole, you know.
Depending on what the wind is you can knock it down there, knock it right on the green. If the wind's in your face, you can't. There's a lot of holes like that. It's the first time I think that I can remember playing a par 72 at a USGA event. So you do have some Par 5s.
The same thing about the -- what is it, five on the front side, you can get to that hole. It's a little harder because of this front's block but it's got some scoring holes there. So you need to try to take advantage of the Par 5s the best you can.
But there's some very difficult Par 4s. A lot depends on where the tees are. You take a hole like 18. I mean, 18 from the front tee it may be a tougher tee shot because you kind of have to flirt with the water. And when it tees back you just go up the middle of the fairway.
So I think that's why in changing the tees, it changes a golf course and I think it makes you think. Which I think is a great idea.
So there's a lot of challenging holes. Off my head, obviously 18, 16, 17 are tough finishing holes. You got some tough holes on the front side. But if you hit the ball in the fairway, none of them are real bad. That's a big key. But get the ball in the rough, and they all get very tough.
THE MODERATOR: Bob, thank you for your time.

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