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CHARLES SCHWAB CUP CHAMPIONSHIP

November 1, 2009

Russ Cochran

SONOMA, CALIFORNIA

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Russ, four rounds in the 60s this week in your first appearance in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, and you finished second to John Cook. 17-under is pretty good playing, but it was just one of those weeks when he was on fire.
Couple thoughts about coming here and playing so well in your first appearance.
RUSS COCHRAN: Well, initially when I played the practice rounds, nine holes on Tuesday and then played the Pro-Am on Wednesday, I felt the golf course was going to be very, very difficult.
I heard about some of the scores that were shot in years past, and I couldn't really see it out there. Kind of the first round it probably held me back a little bit, but I played a good solid round.
But then I started seeing when the wind died down, you know, the golf course was just immaculate. So I started seeing where the scores were coming from and some of the par-5s and that type thing.
So, you know, I felt like I put in a good effort. I had a good ball striking day today. Just didn't do anything with it. But, you know, I have no regrets. It was gonna be very hard to put any pressure on John. I maybe had a chance on a hole or two out there for a couple-shot swing or pick up a shot maybe two or three holes in a row.
But, you know, I was probably a little bit too timid with the putter. You know, you've gotta take a lot chances. I just didn't feel like it was a great thing to do having so many people stacked up behind me. Thinking if I played a good solid round I could maybe get second place.
So, you know, I knew John wasn't going backwards. That's the main thing. He's an awful good player. Felt, you know, happy with the way I played.
PHIL STAMBAUGH: Maybe before we go to questions, just take us through your round today. After you do that, sort of sum up your year. You started as a conditional player, and now you're fully exempt all the way through next year.
RUSS COCHRAN: Yeah, just starting off with the round, I birdied 1 and 2. I hit about 115-yard shot on No. 1 to about a foot. Didn't do much for me. John rolled in about an 8- or 10-footer for birdie as well.
2nd hole I hit it in the greenside bunker. Hit a great bunker shot. I would say it was probably a 90-foot bunker shot up to about four feet and made that.
Missed putts, I think that was the theme of the day. I missed pretty close putts on several holes out there.
3 wasn't a very long putt.
4 was, you know, maybe 15 feet.
5 I hit it in there about eight feet behind the hello and miss it.
6 I all actually drove it in the fairway and had a pitching wedge in. I thought the wind was out of the right, and I was playing it kind of close to the right edge. Pin was only four off the right. I hit it on that right edge and the wind kind of switched on me and the ball took a right-hand kick off a left-hand slope in the rough. Hit a great a little pitch down there about three feet and missed it. So that was -- kind of staggered me a little bit as far as momentum.
Came back on 7. You know, or on 8, rather. Didn't play very well. I hit a poor chip up there about 22 feet, but made a great swinging putt in there. About a foot and a half break on that for birdie.
Then kind of got into a lull out there. Had some close putts but couldn't get them to go. Just fairways and greens and -- or greens, I should say, all the way down to 15.
You know, 13, I'll say this: The par-5s have been a huge disappointment on the backside for me. I think if there's a place where I could have made huge improvements, it was on the par-5s. Just did not play them well. I can't hit that 16th fairway for some reason for anything in the world.
13, I made a couple birdies on it, but I certainly didn't play the par-5s out here the way probably the top part of the leaderboard did. So that's a huge disappointment.
But I speared some pretty good iron shots eon the par-3s. The par-3s were very tough today.
Came on 15. I hit a good drive out there. Very difficult driving hole. Good drive out there. Hit an 8-iron out there about seven feet and made that.
And then missed a, well, maybe a 12-footer on 17.
Then on 18, you know, I was pretty much in my own world. I was asking -- on the last hole I asked my son where I stood, and he said, you know, You need to hit a good putt here. It happened to go in, so birdied the last hole.
PHIL STAMBAUGH: About how far?
RUSS COCHRAN: I think that was about 25 feet.
PHIL STAMBAUGH: Take us through your year.
RUSS COCHRAN: This year's just been fantastic for me. I've been off for about six years. You know, you visualize when you're practicing, you know, shots that you're gonna hit and how you're gonna hold up in pressure. You know, I think the main thing I did this year was I said I'm not gonna be happy with a little bit of success. If I get an opportunity, I'm gonna play hard and stay focused pretty much all year.
I think my son had a tremendous amount to do with that. He's going to law school at the University of Kentucky next fall. So he's wanting to make some money and save some money. We work well together.
But we talked a lot about it. You know, I was kind of conditional status and not really getting into any events. Got a sponsor's exemption at Alliance early in the year. Didn't play again for maybe another two and a half months. We talked about this a little bit maybe before.
Came in there at the British Senior Open and the U.S. Senior Open and had good solid tournaments. Kind of kick started my year and had a little groove and kind of parlayed it into a very, very nice year.
Any time you're in the last group or last couple groups, you're doing something right. You're in a scoring mode. You know, sometimes I chipped the ball well and sometimes I putted well and sometimes I struck it well, but I didn't do all of them well enough often enough to win.
But felt like I played a great tournament in North Carolina. Jay Haas ran right by me with birdies on five of the last six. But anyway, fantastic year. You know, it got to the point early in the year where I wasn't playing and didn't know when I was gonna play again to the point now where I'm playing every week and can't imagine a week off.
So it's just a long year, and things have really turned around for me. It's given me, I think, enough confidence to -- and kind of vision to work out, to try to get in a little better shape, and try to get my game a little stronger and see if I can contend next year.

Q. Was there low point where you tried a certain number of Mondays in a row and missed?
RUSS COCHRAN: Well, I'll say probably the lowest point was when I went out and played a pretty good round. We only had three spots. I shot 70. This was in L.A. for the L.A. tournament out there.
PHIL STAMBAUGH: AT&T Classic.
RUSS COCHRAN: AT&T. It was a difficult golf course. You know, I hung in there. I missed a putt on the last hole. Went to a playoff. Chipped in on the first playoff hole. Guy makes about a 25-footer on top of me, and then he makes about another maybe 12-, 14-footer in the second playoff hole to keep me out with only three spots.
Again, thinking, you know, if I don't separate myself soon, then it's very discouraging. I've got tons of friends that are going through the same thing. I hope somewhere along the line they can say, Hey, it can be done.
You know, I'm not sure how long they'll keep it that way. I have a feeling it's maybe one more year and they'll switch back to another different type qualifier. There are a lot of good players out there. This is not a huge, full field as far as like a regular tour, obviously.
You know, but if you play well, hopefully some of my buddies can see and maybe kick it into gear and have some success. I'm sure they're saying, If lefty can do it, I can do it.

Q. You mentioned kind of weighing risk/reward. After the first couple holes, were you saying, Maybe I can pull this off?
RUSS COCHRAN: You know, to be honest with you, I struck the ball starting off pretty well, but you gotta have a hot putter. I mean, you talk to any of the caddies. Probably the best barometer. The people who make the putts, you know, like I had a great ball striking day today. I don't know how many greens I hit, whether it says all that. Probably I might have missed one. I don't think I missed anymore than that. I missed the 6th hole, and I think that was it.
You know, I hit it close. So if you don't make the putts -- you know, he had no fear in his eye, I promise you. I wasn't rolling it to -- I wasn't burning the edges and I wasn't getting unlucky with the putts or anything like that.
They were weaker putts and stuff. Just the ball wasn't tracking off of there. And when you do that -- not that I was putting poorly, but you gotta have the hot putter to make up any ground whatsoever.
And you gotta throw in something special on the par-5s. Maybe an eagle here or -- and they set the course up, there was a chance for some eagles out there and stuff.
But like you said, after the first several holes, you know, after the 6th hole especially probably, it was gonna be tough to catch him. He stood over maybe three or four tricky little par putts and made them all. That's kind of his mark anyway. He's very, very gritty player. Very solid.
You know, he's not gonna make a ton of mistakes. I'm not so sure that if I'd gotten hot and shot 5-under on the front that I wouldn't have looked around and he might have run off three or four more. He did what he needed to do just to stay ahead.

Q. (No microphone.)
RUSS COCHRAN: And I think, you know, that has to do with -- you know, I was hoping he would get it going a little bit, and I would, too, to be honest with you. I mean, with the different scenarios, if he really got it going and I kind of was in there with him, then that would help me pull ahead.
But, you know, it just -- I didn't close the gap to catch him, and he we didn't particularly feed off each other to separate ourselves too much either.

Q. You obviously played with John years ago when you were both young players on the regular tour. Would you say he's got basically the same game now as he had then, or is it any different?
RUSS COCHRAN: I don't think he's changed -- I will say this: he is vastly underrated with his iron play. Now, I'm not talking about today, but his iron play is just fantastic. He rives the ball very straight when he needs to. Hits a lot of key shots during the right time. That's always been the way he is.
It's just whether or not he jumps up and makes those putts. He's gone through stretches where he's probably pressed and hadn't made the putts. But, again, it comes back to that deal: you have to make a lot of big putts on Sunday to win. He's won a lot, so...
But he plays tough golf courses well and he can streak it. I remember at Memphis one year he went low. So, you know, he does. You can't put him out there and stay, Oh, well, this is this type of golf course, you know. He might not play well. Because he plays them all well.
PHIL STAMBAUGH: Congratulations again, and have a good off-season.

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