U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 25, 1997

Arnold Palmer

ARNOLD PALMER: Which one do you want answered first?

ARNOLD PALMER: Okay. I tried to -- I've been trying to reach Jim, and I sent him a wire yesterday, and finally got through to him this morning, and talked to him at some length. And he's as comfortable as can be under the circumstances, which are not very good when you're just come out of surgery, and he's had a sense of humor. He was up. He reported to me that the operation was very successful, and that the cancer had been contained within the capsule, which is certainly the thing that all of us having that experience are concerned about. Which simply means, that unless they discover something that they haven't so far, he in a few days, he'll be out of the hospital and back home recuperating and that will be about a six-week recuperation period before he can really start doing much. One humorous comment he made was, we were talking for a little bit, and he said, "you know, all these years I've tried to emulate everything you've done and he said I went a little too far this time." As far as the second question is concerned, the golf course is fantastic. You know, I think it's -- I think it is going to be a great Open Championship, Senior Open Championship. It's in excellent condition. It's going to be, I think, fully accountable for itself, and particularly the finishing holes. It can be -- it could be one that the finishing holes could have a disastrous toll on anyone. 16 is playing very long today. 17, medium long. And 18, very long. So, and the entire golf course, from the beginning to the end, is one that you really have to keep your thoughts and your concentration in the right place. And it's that kind of a golf course. And, you know, I don't know that if they -- if we play it back the way we did today in this practice round, you could look for something like four 70s might be pretty good.

ARNOLD PALMER: Are you talking about my case?

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, since I had been in care of doctors for some time prior to actually being diagnosed as having prostate cancer, I was fully aware of what the consequences might do or be when -- if they found a positive node, which they did. And at that point, my decision was very quick. That was to go to Mayo Clinic, have my physicals and do whatever they suggested I do. And that's exactly what I did. I certainly wasn't happy about it. I was -- I suppose I was thankful that I knew what I knew about it and I had consulted with the doctors and was able to, within hours of knowing that, be at Mayo Clinic and having physicals prior to my surgery.

ARNOLD PALMER: I don't think so, rejuvenated more interest in the game. I still love it, enjoy playing it and hope to play it for a long time. But, I don't know that prostate cancer had anything to do with how I felt about it. I was happy that it worked out the way it did, and I'm able to get back playing.

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, up until yesterday, I would have said I was about 80 percent. Yesterday and today -- yesterday, particularly -- I felt probably more physical and better than I have felt since I had the surgery. Today, after having played the last three days in these very high temperatures and humidity, I wasn't as alert or physical on the golf course as I would like to be. But, I suppose the important thing about that is that I feel like I could go practice right now and do myself some good.

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, certainly Jim -- I was very aware of Jimmy's situation, and I talked to him about it. Jim elected to do a little different treatment than I did, so there wasn't -- you know, we really couldn't compare notes totally, simply because I elected to have surgery. He elected to have radiation. And, -- which is better or which is right or wrong, I can't tell you. But we have discussed it, and we're both very aware of the pitfalls of having it.

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, I was -- I hit some good shots. I must have been a couple over par, and there would be a lot of rounds over par on this golf course. I can tell you that. I wasn't satisfied, but I wasn't too disgruntled. I feel like if I can maintain the stamina that I need to maintain, and keep my head on my shoulders, meaning if I can really use my head out there, I might be able to play some reasonable golf this week.

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, I don't see a lot of breaks out there at all. I think -- but that's what the Open is all about. And, you know, there are some holes where you have to probably lay up, do some working of the golf ball, but it's demanding all the way from the very first -- probably the one hole that you might have a little break on is the first hole, if it's downwind. And that really is about the only hole that you could say might be a letup hole. That's too early to let up.

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, I've been getting pumped up for the Open and similar championships for 42 years, and that hasn't changed -- I'm not that old. But, yeah, I get excited about the Open and playing in it still, and I suppose when the day comes that I -- I'm not excited and I don't feel some rumblings in my stomach, I won't play. That will be the end of it. As long as I'm competing and trying, you know, I'm going to give it my absolute, and I'm here because somewhere in my makeup and thinking there might be a chance that I could win again.

ARNOLD PALMER: Like what?

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, you're really right back to the same scenario, you're talking about the your National Championship, the Senior Open is the National Championship of seniors, and it's open to anyone that can qualify. So that in itself makes it better and special, and of course the preparation of the golf course, the media, the hype that you get right here in this room is something that creates the championship, makes it what it is and I think -- I hope that's the answer you're looking for, because that is what it's all about. The other championships are certainly important, and anybody likes to win them, but there's always just a little more emphasis on the Open.

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, it depends on what you -- what you're doing. I -- I had every intention of playing as soon as I -- the doctors told me I could go out and hit a golf ball. And I don't know what too soon is. If you mean that I'm embarrassing myself on the golf course with my scores, sure, I did. I didn't play to the standards or to the quality that I would like to play. But, I'm also a little older than I was a few years ago, and maybe a lot of those standards are a little bit higher now than they were a few years ago. So, playing in Augusta was something that if I had to crawl, I would have probably played, and that's the way I feel about it.

ARNOLD PALMER: No, I don't. We are constantly talking to people there about doing golf courses, but that is the case in most of the United States now. Whereas the golf course business is probably the hottest that I have ever seen it in my years. I thought in the early '90s, '91, '92, I didn't think it could get any hotter than it was then, and it is hotter now. And it's spreading throughout the world. But it's very, very intense right in the United States now, and I don't see a letup. I think we need to concern ourselves with some things about golf and what's happening, but certainly the interest is in the game right now and the building of golf courses is very high.

ARNOLD PALMER: You're asking me what I think Tiger Woods' future is?

ARNOLD PALMER: Hell, I don't know many people who wouldn't like to be in his shoes. He's got a fantastic future. He will -- and certainly, he can, set some new standards for professional golf, and what that will do to international golf, I don't know whether you can directly attribute what is happening and what is going to happen to Tiger Woods, but certainly his influence is going to help golf throughout the world, wherever it might be.

ARNOLD PALMER: About people wanting my autograph?

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, if I'm going to be perfectly honest with you about that, some of the children are too young to really know and you've got to be honest about that, so their parents are hypeing them to get the autograph, and then I understand that. That's part of it. But I also have six grandchildren, and so I know about kids, and I know that one of the things that's most important is that you -- if you can create some enthusiasm in them about a person, a game such as golf, why, that's good.

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, I could give you a whole series of favorite moments from Troon. But I'll just give you one and that was 1962, the Open Championship, and I enjoyed a week there. Played probably some of the best golf I've ever played from tee-to-green. Very few mistakes, and I guess you could say, I just thoroughly enjoyed the Open at Troon. I think it was wonderful. And by comparison, I can say that the year before at Birkdale, I enjoyed it also, but the weather in contrast was horrendous at Birkdale. The winds and the rains and I mean, 60-mile-an-hour winds on some of the days that I was playing. And at Troon, it was sunny and dry, and that made it even more enjoyable.

ARNOLD PALMER: Oh, I do. I think that as long as I can hit the golf ball and get after it the way I like to do it and I can create some competitive juices. But when the time comes that I can't hit it and when Joel Hirsch hits it out there and he hits it further than I do and the next tee I hit it farther than he does, then I'll still be out there trying to do that. And I like that. That's what it's all about.

ARNOLD PALMER: I got him right here.

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, I think that with the increased popularity of the game of golf, we really must teach the newcomers coming into the game about the rules, the tradition, the conduct of the game of golf. And I have a definite fear for the day when people do not understand what has made the game so great, integrity and the tradition and the conduct. It is just vitally important that every person who has any concern for the game of golf keep those things in mind as they see it increasing so rapidly. And I love it. I love the fact that everyone can play golf, and everyone is coming out to play golf. We're getting newcomers every day, but we really have to do a campaign to teach these newcomers why it's such a great game and what has made it such a great game.

ARNOLD PALMER: I hope they heard what I just said.

ARNOLD PALMER: Okay.

ARNOLD PALMER: I don't know that I have -- I said I've seen anything particular. But, it could boil down to the dress code, people playing golf without shirts on, or playing in short shorts or playing in their bare feet or just any number of things that could have an effect on the game or language on the golf course. And we know that there are all kinds of things that can happen, but the more we try and the more we put ourselves in the position to let people know what is the proper conduct on the golf course, the better off the game is going to be and the more chance we have of keeping the high standards that we enjoy today in the game of golf.