ENERGIZER SENIOR TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

November 7, 1998

Hale Irwin

HALE IRWIN: Aaaaaahh! Well, it was not a whole lot better than yesterday in terms of execution, but somewhat. I'm trying not to make those mistakes that will put you out of the tournament. I'm not playing that well right now; so I'm trying not to hurt myself. And it really kind of sets up a dilemma in whether you want to be progressive and sort of proactive in getting into a better scoring position, or are you just sort of protective and playing defensively. I find I'm unable to commit myself with the same type of play that I enjoyed on Thursday. Just, my timing's off. Consequently, those shots that are a little more difficult than normal are just not coming off the way they were on Thursday. So a little work on the practice tee, sort of confirming what I'm trying to accomplish on the golf course. But obviously a little more difficult to do while you're playing. A couple more things that I can do tomorrow. And if I can do those, I'll fall back into that good swing pattern that I've been in. I feel fortunate in being only one back, because I don't feel like I've played that spectacularly. I guess if I could write a different script, it would be playing in the last group rather than the next to last. I'd like to be playing there with the leaders, so I know what I have to do.

HALE IRWIN: Birdied the 4th hole, laying up the second shot and hitting a sand wedge to 74 yards, making it within a couple feet of the hole, making that for a birdie. The bogey came with a good drive. And a shuck shot I laid up there about 90 yards from the hole, and it went into an old, deep divot full of sand and it was just a terrible lie. In retrospect, I should have played just a 7- or 8-iron, just pitched up -- the bunkers over the green and tried to make a par. But I tried a miracle shot that just didn't work and left it short of the green, which was no surprise, really. And then I just hit a bad pitch and a bad bunker shot and a bad putt. So in trying to escape with just-don't-do-anything-stupid, I walk out with a double-bogey. So an unfortunate turn of events. But, nevertheless, a nice putt at 9 from about 30 feet for birdie. And about a 15-foot putt at 10 for birdie. And then 18, I hit a 6-iron to within 12 feet, making that for birdie.

HALE IRWIN: You couldn't ever erase a double-bogey. You can recover from a bogey. But a double-bogey, at this level, really is -- if you just look at it, you played 8, 9, and 10 at even par. That's what you try to do. But that double-bogey kind of sits with you for a while, like a bad taste in your mouth. Just can't get rid of it, particularly on a par 5. There were no penalty shots involved. So at worst, I should have made a 6. I'm trying to -- you know, I forgot all about trying to make a five -- I mean a six -- four, excuse me. I'm just trying to make a five from the lie I've had. It was ugly. That's one of the worst lies I have had in a long time. I hid a pitching wedge. If I skulled it, it was going to go over the green unless I caught it just perfectly. It was going to be marginal. I just tried to get it up over that green and over that bunker around that somewhere. I probably should have tried to get it out to the right. But that's no bargain from there, either. So just bad luck. But also some bad shots. But other than that, I made some nice saving-par putts. I putted a little better today. Just not playing quite as crisply as I need. But I've got a little positive round going into tomorrow. A little better finish, a little better practice session. Hopefully get off to a better shot.

HALE IRWIN: I've just been avoiding practicing this week because it's so cold. There's just no sense fighting that wind. But the wind's not blowing too hard right now. I need to go out and work through some mechanics that I've got in my head. A lot of my problem stems from when I get in this kind of condition, my body just won't turn the way it needs to. I get very army; I throw my club at the ball. What I'm trying to do now is get a little more aggressive. I'm hitting the ball probably one to two clubs shorter. One club, certainly, but two clubs than what I might normally; no body turn. I just tried to get myself to that same commitment I had on Thursday. I came in here the other day and said, "I'm not trying to do anything fancy," and I'm still not. I'm just sort of backing up on my mechanics; so I just need to go out there and refresh myself with a couple of things that I continually need to work on. But when it gets to this kind of weather, I need to work on that more than anything else.

HALE IRWIN: I just always have had that problem. That's why I've always said the warmer it is, the better I like it. It's just something I have to think about. It becomes a conscious thought for me to have to always work on my turn in this kind of weather.

HALE IRWIN: No. I'm not going I'm going to go out tomorrow and play hopefully like I do on every Sunday. I have a lot of confidence going into tomorrow. I've put this behind me. That's history. I've got a positive thought going to tomorrow. I'll work through some of my swing thoughts tonight and I don't have a problem with all those people up there because -- if I play my game, I'll do just fine.

HALE IRWIN: Absolutely. I am. I'm ready for the rush to slow down a little bit. So what do we do? We rush out to Las Vegas for a 10:30 starting time Monday morning. It doesn't slow down appreciably.

HALE IRWIN: Father/son. And then the Lexus. And then we have the Matchplay. Next week is absorbed in golf and then Thanksgiving and then the father/son and then a week off and then the Lexus and then it's what a four-week break. That's the break. There's really no break.

HALE IRWIN: I'm having fun. Keep playing. I'm looking forward to some time off but I've enjoyed it. It just gets a little hectic.