FORD SENIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

July 12, 1998

Hale Irwin

HALE IRWIN: Well, I have to echo pretty much what I have said all week - as well as I have played tee-to-green, I sure left a lot of putts out there. A disappointing week with the putter. I had a number of opportunities throughout the week and throughout the day, threw in another couple of 3-putts which really you can't do that when you are playing someone that is playing as well as Gil did today. I have had my days with the putter, but, boy, this week has certainly not been one of them. Now that this week is over and said and done, I am sure many of you out there are offering Gil the Player-of-the-Year already, so, go ahead and we can talk about the U.S. Senior later. I played well. I just hit some disappointing shots. Three penalty shots throughout the course of the week and probably five or six 3-putts, not going to do it. That proved to be the case. When you shoot 18-under par and you lose by 3, you know somebody else is doing something extremely well.

HALE IRWIN: My perspective was real -- it busted up some momentum that I had going. Again, I am not playing Gil. I expect Gil, the way he has been putting, to make every putt. He certainly made that one. For me to 3-putt from seven feet, you are going from a birdie to a bogey, was a real step backwards. When you do something like that, you don't have those kind of opportunities every hole out here. It was very disappointing even though I came back birdied the next three in a row. Still, you just can't make up for that -- it is almost like a double-bogey when you hit it that close on a difficult hole and then walk away with a 4.

HALE IRWIN: About as long as the third putt. Started from seven feet and then missed it from four, then from three. I could have been out there for a good while had I not made a good third putt. I just never had the touch this week on the greens. I did a number of times. I fired it way past the hole; then when I tried to take a little bit off, I would leave it well short. The putts just didn't work this week.

HALE IRWIN: I played 17 fabulously all week really, even though I made two 6s and a 5 and a 4. The drive yesterday was about as good as I can do, as well as today. Under the conditions I really had to; I felt like yesterday I had to too. 4-wood second shot today was -- what was it, 221 to the front or 221 to the hole? I just had to -- something you have to do. Of course, I had hit it in the fairway at the last hole, too, and I hit it in the water. I am just having some difficulty right now - my left shoulder sometimes stays in the swing; sometimes it doesn't. I have a little bursitis in there. Unless I really stop thinking about keeping my shoulder in the swing, I lose it to the left the way I have been. So what I need is some rest and just a little bit of therapy, I guess, and so I don't have to think about that. All the shots I missed this week were left - that is this guy (pointing to shoulder). You know, congratulations to Gil. My gosh, he played fabulously. He played well all week. High score for the week, what was it, 68? 69? Pretty good. I mean, throw a 64 in there, you are supposed to win. He is just right on top of things right now. I don't think I have ever seen two rounds of golf where putting was so good. I mean, just the speed is perfect. Other than the 3-putt he had at 16 yesterday - and he didn't have an easy first putt - the second putt which was about a 7-foot putt that he missed, but other than that, he did not miss a putt - pretty impressive on these greens. These are not the hardest greens in the world to putt, but they are certainly not the easiest.

HALE IRWIN: You are right. It is funny that we played Wednesday in the Pro-Am and lift clean and place situation because it was so wet. Now it is so dry. It is unbelievable how the scores changed throughout the week. We played, I thought, very short considering this Championship. I think that is why the scoring was so low. There are a lot of players who were low. It dried out so quickly. I don't even know if they could keep up with the way it was drying out because there was some holes that really played quite short when you consider the length of the holes and how they have been playing. But, hey, I am happy with the way I have played. I have no complaints. Mistakes were mine and mine alone. I had every opportunity to take advantage of some good breaks and I didn't. So I am looking forward to next week and then on to the U.S. Senior.

HALE IRWIN: The Ameritech.

HALE IRWIN: No. Playing too well. Going to burn up July and see what happens. Then we will start talking some time off.

HALE IRWIN: Two years ago. It has just been there. I don't know. One of these days we will get an MRI. Right now, I am too busy to.

HALE IRWIN: Oh, yeah, but I just try not to think about it. The problem is I have to think about it with the golf swing - that takes away from something else. But it is all right. I am dealing with it generally pretty well.

HALE IRWIN: 221.

HALE IRWIN: 50 feet, 45 feet. I thought I made it the way it was -- it was looking right at the hole. If it had gone in, we might have had a different story. It didn't, so we don't. Here we are. I had a great week. I thank all of you for coming out and covering this and, really, see you at L.A., if not next week, Chicago is nice this time of year, if you want to come by.

HALE IRWIN: 3, I drove the ball left rough and laid up out to the right and hit a sand wedge about four feet from the hole. Birdied that. 5, a driver and 9-iron and a 12-foot putt. 6, 2-iron, pitching wedge, 1-foot putt. 7, I hit a 4-wood towards the green just off the edge of the green and pitched up about six feet from the hole made that for birdie. Then I didn't -- actually one of the best shots of the week I had at 13, the par 5. I thought I had a good drive, but it wasn't over to the right trap and I was 193 yards from the front edge; really had an awkward stance and hit 4-iron to the green which shocked me. I was probably 60 feet from the hole and I 3-putted. I missed a very short putt at 15 from about seven feet for birdie. But then I did birdie 16 hitting a 3-wood and pitching wedge to within eight feet of the hole. And, 17, like I say, hit a very good drive and 4-wood in the back bunker; knocked it out of there about three feet from the hole. Then I hit a bad drive at 18, pulled it into the left hazard and hit 4-wood on the green for my 2-putted bogey.

HALE IRWIN: I am not going to give away -- I am just -- just react to situations, that is all. If we did the water gun, it would be old hat. I don't know. Somebody put those in the lockers. It was a good idea, whoever did. Find out. Have to have an investigation here.