FORD SENIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

July 10, 1998

Hale Irwin

HALE IRWIN: Okay. Well, I mean, just generally I played actually pretty well again. Not quite as well as yesterday, but for the most part we had a more difficult day. I played -- hit a lot of good shots, but I probably putted as poorly as I putted in a long time. That little session I had on the practice green yesterday didn't seem to help. So sort of back to square one. But, in any event, to have played the front 9 in 2-under when it easily could have been 4-, 5-under if I had just putted well at all. And the back 9 with a tap-in birdie at 10 and eagle at 13 would have certainly -- should have kept that 9 alive more so than it did. So a little disappointing but at the same time, a good, solid round. If it was a bad day, I like those kind of bad days. Really kind of looking forward to the weekend. I feel like I am playing well enough to do better and so I am looking forward to it. If you want to go hole-by-hole --

HALE IRWIN: I did save par at the first hole. I missed the green just to the right with a 6-iron, pitched it up about three feet, made that for par. Then I played a very good string of holes, missing a lot of putts; starting with about an eight foot birdie putt at 2. These were all misses, so I won't go into details. Eight feet at 2. Ten feet at 3. Seven feet at 4. Ten feet at 5. Twelve feet at 6. I finally made a putt at the 7th hole from about 15 feet. I hit a 6-iron at No. 8 to within six feet of the hole making that. And then missed a 12-footer at 9, to turn in 2-under. Then I hit a sand wedge at No. 10 almost knocked it in the hole, just a tap-in. Then I 3-putted 12 for a bogey. First putt was probably 45 feet from the hole. Not a particularly good tee shot. But I knocked it past ten feet, missed that coming back. Then I eagled the 13th hole with a driver and a 4-wood. 20 feet. Making that. 2-putt 14. 15, I missed it just to the right of the green and made about, oh, 7-foot par-putt. 16 I just parred. 17, I hit it just in the right rough on the left and I played a 4-wood out of there; just hit a nice classic top-shot, went in the water. Stuff happens... Then I dropped the ball and knocked a 4-wood up on the green, 2-putted for a 6. Then 2-putted the last hole for par.

HALE IRWIN: Myrtle Beach. We played every round together at Myrtle Beach. I enjoy playing with Gil and we are making that presumption that no one this afternoon is going to --

HALE IRWIN: But at the same time, I think Gil -- 64, is that what he shot? Fabulous round of golf. He hits the ball. He is very strong and in these conditions really kind of bores that ball through there, through the wind. I dare say, I bet he made a few putts, if anybody was here hole-by-hole, my guess is that he hit some nice putts. Gil is a strong player. He has been off, what, three weeks, had a 3-week break, something like that. He is fresh and ready to go. This is -- he tends to like Nicklaus golf courses, having won the Tradition a couple of times and sort of up his alley. But I enjoy playing with Gil.

HALE IRWIN: Oh, I am sure there is more.

HALE IRWIN: Yes. I forget who I played with yesterday, so -- but Gil and I have played a few times together in the weekend. I don't really care about who I am playing with. Usually if you are playing with Gil on the weekend you are playing pretty well, so, that is what I look forward to because Gil is very consistent. He is quite a good player, so, playing with him will mean that I am doing okay, too.

HALE IRWIN: To me putting has all been a little bit of feel; a little bit of concentration. And, right now, I am too mechanical with it. I go out and practice putting. I get mechanical and I forget about that the name of the game is just to put the ball in the hole. I get too mechanical, I will push a few; then I will over -- make that mechanical mistake some other way, so I will go left and the putts I hit, the best are the ones I, just step up and think of my line and really just let it take over. I have said this time and time again - I just don't believe it myself. I guess if I just let it happen, I would be better off. But you get out there sometimes and you are trying to make things happen and it becomes a little mechanical. For me, that is not good.

HALE IRWIN: Yeah, that is just me. When I feel the shots and I let things go, I am far better than when I start trying to connect the dots. I think practicing connecting the dots is fine, but then after a while you have to let loose of that and just let that muscle memory take over. I don't know how much muscle I have got between my ears right at the moment, but it is -- it is working, sort of.

HALE IRWIN: A little bit. Just lots of things going on and -- it will be all right. Yesterday was fine. Today is a little different day. I just played so strongly through 18 holes yesterday and through nine holes today -- 10 holes today, that I just played 28 pretty strong holes and going to have a few downs. Really, the only downer was I just didn't putt quite as well as I'd like and then the human top-shot. It was classic, though. It was really -- I was praying to God that it could bounce but overspin balls don't bounce on water too well, so it just -- it wasn't even hit that well.

HALE IRWIN: Pretty good.

HALE IRWIN: Well, I am not complaining because 9-under par is not bad. I am not suggesting I am not making a couple of putts - but so many putts that are so close, they are not two and three feet, but I am a good enough putter to where I should be making 20, 30 percent at least more of those putts. If I do that, then I am doing very well. I don't expect to make them all, but most of them are not misreads. Some of them are, of course, but most of them I am just not hitting where I want to. Then the putts I did hit well are the putts I just gave myself a general line and worked more on the distance than the -- Well, for instance the 12th hole, after that terrible tee shot, I hit 5-iron. I have to putt up over the thing; knocked it ten feet past the hole. Then I knocked that one four feet past the hole and I am looking at a 4-foot putt to keep from 4-putting. That is not good. I do not think you are supposed to do that. That is when I just sort of, you know, quit thinking about lines so much, just throw it away and just start -- go make a nice 20-foot putt at the next hole for 3.

HALE IRWIN: Thank you.