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HP BYRON NELSON CHAMPIONSHIP

May 21, 2010

Steve Elkington

IRVING, TEXAS

THE MODERATOR: Welcome Steve Elkington to the interview room. He is at 8-under, after the second round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship. You're making your 14th appearance here in Dallas. If you would, start off making comments about your round.
STEVE ELKINGTON: I told Rickie Fowler I've played in this tournament longer than he was alive, and I don't know if he believed me or not, but it's only 14, is it? I had a good day. I came out and finished my round well this morning, shot a 66 for yesterday, had a hot back nine, got four quick birdies, made the turn at 4-under, made a back-to-back bogeys at 4 and 5. Fourth hole today is tricky with the wind, went long at the fifth and made bogey there, bounced back with two birdies and was happy with my score. Pair of 66s is good golf here.

Q. Do you think playing yesterday and then this morning was an advantage based on the conditions before that delay yesterday? How did coming back out this morning impact your two rounds?
STEVE ELKINGTON: I'm not sure, to be honest. We played in benign conditions yesterday afternoon, and I think they're playing in benign conditions looking like this afternoon, so I think it was a bit of a toss up, actually.
It's always difficult when you have that four-hour delay; for us we were sitting around the locker room, you know?

Q. Steve, you have a real good record here except for the last two years. Is it anything to do with the course?
STEVE ELKINGTON: You know, this is a course that, you know, it's -- the way to describe this course I suppose would be it's tricky. There's a lot of angles and doglegs. It's not on the greatest piece of land because it's squashed in here, but it is what it is, and it's been able to hold great tournaments for a long time, and it's got great closing holes, but there is no doubt about it, it's like shootin' pool. You've got to have a good angle. If you don't, the course is very tricky, like I say.

Q. When they redesigned it, did that do anything for you?
STEVE ELKINGTON: No, the routing is the same, I think. D.A. did a great job of making it a little more difficult and still had an exciting finish. The 16, 17 and 18 are always -- it's always a great place to go watch golf, the last three holes here, and I think that's what this tournament is all about. It's always had a vibrant crowd, a lot of people get into the golf here, a lot of Texas people love to come watch golf, and Byron Nelson is known for that, whether they're drinking, watching or a combination.

Q. Can you talk more specifically about what was working for you early on with the birdie run and what were you doing in that midsection?
STEVE ELKINGTON: Well, you know, I just hit a lot of great shots there. I was close to the flag there. I started off on the back 9, I only had a 5-footer, a 10 footer, 10-footer and a 5-footer, those were the four birdies I made. So everything was work for me there. As I said, the 4th hole is a par 4 that has bunkers down the right. If you pull it you're going to go into the water, and you've got it play close to that right edge of those bunkers if you're going to get the ball to stay in the fairway, and that's where I finished up.
Wasn't a bad shot at all but I didn't hit a great wedge shot out of it. I came up short and didn't hit a great chip. I had one bad shot all day, so I'm not going to lose any sleep over that.

Q. Steve, you haven't found yourself in this position very often here of late, so overall what does it feel like to have that and just to know that you probably are going to be in the last group this weekend?
STEVE ELKINGTON: It's great, that's what I'm lookin' to try and do. It's no good being down in the middle. I've won a lot of tournaments in my day, and it's been a while since I've been up here but I've had some highlights here and there, but I've had some good stretches of golf this year already in places; I just haven't finished it out. I'm looking forward to it.
I want to try to get myself under as much pressure as I can. I want to see what it's all about for me, you know?

Q. Steve, Jordan Spieth, it looks like he's going to make the cut. Could you talk about that a little bit and what you were doing what you were 16?
STEVE ELKINGTON: You know, I haven't met him, but it's great. I played with Rickie Fowler, he's a young guy been playing, so I remember playing -- I played in the Colonial twice as an amateur. It's a great experience to be able to play next to all the pros; doesn't surprise me, to be honest with you, see young guys play good golf. It's definitely possible, and this course is not too long where a young guy can get his way around here, you know?

Q. When did you know that you were in the tournament?
STEVE ELKINGTON: Sunday, I think.

Q. Sunday? And how hard has it been playing this year without full exempt status, not being able to set your schedule?
STEVE ELKINGTON: Hasn't been too bad. I've played 10 events, the chips fall where they do, you know?

Q. Do you feel like you're back to playing Steve Elkington golf, like we're used to seeing? And if so what got you back on track this year?
STEVE ELKINGTON: I don't know, I don't really speak in the third person, but I had a great 90s, I didn't do much in the last decade, so I'm glad that's over with, you know?
I don't know, I wish I could tell you. Last year, for example, I had rounds where I played one day like Sam Sneed the next day like Sam sausage, just like a lot of us, and I did that last week in San Antonio. Shot 67 on one day and came out and shot 77 in the afternoon.
So it's just -- it's a bit of a journey, you know, playing out here, and as you get a bit older and your focus can -- your family and kids growing up, teenagers, all that, it's not as important as it was, say, to a young guy like Rickie Fowler who I was playing with, where golf is everything to him. But it's still important to me, and I try to do as well as I can, and I'm pleased to be sitting here.

Q. Are you over all the allergy stuff?
STEVE ELKINGTON: I'm good now, once they invented Allegra five, six seven years ago, pretty much my allergies are history. It was a miracle drug for me.

Q. Birdies?
STEVE ELKINGTON: Birdies on the 10th and 11th, 13 and 14; bogeys on 4 and 5, and then birdies on 6 and 7. The 10th was a wedge, 11th was a wedge, 13th was an 8-iron, 14th was a wedge, made the two bogeys and then I had a 9-iron to a foot and I 2-putted for the birdie on 7th, 50 feet.

Q. Steve, you said for a youngster, since this course is not overly long it allows a guy like Jordan to be able to do it. What about somebody in his late '40s as opposed to --
STEVE ELKINGTON: What did you say there in the middle?

Q. You mentioned that the lack of length can help a 16 year old. Does it help a 47 year old?
STEVE ELKINGTON: I was just assuming that might be helping him, I don't know that, probably is a long-hitter, all the kids are long hitters. I'm not a short hitter, either, I don't know if that was your point --

Q. No, no --
STEVE ELKINGTON: This course is like playing pool, that's what this course is about, angles. Doesn't matter in you're a long hitter or a short hitter, you can still do it, neither one is important here; it's the angles. If you go out you can tell where the pins are set and so on, and there is obviously a real good entry to it from one angle and there is another one from a bad angle.

Q. Are you a good pool player?
STEVE ELKINGTON: I have been known to play pool for a little bit of cash if you're interested.

Q. We have Ping-Pong.
STEVE ELKINGTON: No, I can't do Ping-Pong.

End of FastScripts

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