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HP BYRON NELSON CHAMPIONSHIPMay 22, 2010Tom Pernice, Jr.IRVING, TEXAS THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome Tom Pernice, Junior, into the interview room after a 4-under, par 66. Tom, great playing out there, just one slip-up on the last hole, but if we can get your comments? TOM PERNICE, JR.: No, I played well all day. Obviously with the wind picking up today you needed to control your golf ball and keep it in play; for the most part I did. I think I hit one drive into any trouble at all and that was helpful, but made a few putts here and there to keep the round goin', and the only slip-up was on 18. I hit two perfect shots and caught a gust of wind and it came up to the front and pitched it by and hit a good putt, and the wind kinda blew it out of the hole. Tough times out there when the wind starts blowing at the Four Seasons. Quite a day. THE MODERATOR: You had quite a following out there, Tom? TOM PERNICE, JR.: I didn't, Jordan did. I think it's the greatest thing. The only sad thing is I wish Byron Nelson was alive to see it. What he's brought to the tournament this week is exciting. It proves to me and to the people here at the Salesmanship Club and the people at HP that you don't always need the biggest and the best names to have an exciting and a great week. I think it may be one of the most exciting weeks for the people here in Dallas, and a lot of the people think that the field is not as strong or great as it has been in the past but there's a bunch of other good players here, and Jordan is a young and upcoming kid that has a lot of talent and he's a great kid, and he's fired up the whole Dallas Metro area, and I think it's wonderful. Q. As far as you guys talkin' through the round, what did you say to him at the end while you guys walked off the course? TOM PERNICE, JR.: I told him when we walked off the tee I said, "I have two daughters, 15 and 16, so you know the perspective. You're the youngest and I'm the oldest," so we got a chuckle right off the bat. I said, "Great playing, proud of how you hung in there, have fun and good luck tomorrow. He's a wonderful young guy and he's got a lot of exuberance, a lot of excitement in him, which is great, and he thrived off the crowd, and the crowd continued to edge him on. It was fun. It's always great playing in front of people instead of not playing in front of people, so I look for huge crowds again for him tomorrow, and it's great for the tournament. He's going to bring thousands and thousands of people out here see the event and you don't need Tiger and Phil always to have a great event, and it's great to see it. Q. Can you talk about from your perspective as -- all the years you've played and how you've progressed in your career as opposed to a guy like Jordan starting out, and it's a big splash right away as a 16 year old, and what may lie ahead for him and what you learned as a player. TOM PERNICE, JR.: I was disappointed that he wants to go to the University of Texas, to start off. I was hoping that I could persuade him to go out to UCLA, but, he's got all the skills. There are some college kids that play on my course back home at Bear Creek in California from Oklahoma State and from Pepperdine and some good schools, so you see a lot of these young players and how they play. They all play similar, they play aggressive, powerful, Jordan hit driver every hole; he never thought about hitting a 2-iron or a 3-wood to keep it in play, and over time he'll probably learn that, but that's just the way he plays now and that's okay. He's only 16, you can't know everything when you're 16. But that's the way young kids play and you know when you're playing good, they play good. In time I'm sure he'll gain experience. You can't just get it by showin' up at 16 years old. He is a nice young man and his parents should be very proud of him. He's conducted himself really well out there. I just think it's great for the game. Q. Have your daughters asked you about Jordan at all? He seems to be sort of a girl magnet. And what were you doing at 16? Where were you in your athletic career? TOM PERNICE, JR.: I was hoping to play golf and go to a nice college somewhere, and I wasn't teeing it up at the Byron Nelson Classic, that's for sure. I just think the game has evolved and the young players have evolved so much quicker. When I was 16 it was 34 years ago, so that's a long time ago and they're stronger, bigger, better athletes, more competitively attuned, just everything about them. What the junior golfers are today and why they'll be out here on the PGA TOUR, these guys are good. That's where it's going to be. They're athletes in general, and that's why they all hit it so far. They're young, they're strong, they work out and do all the things that when I was 16 we didn't do so they're ahead of the game but everybody that they're playing against is doing the same thing. The quality of young players you'll see -- you're seeing it in McIlroy and Dustin Johnson and there is a ton of great young players. Unfortunately -- and I'm not going to -- I think the media is hung up on the top three and four players and not paying enough attention to the rest of these guys. Then you get the worries that we don't have a great field here and it's a downer year. But I think the young players around the world are going to rise to the top. But still allows people like me at the age of 50, if you've got some experience and can control the ball you can compete. In courses like this where length isn't the most important thing, then everybody can compete. That's why I like some of the old classic courses. I like it here, I like it at Colonial, Pebble Beach, because length is not the issue, and unfortunately all the big, new courses they build they build them 7500 yards, and it's one style of golf, but what they've done here is allowed everybody in the field to be able to compete and participate. Q. And your daughters? TOM PERNICE, JR.: I don't think they knew I was playing with Jordan and they're in their -- they had no idea I was playing with Jordan, but I'll probably hear from them this afternoon. My oldest at 16 is on a competitive cheer team and her life revolves around her cheerleading and Brook, my youngest daughter, just finished her second CD and she is a Christian country singer, and she's usually working on her music so they're pretty much set on what they want to do for a living. Q. Talk about the challenges of the course today, with the wind, what was it like for you and what kind of shots were you having to make today with the wind being in play so much? TOM PERNICE, JR.: Well, driving the ball in the fairway first and foremost is a tough part, you've got a lot of crosswind holes, and once you do hit it into the rough you have the opportunity with the new rule issue to hit some flyers and stuff, and I've hit it in two fairway bunkers and had maybe the two worst lies I've ever seen since I've been playing golf in 30 years and was able to wedge them out and survive. You have to be on the day when the wind is playing, and you have to control the ball and work it back and hold it, whether it be a fade or draw at times, and some holes you can't hit it to the pin, you hit it to the middle of green and take your 30-footers and move on. It's a patient type of day and you need some saves in there because you're going to miss some greens and you're going to need to get some balls up and down at times, as well, like days we've had here in the past, and supposed to be like this tomorrow, and that gives the people who have the opportunity, if you can keep it in there and hit the ball well and roll it and keep it going, you've got a good chance. Q. Talk about your game, what you liked and didn't like, what you need to focus on tomorrow. TOM PERNICE, JR.: More of the same. Really, like I said, I didn't really hit but one loose shot on No. 11, tried to go for the green and as I looked back on it I probably shouldn't have. I should have laid it up there and pitched it in but was able to make a 4. And other than that I had good control of the golf ball, didn't miss a lot of fairways, and the couple that I missed they rolled into the fairway bunker and got horrendous lies, and I was able to escape from those, and the 18th was an unfortunate bogey, and it's a difficult hole anyway, and I hit a 6-iron right at it, caught a gust and it came up short. Pitched it up there 6 foot, and the wind blew it out of the hole, so that was the only scar on the scorecard, but other than that not much more. I'm happy with my game, and I was patient out there, I thought real well and put the ball in the right place most of the time. Q. With so much focus on the young guys coming into this event, what does it say to have a couple of not quite so young guys like you and Kenny here within striking distance going in tomorrow? How do you like your chances? TOM PERNICE, JR.: Obviously the leaders are just getting started, but, you know, a good round on Sunday goes a long way if the wind is blowing, especially around here. So the opportunity is there, but Corey has played well this week and Kenny and myself are right there. It's the type of course to where if you control the ball, length is not the hugest issue and everybody has an opportunity and it's good. But I think it's great, you know, age is only what you feel like and what you make it to be, and I've worked hard to try to keep myself in shape and worked hard with my swing instructor, Jim Hardy down in Houston, and my game is as good as it's ever been, swing looks good, I feel confident about it. So certain courses for certain horses but you've got some good courses here and Colonial next week, and if you're playing well, doesn't matter how far you hit it or how young you are, and hopefully your experience and good putting will makeup for that. Q. Tom, do you have some experiences with Byron Nelson? What would it mean to win a tournament with his name on it? ? TOM PERNICE, JR.: Nothing out of the ordinary but what sticks out to me is Byron Nelson put his hand out to everybody, not just the great players, but he was there to greet the participants every year, his wife and him. She was there today. Just to go out of their way to make you feel appreciated, that we would come and support his event, whether it be Tiger Woods or myself, it didn't matter. He treated everybody the same. He just loved golf and loved this community. To ever win a golf tournament with his name on it would be a treasure. THE MODERATOR: Thanks for coming by and play well tomorrow. End of FastScripts |
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