IR SENIOR TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

Q. John, four rounds in the 60s but you fall one shot short. 215,000 is your largest paycheck ever. Any thoughts on the round?

JOHN JACOBS: I wasn't thinking of the money, believe me. You start off playing, it's no offense to Leonard, I felt I had to beat Tom when I teed off and I couldn't make any putts. I think I hit 9 fairways and 9 greens, or hit, what, 7 fairways and 9 greens. I never made a putt. I made a few putts and that's it. That's why he's one of the best players that's played the game. He rose to the occasion. I floundered in depression. It's a pretty good deal for Adams Golf Equipment. The only two guys in the Senior Tour that play Adams Golf Equipment and he's 18 under, and I'm 17 under, the next guy is 7 strokes behind me. And if they don't get an ad out about that quick, something is wrong. .

JOHN JACOBS: I had one chance, and that was it. You know my caddy -- I said I think it's left edge and he said I think it's inside left. I shouldn't have even asked him anything, because I know myself, when the pressure gets on, left edge, right edge, it means nothing, just hit it solid. Your eye/hand cooperation, that left edge, right edge doesn't mean anything. And I just mentally didn't do the right thing.

JOHN JACOBS: I didn't even know who was behind me. I didn't know if I was one ahead of the other guy. It never even entered my mind. I had one guy on my mind, and that was Tom Watson. When he got the lead, I had one guy on my mind, and I couldn't get to him. And I just didn't make any putts, and Tom played good. He didn't make a mistake all day. He played wonderful.

JOHN JACOBS: I walked over to him and I said I hope I give you the line, but I hope it's all the way in the hole. I showed him the line, straight, and left it 8 inches short. He still had a great putt, whether he -- he knows the line on a lot of putts and they don't go in. The reason Tom Watson is where he is, because he does what he has to do at the right time. He did it and that's it. I don't know where these guys say he has the yips, I didn't see one all day. The only yip I saw was my putt on 17.

JOHN JACOBS: No, he got off to a bad start. We've all gone through that. You feel sorry for somebody, but he hung in there. He made a hell of a putt on the last hole. We looked at the scoreboard, and I said I know he's going to get third by himself. It was supposed to go right, and it didn't.

JOHN JACOBS: I don't know. I don't know. I get sick a lot, too. I usually get sick when my horse turns for home, he's about 12th place, and 23 yards behind, that's when I start getting the flu.

JOHN JACOBS: I sent somebody some money, only the last three races, because that's the only one I knew I could watch. I did the Trifecta in this race, 9th race I didn't win, and the last race I hit the Trifecta a bunch of times and paid 16 hundred, so I did pretty good. The only problem is I gave the money to somebody, (inaudible) that's another story.

JOHN JACOBS: What about all the birdies on the front 9?

JOHN JACOBS: I actually played good the front nine. I hit the ball every place I wanted to hit it. I probably played a little too safe, but I was -- I had the feeling -- I could tell, when I saw the first three or four holes, they put the pins tough today. And I saw that, I tried to play a little bit safe and keep the ball to the hole, and I played too safe.. I hardly missed a shot all day. On the back 9, 10 I parred. 11 is --

JOHN JACOBS: Yeah, I drove it right in front of the green. I had a good pitch, wiggled off to the right, and made about a 10, 12-footer for birdie. And 14 I hit it -- bolted it about 30 feet. He made his and I missed. And then I just parred around until 18.

JOHN JACOBS: Well, you know I had a couple of shots -- 11 and 12 I missed -- 11 I missed a putt that I should have made, really. I hit it in there -- Tom and I both missed what I felt couldn't have been four and a half, five feet. And I just couldn't put any pressure on him. Who knows, if I made a few more birdies, the way he was playing, he played good, he would probably have made more birdies, too.

JOHN JACOBS: I hit the 5-wood.

JOHN JACOBS: Before I hit the 5-wood Ray says, my caddy says -- I'm 15-under, the next guy is 10. So he's saying -- what, I might -- he mate yank it in the water. He's already laid up. I was halfway kidding. I know he didn't want me to go for the green.

JOHN JACOBS: Well, 17 I probably had about 8 feet, and Tom had probably about 6 -- no, maybe I was 10 feet and Tom was probably 7, 8 feet. But I'm three behind, I made mine -- his is going to be harder. I hit a terrible putt. I didn't even come close.

JOHN JACOBS: I tell you what a gentleman Tom is, when I got up before I hit my putt, he said J.J., knock that in, make me make this to win. That's pretty good. Not many guys -- well, I don't think there's ever been a problem with Tom Watson not having a lot of class. I've been around people in my -- I might be a duck in certain deals, but I've played golf with presidents, I've had dinner with the wealthiest people in the world, and he fits right in there with class, with anybody I've met. There's a few guys you play with, Tom Watson, Raymond Floyd, David Stockton, you hit a good shot, they hit a good shot; you hit a good putt, they hit a good putt;, there's no jealousy. You play good, I'll play good, let's just get it on. You really appreciate stuff like that. And you understand some of the cry babies, kind of like, give me a break.

JOHN JACOBS: I didn't think I had a chance on 17 -- 18, I did, if I made the putt. Actually what I was thinking, 18, when I first saw this course, I thought this is not really my kind of course. So when I got to 18 I thought, I'm going to make birdie here, because I want to shoot in the 60s four days in a row and get out of here. That was the only thing I was thinking. I could hit it in the water, and I'll finish third, second anyway. In fact I shot 67 in the Pro Am five days in a row, that's pretty good golf for a course that's not my kind of course.

JOHN JACOBS: I think a lot of guys that turned 50, like Tom, mentally -- he plays good enough to play the other Tour, you all know that. Now, he's kind of caught between it, right? He likes the pizzaz over there, and this sometime doesn't have the big galleries, we don't play -- it doesn't have the pizzaz. But I think he'll get out of that. Yeah, I think he'll push to put out. He's the top-5, 6 players that ever played this game. He just hits his balls, he smiles when he hits a good shot, he doesn't frown, he doesn't beat the bag. He's as good as they get. Like most of The Champions in golf are pretty good guys.

JOHN JACOBS: 12 feet, maybe, I don't know -- 40 feet (laughter.)

JOHN JACOBS: Uh-huh. I knew I was going to make that because I missed them all day (laughter.) But it was pretty neat. Tom said knock it in, make me make mine. That was nice.

JOHN JACOBS: He played tremendous. He had two months that was unbelievable. I don't know, like I wake up, my back hurts, my shoulder hurts, I get stiff this, I get stiff that, my feet hurt, I don't know how you can play two months out something hurting. I'm almost 56 and I figure that I'm going to play better next year -- probably the next three years are going to be the three best years I play out here. I'm getting old enough now that I don't feel like going out, I don't feel like going to the race track. My three best years are going to be the three next years. And I'm getting better. I don't know how you can play two straight months without something going wrong, like the flu or a toenail, or whatever, when you get 50. He's got his trainer with him. Have you seen his trainer? Have you ever seen her? Good looking blond girl comes out. I think that's what kills the rest of the guys off when he playing, everybody is looking at the trainer. You get a 25 year old girl out there, walking along, five foot 11, and you've got 50 year old guys, it's hard to concentrate.

JOHN JACOBS: I don't know where he is. I just know at the McCord last year said you're going to stay. I said I'm out out of here. I pumped him up. I pump this guy up for two days. Come on Gary, you're as good a player as there ever is, meanwhile I'm in pretty good shape and then he shoots 64. I go in the tank and he says I'm not staying with you, I'm out of here. So he had to go out on his own.

JOHN JACOBS: Good, very good. He just played good. I played good. We both played good. You know how golf is, he comes out, makes a few putts.

JOHN JACOBS: When I first saw the course today, I saw where the pins were, man, I knew that par or better was going to be a good score. I could tell it the first three or four holes. They put the pins tougher, which I wish they had done every day. But, look, when you see two guys 18 under and 17 under, the next guy is 120, you know they toughened the pins up a little bit on him.