GREATER GREENSBORO CHRYSLER CLASSIC

April 25, 1999

Jesper Parnevik

JESPER PARNEVIK: I mean, it's always -- you think your first win is tough. But this one was almost tougher, because I really did struggle with my driving on the weekend. And if I hit five fairways yesterday, I don't think it was too many more today; and definitely on the back nine. It was the same thing today. Every time I hit the fairway, I pretty much made birdie. Apart from that, it was a struggle. Jim Furyk, he played very solid all day long. He put pressure on me straightaway with a birdie on the 2nd hole. I mean, he pretty much didn't let go for the rest of the day. The big turnaround was -- well, the turnaround, the big putt was the par putt on 15, of course. To hole a birdie putt on 12 or 13 for birdie to go three ahead and then hit -- I probably hit the widest tee shot I've ever hit in my life on 14. That it was going -- I don't know. It was -- in someone's backyard. That was probably 70 yards off line. I don't know what happened. After that shot, I didn't have a clue where the ball was going off the tee. I was just hoping it was going to go anywhere near the fairway. I was kind of thinking -- the further up in the rough I could get, the better it is. And when I made par on 15 to stay two ahead and birdie 16, it was pretty much all over then. But I've seen Jim Furyk finish great before. I've seen him, I think, birdie-eagle finish at Westchester to force a playoff. When everybody talks about, you know, three-shot lead or four-shot lead, it's nothing, really. Because if you make a bogey and he makes a birdie, it's down to one shot. And if you can stay within one or two with one hole to go, everything is really still going on.

JESPER PARNEVIK: Jim had chipped in on No. 11 and I hit a great tee shot on 12. It was straight at the pin. It kicked hard, I think, because it looked like it was going to be very close. And then it just kind of took a flat bounce and went over the green. The ball was hitting fairly nicely in the rough there; and I just thought, I mean, if he could do it on the last hole, I'd better do it on this one. I took the flag out, and it was pretty much in all the way.

JESPER PARNEVIK: It usually doesn't sink in right away, of course. But seeing Sam Snead on the 18th green was a great thrill. I didn't know he was going to be here. He's always been a big idol of mine. I don't know what to say. I really appreciate him showing up today.

JESPER PARNEVIK: The first few holes, the greens were fairly firm; so, I think both Jim and I tried to figure out how much the ball was releasing in the beginning, because they were releasing quite a bit. All of the sudden the greens were a little bit softer. But they definitely tried to hide the pins for today. The pin on 1, 3, and 4 are very tough pins to get close to. I knew the scoring was not going to be as low today. No 62s or 63s. But I definitely knew the way that he was playing, I needed to shoot maybe in the 60s to win. Luckily, he led off a little bit. He had a few putts that could have dropped and made it too interesting.

JESPER PARNEVIK: I told my caddie -- I stood over the ball, and I just told my caddie: I have no idea where this is going to end up. And that was one of the few fairways I actually hit on the back nine. I was just so pleased when that one went straight, because I knew I probably wouldn't make birdie then.

JESPER PARNEVIK: With two shots, I didn't feel it was my tournament yet. I don't feel it's my tournament with two up and one to go. But definitely after the birdie on 16, I pretty much felt if I did not do anything really stupid, which I tried to do, it would be my tournament.

JESPER PARNEVIK: No. The swing that I had on my irons, that worked very well; did not work very well on my driver. I guess my swing felt kind of the way Olazabal swings, and maybe I'll start driving like him.

JESPER PARNEVIK: When I heard he got an invitation to go here, I definitely started thinking harder about going here. And I think I decided in the very, very last second on Friday to enter the tournament. Have you packed my stuff? Thanks. (Laughter.)

JESPER PARNEVIK: Lance, yeah, he's still on the bag. I told him after the first round, yeah, you get one more chance. And he did all right the second round with 63, but he almost got fired on the third with 67. But he'll get another chance on the bag.

JESPER PARNEVIK: The problem is, I don't know where I'm going to play next, because we're going to have, like I said, a child in two, three weeks here now. And I'm going to go and play a few in Europe, try to qualify for the Ryder Cup team.

JESPER PARNEVIK: Per-Ulrik spoiled the secret yesterday. He told everybody it was Darryl's in High Point.

JESPER PARNEVIK: What did we have? Salad only? Salad and water, I think it was. Typical American food. Buffalo wings and chicken, I think it was.

JESPER PARNEVIK: I guess. If I can putt this way at Pinehurst, I'll probably win, I would say. Man, I putted really well this week, I would have to say.

JESPER PARNEVIK: Well, the cigar thing is -- it's a friend of mine in Florida. He's a chiropractor. He gave me a box of cigars, one. He said: Next time you win a tournament, you have to light one up for me on TV, and I can say "here comes Jesper with the cigar." Started in Phoenix; lit a cigar up in. Sweden, it was the same thing. I didn't want to light it up before I saw that Jim didn't make an eagle or birdie on the last hole. But it's just one of those fun things. I don't smoke myself, so it's purely a victory cigar.

JESPER PARNEVIK: I told my caddie to go buy one last night, actually.

JESPER PARNEVIK: No. A win is fine with me.

JESPER PARNEVIK: Well, 15, I thought I hit a pretty good tee shot. It just cut a little bit too much and hit the rough there. I pretty much didn't have much of a shot for my second shot, and the only worry I had was that I was going to hit -- I probably had to slice the ball 30, 40 yards around these trees. And my worry was that it was going to go straight out of the rough. And I managed somehow to slice it 60 yards and just trickle into the right rough. I had a fairly good lie and got a little bit too cute with my third shot. I hit a wedge, tried to stiff it, and it came up a little bit short. Made a great putt for par in the end.

JESPER PARNEVIK: 2nd hole. When he putted the 2nd hole, he was two shots in it, and I saw the way he was playing the first few holes that it was going to be a tough day. Because when he's on when his irons, you know he never misses a drive. He's a fairly good putter, as well.

JESPER PARNEVIK: We played a different game today. He was more like a machine and I was more like Seve on his best day, I guess. Because man, that drive I hit on 14, that was -- I bet you it was the widest tee shot I've ever hit since I turned pro in the golf tournament. I mean that would have been -- that was going over by 50 yards.

JESPER PARNEVIK: It hit the tree in someone's backyard and came in back in, I think. And it hit all the way up in the tree; so, that would have been over that house.

JESPER PARNEVIK: I set up for the right bunker to hit a draw over the bunker and it just went straight right. I don't know what happened. Like I said, really feel like I was in control of the driver anyway. Now I know what Olazabal means when he says when it's pretty nerve-wracking on every tee; you don't know whether you're going to hit it straight right or straight left. Something you really have to work on.

JESPER PARNEVIK: As today, I mean, self-talk is very important. You've really got to talk to yourself pretty much before every shot and not get too absorbed in what like Jim Furyk is doing. So, you know, if he all of the sudden has a 6-footer for par you can't really stand there and say he's probably going to miss this one and I'm going to be four ahead; and then I make mine and I'm five ahead; and then boom, he makes his and I miss and then I'm only two ahead. So you've just got to be very focused on what you're doing and not jump ahead and not take things for granted.

JESPER PARNEVIK: There's a lot of luck involved in winning. I remember two years ago when I finished second five times. I don't know what it is. Sometimes you play the last day, you play great and someone beats and you other days you mean you give it away of course, but it seems like some players when they get in a situation had he either -- the other players either fade away and bogey in; and that type of player just wins that way. Or, you know, some other players just do it. I don't know -- there's more margin for if you win or if you finish second. If I go through this week, you know, I hole my second shot on 7, for example, things like that, the difference is unmeasurable, I would say, between first and second place.

JESPER PARNEVIK: Yeah, from the fairway I felt it today. But no, I still felt pretty good with my putter all day. I made two good two putts on one 1 and 2. I never felt like the putter was going to let me down. That was something that really surprised me this week, because I haven't putted well at all this year.

JESPER PARNEVIK: His putt helped me a little bit with read. Of course, when the guy you're competing against misses just ahead of you and you've the same putt, you get a lot of confidence because now you know you're not going to lose a shot and you can gain one if you knock it in. It's a much easier putt. At the same time, if he knocks his in first, my putt becomes much harder.

JESPER PARNEVIK: Oh, yeah I hooked that shot way left into the trees. I tried to take a chance by hitting a low draw out of the rough there and the ball just got caught in the rough. It only moved 20 yards into the fairway bunker there. I had the a good third shot and took a putt from there. That was very important, and especially after Jim made birdie there.

JESPER PARNEVIK: A 6-iron.

JESPER PARNEVIK: No. 5, I hit 3-wood and a wedge to about 25 feet. No. 6, I hit a 5-wood and a wedge to four feet. No. 8, I hit a 3-iron left of the green. Hit a bad chip to about 10 feet and missed the putt. No. 12, I hit a 7-iron straight over the green. Chipped in from maybe 15 feet. 13, I hit a 5-wood and then an 8-iron out of the rough and then a sand wedge to 12 feet. And then bogey on 14, I could have played that hole all day. I did not have a good shot. Like I said, way right; it bounced off the tree. I made a terrible second shot there because I was just so happy to be in bounds, I guess. And then I hit that sort of the green and then I chipped that over the green and then I hit the next chip five feet by and all of the sudden I have a 5-footer for bogey and I knocked that in the hole. 16, I hit a driver and sand wedge to three feet. 18, I hit low duck hook left off the tee. Then I hit 7-iron in the left bunker and hit a good bunker shot, I thought. I thought it was going to spin, but it pitched about a foot over the hole and jumped over the green. And I just kind of lagged the par put.

JESPER PARNEVIK: 17, I hit a 4-iron and I had a fairly simple bunker shot. I knew if I caught it good and it hit on the green, it would spin; and if it hit just short, it was going to release up to the pin; so, I was more worried that Furyk might hole his chip or something.

JESPER PARNEVIK: 7-iron. L wedge. (Chip).

JESPER PARNEVIK: Every win is special in its own way. This one comes to timely because I haven't played very well this year. And it was a big surprise for me to win this week, especially because I didn't plan to go here, first of all. Like I said, I haven't putted very well this year and to win this way, I don't know what it is. I tried last night to figure out maybe what it was, and the only thing I've tried differently this week is I got this idea when I left Hilton Head, I have these vitamins that I have on TOUR, vitamins that I've been giving all the players and they have been winning pretty much every week. But I couldn't a figure out why; I take the same vitamins as they do. The only thing I did this week was I doubled my doses on vitamins. Maybe that's the key. I have to ask the other guys what they are doing. It says on the thing what you should take; maybe they just double the dosage.

JESPER PARNEVIK: I got it last week.

JESPER PARNEVIK: Last week Per-Ulrik Johansson said when we drove in there, he said this is the last time we're ever going to eat here again; I said "Maybe not." We'll probably be back here next year. Actually the waitress there we had for the first three nights, she actually had quite fun with us eating the same thing. And after a while she was asking me: "Do you remember what pen I had last night? Was it the black one or the white one?" She didn't want to change anything.

JESPER PARNEVIK: Like I said this is the first time she's not with me when I win a tournament. She was thinking about flying up today, but we talked her into not to do that. I'm going there tonight to see her; so we're going to start celebrating I guess around midnight. Which is a good time because then the kids are asleep.

JESPER PARNEVIK: No. I'm going to fly.

JESPER PARNEVIK: Maybe Lance is. Are you taking my car back?

LANCE: If I have to, I will.