U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 17, 1994

Steve Pate

LES UNGER: How did you do today?

STEVE PATE: I played extremely well on the front side other than the third hole. The backside was not a work of art, but I shot two under. I wish I could explain it. I wish I could do that more often because I really didn't hit it very well in the back at all. I was pleased to get it in. It made a difference yesterday, I hit 9 holes, where I hit it terrible and I shot four over. Obviously, I got much better score out of the bad two and a half hours today.

LES UNGER: Is the course easier?

STEVE PATE: It was easier playing at eight o'clock this morning than it was at 12:30 yesterday. The greens were quite a bit softer. I don't know how much they are going to firm up this afternoon but there was a big difference between yesterday afternoon and this morning, and obviously, when there is not as many people that have walked on it, they are a lot smoother. They were absolutely perfect this morning. Not that they were bad yesterday, but they were perfect this morning.

LES UNGER: Questions.

Q. Did you putt at 18?

STEVE PATE: Yes, I did from the right fringe.

Q. Steve, did you hit every fairway and every green?

STEVE PATE: Oh, no.

Q. It went so fast.

STEVE PATE: I am not sure I hit any of them on the back. No, let's see, I could -- backside -- I -- you touched me. I missed three, four fairways on the back. Other than number 15, though, I at least had a hack at the green. I had some hard shots, but at least it was possible to get it there. 15 I hit nothing, and, you know, laid it up 70 yards short and got it up and down for par.

Q. Steve, Maggert just said that he got to play a lot better to win. Shoot 68 today. You said you didn't play well the back 9. You shoot 66. What is the deal, how are you guys scoring so well if you are not playing all that well?

STEVE PATE: Well, the last hole I hit a putt that was going off the green, hit the pin and went in. So there are two shots I saved right there. I am putting very well,. You don't shoot very high if you don't get very many points. It took me ten years to get that out. But I got it wired now.

LES UNGER: Do you know how many putts you made today?

STEVE PATE: On the backside I didn't take very many. Let's see, 1, 2, 3 -- I took 11 putts on the backside. That is not very many. Yeah, a couple -- I just putted 13 times but I made it twice from off the green. Or 2-putted ones off the fringe and made it once off the green.

Q. Steve, when you made the 60 feet putt to finish your round is that kind of fitting end to the round that you had today? Does it give you some carry over effect maybe until tomorrow?

STEVE PATE: Yeah, it really does. I 3-putted the last hole yesterday. Kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Yesterday, I played really well on the backside. I played 15, 16, 17 and 3-putted 18; you walk away feeling terrible about it. Today, I just, you know, butchered the backside and shot two under. Making that bomb on the last hole makes you feel a lot better.

Q. Steve, after your started yesterday, two double bogeys on the first four holes, were you looking to anything such as this today?

STEVE PATE: No, but I wasn't shocked. I played all right last week at Westchester. Played kind of the same way. Made a lot of mistakes and recovered and made a quite a few birdies; recovered from those mistakes pretty well. You know, the scores aren't going to be very low at this tournament, so if you hang in there, make a few birdies and you all have a sudden you pass 40, 50 people before you know it.

Q. How bothersome is the slow play and what can be done about it? What is the slowest round you ever played?

STEVE PATE: Slowest ever?

Q. Yes.

STEVE PATE: First time I played in Augusta, we played first round to some five and a half hours. Yesterday took five and a half hours. It was a little annoying too. You get a golf course that is difficult, it is going to happen. It is not like you can walk up to a putt on these greens and look at it and hit it, you better be careful out here. You are going to be doing something that will make you look foolish.

Q. Steve, you said that the course conditions changed considerably from when you played yesterday afternoon to this morning. How much different are they than the practice rounds like Tuesday and Wednesday?

STEVE PATE: I think the greens are a hair slower than they were in the practice round which is a good thing, because it was pretty ridiculous playing on Wednesday. I mean, they had the speed of them on Wednesday, there was nowhere to put a pin. You can putt it off any green at any time. They slowed down -- they are not slow by any means, but at least you don't have to worry about balls rolling back at you.

Q. Steve, did the rain last night do anything to the greens? Did it soften the course or the greens?

STEVE PATE: Well, they were considerably softer this morning than they were in afternoon. You have to go out there in comparable time tomorrow afternoon to really compare. Obviously, they were softer in the morning before the sun drying them out. I really have no idea how much it rained. The fairways didn't change much. So I don't know how much of it was the rain and how much of it was being out there four and a half hours already.

LES UNGER: Congratulations. That is the low round so far.

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