FEDEX ST. JUDE CLASSIC

June 26, 1997

Craig Kanada

CRAIG KANADA: All I had to do was 2-putt from about ten feet on the last hole. Today was just one of those days where I wasn't feeling very good on the range at all. And, then just scraped around and was able to make a ton of putts. I mean, I probably made 200 feet of putt out there today, total. Not all of them were for birdie either. There were a few par putts there I made over for ten feet. It was fun. First time my putter has been that hot in a long time, so.....

CRAIG KANADA: On 18, yeah.

CRAIG KANADA: Yeah, I did. I didn't know what to do really. Finally I figured I better just warm up like I normally do on a normal day and just go from there. Then I had found myself hitting a lot of right-to-left putts and that is the putt I had. So, I don't know. It was kind of hard. It was tough to get back into the focus that you need to play at when you just have one putt. You don't go through your normal routine or anything. Then I got out there a little early. I must have read that putt, you know, 200 different ways and probably just did too much. Next time I will probably just get out there in the nick of time and just hit the putt. But, that is the way it is being a rookie out here, you know, don't have all the experience in the world.

CRAIG KANADA: Not exactly, no. I have never had just a putt. Obviously I have had a lot of thunderstorm delays before, but that was the first time I have had to just putt out.

CRAIG KANADA: If it was a rain delay I would have definitely finished, obviously. But it was a lightning delay and you have to stop right away. I was trying to egg on my fellow competitors to finish the hole fast, but didn't quite make it. (Laughter.)

CRAIG KANADA: It was a long time ago. 5, I actually didn't hit a very good drive there either. I hit it left in the rough and just kind of, I don't know, I just kind of hacked it out with a 6-iron and only advanced to about 150 yards, and had another 150 in and hit an 8-iron to about 25 feet and made it. So that kind of got things rolling there. 8th hole, 7-iron about 15 feet, made that. 9th hole, actually I lipped out about a 10-footer for par. I thought I had a chance to make that one, but -- Then 10, I hit it in the wrong part of the green, didn't get it on the right shelf and had this big humpty dump to go over and somehow made that. That was probably about a 35-footer. I mean that was going up the big tier, then straight downhill and it went in. It was just one of those days. 11, I hit it to about 15 feet short of the hole and made that. 12, hit it in the rough, but had a decent lie and got it on the green about 30 feet, made that. 14, they had the tees up so I hit 5-iron. Actually I pushed it a little and ended up about two feet from the hole. So I was trying to play it about 15 feet left. But, it ended up about two feet, so made that for birdie. And then, got up-and-down on 15. Got up-and-down on 16. Got up-and-down on 17. Finally 2-putted on 18. So, really didn't hit the ball that good today at all.

CRAIG KANADA: Not on Tour, no.

CRAIG KANADA: Never been in pressroom -- actually, I can't say that. For the Western Amateur, one time when Michael Jordan was playing, but that was about it. Been on the Nike Tour the last three years and been in the pressroom, but it is nothing like this.

CRAIG KANADA: Well, definitely now that the rain has come, yeah, just will soften the whole course up. And, the greens this year, I guess, are much better than they have been in the past. They are outstanding. Even though there is rough, when you get greens like this, people are going to make a lot of putts and the score is going to be low.

CRAIG KANADA: You know, I never know what to put in that thing so I just write something down. That is the truth. But, I suppose it has changed because my wife and I just had a baby boy five weeks ago, so, this is my second tournament back since then. Actually changed my frame of mind out there because I am so much more relaxed. Before it was such a life and death thing and every shot meant so much. Now it is like hit the shot, go find it, and hit it again. And, it has actually kind of helped me because today I made three birdies in a row. I am just playing the next hole like it was the next hole. I wasn't getting scared or getting out of my comfort zone or anything like that. That actually helped me out this time. I have always heard that having a kid, it always does things to your mental mind frame out there on the course. And, it certainly has for me.

CRAIG KANADA: David Andrew born on May 15.

CRAIG KANADA: I was, yeah. So then I took the next four and a half weeks off to be with him and my wife. And, you know, played last week up in New York missed the cut, but had fun.