CANON GREATER HARTFORD OPEN

June 21, 2002

Jonathan Kaye

TODD BUDNICK: Welcome, Jonathan Kaye. You have rounds of 65, 67. He's at -8 in the lead. Jonathan, let's start with those birdies on 12 and 13.

JONATHAN KAYE: 12, I hit it about a foot. And 13, I hit it about 3 feet. 1, I made about a 20-footer breaking putt. That was probably the highlight of the round. And 2, I hit it about 6 feet.

TODD BUDNICK: Okay. And then what happened on 4?

JONATHAN KAYE: 4, I hit it in the rough, didn't have a good lie, laid it up short of the green and didn't get it up and down.

TODD BUDNICK: Okay. Go ahead and talk a little bit. Like Bruce said, it seems like you like this place a little bit, you started off good last year.

JONATHAN KAYE: Yeah, I do like it here. I like the crowds, I like the course, I like the weather, everything about it.

Q. Is there something -- you like the lie of the hole or --

JONATHAN KAYE: I don't know. I don't know what it is, but I like this place. Let's just leave it at that. I'm not sure what it is about it. It sets up good for my game, I suppose.

Q. Right-to-left or left-to-right, anything in particular?

JONATHAN KAYE: Pretty straight, but just generous driving areas, you know, when you're -- I don't know. I just -- it sets up visually for me off the tee.

Q. Were the conditions similar to yesterday or --

JONATHAN KAYE: They were really similar except the greens were a little firmer and faster in the morning than they were in the afternoon. I'm sure they will probably slow down as the day goes on unless the wind picks up.

Q. Did you learn anything that helps you to contend from last year and maybe now is there a possibility of being a 36-hole leader? Did you learn anything to contend?

JONATHAN KAYE: I hope so. I think just staying patient and playing your game and not getting caught up in what anybody else is doing.

TODD BUDNICK: Anybody else?

Q. How would you characterize your year so far?

JONATHAN KAYE: It's starting to get better. I struggled early in the season, and I'm just getting used to my equipment and just, you know, traveling and getting back in the swing of things.

TODD BUDNICK: Did you change clubs?

JONATHAN KAYE: Yeah.

Q. When was that? When did you change clubs?

JONATHAN KAYE: Thursday.

Q. Last Thursday?

JONATHAN KAYE: This Thursday.

Q. Oh, yesterday?

JONATHAN KAYE: Yeah.

Q. To what?

JONATHAN KAYE: A different set of Clevelands. I'd been using Clevelands the last 7 weeks and just messing around, trying to find a set that feels good, and I think I found one.

Q. So, yesterday was the first time you used these clubs?

JONATHAN KAYE: Yeah.

Q. How were they different from the other ones?

JONATHAN KAYE: There's more offset in them, similar to what I was using before, a little closer to the --

Q. More offset, you say?

JONATHAN KAYE: Yeah.

Q. Could you explain that? For those that aren't privy to --

JONATHAN KAYE: Well, when you set the club down, your hands are in front of the ball as opposed to being even with it. I mean, I played Pings for 15 years, so it was kind of an adjustment going to something with no offset.

Q. Could you go through the hole on 12, 13, just what you hit in?

JONATHAN KAYE: 12, I hit a 9-iron in 130 yards. 12 -- I'm sorry. 13, I hit just a little sand wedge from 88 yards to about 4 feet, made that. 1, I hit a 9-iron from 135 and made about a 20-footer. And then 2, I hit a pitching wedge from 115 to about 6 feet and made that.

Q. Did you have any good chances coming in?

JONATHAN KAYE: I had lots of good chances. All day I hit it good and had a lot of makable putts. I hit some bad putts when I hit it in there close.

Q. Any one coming in there in particular, 6, 7, 8, 9, any of those?

JONATHAN KAYE: I mean, I lipped out on 6, and I hit it in there about 12 feet on 8 and didn't make it. That's it -- about it. I didn't have many chances though coming in, no real close chances.

Q. So it was more starting out?

JONATHAN KAYE: Yeah. You know, like 14 and 15 and 17 and 18.

Q. I mean, were they all, what --

JONATHAN KAYE: They were all inside of 15 feet, 10-footers.

Q. Was it the usual -- having been patient, like you say, missing those early on --

JONATHAN KAYE: Yeah. I mean, I was a couple under, so it didn't burn me too bad but, you know, you hate letting strokes just slipping through your fingers. When you have good opportunities, you like to capitalize.

Q. Jonathan, today's world it seems like there's specialists for everybody, for every different thing you want to do, why are you a self-made golfer, why didn't you go to a teacher or something?

JONATHAN KAYE: I just never did growing up. I just beat balls and figured it out myself. And, you know, I work with somebody now, so I'm trying to get instruction, but it's just hard, you know. You get used to swinging a certain way and you hear about all these stories of guys who got, you know, to the peak of their career, make the Tour and start winning, and all of a sudden they decide they need to change something to become a better player and next thing you know, you never see them again. So I just -- I figured, you know, I got here with this game, I might well keep playing with it.

Q. You say you're going to somebody now?

JONATHAN KAYE: You know, I see a guy occasionally that comes out and looks at my swing. He doesn't say a lot but gives me a couple things to work on instead of just beating balls. I try not to take it to the course, but when I'm practicing, I like to have, you know, things to work on.

Q. Is it more rewarding to know that you have done it yourself and so many others are getting there by --

JONATHAN KAYE: You know, I don't know. I'm happy to be where I am. I don't really think too much about everybody else and how they got here and what they did to get where they are.

Q. Who is this guy you're working with now?

JONATHAN KAYE: His name is Adrian Wadey. He's actually caddying for one of the other players, Robert Gamez, this week.

Q. Adrian?

JOHATHAN KAYE: Wadey, W-a-d-e-y.

Q. When did you start going to him?

JONATHAN KAYE: About a year-and-a-half ago. I've seen him, I don't know, 6 or 7 times.

Q. So you're just tinkering with him?

JONATHAN KAYE: Yeah. And improve on a few things.

Q. Does he work with some of the other guys?

JONATHAN KAYE: Well, he's worked with Gamez, he worked with Andy Bean, he worked with Robert Damron. To be honest with you, I don't know his total client list, but I know he works with a few people. He's a South African.

TODD BUDNICK: Everybody good? All right. Thank you, Jonathan.

JONATHAN KAYE: Thanks.

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