ADVIL WESTERN OPEN

July 7, 2002

Jerry Kelly

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: I'd like to welcome the 2002 Advil Western Open Champion, Jerry Kelly. Jerry joins Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Len Mattiace as multiple winners this season. Jerry, that's a pretty good list of players. Just talk about how things went out there today and how you feel.

JERRY KELLY: Well, my wife told me to shoot 63, so I was a couple short of her expectations but, you know, it felt really comfortable out there. I wanted to be me out there, which is great. I didn't try and do anything special. I knew what I had to do with my game.

You know, I had a great lesson last week with my brother-in-law, Jim Schuman, and that's the reason I'm here right now. I had no clue where my swing was 2 two ago, missed two cuts in a row, and was hitting it as bad as I've hit it in a while. Took me about 5 minutes back at home.

And I worked really hard last week. Normally I take weeks off seriously and don't touch a golf club, but this one I took as a working week, and it really paid off. I was working on the right things and, you know, I definitely thought about Steve Stricker, the way he won. He just powered through on Sunday and made a lot of birdies and didn't make any mistakes. He played flawless when he won here. I wanted to do the same thing, but with my game.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: The ABC announcers touched quite a bit on your experiences in winning at Sony. Did that play a part as far as you could draw on a past victory on the Tour?

JERRY KELLY: You know, I won that tournament making a couple good pars down the stretch and a birdie on the final hole. I made a birdie down the stretch here and a couple good pars coming in. Coming through a tight tournament like the Sony helped me for this one. I totally expected that, you know, Davis birdied 15. I saw him make a putt on 16 I thought was for birdie, and I saw him birdie 18 and I thought it was a one-shot deal.

I was working hard to give myself a putt for birdie on 16 and 17 and 18, hitting drivers when I could have laid back. I played my style of golf. That was putting me in position for birdies, and I came out of there with some good pars.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Last question. Tied for 5th in putting this week with 108 putts. It was a great week on the greens. Maybe talk a little bit about that.

JERRY KELLY: These greens with just like home. There's a lot of pull in these greens, and they're bumpy and shoddy to some guys, but, you know, I hit them with a firm stroke and don't play as much break maybe and I get the ball in from 5 feet. It really worked out this week.

I really putt a lot of my swing game lesson into work with my putting. I hadn't been moving my shoulders. I haven't been taking it away with my full swing, and I hadn't been taking it away with my putter, which was making my swing path go to the left with both. So really what works with your long game can work with your short game and I proved it this week.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Questions?

Q. What did Jim do with your swing?

JERRY KELLY: I was purely taking it back really fast and up with my arms, so I was getting laid off and I wasn't turning, which would make me bring it down really fast with my arms, twice as fast on the way down, and if I turned, I would be way past the ball, so it would be a glancing blow off to the right.

Q. So he's got you turning back?

JERRY KELLY: He's got me turning the buttons on my chest back, keeping that club out in front of me, and that's the exact same feeling that I went to Hawaii with. I told a couple people that this week. All I had to do was turn back and trust that my through swing was going down the path. It was the same path that I had coming out of the first tournament of the year. Believe me, I'm going to remember it this time.

Q. Jerry, it seemed all week you came back after having not so great a hole. How important was that for you?

JERRY KELLY: I actually focused this year on getting that bounce-back percentage up. That's on pgatour.com and it's in our stats. It's called bounce-back percentage. I was in the 100s, not even in the top 100, and I made sure that that was going to be a big key for me this year, that I was going to react well to bogeys and not make another one. I've done that for the most part this year. I know I've slacked off the last month or so, but, you know, you just never know what's going to rejuvenate you, and luckily it was last week working with Jim and here I am.

Q. You genuinely seem to be enjoying yourself. You were smiling and clapping with the fans as you were walking up 18.

JERRY KELLY: I know I play better when I interact with the fans. When I can widen my focus in between my game and narrow my focus when I'm hitting my shot, that's when I'm playing my best golf, when I can do that. When I'm smiling with the fans and the fans are interacting -- there is no better feeling than, you know, to be cheered for, to be yelled at. It just feels awesome. I heard a ton of it this week. You know, this week and Milwaukee are the 2 weeks, you know, that I consider home. And I really do consider this place home. I got -- I made my own gallery with all the tickets they gave me, so I can't help but get a great feeling.

Q. Talk about 13, Jerry, and how you played that hole and the confidence you showed and being able to take the sand wedge out.

JERRY KELLY: Yeah. That was huge. That was my tournament right there, no question. You know, some people talked about the par 3 putt but, you know, when I hooked that drive, and that was purely -- again, I knew exactly what I did, so I wasn't going to make the mistake twice. I did not take my shoulders back far enough, which made me get a little quick ahead of it, and I swung across my path. So it was actually a very good swing, it was just too short going back.

I hooked it over there in the bunker, and I had no other shot but sand wedge and I just had to trust myself with that tight pin to hit an 8-iron in there and get it close. That gave me the feeling that I wasn't going to back-pedal, that I was going to make birdies coming in with that par 5 next, but the par 3 popped in there too.

Q. (Inaudible?)

JERRY KELLY: That's purely knowing what my swing is doing. And even though I made a terrible swing off the driver, I knew exactly what I did, so I didn't worry about, oh, boy, I'm not swinging good now. No, I know exactly what I did so I can do exactly what I have to do to get it done. It's not compensating. Well, that one went left, I'm going to make sure this one goes right. I just kept trying to do that, not compensate for the bad swing.

Q. Davis Love mentioned some problems he had with the gallery today yelling things. Was yours positive all the way?

JERRY KELLY: Absolutely. You know, you get some comments. You know, I mean, if you don't hit a great shot or, you know, I mean, one time -- you hit a ball and it releases where it usually spins, you know, "Get rid of those Pinnacles." It's kind of I'll say unfortunate, but it's kind of the way golf is changing now.

You know, everybody is playing the game, not just -- not just the elitist country clubbers who know how to act. You get guys that just want to rip at it and have some fun out there. And, you know, every other support gets heckled but golf.

You know, unfortunately, the heckling is coming. Most golf fans know when to and when not to, and as long as you're not doing it during the swing, I'm sorry, you're going to have to have some thick skin to play this game from now on because New York just opened a nice big can of worms. It's going to be different.

Q. Jerry, you seem to be a different person last year, small things don't bother you anymore, especially on the course. Is that the product of being a father or winning your first tournament?

JERRY KELLY: Yeah. I'd say it's more my wife and my kids' influence than it is playing good golf. Their influence helped me to play good golf. My swing has gotten much better, so, you know, if you have a clue of what you're doing wrong, even when things are going bad, there's a little bit more of a peace than there is like, my God, I don't know how to swing this club, I don't know what I'm going doing, am I ever going to get it back?

But if you have some control, it starts with mental control, to understand what you're muscles are doing, then the physical control can follow. But no question that -- you know, I got mad in front of my kid a couple times and, you know, I didn't like doing that. So they travel with me every single week and he comes out for the last 9 or the last, you know, 3 or 4 and, you know, I have to be conscious at that time. Once I started having to be conscious at that time, you know, why do it anytime?

Q. You got mad at a competition in front of your kid? Was it at a tournament?

JERRY KELLY: Oh, yeah. Anybody out here who knows me knows that, you know, I'm not Mr. Happy-go-lucky when things aren't going well. I've got a temper. There's no question about it. I fight through every single swing and every single shot. And my wife said that, you know, that's the one thing that makes you look bad, that's the one thing that's going to get you where you're going too.

You know, it's a vicious circle but, you know, you get tired and your mental game slips, and sometimes you get more mad than you should because you don't have the ability to restrain yourself, and that's my M.O.. I try not to play as much, only 30 tournaments this year. I mean, I'm cutting way back so, I mean, you know, it's been like a vacation this year. Once they stop traveling, I'm going to play a lot less and I should have quite a bit of control then.

Q. How does it feel to be on the same list as Tiger or Mickelson or Mattiace?

JERRY KELLY: I'd like to get on a lot more lists than just that one. You know, there's a lot of things I want to do in this game. I'm extremely excited to go play Milwaukee next week. After that's over, I'm going to be really excited to go to the British. I just really love to complete. People say I like to get mad but, you know, I just like to go at it. I really like to play hard, and sometimes that's emotionally too, but, it's a driving force and I'm not going to change.

Q. Where does winning this title rank with the majors and Milwaukee?

JERRY KELLY: Well, this is -- I had always talked about the Western and Milwaukee being, you know, the biggest non-Major tournaments that there are for me. There's no question about it. All of my friends and family are here. It doesn't get any better than that. I was lucky to have some extended family in Hawaii also, and that made it special out there. But now, I mean, these are people that I have gotten tickets for these tournaments for the last 7 years, hoping to see me win sometime. Actually, they're just coming out to support me to watch me play. They didn't care if I won, but to win it for them, have that much fun, I just really enjoy being able to do that.

Q. Jerry, that competitiveness for the old hockey game, are you still a hockey player in golf clothes?

JERRY KELLY: Yeah. There's no question a lot of that came from my hockey background. I played on some really good teams and, you know, you learn from some other great players. I still think that's the best sport in the world, you know. You've got the best camaraderie, I think, in hockey than any other support and, you know, I try to bring some of the locker room from the hockey days into the locker room here, you know. I'll jab a guy here and there and check him into his locker. I'm serious, they're kind of sick of me. I just like to have fun with the guys and some of them don't like it.

Q. Jerry, do you feel like you've made a breakthrough and that it's only going to get better from here?

JERRY KELLY: Well, I hope so. I mean, I kind of hoped after my first win, you know, that it would kind of Open the flood gates, and I came close a couple other times and I was starting to get right back into that struggling mode, and, you know, it was a great week off. And I tell you, one thing that happened to me also is two Mondays ago on my way out of Hartford, after missing the cut in the U.S. Open and Hartford -- which are two big weeks for me, being in Hartford in college.

But I stayed in town and played in the Jeff Julian Pro Am, and I was telling people there, I mean, that was kind of a life-altering experience for me. It was amazing to see Jeff so incredibly strong, the support group that he had in that entire community behind him and trying to make him, you know, get better. And since this disease is hitting him from a difference angle, there's a chance he can get better, I think. And just watching he and his wife was just -- it was pretty amazing for me, made me feel lucky to be there with those guys. And my wife and I, you know, we had an extra long hug that night and told each other what we meant to each other, and that was definitely a life-altering experience. I mean, it was -- it was something I won't forget and I think that let me really get back down to business and work hard with my brother-in-law the next week and just focus on golf instead of, you know, kind of being wishy-washy and woe-eeze me.

Q. Talk about your emotions and, I mean, your M.O. Is this going to relax you going into next week for Milwaukee?

JERRY KELLY: You know me better than that.

Q. It's not going to change anything at all?

JERRY KELLY: No. It's not going to change anything at all. I want to win Milwaukee. I want to go play right now, you know. It's just I can't wait to play again. I said that last time in Hawaii. I'm just really ready to -- what I want to do is I want to have fun in Milwaukee with everybody, and I know I'm going to play well if I have fun with everybody in Milwaukee. It's going to feel great and I'm going to feed off of it as much as I can, but don't think I'm going to sit around talking on the phone for three days and not putt my work into winning Milwaukee.

Q. How many tickets do you shell out this week and how many will you have as to shell out next week?

JERRY KELLY: The tickets this week, I think I was given close to 50 or so. I didn't use every single one of them, but I was busy with filling out the will call envelopes for quite a while. My uncle, Ron Kelly, is part of the Western Golf Association, so he hooks me up every year, and I really appreciate that. You know, it makes it just a home week for me is what the Western does for me, so it's fantastic.

Q. When things haven't gone well in the past, I mean, are you the type to throw clubs or cussing?

JERRY KELLY: No. I'm a little bit older and smarter than that now. I mean, you know, I'll do a Stadler, slam it into the ground, you know, but I'm not going to do much more than that. I try to keep my language to a minimum because I know there are kids out watching, but, you know, I'm just not one of the guys that's going to be straight-laced and had not show emotion. You know, you're going to see emotion if you watch me. I mean, I try to keep it PG-13 when I'm playing bad, not R, but I do my best. I've gotten better over the years, no question.

Q. Jerry, 3 back in starting today, 2 up to end it. (Inaudible?)

JERRY KELLY: No. It really didn't. I didn't think Allenby would back up, and I thought there would be more than -- more than just myself going low. The conditions lended itself to it. Granted, the pins were fairly tough, but the greens were receptive enough that I was kind of surprised that people didn't really flourish down the stretch. When I saw I think 3rd place was at 14 when I looked on 16, I was really surprised that Davis and I had separated ourselves like that, but that's golf.

Q. How aware, if at all, were you of what Davis was doing ahead of you and how did that factor into your game?

JERRY KELLY: I thought I knew exactly what he was doing but, you know, every time I saw him make a putt, I just figured that was birdie until I hit my second shot on 18 and my caddie told me, "You're up by 3." I said, "Well, he just made birdie on 16 and 18. We should be tied or I should be one ahead." He said, "No, it was par there and birdie there and, you know, bogey on 17."

So, I mean, it was kind of a worse case scenario I guess for me, which was a driving force for me also. You know, like I said, I hit drivers on 16 and 17 instead of laying back with a 3-wood because I wanted to make birdies. I wanted to get myself in a position to have a short iron into those holes. I didn't want to hit a 3-wood and then have a 6-iron. That just wasn't going to get it done.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Can we go over your birdies and bogeys quickly? You started off well with a birdie on No. 1.

JERRY KELLY: Yeah. Number 1 I just hit driver and kind of a chip 7-iron to about 10 feet just right of the hole.

3, I hit driver, wedge to about 10 feet to the right of the hole and in.

And then 5 I hit driver, 4-wood to about 60 feet away with a good 2-putt.

7, I kind of hit a weak drive into the right bunker off the fairway. Really, I've been struggling with my fairway bunker shots, and I kind of overhit this one and I got really stymied to the left of the green and had to fly over the bunker to a tight pin, misread the putt.

And coming back on 8 I hit 4-wood, pitching wedge to about 6 or 8 feet.

And then 11, driver and I hooked a 4-wood about 40, 50 yards around and over some trees and ended up right in front of the green. That was probably one of my best shots of the tournament. And hit an 8-iron run-and-chip up there to about 4 feet and made it.

And then 12 I hit a 4-iron just right of the pin about 20 feet.

And then 13 was the tournament. I duck-hooked a drive into the bunker left, had to hit a sand wedge out and still had 8-iron into the green for my third shot, knocked it to 3 feet and made the putt for par.

14, I hit a 7-iron just behind the hole about 10 feet. It broke about 2 feet, and that was a good slider putt to make.

15, I hit driver, 4-wood to about 40 feet behind the hole. That's it.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: We'll take three more questions.

Q. What did you have into 13?

JERRY KELLY: On 13 I had 157.

Q. Can you give us a little more background when you went to Hartford? Did they can the program your freshman year?

JERRY KELLY: They canned the program when I got there. They were turning Division 1 with all their sports. They told me they were going to Division 1 in hockey, play in the Hartford Civic Center against the guys and all that. I said, how great is that. A fledgling Division 1 school that I can play hockey and play against some of the best hockey guys in the world. And I knew I'd start because it's the first year deal.

So they got me there with that, and then once I was there, they said no, we don't have the money to do it. They couldn't afford the Hartford Civic Center and they couldn't afford the equipment and everything. They realized how expensive it was and they dropped it.

Luckily, our golf team at one point was ranked 16th in the country my freshman year, so there was no reason for leave because golf was what I was best at. There's no question I was much better at golf than hockey. But if I had the ability to play good Division 1 golf and Division 1 hockey, that's why I went there.

Q. What position did you play?

JERRY KELLY: Center.

Q. How did it feel walking up 18 today?

JERRY KELLY: Boy, when I saw those people starting to stand up for me and giving me a standing O, I got the chills something fierce. I looked over at my caddie, and he was going, "Oooh, that feels pretty good," so he was getting them too. You know, we had to be all business in Hawaii. I enjoyed walking up and having the camera in my face in Hawaii, but this was something I could really savor walking all the way up and it was something really special.

Q. Your mother doesn't show much emotion. Is this something that only you have in the family?

JERRY KELLY: Don't think my mom doesn't show emotion. She's more competitive than I am on the golf course. I joke with a bunch of people I'm lucky she didn't eat me when I was younger the way she plays golf. But she is where I get my competitive fire from. My father is where I get my sense of responsibility and really my work ethic I get from my father. He would always say, "Aren't you going to go practice today?" You know, he would just kind of shame me into it and I would go.

Between the two of them, you know, I'm the luckiest guy in the world to have that kind of upbringing. I was never wanting for anything and, you know, they made sure that the values were the most important thing to succeed in golf, much less the sport itself, so I had fantastic parents growing up and I owe everything to them, as I owe everything to my wife that she took over from them and did a fantastic job after that.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Last question?

Q. Do you feel like Happy Gilmore today?

JERRY KELLY: I've heard that a lot. I mean, did he win that tournament? Yeah, okay, I'll take Happy.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Thank you very much.

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