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SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY KITCHENAIDMay 25, 2012Michael AllenBENTON HARBOR, MICHIGAN KELLY ELBIN: 2009 Senior PGA Champion Michael Allen joining us after a course record 7‑under par 64 in the second round of the 73rd Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid. Michael, congratulations. You went from 6‑over to 1‑under in the course of a day. Sound like just a great time out at Harbor Shores today. MICHAEL ALLEN: Yeah, it was indeed. It was sure a lot more fun than yesterday. Yeah, riding over the guy was talking to me, he's like, "Well, what's that, 11 or 12 better?" And I said "No, 13." And he said, "You ever done it before?" And I said, "I always try to forget those things, I don't know." When you shot that bad, you give your self an opportunity to improve that much, you know. But anyhow, it's certainly a much better day out there, the wind's changed around to a different direction and certainly a little more friendly towards me anyhow, it was really a fun day out there. KELLY ELBIN: You completed it with a birdie on 18. Would you mind going through the other birdies the other seven birdies or six birdies starting on number 3, please. MICHAEL ALLEN: Yeah, let me think. What did I do on 3? Oh, that was the little short one. Again the wind was kind of down and off the right. I was 6‑over, so I just figured I'll go ahead and hit driver. Not really trying to drive the green, but get it up to the right, because where that pin was, with that wind blowing, especially this morning, that would be easier to just be chipping at it. And so I hit driver just right in front of the green side bunker and chipped up to about four feet. Made birdie there. Then the par‑3, the next hole was a pretty good hole, had the tee up. I was able to hit a kind of a little 6‑iron there. I pulled it a little bit right at the hole. I was able to make about an eight or 10‑footer there from right behind the hole. 8, I hit, there I hit 3‑wood off the tee, and I had an, I had like my 50 degree wedge and I hit that to about maybe eight or 10 feet. I was able to make that too. I just missed that birdie on 9. 10, then 12. Okay. Yeah. 12, I hit a nice drive over the bunker, I think I had 94 yards to the hole. I hit that to about two feet. Then the next hole, the par‑3, I think it was 192, but downwind a little bit. I hit a perfect 6‑iron to about two or three feet. The par‑5, they had the tees up and it was down wind, I hit driver and a little 6‑iron just over the back edge of the green. I was able to 2‑putt. Then 18, I hit a good drive down the middle and just kind of had a little 8‑iron in there and hit it about maybe 15 feet behind the hole. So that was very nice to kind of make that. I got back to even, which was kind of more than my expectations for the day, and to cap it off with a birdie there and get under par was great and get myself back in the tournament. KELLY ELBIN: We show you had 12 of 13 fairways hit and 17 of 18 greens in regulation. So great ball striking day. MICHAEL ALLEN: I don't remember missing that fairway. KELLY ELBIN: Well 13 of 13 then. (Laughter.) MICHAEL ALLEN: No, I did. I think I hit it in the rough on 5 or something. KELLY ELBIN: Open it up for questions. Q. Great playing today. Going over the card you birdied one of the four par‑5s. Could you have gone lower? MICHAEL ALLEN: Yeah, I think so. Certainly. I was kind of‑‑ when I actually signed my card I was like, I didn't birdie any, and he goes, oh, yeah you did, 15. Like 9, hit a drive and I had a hybrid in there and not even a hard one and it came up just in the left rough between the bunker and green. I was only about 30 or 40 feet from the hole, but it was just a little on the upslope and really thick sticky rough and I hit a terrible chip out of there. But almost, I mean, I actually gave it a little fist pump, because I thought I had it. And that would have been nice to make. And I just, it just fell out of the hole, which was a little embarrassing to fist pump and then not make it. (Laughter.) Then really 10, I hit a good drive down there, I laid up to a beautiful number, like to 90 yards, and I hit a really nice shot in there about six feet right below the hole and missed that. So the par‑5s didn't really treat me that great. But I gave myself a chance basically on every one and that was kind of my game plan today was just give myself a lot of birdie putts and give myself a chance on a lot of holes. Q. The overall scoring average is lower today than it was yesterday, but the stats still show you hit seven greens yesterday and 17 today. Did you find something or is it better scoring conditions or a little bit of both? MICHAEL ALLEN: It's certainly a little bit of both. I certainly didn't find anything on the range. I just kind of got back to ‑‑ my coach is out, Mike, he always helps me so much. But sometimes I get too much into my swing, swing thoughts. So getting away with a little bit of back to what I do a little bit more with his help has helped a lot. I think also the wind yesterday was a really extremely tough direction that it played. And again it was 20 miles an hour harder. So right now it's a beautiful day out there and it's certainly a lighter wind, but it's not, the wind's not dead, so it's tough. But the wind direction is a lot easier today, I think. Q. Do you think one reason you were able to have such a huge turn around was just simply the confidence that you have generally, you're playing so well almost every week and more able to shake off a bad round now than you would have been? MICHAEL ALLEN: Well, yeah, without question. I finished yesterday I was pretty pissed and a few bottles of wine later I'm feeling a little better, you know. So I didn't get too overly dramatic about it. But I knew I had to play a good round today and I didn't want to come out here and embarrass myself. I just kind of had a nice warm‑up this morning and sometimes you get that bad round going and just like that gut wrenching feeling that I'm not getting these days like I always used to get. I came out today, as I told you before, I love the challenge, like on the TOUR, of playing a really hard course, and that's what this is. So I just knew today I was going to go out one way or the other and try and play a good round and try and beat the golf course. And I was able to today. Q. Today not too many people are talking about the greens as much. Is it because you're able to hit your spots now without the wind? MICHAEL ALLEN: Yeah, without question. Because yesterday on some of the pins yesterday were so tough, I would have thought they would have been more kind of Sunday pins or a little easier, but I think without the wind‑‑ because these areas are small. You got a 30 mile or 20 or 30 mile an hour wind blowing through it's really tough to get the ball, not just even close, but just into the right area where you can kind of 2‑putt relatively easily. So certainly today you can kind of get after it a lot more and kind of hit those areas. KELLY ELBIN: Michael Allen, course record 7‑under par 64. Congratulations. MICHAEL ALLEN: Thank you very much, guys. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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