U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 1, 2000

Tom Kite

TOM KITE: I am happy, yeah. I could be happier, but I am very happy with the score. 5-under par is a good score on this golf course. I don't think that any of us anticipated this golf course would give up these kind of scores prior to the two rain storms that they had out here, and we are just taking advantage of a golf course that is a wonderful golf course, and it is giving up a lot more low numbers and birdies than we ever envisioned. But I played well. I hit the ball quite nicely. A couple of errant shots; missed a couple of fairways, and they both cost me. That is a little disappointing. But all and all, 5-under is a good score.

TOM KITE: Got off to a good, fast start. Birdied 2, 3, 4. Hit a 9-iron on No. 2 about a foot. Hit on 3 -- I hit 8-iron about five feet, six feet. And hit 7-iron about 6 feet on 4. That was a nice start. Bogeyed No. 7. Hit driver, blocked it way right under the trees. Just all I can do is just chip out, and chipped it kind of through the fairway. Had 80 yards, and hit that up there about twelve feet, and missed that putt. Came back with a birdie on the next hole. Hit sand wedge in there six inches or so, and then hit 6-iron on No. 9 about probably 18 feet; made that. That was the first long putt that I made all day, which was nice. Birdied No. 11, hit a really good 4-iron in there just left of the pin about 15 feet. And made that putt for birdie. Then birdied No. 13, hit 6-iron -- excuse me, hit 7-iron about maybe 15 feet again. A little less, maybe. And made that. Then bogeyed No. 16. I hit it -- hit driver. Again, blocked it to the right. Those were the two bad drives that I had all day. And it looked like it was just going to catch the edge of the bunker and be in not too bad a shape. But it missed the bunker to the right, kicked hard right under a tree. And I tried to play a little cut -- shut out of there out of the rough. Caught a branch coming out, fell into -- across a bunker that is about 30 yards short of the green. Tried to play a little pitch-and-run back in there to try to get it back to the hole, but aimed it pretty well. Ended up short. 2-putted from 30 feet -- (inaudible). Parred 17, 18. Had two makeable opportunities on those last two holes, but misread the one on 17, and left the one on 18 hanging on the front edge.

TOM KITE: I don't know whether it is feeding off of one another, or just, you know, the necessity of trying to hang in there. You know that the scores are going to be low. I mean, I felt great. I hadn't -- I didn't see the scoreboard until the -- didn't really look at a scoreboard all day until the 6th hole, and I am 3-under par through 4 and thinking: All right, maybe I will pick up a little ground. Step up on the 6th green, and I haven't gained a thing on anybody. And pretty lucky, I guess, to be holding my own. Then Bruce comes along through 6, and I think he was 4-under par through 6. So was 3-under at that point and had lost a shot, I think. So from that point on, it was: Let's really get something. You are going to have to make a lot of birdies. And we all did.

TOM KITE: I think it is a little surprise. Again, this is a heck of a golf course; and I think all the players in the field are just shocked at how low it is. It is all because of the rain storms we had earlier in the week. I really didn't believe that it would ever go like this. I don't know whether it takes away from the Open Championship. I would hope that it -- people don't think so, and hope that you guys don't think so; because you look at the leaderboard, and you got guys that are playing very well up on that board. Hale is playing great. Bruce is playing great. I am playing well. A number of other guys are playing some super golf. So I don't know that it is affecting the results one way or the other. I know the USGA -- yeah, I guarantee you they don't like it (laughter). I can only anticipate -- I mean the pin placements were again very, very difficult today. But the guys are playing so well. The golf course is in such perfect shape. The fairways are so immaculate to play off of. And if you are driving the ball well, you have got that good lie playing into a green that is holding, and you are hitting it in there fairly close. Yeah, there will be a few times that you will get on the wrong side of the hole where you don't really have a chance to make a putt even if it's from 3, 4, 5 feet. But a lot of times you will get it in there and you will be able to make a few.

TOM KITE: You have to talk to Tom Meeks. Tom Meeks is really ticked off right now. I can guarantee you.

TOM KITE: 22 birdies..... Wow. I hate to say that I expect it to happen like that tomorrow, because, again, I didn't expect it to happen -- I haven't expected it any day, because, again, I have so much respect for this golf course and the pin placements on it. But, you know, when I got off to that start and think that I am picking up some ground, then look up at the board and I'm just holding my own, yeah, I guess the scores are probably going to go low again tomorrow unless the greens dry out significantly. I know they are going to be rolling the living daylights out of those things, trying to squeeze every drop of moisture out of them that they can. It really is a shame. I agree with you, for an Open Championship, I would love to see the scores a little bit higher. But the golf course was perfect earlier in the week, and it is just a shame that the rains came.

TOM KITE: Yeah. 7 was just a miscommunication between Mike and I. I had driven it on that hole, you know, everyday so far. But we, in the practice round, we had kind of talked about possibly that was a lay-up hole, because the fairway kind of narrows down there. And I felt good about the driver and the way I was driving it. I hit it perfect off of every tee prior to that time. And I stepped up there and Mike kind of -- you know, you think you might want to hit a little less club. I was just -- I never made up my mind. I never committed to the shot, and just made a god-awful swing. I can't really say it was a swing flaw. It was a mental flaw. The one on 16, you know, I just hung back a little bit on the thing. I went -- when I am swinging well, I really get up to my left side. And I really didn't do it quite there on 16.

TOM KITE: Well, he won't be playing in my twosome.

TOM KITE: I think I will be playing with Hubert.

TOM KITE: Well, you know, the way Bruce is playing, I think that is a two-sided road. I think it is going to be difficult -- as difficult for Hale to play -- Hale to play were Bruce, as it is for Bruce to play with Hale. Doesn't seem like they are having much difficulty with it either way. They are both playing very well, no matter who they play with. We know that -- golly, I hate to even say just all three, but you know that Bruce is going to play well. You know Hale is going to play well. And I am hoping that I play well tomorrow.

TOM KITE: Yeah. The front nine is easier because the greens are a little flatter. There are some very severe greens on the back nine -- 11, 15, 16, in particular. And that makes it a little bit more -- and 17 also. Makes it a little bit more difficult to score on the back side than it does on the front. So there will be some good scores shot on the front, and I would think I would need to shoot one.

TOM KITE: I don't know. I mean, you would have to ask Bruce. And I am not sure he would even have a clue. But I was just saying up there when I did a thing for NBC that I think you really have to give him all the credit and kudos, because he has gone through, at times, a very trying career on the PGA TOUR. And to be able to be that patient and persistent and to hang in there to the point that his game finally matured, you know, when a lot of guys were maturing much earlier than that, you know, you have to hand it to him. Because a lot of guys, with that type of career, went on to other things. And I think you really have to give him credit. What happened? Who knows. I mean, there is such fine lines in this game, you know. He might not even be able to put his finger on it. But certainly just suffice to say, he is one heck of a player right now.

TOM KITE: I wouldn't say frustration. Golly, the shots that were being played and the activity that was going on and the enthusiasm of the crowd, golly, I mean, this -- the people have just been so supportive and so enthusiastic out there and I think they really appreciated the shots that were being played. I think a lot of them probably have had the opportunity to play this golf course and I think know how difficult it is. I think they are probably as amazed as we are with the scores that are being shot, but no, I wouldn't say frustrating because again, I am very pleased with that score of 5-under. Yeah, I wish it had picked up ground instead of losing some ground, but, you know, I have to be proud of that score.

TOM KITE: You can sit there and play those games all you want to, but the reality of it is that whether you have been there or haven't been there, you are still going to have to go out and perform tomorrow. I don't know that it -- oh, yeah, it gets a little easier the more times you have been there, but it doesn't guarantee that you are going to shoot a great score the last day. Whoever wins tomorrow is going to go low. And they will do it.

TOM KITE: I tend to play better on the really, really difficult golf courses and again, I'd put this in that category. This is one of the more difficult golf courses that we play on the SENIOR TOUR. You still have to hit an awful lot of good shots. Fairway is tight. Rough is up. If you don't hit good shots, you are going to be penalized. This is certainly not as difficult as Pebble Beach, but again, it is a nice golf course.