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AMERICAN CENTURY CHAMPIONSHIPJuly 19, 2012Dan QuinnSTATELINE, NEVADA THE MODERATOR: We're ready to take questions from the media for Dan. Q. Dan, first tell us how you're playing. And is Tony Romo being the lone favorite justifiable? DAN QUINN: Yeah, I mean, I don't know about the lone favorite. Obviously there's been how many number of winners here in 22 years? Rick's got eight. I got four. Billy Joe three and Jack two, maybe five other guys. Q. That's why the question keeps coming up. DAN QUINN: Until you've won, I don't know how the oddsmakers‑‑ but the fact that he's a young guy, the rest of us are a little older and retired, and he's physically fit and been doing training camps and has played well here. He's definitely going to win here one of these next couple of years. I'd be shocked if he didn't. And so, yeah, that's what it is. For who makes the favorite, I don't know. Q. What about your game? DAN QUINN: It's just okay. I mean, I like to think I'll figure out something over the next couple of days. It's been windy and unusual here. It's tough to tell how, if you're playing well. I've never been so cold at Lake Tahoe as I was today. But usually you try to figure it out. Once the bell rings tomorrow, figure something out, and try to make sure you're somewhere near the lead coming into Sunday. Q. Can you talk about how the Ernie thing developed from the beginning and then just tell us what you're doing for Ernie, what you've done so far this year and what you're doing the rest of the way? DAN QUINN: Okay. Well, we became friends through our daughters and playing some golf and had a couple of barbecues. It was actually three years ago after this event, and I think I needed to birdie 18 I hit it into the water. Two hours later I got a call from him, he just finished seventh at the British Open. And he said: Do you want to come caddie for me? Obviously I could tell he had a couple of beers. But that led to that fall I went to Asia with him and we did Singapore and then the second tournament we did was the World Golf Championship in China at the HSBC. We came in second. He bogeyed the last hole. We bogeyed the last hole. Caddies usually say they bogeyed the last hole; we birdied the last hole. We finished second to Phil Nicholson. That led to, in 2010, me and his old‑time caddie Ricky, we did a full‑time share which means we chopped up 28 events, 14 each. And that went well for a year and it was‑‑ went a different direction. Started 2011, and then I left this event last year and went up to Vancouver, did the Canadian Open and we sort of resurrected the relationship. I've done 16 events since Tahoe. I did nine last fall, including the Presidents Cup on NBC down in Australia and then I did the first seven events of this year, which was a tough three months for a player/caddie because he was, he's playing great now and I think is taking care of himself but he fell out of the top 50 which meant he wasn't in Augusta or Durrell, which he had played 20 some years and Augusta for 20 years. So it was a tough couple of months, but we had a bunch of top 10s almost won. And he almost won in New Orleans a couple of weeks after that. I think he's had a good round at the British. And I'm flying to Canada. I'm doing the Canadian Open next week, an RBC event, Firestone, World Golfing Championship event the week after and the PGA Kiawah. He's playing five weeks and I'll be out at three of them. Q. What is it that Ernie likes about you on the bag? DAN QUINN: Well, you have to more ask him. I think what it's been, if you can get a relationship where you have two voices and you don't get sick of each other, and you do a month or six weeks and you can switch it up. And I think with Ricky, he was 20 years together. And when I came in, it's a different vibe. I don't know if one of us has done better than the other. But it's just a different vibe and a different energy and a different distraction or a different way to go about business. So, as I said, I've done 30 some odd events in two and a half years. And it's good work. It's a lot of fun but it is work. Q. Did you have to change anything with the weather today, any part of your game? How did that affect you? DAN QUINN: I gotta learn how to not listen to the forecast because I left my rain jacket, umbrella in the room. It didn't really rain, but I didn't wear a jacket or anything. So I thought it was going to be all right. It was going to be worse in the afternoon. But the ball didn't go anywhere. We're used to the ball going crazy distances here with the altitude. And normally it's mid‑80s. So this whole week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and today, it's been afternoon breeze like this, which has been really windy. And it really hasn't been over 70 degrees. So it will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow. The course plays different, that's for sure. Q. Do you have a memory of it being like this in prior years? DAN QUINN: We've had like a day‑‑ ask anybody else, a day here or there. But I usually remember not seeing a cloud in the sky. It's the postcard chamber of commerce place to go for a week in July. It still is. It's going to be a great weekend, looks like. It's been a unique couple of days. You guys live here. So I'm sure you're not used to it either. Although I played with a local today, a lady that lives over the valley. It can snow every month here. Q. Some people say that hockey players do really well here. Do you buy into that? Do you think so? DAN QUINN: I think because Rick's won eight times, baseball guys could say that. But we've got a good group of hockey players, Mario Lemieux won it back in the'90s. I think I've won it four times. There's a group of guys now that could win it from, Mike Modano, as I think he retires, he's got a great golf swing, plays a little bit more. Jeremy Roenick and Brett Hull. But we love it. I think more importantly, from the NBC factor, I mean hockey and the NBC seem to have a great partnership. So it would be great‑‑ they did a great job televising the playoffs with the NBC Sports Network and whatnot. So it's good to see hockey and NBC have a marriage and it would be good to see a hockey guy win this week. Q. When you won your four, did you know pretty early on in the week that you were golfing extremely well; did you just know that you were going to maybe not win it, but just be in the hunt in the last day; were you just feeling it all week? DAN QUINN: You never know. There's some weeks you feel good and nothing happens. But for the most part I've been lucky enough to contend and get a bunch of seconds and thirds and firsts. So I try to make sure I don't have a bad day tomorrow and just get somewhere near it and then Saturday get closer. And if you ever did take the lead and run away with it, that could happen, too. But for the most part especially with this format just try to stay close for Sunday. The last two years with Jack, Jack had a great first day and second day last year and Billy Joe really ran away with it the first two years ago. I think a lot of guys‑‑ I don't know if the weather and everything is going to sort of neutralize anybody having a great 30, 32‑point day. But I think all the guys that think they can win just want to have a good start tomorrow. Q. Dan, from your time out on TOUR, there's an awful lot that goes on in the equipment trucks Tuesdays and Wednesdays on the PGA TOUR. Do you find yourself‑‑ have you ramped up or tweaked your equipment at all after having so much exposure? Because guys are fixing stuff every week. DAN QUINN: That's a great comment. It's probably the worst thing that's happened to me, personally. Because like take Steve Stricker‑‑ I'm watching golf in the background‑‑ Steve Stricker has the same irons for five years, same driver for five years. Same putter for 12 years. He doesn't switch anything. Same shafts. You don't see him except change the grips. And some guys are tinkerers. If you don't have familiarity or trust of something you've used and had success with, it can be a detriment. But it's fascinating to see the technology level and the quality of the equipment that's out there that these guys get and that we have access to, I guess, as customers or consumers. But, yeah, these guys got everything down. They can change a driver from round to round, a lot of putters, a ton of guys changing putters week to week, tournament to tournament, round to round. They get fresh wedges and grooves. But I think once they get shafts and a set of irons, they don't switch too much. And they're always, especially with the white drivers these last two years, a lot of guys, they're always trying to get the hottest new thing. Q. Have you made any changes to your stuff? DAN QUINN: Yeah, I'm going to go back because I've got two old drivers and new driver, I don't know which one I'm using tomorrow. Q. You're out playing the course a lot. For some players actually having bad weather is kind of an advantage for them. Would that be you? DAN QUINN: If it's windy, it's going to be hard on a lot of guys. You're not going to be able to‑‑ the wind separates. It's going to make guys that maybe could have a good round tomorrow be tougher for them to shoot a good score, if it's going to blow and be cool and the ball doesn't go anywhere. I don't know who it's going to favor. But I know Rick's playing well. He played well at the tournament we had in San Diego. I know Jack's been working hard from spies I have at Belair Country Club. Billy Joe plays a lot of golf and Romo is in great shape. And John Smoltz, a lot of guys play well. Q. Being up here in Tahoe, we have the casinos, the lake and a lot of celebrities out here, you see a lot of old friends compared to other tournaments. Is this more of a distraction or when you go into every tournament, you're focused and have blinders on and go for it? DAN QUINN: No. I caught myself at the blackjack table at midnight last night. I said: What are you doing, you play at eight tomorrow. It's the beauty of the event. I come out here to try to have fun, to compete, be ready for tomorrow. But the beauty of this event is the people that have been here 20 some odd years, the marriage between the hotels and the sponsorship and the players and the interaction and my favorite ladies on the 16th tee who have been there forever with their grocery store they have for us there. The Twizzlers and the peanuts and lollypops. So it's just a great, special week. And we just talked back there; it's the people. This valley you have, this three, four hours in each direction north, south, east and west, it's been a sweet marriage between this event. And the guys that come here and we have a lot of fun. And I think I can speak for all the guys that when they leave Monday they're looking for their invitation for next year. Q. To follow up on the PGA TOUR. I've never heard of a pro that splits his events between two caddies. Is that unusual? Or do a lot of pros do that? DAN QUINN: No, there's actually more guys than you would think. Sergio Garcia had done it for three or four years. He recently had a breakup with one of the guys he's had for a long time. Robert Allenby did it before Ernie did it. Sergio did it for six, seven years. Nobody ever said it. He had a guy that did most of the European events, because he didn't want to come over to the U.S. anymore. He had a guy living in Dallas that did all the North American events. Especially guys that play around the world, they use different guys. A lot of guys go month‑to‑month, make switches. Because I'm an ex‑hockey player, I guess I'm a little more of a high profile situation. There's a true split and there's three or four of those, but there's a lot of guys that use different guys in different scenarios. Q. I was just wondering if you're following much the NHL these days. You know, looking ahead, it looks like there might be a lockout. Whether or not you think that will happen and what it will take to maybe avoid it. DAN QUINN: I don't know the terms of it but it would be a shame. I did follow hockey for the first time really closely this year. I thought it was, first of all, televised brilliantly in the United States. And being a Canadian and a hockey player, it hasn't always been the case. You didn't know where to find it, VERSUS and all that stuff. But NBC and the Sports Network and MSNBC, where they put all the games on, you knew where they were. And hockey was terrific. The Kings got hot and they were fun to watch. A goalie that was outstanding. I think it would be a huge mistake if they don't figure out everything. I think it did well. The ratings were pretty good. And the sport can't do it with a lockout. They just had one four or five years ago. So I don't know the details. As I said to somebody, I'll come out of retirement. (Laughter). Q. What do you think of the offer sheet that the Flyers gave Shea Weber? Have you heard about it? 110 million, 14 years. DAN QUINN: Haven't heard about it. Q. That was your money, wasn't it, Dan? DAN QUINN: 14 years I made $3million, gross. Q. 110. That is gross compared to‑‑ (Laughter). You've been working with Ernie Els. Anything you've changed or he's given you advice about much that you've done in the past that you may be doing now? DAN QUINN: No. You can't compare. He's got a truly gifted swing and a gifted talent. He's physically huge and strong and still very long and has got great rhythm. None of that transcends into my game. So I do‑‑ I get to work with him and watch him practice and pick up things. And he's got an underrated short game. He's an unbelievable bunker player, one of the best in the world. He's also a great chipper and he's putting well. But it's almost like me saying I'll teach him how to play hockey. I would say there was a time 10 or 12 years ago where the difference between me and the top TOUR pro wasn't too bad. I went to TOUR school. Played some Nationwide events in thelate'90s when I retired. But the difference now is beyond. I think you could go to all of us here, when this first started, thinking we could compare ourselves to TOUR pros in some small ways. Not even close now. Especially the guys, when you mention Ernie, the guys from 1 through 30 didn't have a whole lot of‑‑ they said it but now 30 through 100 is pretty good too. There's a lot of good players. Five, 600 guys. But the top players on TOUR are really, really good. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Dan. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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