BRITISH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 21, 2002

Gary Evans

STEWART McDOUGAL: Gary Evans 65, 279, 5 under par, tell us first of all, tell us how you felt on 17 when the ball was lost.

GARY EVANS: Well, I thought it was pretty much over. I couldn't believe I hit it into 150 people and no one saw it, no one heard it, not within 5 or 10 yards, no idea. There were just so many people there. I couldn't see my own shadow. I didn't feel too good when I was walking back down the fairway.

Q. How many balls were found in that search?

GARY EVANS: Three or four. One was a Titleist 2 as well. It was teasing me.

Q. How did you regroup on 18? I know on 18 you hit right again. How difficult was that shot?

GARY EVANS: My bad shot was a leak right and I would have been so shocked if it had hit the fairway anyway. I tried to pull myself together and try to release it but I got ahead of it and cut it right with a 2-iron, in fact if it had been another yard right it would have been on the pathway and I probably would have had a shot to the green, but the grass was too long there. So I decided to chip a 9-iron out, and you saw it violently hook and flew. I knew I was going to get a free drop from the grandstand, but I didn't know where. I was quite fortunate I got a reasonable lie when I dropped it. I thought just try to get this within 15, 20 feet to the hole and give myself a chance at a 4. I was a bit disappointed with the third shot.

And then I just thought the chip was a 7-iron. I was just trying to bunt it over the hill. My only concern was to get it over the hill. I knew I would have an uphill putt coming back, I didn't want to try to get delicate with it and try to stiff it. And as you saw, if that had been on television, I don't know how close they got in, but the putter head was moving like you cannot believe when I was standing over that put. I thought, "please, God, let me hole it."

Q. Is your mom all right?

GARY EVANS: My mom is fine, but you know, to have your son walking down the 17th hole at the British Open with a chance to win and not to mess it up, the amount of people that are going to say to her, well, it was unlucky, wasn't it, you can't believe how many times that would happen and may happen, and you know, I knew she would have been nearly in tears with me walking back down the fairway. It just sprung to mind.

Q. Your mom's name?

GARY EVANS: Betty Evans.

Q. Whatever happens now (inaudible)

GARY EVANS: I probably will probably go and buy the video to this one, just to see where I hit it. (Laughter)

Q. What were your thoughts when you stood over that putt on 17. It must have been about 35 feet, wasn't it?

GARY EVANS: Possibly. I have no idea. Walking down the fairway, Dominic, my caddy, finished 4th with Raymond Russell, at the Open at Birkdale check and, said to him when I walked on the green, the first thing, I said, "I promise you I will hole this," because I was just thinking positively. A friend of mine, it's actually my bank manager's wife said to me something like a trigger line to try and focus, she said strong like a bull. I know that means absolutely nonsense. Don't get me. I said to myself walking, be strong like a bull. That sounds like bullshit. (Laughter) I hate to think what the papers are going to say.

Q. Trust us.

GARY EVANS: Please be kind. I don't know. I just walked down there. I thought just give it a chance, you know, and halfway to the hole, I liked it and then it broke slightly right. It was heading right towards the middle and I thought oh God, please, and when it made it, I just couldn't believe it. My heart, I cannot tell you how my heart was bumping it was just frightening.

Q. It looked longer than 35 feet, but how long would you estimate it?

GARY EVANS: I have absolutely -- I don't even know what I scored when I came in. I had no idea. I checked them but I had no idea what the final score was.

Q. What was the most nervous or most pressure you've felt in a golf tournament before today and how did that compare --

GARY EVANS: The first time I ever picked it up at the British Open in 1989 as an amateur. I walked on the first tee in a practice round and I couldn't get my left hand on the golf flap. I was 19. Troon. That was the most nervous I've ever been, and that was in a practice round. Every kid wants to play the British Open. It means so much to just qualify. It's pretty tough for us more human golfers to get in.

Q. How much were you looking at the leader boards and thinking I can now win?

GARY EVANS: I did not even go there -- I just didn't go there.

Q. Do you feel surprised the way you held it together the last two holes?

GARY EVANS: When Goosen three-putted at the U.S. Open last year, I roomed with Goosen for six years. He's a great buddy of mine. I'm sitting in my front room and I saw him three putt on the 72nd hold - trust me I fully understand what was going on, you know, it is so difficult to try and hold it together. I mean, these top guys, the Faldos, when Faldo hit a 4-iron on the last one -- how these guys hit these shots, I don't know. It's a different world to me. I'm just delighted that it's over. It would be great if I'm somewhere in the show at the end. I'm not even going to think about it. I'm just delighted at the moment.

Q. What expectations did you have coming into the tournament? How have you been playing?

GARY EVANS: I've been playing well this season. I only missed a few cuts. I've been -- my scoring, as some of the British press will realize, has been better this year. I think I was lying 31st in the order of merit. I probably put in seven or eight Top 20's, so I've been in the mix a little bit, not quite right there, I had a chance at the British Masters after a few holes, but Justin Rose and Ian Poulter got away, and I felt more comfortable performing on the stage a little bit this year.

Q. If you needed to play four more four holes a few hours from now could you get yourself back in the golf frame of mind?

GARY EVANS: If I have to play four holes in a few hours I will be over the moon. I will be going to the physio unit if it's still here, if it hasn't disappeared and I will have a nice massage and try to get my head together and probably about half hour before, if the guys get to 17 and I'm still in the mix, I might slide out to the range and start clippin a few.

Q. By the fence there (inaudible)?

GARY EVANS: Sometimes I carry a 7-wood most of the time, but this week I carried a 2-iron instead of a 7-wood and I had 225, 230 yards to the hole and it occurred to me if that I could get the wood in - it was a 4-wood - I would just try to get it somewhere near the green. You know, I wasn't trying to finesse anything. It was literally please get this somewhere near the green, as soon as I put the club anywhere near, the grass was too strong and I just put it straight away.

Q. I remember a couple of years ago you were so down about your career that you nearly --(inaudible) --

GARY EVANS: Yes, I had a bad time. You know all about that.

Q. Just explain to the Americans.

GARY EVANS: Those of you who don't know, I broke my wrist towards the end of my first season in '92. I was lying about 7th in the order of Merit after the Dutch which is a week after the Open, I was playing a bunker shot at the English Open on the 7th hole, left of the hole, and I snapped my wrist and broke it, but I didn't know I broke it. And I ended up playing golf for the next two years with a broken wrist. The three specialists I saw, one said I had carpal tunnel syndrome. One said I had tendonitis. On told me I had weak wrists. I don't know who was paying him. Anyway, I had that for two years and struggled to keep my card, but did so, and then around the middle of '94, I couldn't even pick a golf club up and ended up having it operated on by Dr. John Stanley, who did soft tissue reconstruction, put me out of the game for eight or nine months and then the long road back to recovery.

Q. All that said, Gary, can you talk about what it was like, regardless of what happens, coming up 18 with your name at the top of the leader board?

GARY EVANS: You know, I played the practice round with goose, and Goose's father was walking around with it and he was standing there walking up 18th and I said I imagine what it must be like coming up here on Sunday with the crowd and everything, and it's just the almighty buzz. I'll never get a buzz bigger than that. Bungee jumps you can keep it, jumping out of planes, you can keep it. When you have 15,000, 20,000 people clapping their hands for you. It's just frightening. It really is. It gives you such a feeling of worth. People actually want you to do well.

Q. Can you understand what Van de Velde went through in '99?

GARY EVANS: Totally. I mean, one of the reasons why I'm finding it hard to answer some of the questions is because you are pretty numb. You're just trying so hard to focus on the one thing, that the other things going on around you -- you don't see, notice, hear. You could be standing right next to me and I wouldn't know it. You just try so hard to be single minded about it.

Q. Standing on the 17th tee, you said you had a look at the leader boards. Were you aware you were leading?

GARY EVANS: No, no idea.

Q. What did you hit for your second?

GARY EVANS: 4-wood.

Q. How far?

GARY EVANS: I had 234 yards to the front.

Q. Where were you aiming it?

GARY EVANS: The left side of the green.

Q. (Inaudible) the same club?

GARY EVANS: It was that shot all day. It was just a bad swing. I was making so many good swings under the (inaudible) and I felt pretty comfortable and, as I say, talking to Dominic. I hit an 8-iron into 15 with a great chance, and the swing into 16 was a little quick. I didn't have enough club. And when I made the chip is sort of calmed me down. When I chipped it up stone dead, it calmed me down. When I got to the 17th tee felt fine. And I hit the driver in a perfect spot. I couldn't have walked it up there and placed it in better spot. I felt good standing over the ball. I didn't make a full turn, made a turn, and I knew when I got to the top and just (inaudible).

Q. Do you wish you would have hit driver on the left?

GARY EVANS: It did cross my mind walking 30 yards off the tee. I did think, well, maybe I should have hit a driver, but it's not really the play. It really isn't the play. It's a tight fairway to hit with a driver, those two bunkers on the left. If you hit it in the bunker you're dead. I can't reach those bunkers with a 2-iron. If I hit a half decent 2-iron, I leave myself a ways from the green.

Q. You say every kid wants to play in the British Open. Have you dreamt over the years about leading the British Open?

GARY EVANS: You read these articles about Paul Lawrie, I was reading them this week, seeing his picture on the front of the magazine, the program, and he's held the Claret jug. With all due respect, at the time when he won, he was another player like me. He's progressed, obviously, he's won several tournaments world wide. But it's every kid's dream to walk up the last and actually have a chance to win.

Q. With all you've gone through, would you like to do it again?

GARY EVANS: No.

Q. It's too early to ask you that.

GARY EVANS: It was seriously, seriously hard the last two holes. It was like nothing I've ever experienced. I was fine up to that, believe it or not, absolutely fine, just deep breaths and chatting with Dominic and having a good laugh and everything was cool. But as soon as I lost the ball, all of a sudden a dark cloud descended and I thought, "Oh God, please, not now."

Q. What's Dominic's last name?

GARY EVANS: Bott, B -O-T-T.

Q. How does he spell Dominic?

GARY EVANS: D-O-M-I-N-I-C.

Q. Talk about the first 16. What was the key to your round?

GARY EVANS: Well, I gave myself a lot of chances. And here's a nice little story for you. I not only changed drivers from the first three rounds, I changed driver, but I changed a putter. I was using a Scotty Cameron Newport the first three days and I changed to a Newport 2. I wasn't holing a lot the first three days and I had a chat with Dominic in the locker room, and he said, "Well, it can't hurt, you haven't putted great. Change putters." And I got a good feel for it on the putting green this morning and I just started working and it felt great in my hands. Trust me, it will be staying in the bag for next week.

Q. Only 23 putts?

GARY EVANS: Was it? Thank you.

Q. You changed your driver as well?

GARY EVANS: Yes.

STEWART McDOUGAL: Thank you.

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