KEMPER OPEN

June 7, 1997

Nick Faldo

NICK FALDO: Yeah. I bogeyed 1. I pushed a wedge -- bad wedge at the first, plugged it in the right trap with no chance getting up-and-down there. So I made a good 5. And then I holed a good putt on 4. Hit a driver and a 7-iron, holed an 18-footer down the hill. Next, I hit a wedge into about 10 feet.

NICK FALDO: On 5, made that. The real good birdie on 8. Hit a good drive and 6-iron to about 12 feet. Bogeyed 9. And pulled a 6-iron left into the -- in the little hollow, chipped out to about 6, 7 feet, two putts. And then par 5, 13, hit a sand wedge from about 75 yards to about 3 feet. Then the last -- I had chances on -- good chances on 15 and 16 -- 14, 15, and 16. So -- but holed a good putt on the last from a good 30 feet. Got a good read from Pricey which was nice, because he got one on me on 16. So that was good.

NICK FALDO: I hit a 9-iron, which was -- just didn't release.

NICK FALDO: Oh, I hit, what, about a 10-footer on 14 and about a 12-footer on 15, about a 15-footer on 16, so...

NICK FALDO: Yeah, there's always an if, isn't there? Yeah, I'm pleased how well I've played. And that's -- that's how I feel I've been playing. So, you know, I'm just trying to hit as many solid shots as possible. And, you know, the putter is obviously working better, so that's a nice feeling.

NICK FALDO: Well, you have to -- I -- you know, after starting bad on Day 1, but I felt good, I was looking forward to playing. Because I felt I was swinging well and, you know, my game's on the up. So when you start really bad, you think, oh, well, it felt -- really kind of felt a bit of a mystery. So you have to keep -- you have to trust that your game is going to slowly unravel, which it did.

NICK FALDO: Well, I like the course, obviously. Yes, it's -- you know, it's got a lot of different shots, you know, some long, tough holes, and so -- and the short holes have a demand of accuracy, so it's a good blend.

NICK FALDO: I guess -- well, the way they've got it set up, you have to play well. You have to play accurately. That's the bottom line. You can't hit it all over the show. You have to position your, you know, every shot.

NICK FALDO: It's -- yeah, most of the time, it's fine.

NICK FALDO: Definitely I'm playing well enough to be in the right frame of mind. Any time you're on the leaderboard and going forward, you know, on the score card, it's got to help you. Got to make you feel good.

NICK FALDO: Well it picks up. On a couple holes it tends to swirl here, and, you know, it can catch you. A couple of times you stand up thinking it's a breeze, and it blows really hard, but generally that's, you know, it's -- any time you're playing through trees, you're going to get that sort of situation.

NICK FALDO: Well, I don't -- I think tomorrow, you know, I'm in a good position to, you know -- Mike Wiebe is obviously playing very well today. Everybody was at 6. All of a sudden, I looked and he was at 10. Obviously, he got himself on a good roll and playing well in the third round, so he -- you know, you just have to go out and get in there. You know, that's all you can do tomorrow is get in there and be part of the action. See how it all unravels, see what you can do. That's all I'm in control of. If I go forward, shoot a good score, then that's the bottom line. I go out and play well tomorrow, I stand a good chance.

NICK FALDO: Yeah. Well, it's, you know, as long as you're playing well. It depends how it unravels, doesn't it? It really does, but how it affects people, but, you know, the bottom line is I've got to play well. That's really the way it will affect people.

NICK FALDO: Well, no, I think it's a good blend. There's a lot of tough holes out there that you've got to really pay attention to, so it's -- that's the thing about the course. Every hole is different. It makes you think. That's, you know, what I enjoy.

NICK FALDO: Well, sure. You -- but, you know, I'm new to this golf course. I'm really having to grind hard out there. It's the first time I've played it, so I am really having to work hard, because I don't know exactly that the right positions of, you know, the pins, where the best spot to come in from, that sort of thing. So, you know, so I feel like I'm working doubly hard out there, so -- to keep in there, but, you know, as I said, sure, you draw on experience and you go out and play. That's the bottom line. You just have to go and keep plowing on.

NICK FALDO: Okay. Thank you.