THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY MERCEDES-BENZ AND MICHELOB

October 30, 1997

Brad Faxon

BRAD FAXON: I was really surprised to see the scores as low as they were. I was shocked, as a matter of fact. I thought this was maybe the hardest course we play all year. Yesterday and the day before, the Pro Am, I think I hit one 9-iron into a par 4, a couple 7-irons. Today I had six 8-irons and two 7-irons, so the course played shorter. It was a little bit less wind. There were some pins on the very fronts of the greens. Tricky little pins, but they played shorter. It seemed like maybe the pins that were way in the back were on holes that were downwind. So the course played a lot shorter than it had been, you know, the weather is warmer. But, you know, Top 30 guys in the world, so you expect low scores. It's a good feeling to get off to a good start here. One of those tournaments where it seems like if you shoot a bad first round, everybody else shoots low rounds, you're kind of struggling the rest of the week. Nice to get off to a good start. I had a good partner today. Jesper played very well. Easy to play with.

BRAD FAXON: It can help. I don't think it means a whole lot every day, but I definitely feel like, you know, the first few days are kind of relaxed. You have a guy that's a good guy, playing well, it's a lot easier to get into it, you know, than if you're kind of struggling early in the round or something like that.

BRAD FAXON: No. First time I ever played here was Tuesday in the Pro Am. Never seen the course. It was cold. I was hitting 4-iron after 4-iron after 4-iron into the greens, I was like, "Wow." I've learned the course a little bit. It was a little bit warmer today. The ball was traveling. But I think what I found is the times I hit it in the rough, you can play it out of the rough, advance it, get it up out on to the green. If this course had thick rough, forget it, forget it.

BRAD FAXON: It's a very good golf course.

BRAD FAXON: Well, you know, we play a couple courses that have big greens, like the Buick Open, big greens. The scores are always low there, I think, because maybe you can get it out of trouble at least onto the green and 2-putt your way out of trouble. It's not like some courses where the greens are very small, where if you miss the green, it's very difficult up-and-down. Here, you know, you can get it onto corners or parts of the greens, where I can at least advance it up there and make pars. But I don't think you want to hit it just to get it on the green and have a 70-footer. That's no better than hitting it five yards off the green and chipping. Those 70 footers are no bargain. It seems like you're always up and back down.

BRAD FAXON: I didn't, no.

BRAD FAXON: Well, yeah, that's right. (laughter). I played well. Greens are good. They're holding, holding shots. I just know that the scores aren't going to get better every day here, you know. They've got a little bit left on this golf course. They can put that pin a little bit further over. Holes turn into dog leg lefts from dog leg rights here. The last hole, the pin was so far to the right, I didn't think there was a green over there. Tomorrow it could be 40 yards left of where it was today. Cut a shot in today, tomorrow might be a big draw.

BRAD FAXON: We play St. Andrews, that has huge greens, but nothing -- I don't see many greens like this. I can't recall anything this big. These seem --

BRAD FAXON: Pockets, but nothing like this.

BRAD FAXON: I was going to say that. Maybe the Buick Open in a few spots, but nothing like this.

BRAD FAXON: Yes.

BRAD FAXON: Right.

BRAD FAXON: Good start. 8-iron to three feet on the first. I hit a 2-iron in the four about 45 feet. That was a big putt. Both yes, Jesper and I made birdie, first two birdies of the day. That pin was way back left. 3-putted the 6th hole from like 30 feet. Got it above the hole. That was quick. I think that was my only bogey. No. 9 I knocked it on in two with a 4-wood. Had a 30-footer, 2-putt. 11, I hit a 9-iron -- no, 8-iron to six feet, seven feet. 18, hit a good second shot with a 5-iron to about 20 feet.

BRAD FAXON: You know, it's a pretty relaxed week. I came into this tournament, let's see, the first time I played, maybe the second time I played, kind of a little too lackadaisical. Everybody says, "You make a big check for finishing last." Well, make a real big check for finishing first. I don't want to go in here thinking about finishing last or you're going to be okay if you finish last. I don't think that's the way anybody that is going to win this tournament is going to think. I'm very happy today. First real good round I've played in a while, so I'm excited.

BRAD FAXON: Cranking up, isn't it? That's a good word. You know, I think when Greg introduced his idea for the tour, World Tour, I think it sparked some interest, you know, from some people. But it had to be done -- in order to really work effectively, and without taking a lot of people off, it had to be done in collaboration with all the other tours. Getting everybody in sync and getting sponsors and getting dates and courses and TV really was a big factor, makes it work. Now, I don't think it's ideal where it's every week, nor should it be. But I think it's very good. It's exciting for us playing for that amount of money. The only thing that I didn't like about the whole idea in the beginning was, you know, there's something special to the majors, there's something special to a tournament like this where you get the great players playing against each other. You kind of look forward to each tournament like that. I think if you put a select few, if you had a tournament like this every week, it wouldn't be as exciting, I don't think. I think, you know, like in tennis, everybody looks forward to the U.S. Open or to Wimbledon. In golf, you know, it's the same way. You kind of have your stages. There are a few tournaments that are a little bit bigger than others throughout those quadrants, but if you had top fields every single week, it wouldn't have the allure that it has now. I think the World Championships are going to be different enough as far as formats with stroke play, matchplay, team play, and international fields, that it's going to be interesting. If we tried to have a World Tour, I don't know, I think it would lose the uniqueness of what they're trying to achieve in the first place.

BRAD FAXON: I think there's going to be some shifting, you know, some changing in scheduling. I think we're going to see some new markets that are going to make these other tournaments struggle. I don't know how the small market can compete. I don't know how they can find sponsors. If the purses are going to double in three years' time, there's a lot of tournaments struggling to make a million or million five purse, how are they going to make it three million in three years? I don't know. It's sad in one respect, but it's good in another. It's like what we do, the best survive, kind of Darwinian. Tournaments out here that have been here for a long time, you have great allegiance to those tournaments. I don't know. Guys like Ted Mingolla, Alex Alexander that started those great tournaments, to see them suffer because of prosperity, I don't know. It's a hard pill to swallow for those guys.

BRAD FAXON: How are we all going to fit on Tiger's plane?

(laughter). I didn't know that. It's going to be official money after this?

BRAD FAXON: That could kind of skew things a little bit. Make a guy that doesn't play this, but plays the following week pass. That's way too confusing. We'll figure it out. It will be perfect when we figure it out.

BRAD FAXON: It is a week later, though. But you couldn't do it a month later and have it official, unless you used half of it for this year and half for next.

BRAD FAXON: What if it was from Olympic Club or something?

BRAD FAXON: Best friend Greg, his plane (laughter).