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INSPERITY CHAMPIONSHIPMay 4, 2013Gene SauersTHE WOODLANDS, TEXAS PHIL STAMBAUGH: Three birdies in the last five holes including a chip‑in at 17, and you get in with 66 on a difficult day to play but maybe not as hard as yesterday. 36‑hole leader, just take us through your day if you could. GENE SAUERS: Like I say, I didn't think it was going to really blow this much today. I was shocked when I got out there right before my tee time, and man, wind was picking up again. It did play tough at times. A little different direction today. Just told myself to stay within myself and hit solid shots and things will work out and luckily they did. The chip on 17, I got that back today since I made double‑bogey yesterday. Other than that, hit the ball solid. A few times where I was in‑between clubs and just choked up on one, hit it hard. Like on 10, I hit it in the bunker short of the hole. Made a good up‑and‑down there. Made a good up‑and‑down on par 5, 13. I was trying to play smart and safe and I hit 3‑wood off the tee and I hit it pretty dang gum good and hit it through the fairway, had to take an unplayable lie. Hit it down there and hit a sand wedge about three feet and made par there. Overall I'm hitting the ball okay. Not really pleased the way I'm hitting it‑‑ I guess I am, leading by two shots. PHIL STAMBAUGH: Do you want to take us through the birdies, what clubs, and how long were the putts? GENE SAUERS: 1, left side of the bunker, hit it in two feet and made birdie there. Next one I hit sand wedge and was probably six feet behind the hole. Then it was the par5, hit sand wedge in there probably three feet and made it. And then No. 8, the par3, 5‑iron in there probably, I'd say 15 feet behind the hole. Then on 9, I hit it in the right bunker and hit a bad bunker shot. Hit it in the left bunker and it plugs up against the lip and I had to play away from the pin and made a 2‑putt for bogey there. Get up‑and‑down on 10 like I said. 14, the par3, I hit a little 8‑iron, hit it a little long. Lucky to hit it up on the bank and it came and rolled back down, and that was 12, 15 feet. Chipped in on 17. The par5, hit sand wedge in there, I was probably five, six feet and made it. PHIL STAMBAUGH: Can you describe the chip‑in, what you had and about how far it was? GENE SAUERS: Chip‑in was probably, I'd say, about 25 yards. I hit a pitching wedge over the green, caught a flyer and went over the green. I was in the second cut in the thicker stuff, and I was in between shots. I didn't know whether to flop it or bump‑and‑run it or anything like that. So I just went ahead with my bread and butter when I was done with it like I used to do as a kid, just hit my sand wedge and hit it perfect. Just bump‑and‑run kind of in the first cut of rough and then let it roll on the green. Luckily it went in. Probably would have been about six or eight feet by. Got a break there. Q. Still difficult conditions, but given how little golf you've played and to come back a second day with an even better round, what's going on? You came in hot because of your Sunday round in Savannah. Can you kind of put this in technical terms? GENE SAUERS: Well, you know, when I was in the hospital all that time and I got out and I decided to play golf, I said, bogey is not going to matter that much anymore, I'm just going to free‑wheel and have fun. I might get a little mad now, but I'm trying to be more relaxed, not be so hard on myself and just try to free my swing up and let it happen. Sometimes you get out there and you start guiding shots and then you just tense all up. I don't need to do that anymore. I just need to relax and be thankful for where I am and to have the opportunity to do what I'm doing. Q. When do you think the last time you played this well back‑to‑back would have been? GENE SAUERS: Well, Savannah was good. I've been having a pretty good year this year and I had some good tournaments last year. The five tournaments I played last year, I had two Top‑10s. I've been playing pretty well. Just got to stay focused and hit one shot at a time and keep going. Try not to get too frustrated and don't force things. Q. How is your game different from when you were on the PGA TOUR? You obviously had to make some adjustments between what you've been through physically and your age. GENE SAUERS: Sure. I think I've got more of a round swing. I used to kind of go up like this and had this elbow‑‑ there's a lot of little technical things I could get into. I'm swinging more around my body and keeping my arms around my chest instead of getting away from me and all that, and I'm hitting it a lot more solid than what I did before. Q. Have you surprised yourself to be where you are today at this point? GENE SAUERS: I think so, to be where I was, not even two years since I've been out of the hospital. I'm amazed how I'm playing and everybody is just so nice to me and complimentary of me. Kenny Perry last week came up to me Thursday I think right before his tee time, Pro‑Am tee time, and says: I have to buy you a bottle of wine or something, you carried me all week. He gave me a lot of positive feedback: I saw you putting with a new putter; don't ever change; just keep doing what you're doing. It's good to have your peers compliment you. Q. How did you approach 17, were you eager to atone for it? What was your thought there? GENE SAUERS: I was kind of‑‑ in Atlanta a couple weeks ago this, one hole, I played 5‑over par, and I think that cost the tournament for me in Atlanta. It was No. 7 in Atlanta. I think I doubled it and maybe‑‑ I think I triple‑bogeyed, I made a 7 on Sunday on that hole. 17 is not going to be my‑‑ this isn't going to happen to me again‑‑ what was I saying? Thinking about too many things at once. But yeah, I thought about it a little bit today, coming down 17, coming around, I just told myself, try to hit the fairway, be patient and go ahead and do your swing which you've been doing forever. I think the swing that I put on it yesterday, I forced it. It was a little sidehill down. But gave it a little extra in my mind right when I was talking it back, and came over the top of it and boom, double‑bogey. I told myself today, just swing at it like you always have and whatever happens, happens. PHIL STAMBAUGH: Good luck tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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