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INSPERITY CHAMPIONSHIPMay 4, 2013Mike GoodesTHE WOODLANDS, TEXAS PHIL STAMBAUGH: Mike, you shoot second consecutive 69 and 138, 6‑under par, you're two back with another nice day and probably an easier day but not much easier. MIKE GOODES: Yeah, a little easier, like you say. But it's still tough out there. I mean, the greens are fast and still got a lot of firmness and there's enough wind. And it's not like it's calm out there. There's plenty of spots where the wind beats you up. PHIL STAMBAUGH: Just take us through your round. You got off to a good start with three birdies on the front side. MIKE GOODES: I did. I played really solid. I was hitting the ball, driving it good and hitting good irons. I had birdie putts about everywhere. I hit a really good shot in on 3, a 9‑iron, maybe about four or five feet and made the birdie there. Then the par‑5, 6, I hit a nice wedge in, probably more like about 12 feet or so. Made a good putt there. 7 was a bonus. I was just off the front right and made a pretty good snake there. I made a putt, it had to be probably 35, 40 feet just in the fringe. And that hole was playing really hard with the wind. It was whipping right in our face that second shot. But I was happy to have it. Made a couple of nice little 2‑putts on 8 and 9 after good tee shots. Once again, it's just hard to get the ball close to the hole. The pins were on the front on both of those holes, and right around the hole it released about 30 feet or so, and then you're putting downwind, downgrain, and oh, God, here it comes (chuckles). I played great the front. It wasn't like I played bad the back. I just got really tentative on some putts. There were some putts were so fast, you get a little downwind, downgrain, downhill and then all of a sudden you get a putt that's 15 feet into the grain, slightly uphill. One on 11, I had such a simple putt where I 3‑putted for bogey. I hit two good shots, a great drive and a good 8‑iron, maybe 18 feet. But it was right in the grain. I knew it was going to be slower. Wind is at us and I knew it was going to be slower and I could not make myself hit it and I left it about three feet or so, three and a half feet short, and I didn't hit a very good putt and missed it. But we all left some putts short. You just keep hitting putts that you barely touch and they roll and roll and roll, and all of a sudden you get one that you've got to hit, the hands won't move (laughing). I played good. I made a great birdie, for me, I hit a real nice 7‑iron on 16 about ten feet right of the hole and hit a really good putt in the hole. Then two good pars on 17 and 18, which I don't care where you are, if you hit two pars there, they are good. And I was glad to get in where I was. Q. Talking about luck, what about his chip. MIKE GOODES: I'm kidding about luck. Gene played great. Every once in awhile the pin gets in the right spot and the ball goes in. But he played fabulous. I got nothing‑‑ nothing about luck. I'm just kidding. Q. Even his story, what he's been through, you're very aware of, and your story is interesting in a very different way, but it's probably pretty easy to pull for him. MIKE GOODES: Gene, the interesting thing is‑‑ I just met Gene last year when he turned 50 and came out last August. Then in September when we were in Hawai'i, had lunch, he and his wife and my wife, and really hit it off. I was telling him that we go down to South Florida in the winter; he's in Savannah, and if you want to get out of the weather and play some golf, come down. He did; he came down, half a dozen times, realized how good he was when he beat my brains out on Sundays, and I got to know him. Here we go again. We hung out some together, and he told me last fall his story about having the chemical reaction in his body. For him to come back, and he is really a great player; to come back and play this good is‑‑ I don't think many people could do it, I really don't. It is easy to pull for Gene. First, he's a nice guy. He's just a good guy. And then the story adds to the reason to pull for a guy a little bit. Although, I'll be pulling for me tomorrow some, too. (Laughter). Q. How does this compare to where you sat previously as a professional? Obviously you've had a lot of success as an amateur. MIKE GOODES: I don't really know‑‑ when I won, I don't think I was leading. PHIL STAMBAUGH: Came from behind. MIKE GOODES: I think I was a shot or two behind going into the last rounds. I don't know if I've ever had the lead going into Sunday. I'm tickled to death. Every time y'all ask me to come do media with me, I know I'm okay. So just ask me every time. I hope I get to talk to you tomorrow for some reason or another. No, I'm very happy where I am. Q. Based on the way you're playing and based on the way he's playing, how do you think tomorrow sets up? MIKE GOODES: I know that there's a little gap, Loren a couple shots back and then a little gap, but this is a hard golf course. I saw there's a 67 today; somebody even par shots 5‑ or 6‑under like Gene did today, you never know. I mean, there's a lot of stuff, and I hope Gene and I both play good tomorrow. That's why I'd love to see that and go from there. Q. I'm sure it's happened, but the fact that you'll be playing together two days in a row, that's not‑‑ doesn't happen a lot. Is there a dynamic, in your case because you've become buddies, it's a comfortable thing. MIKE GOODES: Absolutely. I'm tickled to death to be playing with even Gene. And I love Loren Roberts, he's a good friend; he's really befriended me the last four, five, six years since I'm been out here. Loren is great. He's a great ambassador for the Champions Tour and all of golf. I couldn't ask for a better pairing. Like last year I played in the final group when I was with Fred Funk and Tom Lehman, and it doesn't get any better than that either. You know, I felt like I had the best seat in the house, I played good, finished third. But the last four or five holes, it was pretty much a good chance one of them were going to win. So I got to watch and play and try to finish as high as I could. And they are both friends of mine and so that was good. You know, hopefully coming in the last few holes tomorrow, I'll have a chance, would be ideal. Q. You held your ground the last two‑‑ started third and stayed third. MIKE GOODES: That's correct, yeah. Q. Only five players are under par, and you've got to go back almost ten years after two rounds, I guess that speaks to the difficulty of the conditions. MIKE GOODES: Right, absolutely. This is a great, tough golf course. You get some wind and pretty firm greens, and they have done a fabulous job, the superintendent here, in trying to make the course playable under these conditions. Because I'm sure they are putting a bunch of water down at night, because if they didn't, with this wind, be surprised if anybody would be under par. They have done a great job to make‑‑ to reward good shots out here, and it's very difficult, as you can see by the scores. As you know, you see the scores normally week‑in and week‑out, there's a lot of great, great players on the Champions Tour, and for that few people to be under par after two rounds is a testament to the course. And also, I think the two of us are under par, we're playing pretty darned good, too. Q. Minus six‑‑ MIKE GOODES: That's right, that's exactly right. I played really good two days in a row and hopefully I get to do it three. PHIL STAMBAUGH: Good luck, Mike, thank you very much. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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