U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 23, 1998

Raymond Floyd

RAYMOND FLOYD: I had to work late so you all have to, too. Sorry about that.

RAYMOND FLOYD: Well, I played very well overall. I missed -- I missed two or three shots, but I didn't let it affect me. I think the strength of my game today was my patience and the mental side. I didn't let anything bother me. I felt like I hit some pretty good shots that I didn't get rewarded. But knowing that you are going to miss some shots and knowing that the conditions are so difficult, I just kind of kept trying to play them one at a time and go along, and lo and behold I made 2, 12-footers in a row. Then I put it a foot at 17 then boom, boom, boom, I made three birdies and I am in under par. I appreciate that because that has been the side that has been lacking for me of late. I will go out and shoot rounds and come in and if it were 69, I felt like it should have been 64. Or I am taking certainly 1- or 2-under par rounds and shooting in the mid-70's. That is the mental side and that is the patience and the discipline. And anybody that wins -- certainly a U.S. Open or U.S. Senior Open the way they are set up, patience and discipline and all of those terms have to come into play for you to be successful at the end of the week.

RAYMOND FLOYD: No, not actually. I had -- I drove it about 320 yards right down the middle and then almost shanked a 4-iron. Then I pitched up and left my putt right in the middle of the hole. So....

RAYMOND FLOYD: I made a heck of a bogey. I blocked a drive at 2 which was used to be the old practice fairway. Then I actually didn't hit too bad a shot over there but from the angle, I was short. I caught up in the high grass just up on the edge of the green. I took a big slash at it, went through the green into a very difficult lie. Then I pitched it back out about, oh, I'd say eight feet; made that for bogey. You were speaking of the second, not the first.

RAYMOND FLOYD: Yes, that was a good bogey for sure.

RAYMOND FLOYD: I birdied the 6th hole, the par 3. I hit a 6-iron about 25 or 30 feet behind the hole and made that. You want the bogeys too, Al?

RAYMOND FLOYD: Well, I described the bogey that I made at 2. I birdied 6 and I bogeyed 9. I hit it in the right rough; had a pretty decent lie; hit a real good shot out. It went through the green into a real funny little lie and I chipped it way by about 12, 15 feet and 2-putted for bogey. Then at the 12th, I blocked a drive out in the deep rough and hacked out, played a 75-yard shot up about 18 feet and 2-putted for bogey. And then at 15 I hit a driver and a 6-iron about 12 feet and made that for birdie. 16, I hit a 6-iron about 12 feet made that for birdie. At 17, I hit a driver, a 5-wood and a sand wedge about a foot from the hole and made that for birdie.

RAYMOND FLOYD: Well, it is a title that I think anyone covets, having won the Senior -- having won the U.S. Open, certainly it would be nice. I have always felt that what separates players throughout their career are major championship wins. And when you move to the SENIOR TOUR, the major championships on the SENIOR TOUR separates you from those that win regular events. So I feel very strongly and would covet this title.

RAYMOND FLOYD: Well, I arrived just past noon and the scoreboard is there and I didn't see any under pars, which is very surprising because usually the first morning is your best conditions. And generally speaking, you always have players, no matter what the conditions are -- the greens are smooth; they have got it just perfect to start the Championship. So generally speaking, your early players, someone in that first two or three hours will get in with a pretty good score, and I am not talking 1-under. I am talking 67, 68 a nice score. I was very surprised to look up on the leaderboard here and see that there was no red numbers. I was very, very surprised.

RAYMOND FLOYD: Well, Riviera is not the golf course that we used to play. This golf course is in fantastic condition. And traditionally, historically, however you want to say it, this golf course was never, ever in good condition. It just didn't have much grass around here. The kikuyu was spotted and the greens were never really good. Boy, my hat is off. It is just an incredible reincarnation, if you will, or turnaround. But the greens are beautiful. They are fast, they are firm. The fairways are just absolutely like your living room carpet. So you couldn't have better conditions. So I appreciate that when you putt and you hit a putt that you think might or should go if I think it does. When you are not playing on grass, sometimes they don't do that.

RAYMOND FLOYD: Not at all. After the practice rounds, I think everything was there in the wind blew the way it did the last couple of days. In the afternoon it didn't blow -- I played very early Monday and Tuesday and it didn't start blowing until I was about finished. Yesterday, I teed off at 10 o'clock and it started blowing, oh, when I was on about the 6th, 7th, 8th hole. So I picked up and I played the back 9 almost in these conditions. So nothing changed and that was somewhat a part of the surprise to me that the early guys weren't under par.

RAYMOND FLOYD: I tell you, I have the worst memory of anybody about the history of my game, but I have never -- I never recall any really good finishes here. I have played fairly well at Rancho a couple of times, but at Riviera I don't think I have had a good -- anything that I can remember to -- usually, if I finish first, second, third or fourth, I can say to you, well, yeah, I had a good tournament there but I don't remember that. So I imagine if you look it up in the books, I wouldn't have fared well here.

RAYMOND FLOYD: You hate to get paired late. But the great thing about being paired late the first round is you get early the second. So you can swing that and make it a positive. The first part of the field will beat the second part of the field on a Thursday and Friday every time, every time. So you kind of feel like, boy, the first day you'd like to get out and get a good score under your belt. But if you can get in with a decent round in the afternoon the first day, then the momentum should -- and the opportunities should swing your way a little bit.

RAYMOND FLOYD: I don't think -- Dave and I have a good relationship. So do Tony and I. We are good buddies but I don't think we think of the people that we play with. If you get hung up about the guys you are playing with, you have got to play -- you have got to play the golf course. Those two guys, whether they shoot low or high, you can't let that have any influence on your game either way.

RAYMOND FLOYD: I don't know. I have had majors that brought out the worst in me. I think the best in you is how you are performing and how your performance goes. But after playing golf 36 years, every week's event is very difficult to get keyed up or excited about. But a major championship, if that doesn't simulate you, then probably you should be thinking about doing something else. I have worked very hard this week. I probably put in a little more practice -- well, I know I did. I put in more practice. I gave it more thought. So, sure, I think that gives me a little more drive and I think I am much sharper mentally because of that.

RAYMOND FLOYD: I tell you after those three birdies, Al, I was ready to keep going. I wasn't very tired coming in. I guess if you make a couple of bogeys you are over it. That is a long trek up through there but I was feeling pretty good coming up through there.

RAYMOND FLOYD: Old guys don't sleep very long, you know that.