U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 1, 1994

Raymond Floyd

RAYMOND FLOYD: I birdied the fourth hole to par 5. I hit a driver and 3-wood and a sand wedge from about 45 yards. I put it about 3 feet and made the putt for birdie. I birdied the-- what hole did I birdie now?

RAYMOND FLOYD: 14 I hit a driver and a 6-iron about, oh, I'd say, 18 feet and made the putt for birdie. And at 16 I hit a driver and a 2-iron about 22 feet and 2-putted for birdie.

RAYMOND FLOYD: I will tell you what, I am very frustrated. I have had two days of that kind of putting that I have played marvelously tee to green. The only fairway I missed was the last hole and I didn't think I had missed that fairway. I actually drove it too far on my line, and was in the rough. Only fairway I have missed in two days, and I missed, I think, two greens today and two yesterday, so I have played pretty good golf. I am just not -- and I feel like I am putting the ball pretty well. I have had no luck whatsoever on the greens. I am putting the ball where I look. The ball is defying me to go in. I am a good putter. I feel like I am putting the ball very well and I am going to make some good ones this weekend.

RAYMOND FLOYD: It is easier this morning, no, because I played late yesterday. I was in the early part of the field. That is a tremendous advantage when you play 156 players. Yesterday the greens were very tracked up. I teed off at two o'clock. It made putting very difficult. This morning, I was in the first quadrant of the field so it makes play much more-- it makes it a lot easier playing early; you don't have all that traffic and there are a lot of spike marks when you have that many players.

RAYMOND FLOYD: I'd have to go through the round, but yesterday I probably had the ball closer than I did today, but I had a lot of putts in the -- what I'd call, 15 to 22 or 3 foot range and you don't expect to make a whole lot of those, but you like to make one every now and then. The eagle putt I had at the 16th hole, I don't know to this second how it stayed out. And then I go to 17 and hit a heck of a putt. I am playing it to go straight and it moves left at the hole. But that has kind have been the nature of the two days. I did it all day yesterday as well. Yesterday, I missed a couple of short birdie putts. I missed it from about 3 feet at 4 yesterday and I missed another one - I forget what hole, but I missed another short one somewhere for birdie. You just can't do that. You have got to -- when you are playing as well as I am, I just feel like you-- that is a nice round when you look at it in one sense, but the other sense, I feel like I am just throwing strokes out the window. You don't play like I have played often two days in a row; especially in a major championship.

RAYMOND FLOYD: I think my patience has been terrific for the way I have putted. I have kept myself totally in control, because the tendency is, hey, you get a little down or you try something or you try to get your shot too close or you do something foolish, but I think my patience is real good. I am very pleased with that aspect.

RAYMOND FLOYD: I have been playing marvelous. I have been playing well. There was no problem with my game tee to green. The problem has been getting the ball in the hole. But I have not been putting well. I have been working very diligently in trying to improve that. The last two rounds last week I putted well and feel good about it. I am putting the ball good now. I am hitting the ball solid. I was moving. I was lifting my head up just before impact that was causing me to putt terrible. But I have got that rectified and I am working hard on it so I am hitting the putts good now. It is just a matter of making them go in.

RAYMOND FLOYD: I think I just answered that. I think that I feel good about being 5 under in one respect, but on the other hand, you know, I am very frustrated because I feel like I should be a lot more --

RAYMOND FLOYD: I have one usually twice a year. We all go through it. It is something that is there and it will always be there. For some reason, you have -- last year I had a run of about two months where it would lip out and come back at you and you'd hit it good and it doesn't go. You just have to work your way through it. It happens to all of us. I think it is part of the game. But if you are lucky, you might have one a year. But usually, you go through a couple streaks if you play regularly, where you will go -- sometimes they aren't as long. I have been running through it now for a couple of months. It is very frustrating. I am certain it was caused by a mechanical problem. I was lifting my head up. Now I have that rectified. I am feeling good about it. I am hitting the ball solid. I am feeling as long as I putt the ball solid, I am going to make some putts.

RAYMOND FLOYD: No, they haven't firmed up, it is so humid out there that the greens are still moist. I would have to think that there was no water put on them but they are still soft and they are still a bit slow. We are all -- I think all the players think the greens are going to be quicker but they aren't. They are a little bit slow there. All the rain and humidity, that is keeping them damp.

RAYMOND FLOYD: Well, you have had two perfect days. You have had three days of rain in front of it. The golf course is as passive as you will ever see it. And I think it is holding up very well. It is in marvelous condition. You couldn't ask for better conditions. So I think the golf course is outstanding and you have to think that we have very liberal fairway widths. I am very surprised that the fairways are this wide. There is a lot of room out there to drive the ball. So it is holding up marvelously. If the greens happen to get a little bit firm, because the real character of this golf course is firm greens. If the greens can get a little firm and you get some wind blowing, they are very difficult to keep a golf ball on them. Thank you.