FEDEX ST. JUDE CLASSIC

June 11, 1999

David Frost

DAVID FROST: No. 1, I missed about a 4-footer for birdie. 2, up-and-down, you know, just on the back of the green. Laid it up for three feet for par. No. 3, I hit it in the left-hand bunker; hit it out 10 feet, and made that for birdie. No. 4, I hit a 5-iron about 12 feet; missed that. No. 5, I chipped it up about eight feet; made that for birdie. No. 6, about six feet for birdie with a 6-iron. No. 7, I tried to hit a big 6-iron, put it in the bunker, got up-and-down, hit it about four feet, and made the putt for par. No. 8, I hit an 8-iron about four feet. No. 10, I missed from 20 feet. No. 12, I 2-putted from 30 feet. No. 14, I hit a 7-iron. That was in the rain delay. Right after I hit the tee shot, we had our delay, and I hit a 7-iron about 20 feet. No. 14, I hit the green -- I hit my tee shot just short of the green and chipped it off about six inches. 15, I had 126 yards; hit a pitching wedge about three feet. 16, I hit a 4-wood -- missed it in the green to right, and pitched it up about 10 feet. Made that for birdie. And 18, I hit a 6-iron about 15 feet. Made that for birdie. That's it.

DAVID FROST: No. (Laughs.) I did not. You know, the only reason why -- you know, I entered on Friday at the Memorial, only with the thought in mind that if I did miss the qualifying, I would have had to take two weeks off. And I didn't want to take two weeks off. My game wasn't at a place where I could -- not that I could not afford to take two weeks off, but that I felt I needed to play myself back into my game again. And two weeks off was not going to help me accomplish that. And that's why I committed. And, you know, I obviously didn't expect to shoot two 63s. Last year, I shot two 71s the first two days and missed the cut. So I was just trying to improve on last year's two 71s. And obviously, I'm very happy with the way I've played the last two days. Hopefully, it will just snowball over the next two days.

DAVID FROST: I think it's even more unnatural after yesterday to shoot another 63. It's hard to do and doesn't happen that often. It's just one of those things out here. That's the way it is. But then again, somebody always beats the odds. Not always, but there's always a chance for somebody to beat the odds. And I'm not asking for two more 63s. I would just like to come out the next two days and -- who knows, maybe shoot two 67s. That might be good enough. Maybe somebody else goes out and shoots two 63s the next two days. But there's nothing I can do about it. If I just go out and play my own game.

DAVID FROST: I actually had done the opposite the last two days. I've always been very position-orientated in the swing. And the last two days, I've just said: I'm going to unwind and let flow the swing, take care of the trajectory and the path of the golf ball. And that's what I've tried to do. So I've actually, you know, been less precise; and I've had more benefits than trying to go the other way.

DAVID FROST: Well, I don't think there's anything you can really do mentally to prepare yourself. I think you just take a couple minutes and just sort of see yourself playing a good round. See yourself having a good score. You don't have to dwell on it from now to when you tee off tomorrow. I think you just need five or ten minutes a night to prepare. That's all you need.

DAVID FROST: And the putting has been very good. I roll the ball well. I felt -- I knew I could read the line very well on the greens. I could see the green where they were turning to and from, which is a big plus. If you can read the greens, it does help a lot to read the break of the putt. But I really had a knack for it the last two days. As I said yesterday, putting has always been my strong point. If I can just come out and capitalize on that, and I've been hitting the ball well, you know, 3s and 4s will come.

DAVID FROST: Yeah, it has. You stand there, and you're always: I've got to do this; I've got to do that; I've got to do this. Now, you just try and relax, which -- yeah, I mean scary is a good description of what it sometimes feels like out there. But, you know, if you think about all the bad times you've had, it's something actually to put your mind at rest. Look, I've had the bad times; so, let's just enjoy the good times while they arrive and when they are there. You know, the more you can just let yourself be at ease, not get uptight, the more your game will be able to, you know, take off from there.

DAVID FROST: It's just something you learn. It's something that you can't buy. There's not a golf lesson you can go and take and tomorrow you're going to have it. I remember coming out here in '84 and '85, playing with Lee Trevino -- not with Trevino; you can't learn anything from Lee Trevino. He just chats about and goes about his business, and then at the end of the day shoots 63. But guys like Raymond Floyd and Hale Irwin, they never get excited at the start of a round. They don't try to go out and birdie the first three or four holes. They just plod along, and at the end of the day, they have shot 67 or 68, and it's just something that I've always remembered from those guys. Don't get ahead of myself, take it easy and play 18 holes of golf.

DAVID FROST: I was on the range on Wednesday in Dallas. Just two days ago.

DAVID FROST: No. I had a friend of mine standing there talking to me and he just said, "Look, just try and turn through the ball. Don't hang behind it and kind of release the ends." And I didn't quite have it, but I had to leave. The flight was leaving at five o'clock, and I said: Well, I've got to go, but I like that idea. I got to my hotel room at the end of the night, and I just felt this flow. I made a couple of swings. No club. Just felt this flow through the ball. I even said to my wife: What does that look like? Does it look a bit floppy? She said: No, it looks all right. It feels very floppy to me. I'm not trying to hold my finish or do anything perfect, and I came over Wednesday morning -- normally, I come out about an hour before I play; and I came out about an hour and 20 minutes. I got up at five o'clock. I was here playing a quarter to 8:00, and just came out and hit a few more balls than I normally would have. It felt good so, I thought: All right, let me give it a shot. Go to the 10th tee and the ball went straight down the middle. So that's when it happened. Maybe in my hotel room number is 333. I felt lucky walking in there when I read that number.

DAVID FROST: I don't think it's something that you get ahead of the tournament and say: I want to shoot two 63s. I think if at the end of the day somebody says to you, you've tied the course record -- I've had a couple of course records. It's nice to. Who knows, maybe when I'm gone some day, it's nice to have your name up there. I think I have the course record at Hilton Head, which is 61. And I have the tournament record in -- I shot a 60 at Randolph Park in Tuscon. And shot a tournament record at Westchester, 259. It's nice to have a couple of those feathers in your cap.

DAVID FROST: No. I have the schedule planned already. After the U.S. Open, I'm going to play the Buick, and I'm playing the Western Open. And then I'm taking the family to Portugal for a week after that before the British Open. And then normally I go to South Africa for two weeks after the British, but I'm going to come back and play Quad City and Hartford, and then I have a 40th birthday in September in South Africa; so I've decided to take my two weeks off in September, and so I go there just before the Ryder Cup. Just break up the year a little bit.

DAVID FROST: I think I remember watching it on TV and thinking: How the hell can a guy shoot those scores? I do remember that. I don't think I was here. Matter of fact, I wasn't here. I've always -- a couple guys that have kind of disappeared and come back. Like, John Cook, he played so badly for three or four years, and all of the sudden, back. There's Corey Pavin; he played so bad for a few years, and there he came back again. And I asked Pavin one time -- I think he finished 125 on the majors one year, and I said: How did you find your game again? He said: I don't know; hard work, and just keep playing until it comes back. As I said yesterday, the guys out here that can play golf, there's no reason why their game should disappear forever. Like I say, I still feel physically in fine shape to be able to play the best golf that I've ever played. No reason why I shouldn't. And you know, I've got all the experience that I need. I don't need any more experience to be able to do anything that I haven't done before. You know, obviously I would like to win a major tournament before I finish playing golf, and I have the experience to do that. My game has got to be there at that time.

DAVID FROST: I didn't think about it, no. I just kept making birdies.

DAVID FROST: To me, the mechanics. You always think it's got to be mechanical. You've got to find the key to hitting the golf ball. Sometimes you win tournaments, and you feel this key; and sometimes that key never comes back again. You know, I'm more -- I think I've always been a mechanical player. Maybe I'm not. (Laughter). I'll tell you on Sunday night.