U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 27, 2002

Jim Ahern

JIM AHERN: I played pretty good, only had one bogey, made a nice par save on -- I don't know what hole it was -- 6, maybe. And then missed the green there on 8. I had the right club, I just didn't hit it very good, it plugged in the bottom of the trap, kind of surprised me. But I played pretty good.

Q. (Inaudible.)

JIM AHERN: Yeah, there's a lot of fade holes there. I've loved the course since I first played it. A lot of those holes look good to me, if I can just keep it in the fairway. I seem to get kind of lucky, when I did miss the fairway, I had a decent line most of the time. I'm pretty fortunate there. Graham missed the fairway there, and couldn't hardly get it out the last hole.

Q. Is it a relief to get the first round out of the way?

JIM AHERN: I think they all feel that way. Major or not. But the answer is yes, it's nice to get a good round, get off to a good start and not feel like you're behind the 8 ball.

Q. What do you think of that 64 that Eaks put up?

JIM AHERN: That's fabulous. I tell you what, I know Bobby is a good player, I've known him for a long time, but that's a low score today. I don't think anybody -- I don't know what is next best, I haven't looked, but it's a great score.

Q. What in your game will you change for tomorrow's round?

JIM AHERN: It kind of depends on how I feel. It was kind of touch and go if I'd play today. I pulled a rib in my back, and this time yesterday the odds were not in favor of me playing. So, it just depends on how I feel. You need to keep the ball in the fairway and get it on the green.

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