FORD SENIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

July 13, 2002

Mike McCullough

MIKE McCULLOUGH: You guys go ahead and ask questions, I'll go over the round later. We'll switch it around.

Q. Obviously, loose and in a good mood now. Is the key to keep that demeanor tomorrow?

MIKE McCULLOUGH: I told Mark, my son, I told him this morning, "You know, I woke up this morning and I had a calm come over me." I said, "I can't explain it."

I have a pretty good faith. I'm not saying that loosely; I'm saying it wholeheartedly. But I've had a very successful career. I started to think about it. I said, you know, I'm just so lucky to have the opportunity to go out and play golf, that it allowed me to go ahead and play golf without worrying about making mistakes.

I mean, every time we tee off, we're going to make mistakes. That's the nice thing about our sport. I felt comfortable knowing I was going to make some, other people were going to make some, and at the end of four rounds, wouldn't it be special to be the guy that made the least amount of mistakes?

That was kind of all I thought about. I had good control of the golf ball today, meaning that if I was aiming a little bit to the right of the flag, that's where it went. I had two shots today that didn't do that, and both times Jose would salvage a par. Other than that, having control of the golf ball was important.

Q. This is your fourth good run in five years. What is it about this place?

MIKE McCULLOUGH: Somebody else told me that. I don't know. I liked Desert Mountain when we used to play The Tradition tournament at Desert Mountain. Again, that was a Jack Nicklaus golf course. This is a Jack Nicklaus golf course.

For some reason, I'm able to visualize how I want to play the golf course. And if the ball is in control, if I have control of the golf ball, then I feel very comfortable here. A lot of people don't like it. A lot of people think it's very severe. I know it's severe. But you don't have to shoot at the pins all the time; you can shoot away from them sometimes. I've learned to do that at the right times.

Raymond Floyd plays well here, too. I saw Raymond, 7-under the last 13 holes, 14 holes, something like that. Somebody's going to shoot a good round tomorrow. I would like to shoot four rounds in the 60s. I already have three in my back pocket now, and that should do it. If that doesn't do it...

If I can shoot four rounds in the 60s, I will be very happy that the golf course didn't defeat me.

Q. I think it was maybe 8, 9 that you took a birdie putt and took the lead, 10-under or 9-under. Do you feel that putt that gave you the lead?

MIKE McCULLOUGH: On 7?

Q. It was on 7.

MIKE McCULLOUGH: 7 I made a pretty good putt, yeah.

Q. How important was that to get the lead at the time for the first time?

MIKE McCULLOUGH: Oh, didn't even think about it, no. It's too soon to get the lead and think about it. I would like to have a two-stroke lead coming into the last tee because that golf hole is so hard for me. I've played it well three times now. Boy, I'd hate to have to challenge myself tomorrow to par to win the tournament. I'd like to have a cushion.

So I'll tell you tomorrow. If I get on the 18th tee with a two-stroke lead, I'll sure feel a lot better than taking it over on the 7th today.

Q. The last two majors, what happened? Did you not tee off at the Senior Open, and Akron a bad first round.

MIKE McCULLOUGH: I teed off in both. I played the full round in Akron. I had probably seven treatments to my neck, and it was cold. I lost everything to the right. I was playing with Jim Colbert and Bobby Wadkins. Bobby ended up contending for the lead. I felt like the smart thing to do would be not to play another round and be in the way of Bobby's opportunity to play well.

It wouldn't have done me any good. I wasn't going to make the cut. It was just too severe of an injury in my neck. I didn't know it, but it was the best thing I did to take off.

The US Open, that was the frustration level. I was at a point where the siren went off and we had to come back the next day and finish. All I had to do, I had one-putt. I said, "Guys, I'm not coming out." It was just a frustration level.

It's been the right decisions for me because I'm starting to play well again. Maybe those were the times I needed to take a little time off.

Q. Does that last one relate to the neck, as well?

MIKE McCULLOUGH: No. It's not a real severe problem. I just had something in there that was bothering me. And it was cold, it was very cold. I really don't like to use that as an example or an excuse. If you have an injury, you shouldn't play golf because you can't compete at the level we need to compete.

But, boy, if we want to see competitiveness, regular TOUR, those guys are really good. But this is a good test out here, I don't care who plays it.

Q. You played in hundreds of golf tournaments, all kinds of tours. Have you led a major championship that you can remember going into the final round?

MIKE McCULLOUGH: I don't know. Somebody else asked me that outside. I don't know. I've led tournaments. I'm not a person that chases majors. I'm not a person that chases wins. I chase trying to better myself. I try to get better.

I've heard people say, "I'm going to play as long as I can compete." I'm going to play as long as I can get better. As soon as I feel like I can't get better, and the changes I've been making, I've been working with Ernie Wasler (ph), Gil Morgan for about four and a half, five years, and between those two we've made my game get better. That's what I key on. I don't key on victories.

Victories were real special. I had two last year, and now I don't have people say, "What happened in the third round? What happened to the fourth round? If only this." I haven't had anybody say that.

No matter what I do tomorrow, nobody is going to say, "What happened?" Mike has won twice, see, so I don't have to worry about that anymore.

I'm telling you guys, I'm trying to get better, trying to have control of the golf ball. I feel like I'm starting to peak out right now and play well for a few weeks. Might be a good time.

Q. So you think this calming effect thing you had this morning, that had nothing to do with it being a major; that's more a golf thing, you just feel really good about your golf game?

MIKE McCULLOUGH: I think a lot of people get calm sometimes. Don Pooley said he felt very nervous but calm when he won the US Open. I understand what he's talking about.

I put things into perspective. I'm reading a book called (Inaudible) Cup Dreams. It's the story of Esteban Toledo. If you ever want to read a book, you read that book. My oldest son sent it to me this week. I started to read it. I told Mark this morning, I said, "This puts a lot of things into perspective to me."

It's amazing how much emphasis we put on winning and losing, what you do, what you don't do. I'm very content with my life and I would love to win this golf tournament because I like this golf course, I like this town. This is one of my favorite TPC's. I'm going to try. I'm going to try real hard to shoot in the 60s. I hope that's good enough to win.

Q. This might be hard for you to answer, but when players come on this TOUR that played on the other TOUR, didn't do so well, all of a sudden they're playing well? Is it technology, maturity?

MIKE McCULLOUGH: Don't know. Don't know. That's a hard question. I think a lot of guys come out and they'll say, "Gee, Mike didn't play well on the regular TOUR, I played all those times, look what he's done. Gee, I used to beat Mike."

I think they probably pick somebody. I know when I came out, I picked a few people. I won't say who they were. I said, "Gee whizz, I know can I beat these guys." That's the attitude I had. It began to happen. But probably is pretty much what it is.

We all have the skills. If people don't believe it, boy, just go out and try to match up because just look at the baseball players, the pitchers, the duels they have. There's no way I could stand there with a batting tee and hit a ball out of a ballpark, especially with a pitcher. I stood into Randy Johnson, I don't see how anybody can see that ball, let alone figure what the spin is on it. We're sitting there with a ball standing still and grinning at you. I know you hit the same balls as I do. I found a bunch out there today (laughter).

DAVE SENKO: Your card.

MIKE McCULLOUGH: Did you need that?

DAVE SENKO: Yes.

MIKE McCULLOUGH: No. 1, about a 15-foot putt for birdie. I think I hit an 8-iron into the green.

7 was about a 35-foot putt. It was a pretty good putt. I hit a wedge out of the rough, and it bounced that far from the hole, as close as I could get.

No. 9, hit an 8-iron. It was probably about a 15-foot putt. A lot of break in it. Pretty lucky to make that one.

11 was about four feet. I hit 7-iron in there, about four feet.

13, I 2-putted for birdie there.

I saved a par on 14 and 15 with probably 10- to 12-foot putts, both of those. That was pretty much it. Hit more greens today than I have in the last couple days. Still missed a few, but I hit more greens. Makes it a little easier if you're hitting greens a little more often.

Q. Were you sort of glad when this consecutive tournament streak ended? Was it nice to not have to talk about it anymore?

MIKE McCULLOUGH: Oh, it was never anything important to me anyway. What had happened, I went home on the 10th of September to Phoenix. I don't remember where we came from, but I went home. I was going to come back to North Carolina, coming back to The Vantage. But I went home to see the kids. When the situation occurred on the 11th, I'm watching TV, I said, "If this is going to be the beginning of a nationwide thing," and none of us knew for sure, we didn't know if they were going to go for something in Seattle, we had no idea. I said, "I am home right now. What happens if I can safely get over there and then I can't get home to my family, there's a worldwide alert?"

If that was a streak ended, there was a darn good reason for it. I would rather be with my family. So that was what I did.

DAVE SENKO: Thank you.

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