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JOHN DEERE CLASSIC

July 7, 2005

J.L. Lewis

SILVIS, ILLINOIS

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Okay, J.L., you're very familiar with the Quad Cities area, and today you birdied the last three holes and shot 7 under 64. Very nice playing.

J.L. LEWIS: Thank you very much.

PHIL STAMBAUGH: A couple thoughts about the round and then if you could go through your birdies.

J.L. LEWIS: Well, it's like I was saying out there, I really enjoy this golf course. It's a good layout, good design, and a great piece of property. They should be really proud of what they've got here as far as the golf course. It's in good condition, very playable, fun to play. I just went out there and I was able to hit the targets that I was trying to hit, and I made a few putts, so it was fun.

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Your birdies kind of came in stretches, didn't they?

J.L. LEWIS: Yeah, I birdied on the back nine I birdied 15, made a nice putt, maybe a 15 footer down the hill.

Then on the next hole, made a long putt, probably a 45 footer maybe.

Then 17 I had a tap in birdie.

Then on 2, I hit it in the bunker in front of the green and got it up there about five feet and made it.

Then lipped out a birdie on 6 from four feet.

Then 7, hit it about eight or nine feet, made that.

Q. What club there?

J.L. LEWIS: I hit a 6 iron.

On 8 I hit a 9 iron maybe about six feet, made that.

Then on 9 I hit a 7 iron to two feet. That was it.

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Can you just sort of maybe give us a capsule version of your year to this point?

J.L. LEWIS: Well, it's been I'd say kind of a mediocre sort of a year. I've had some other things to deal with, physical problems and stuff, but I'm feeling pretty good now, and so it's all coming together. I don't like to talk about those things. I mean, I was playing with them so obviously I wasn't hurt that bad.

There's times you're out here and there's a lot of tournaments and a lot of weeks in a row, you've just got to hang in there and play your way through a bunch of stuff and hopefully things will get better, and good Lord willing, sometimes they do.

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Anything about coming back to this course and the comfort factor, knowing you've played good here.

J.L. LEWIS: I like the people here. I'm from the Midwest, I'm from Emporia, Kansas, so my wife's parents are here and we have a bunch of cousins and family members out here, so that makes it nice. A lot of people I've known my whole life are around this week. These people around here are just good folks.

I don't know, I just seem to do well here, feel good here. I appreciate the people.

Q. Is there anything about the course that really suits your game?

J.L. LEWIS: It sets up good to my eye. You know, I feel like when I'm playing well, one of my strengths is driving the ball. So if you can hit fairways here and you have adequate length, it gives you opportunities to go at pins. There's a lot of different pins on all the greens, so it's really a straight hitters' golf course. Length is a important, but it's not the maximum thing.

I mean, if you can hit it 280 down the middle every time here, you're going to have a chance to get something up there by the hole.

Q. How high is the comfort level on your priority list?

J.L. LEWIS: Oh, I don't think it can be that high when you do this for a job, a living. I'm always pretty comfortable everywhere, but some places I seem to do better. You know, I think the golf course more dictates that than anything else.

If you look at my record, I've done well on all different kinds of courses, but consistently over the years, I've always done well at places like Bob Hope, I do well here, I seem to do pretty well in places like Westchester. This year I did well at TPC, Riviera, those are all ball striking golf courses. Those are tough conditions.

I'm pretty fortunate, I feel like I've got the type of game where if I'm playing well I can play any golf course, but it really rewards me if I get on a golf course that's got some accuracy involved in it.

Q. Do you temper the enthusiasm after a round like this and say, hey, it's just one day, or do you think, hey, maybe this is the week?

J.L. LEWIS: I hope this is the week. I think that every week before the tournament, it doesn't matter. But my objective is to go out there, and I'm using every bit of mental energy that I have to focus on the target that I'm trying to what I'm trying to do. You know, when you're in the game and you're trying to perform, that's really all I can do. You can't really think what if this, what if that, all that stuff. It doesn't matter.

I've played in so many tournaments and had so many rounds and had it go every different direction that I understand that you have to perform first and then you can talk about it and party about it later, I guess, if you perform (laughter). Hopefully you get to party later. That's the idea. But you've got to perform first, I understand that.

Q. With the struggles, do you feel like you're under the gun to play well?

J.L. LEWIS: Well, I mean, it is a job. I wouldn't say that I'm under the gun, no. There's nobody putting any pressure on me to do anything. I've got a great family, I've got a great situation at home with my friends and instructors and people that I've got a great team of people around me that help me with almost everything you can imagine. So no, I'm not under the gun. This is my tenth year, and I've had a fairly successful career, not a great career, but for a guy that started at age 35, I've done pretty good.

I'm proud of that, and I'd like to keep it going. I don't put any extra pressure I don't lose any sleep over it if that's what you're asking.

Q. Are you thinking on down the road already to the Senior Tour?

J.L. LEWIS: Not really because I'll be 45 this month and I'd like to obviously I'm still competitive, you know, and if I can good Lord willing, I keep my health going and I can stay in shape, which I'm working on, and trying to do all the right things to get some longevity out of my career here, and if I can do that, stay competitive, I mean, I want to play out here until I'm 50, and that would be the ideal situation. Then definitely I'll go to the Senior Tour and play for some years, as many as I can, out there.

Meantime, I'm going to play on the Tour that I'm on as long as I think that I have a chance to win, and I think that I have a chance to win. As long as I feel like I have a chance to win, I'm going to keep playing.

Q. July is a little early to sweat the card?

J.L. LEWIS: I've already got $566,000. I've got 16 tournaments left. You know what, yeah. I mean, I don't know. Maybe I should be worried about it, but I'm not. Would you be?

Q. No, I didn't know you had that much. You're all right.

J.L. LEWIS: Well, looking at all that, actually you want to finish in the Top 30, but if you can't do that, then the next number is 70 because then you get in all the invitationals and all that stuff. Even if you get in the Top 125 that gets you in all that other stuff. So obviously I don't even think about all that stuff. I figure I'm trying to hit the shot I'm trying to hit, and we'll see what happens afterwards.

But yeah, there's all kinds of different situations and games going on out here that you can get involved in, and I just feel like I'm in the past champion category, too, so if you get in the Top 50 and you're in the past champion category, that gets you in about 20 tournaments a year. Or Top 150 and past champ. I only play about 25 or 30, so

Q. Forget I asked.

J.L. LEWIS: It's a good question, but no, I'm trying to focus on doing what I can with the shot that I have.

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Okay, J.L., thank you very much. Good luck.

J.L. LEWIS: Thanks.

End of FastScripts.

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