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BUICK CHAMPIONSHIP

August 29, 2004

Tim Herron

CROMWELL, CONNECTICUT

TODD BUDNICK: All right, we welcome Tim Herron, who had a very good tournament today. Tim, you made that great putt on the 72nd hole to get into a playoff and then Woody just knocked it in there close.

TIM HERRON: Yeah, I made a drive in the fairway on the last hole. That's kind of what I needed to do. I knew a birdie on 18 was probably going to win. We are professionals unless he got a difficulty. He got a bad break obviously.

You know, 17, I had a perfect yardage. I don't know what I did there, but all I can say is I hung in there. I missed a little putt. I'd call it a choke or whatever. I kept grinding and kept making some good putts coming down the stretch. I actually hit a pretty good putt on 17 for bogey.

So who knows. I mean, I had no idea really what was going on. Once I hit the back nine, I was just kind of trying to get in. I wasn't feeling very good. I didn't want to come into the air conditioning because I probably wouldn't have gone back out and played off (laughter).

TODD BUDNICK: Well, you had a very strong back nine with the three birdies and the eagle. Talk a little bit about that eagle on 13.

TIM HERRON: You know, the hole before I missed a two and a half footer, maybe three footer straight up the hill, pushed it, and it did a horseshoe lipout. I just said, "hang in there, I'm lucky to be playing golf right now." I kept saying that to myself. "You're lucky to be playing golf, try to enjoy it. Bad stuff happens. You had two doubles and a triple and are in a playoff to win the golf tournament."

I have the potential. I haven't broken out in a while. This was kind of my chance so I'm kind of bummed out about that, but health is probably the most important right now for me, just trying to get healthy.

Q. Can you talk about where you were a couple weeks after the U.S. Open? Did you ever think you'd be ready to be this much in the hunt?

TIM HERRON: British Open I couldn't even lift my head off the pillow. I was lucky to get home. I saw three doctors in Scotland, saw three doctors in the States before I even got diagnosed. The seventh doctor diagnosed me with Lyme Disease. It's a tough road. The more I read about it, the scarier it gets. I'm going to try to take some positive things. A lot of people have been treated. I don't think it's real curable. I think it stays in you from what I hear. People don't really know much about the disease.

Q. What are the symptoms?

TIM HERRON: Headaches, fevers. My foot swelled up to where my right foot swelled up to where I couldn't put a shoe on, and I lost all my mobility in my left shoulder, in my left side of my neck where I couldn't lift it.

Q. Do these things recur?

TIM HERRON: Some people believe they recur and some people don't.

Q. Have they recurred?

TIM HERRON: A lot of people call it chronic disease, chronic Lyme Disease, and some people say it's kind of curable and just goes dormant and never comes back. All the books out there are about the chronic Lyme Disease.

You feel some symptoms, you just don't feel normal. It's a hollow feeling in the head and just not right there, but I felt like coming out playing golf was going to probably get my mind off it and also get in shape a little better to play golf. I think you have to play golf to really get in shape to play golf. But I could run on the treadmill for 45 minutes, that's not going to help me for a five hour round.

Q. Are you on medication now or are they giving you an antibiotic?

TIM HERRON: Yeah, I am. I'm on doxycycline I think it's called. You might want to look it up. Not to revisit that thing, but do you know exactly where it happened at Shinnecock.

TIM HERRON: No, see, that's the weird thing. I don't know if it's chronic, if it's actually at Shinnecock. That's the problem. You don't really know how long it's gone for untreated. They say, "oh, yeah, we got it early," which you hope you do, but when I saw a doctor at the Mayo Clinic down in Rochester, Minnesota, I told them about the neurological in the shoulder and in the neck, and that's why he put me on I was on IV for 22 days, and I forgot actually what antibiotic that was. Then I went off it, went and saw the guy down at the Mayo, and he still put me on some more medication. I hope that's not illegal playing on antibiotics. The tournament is over (laughter).

Q. Can you just talk about the swing of emotions? You almost win a car on 16, and then 17 and back to 18?

TIM HERRON: Well, I guess I was kind of lucky that I wasn't real into it. I was having fun, though. First time in a long time where I had fun playing golf, and that chunk on 17, you know, somehow as a golfer you've got to get over those things. I made quad at the Bob Hope, but if I keep putting myself in there, you know, I've won three tournaments running away from the field.

Q. What about the shot into 16? How did you react to that? What was your first reaction?

TIM HERRON: Woody kept on saying "get up," and I was just saying I was just looking at it, so I go, "I guess, get up." It hit just right on the fringe. When I saw it hit over, I go, "man, that might be pretty close," and then you heard the crowd. You couldn't really see it, and then when I heard the crowd, I knew it touched probably the hole a little bit.

Q. How did you feel today physically?

TIM HERRON: I felt fine until I kind of had to play off or whatever. Right now I don't feel very good, but I was feeling fine pretty much out there. You know, not 100 percent, but feeling pretty good. That might help the tempo.

Q. You said earlier that you just couldn't wait to get inside.

TIM HERRON: Yeah. I mean, it's pretty hot out there today. I didn't know it was this hot in August. I thought it was like the first two days.

Q. You said you weren't really following what was going on. At what point did you realize that you had a chance to win the golf tournament?

TIM HERRON: I think I saw the board on 18. Well, I kept on seeing the board, and it showed some guys at 9, and then I don't know, I didn't even look at the board. I was just trying to play the holes that I was playing, you know, trying to make as many birdies or pars or whatever I can do, the best I could do.

I knew on the last hole that if it was in between Woody and I, and he seemed like it was like he was going to win the tournament, and then he was in a divot on 18. I knew just to give that last putt a run, so I did.

TODD BUDNICK: We'll just go through your card and we'll get you out of here.

TIM HERRON: I'll be lucky to remember that.

Birdie on 4, I hit a 3 wood, 9 iron to about eight feet.

10, I hit about 12 feet right of the hole, 15 feet right of the hole, made that.

Next hole, about 10 to 12 feet right of the hole, on 11, made that.

I three putted 12, hit driver, wedge, missed about a two and a half footer there.

My eagle, I hit driver, 3 wood about ten feet right of the hole, made it for eagle.

Got up and down on the next hole, made a five footer.

I was just short on that par 4. 16, I hit it an inch. It didn't give me justice. They said four inches (laughter). That was a 7 iron.

Double bogey on 17, I hit a rescue off the tee, and then I hit a wedge in the drink. Then I dropped it to where I had a pretty good club in my hand, and I hit a sand wedge in there about six feet behind the hole and missed it.

There was another pin down there, and I missed it high, and when I hit the other putt the other day, I missed it low. I just hit it maybe a little too hard through the break, so that's kind of a bummer.

Q. You had driven it pretty well on the 18th hole your previous four times playing it?

TIM HERRON: Yeah, I did. I knew I could clear the bunker on the left if I hit it high, and I just overhooked it. I knew I had to favor the left. If I hit in the right rough I had no play at that pin. I just wanted to kind of you know, I knew I had to hit a good shot. It was actually a perfect 3 wood for me. I hit my 3 wood really well, and I just didn't hit I haven't hit my 3 wood that great this week. It was a perfect 3 wood. If I was hitting my 3 wood well, I would have hit 3 wood there. It would have been a 3 wood, sand wedge.

Q. Do you have a name for your putting grip?

TIM HERRON: No.

Q. You don't have a name or a special name?

TIM HERRON: I guess people call it The Claw.

Q. How about the putt on 18 to make a birdie? That had to be a pretty good high.

TIM HERRON: Yeah, it was exciting, but it was more exciting that I did that after I made a double, to just prove to myself I can hang in there, that I didn't give up. Yeah, I mean, people can criticize, you made a swing there or you made a swing there, but those guys up in the booth aren't playing, are they?

TODD BUDNICK: What was the birdie on 18?

TIM HERRON: 35 feet maybe, 30 feet.

Q. Did you feel that you were playing your opponent or were you just playing the golf course?

TIM HERRON: No, I didn't see the board, so I knew Woody and I were kind of feeding off each other. We didn't know what the guys were doing in back. I don't know what Funk did.

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you, Tim.

End of FastScripts.

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