THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 28, 1996

Jeff Sluman

WES SEELEY: We have Jeff Sluman, 5 under through 14 when the weather came.

JEFF SLUMAN: Well, actually, I am on the front nine and I have got about six, seven or eight footer for birdie on number 6. So that is obviously when they blew the siren, and our whole group was playing. I was playing with Azinger, and -- let me think. It wasn't that long ago, was it?

Q. Paul.

JEFF SLUMAN: Paul is Azinger. Let me think. Who else am I playing with? Isn't believable. That is how good my concentration is, I don't even know what I am playing. We all wanted to finish, anyway.

Q. They spoke well of you, Jeff?

JEFF SLUMAN: Yeah, I know. But the golf course, according to John ^ Schroeder watching the TV this morning, was very benign, but when we got out there it was blowing pretty hard. I guess it just kicked up about an hour prior to us teeing off, and I teed off at 12:40, and then after the first delay the wind kind of, you know, laid down again. So that was pretty much the reason why we were anxious to maybe finish. But there is not much we can do about it. As everybody said, the golf course is in fantastic shape, and, you know, it is very fair out there. Every year it seems to just get a little better and better here as far as taking a lot of the sharp edges off the golf course and just becomes a little more playable every year. So I guess I am just glad that I have been here long enough to see that, the good and the bad.

Q. The difference between this year and last year, just the firmness?

JEFF SLUMAN: Yeah. It was a little firmer. Last year it was pretty soft. I was hoping I could have seen the golf course play a little firmer than last year, but, you know, after Greg shot -- what did he shoot, 24 under?

Q. Yes.

JEFF SLUMAN: It was just one of the great all-time tournaments that I have been around or seen. It is funny, you kind of lost the perspective that, you know, Lee Janzen won it at 5 under par, and you didn't realize the golf course played that hard last year and, you know, I knew it was 5 under par was the winning score, and I asked my caddie and couple of guys earlier in the week what do you think, you know, the winning score was last year. Everybody said 12, 14 under, 16 under, and you know, it was kind of funny, even though the golf course played soft and I thought it really wasn't that difficult last year, it turned out to play extremely hard. So, every year it just kind of, you know, depends on mother nature. I think tomorrow, with this rain and everything, if it is real calm, you are going to see some extremely low scores tomorrow. Because the golf ball obviously isn't going to roll into that much trouble. We were kind of joking earlier in the week that the greens are so perfect that, you know, you think you should make everything from eight, ten feet and under, and there is going to be a lot of guys that are going to make most of those putts.

WES SEELEY: Why don't you tell us about the five birdies.

JEFF SLUMAN: As far as my score went --- let's see, I birdied -- started on the back 9, and I laid it up to the right for the first time in my life on 11, and the pin was on the left front. I hit a sand wedge in there from about 85 yards to maybe eight feet and straight-in putt. The next hole was a 2-iron, because it was playing a little downwind at the time. I had 118 yards to the pin. It was enough downwind; I had a sand wedge which is, you know, usually the maximum of about 95 yards, and I hit that in there about six, eight feet. 14 was playing extremely difficult. I thought I absolutely killed the drive and had 190 into the wind, and hit a 3-iron that landed right next to the hole and kind of rolled down the slope, and had about 20 feet, and hit the -- was going a little firm, but it went right in the center of the hole. I guess I really shouldn't complaining about that. Made a couple of more pars. Didn't birdie 16, but I got to 17 and hit a 9-iron, I think. Was playing about 141. Hit it about an a foot-and-a-half. So I managed to make that, and kind of made a bunch of pars until the fourth hole. Let's see, hit a 3-wood off the tee there, and it was a little into the wind, and they told us we were on the clock, so we all went up and rushed our next shot, and I hit it about a foot. So maybe I should be on the clock more often. 8-iron from about 141. And then, you know, kept hearing the thunder and wondering if we were going to play or if it was going to come, and I hit it in the left bunker off of 6 and hit an 8-iron 137, and I have got about like six, eight footer there for birdie, then they blew the siren.

Q. Is that tough when you have it going pretty well to stop and start?

JEFF SLUMAN: Yeah. You know, you really like to finish. Obviously nothing we can do about it today. But I think you just got to assume you are going to continue that type of play the next day and, you know, not really worry about it. It is kind of unique when you get out there. You have to start the day with a putt. We are not used to that. We are used to at least being able to finish the hole and then start the next day off --

Q. You don't have the option--

JEFF SLUMAN: -- from the tee. Not in a dangerous situation is the one long blast of the siren. Now that is one rule I know. (LAUGHTER.) You got to immediately suspend play. Would have been just my luck to finish, right, Wes, and make the putt and get slapped with two more.

Q. At least you wouldn't have signed your card yet. What kind of preparation did you put yourself through for this tournament over the last?

JEFF SLUMAN: I flew back home to Chicago, went to a Bulls game on Tuesday night; jumped in a plane flew to L.A. and drove a car across the country back to Chicago, so that was my preparation. Got in -- let us see, I left; took me 48 hours, 2100 miles.

Q. Why did you do that?

JEFF SLUMAN: Why? Just seemed like the thing to do. I bought the car. It finally came in. It took me a year to get it, and I wanted to get it across the country. I really didn't think there was any other great time for me to do it, so I was the road warrior; had a buddy with me and we just kind of just drove the car home. It was, you know, I don't mind driving. There is a lot of guys out here that don't, but it was kind of fun to see the country and we got real lucky; timed it perfect with the weather and went through Gallup, New Mexico and all of these hot spots like that.

Q. Who what kind of car?

JEFF SLUMAN: Porsche convertible. Everybody has got to have a toy.

Q. Why did you have to wait a year and a half to get it?

JEFF SLUMAN: Because it took them that long to make it. They are in demand.

Q. What color?

JEFF SLUMAN: Same as my other one, a white one.

Q. Is the roof up?

JEFF SLUMAN: The roof is up in Chicago right now, yes, but I drove it with the top down a little bit in California, the weather was perfect, but when it came time and I headed up north through Oklahoma, it got a little cold by then.

Q. To get back to golf you were hitting 3, 4, 5, you hit your irons just right on the stick all the way?

JEFF SLUMAN: Yeah, I am hitting them obviously very well. I hit it pretty close on 3 right over the stick and I hit it out of the right bunker on 5 about six, eight feet there, so I have been --

Q. 4 you were --

JEFF SLUMAN: 4 I was about a foot. I wasn't even a foot. Steve, you could have made that one. Well, maybe not. But yeah, the fairways are so good out here and we see this a lot of weeks, but these fairways are perfect. If you are swinging well, you can really gauge your distances extremely well out here and the greens are consistent. There isn't any of them right now that are extra firm or a little soft, so after a couple practice rounds you get a really good feel out here.

Q. You have two weeks since you left Bay Hill, I guess, under some unfortunate circumstance. What is the kind of reaction that you got from your fellow pros out here?

JEFF SLUMAN: I think they just expect that that is what you are supposed to do. A couple of them said you know, proud of you or whatever. It was the right thing to do, and like I said, I don't really think there should be a whole lot of, you know, glad handing or back slapping or anything, I expect everybody else would do the same thing and, and that, but you know, you just got to live with yourself and I had a lot of people at home saying, geez, that is really nice and that, but I think you understand and we as players understand that it is really not a big deal. I felt worse for Steve Jones, you know, having to play in a one zone late in the field and he, after coming back from his injuries, and that, you know, he is out there you know -- I can't imagine playing in the last three or four groups having to play in one zones. It can't be a lot of fun for him. That is as much as I was concerned about anything. They were trying to find the marker for him but I don't think they could find anybody that short of time.

Q. Ask John Huston about playing as a 1--

JEFF SLUMAN: He played a one zone and won.

WES SEELEY: Anything else for Jeff Sluman? Okay.

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