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FORD SENIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

July 9, 2004

Dana Quigley

DEARBORN, MICHIGAN

DAVE SENKO: Dana, leading the tournament after two rounds, maybe just share some thoughts on your day today?

DANA QUIGLEY: Yeah, it was possible I probably hit it better today than I did yesterday. Tom Knellos (ph) was following me just about the whole round. He said I had 17 almost perfect golf holes. And it really felt like that. I hit most of the greens. I dunked a couple sand wedges. I put a new sand wedge in my bag on Wednesday and I actually warmed up this morning with about five fat shots and I proceeded to hit a couple of fat ones on the golf course and it was really the only little miscues during the round. Everything else was just, driver was real good, iron shots were great, and I putted nicely.

I made six birdies, but I probably missed four or five others from that inside ten foot zone. On good greens, you've really got a good chance of making those. I missed a really nice putt that I should have made on the last hole. But, when you make six out here, that's, I don't know how you can ask for much more. You hate missing the ones that are in there close but sooner or later that are probably going to balance out, and I was just really happy to have the 6 that I got.

DAVE SENKO: How were the conditions today, as opposed to yesterday?

DANA QUIGLEY: You know, some guy on TV was just asking me that, and I think the fact that there's no wind today hurts me more than the wind yesterday helps me. I don't know if you know what I mean. There's a lot of guys, high ball hitters that the wind really makes it hard for them to score. And the fact that there is no wind today and there is a little bit of wind yesterday morning, the guys in this half of the wave are probably going to really go up the leaderboard today, I think this afternoon, because of the no wind.

So I think I probably would have benefitted more if it was a little bit windier and more today, even if it were windy starting this morning, you know. It's hard to say, but I kind of know what I mean, anyway. Sorry if you guys don't. (Laughs).

Q. Lee was obviously in a lot of pain but he stayed out there to give you somebody to play with, how much did that help?

DANA QUIGLEY: Unbelievable. I told him at 12, I said, "Lee, if you need to get in, don't hurt yourself anymore." He says: "I would never do it to you, you're playing so well, I'm just going to stay out here and keep score for you." You know, it meant an unbelievable amount. I was kind of thinking, what would they do? Would they make me play alone, or would they send a scorekeeper out. I don't really have any protocol for that. Sending someone out, making me wait, I didn't know what was going to happen, but Lee was certainly kind enough to stay out there.

He was in a lot of pain. He was probably swinging maybe 50 or 60 percent, at best today, and for him to endure that pain and stay out there for the time, just a tribute to what kind of guy he is. He's that kind of a man and that's why he's got the legendhood behind his name, you know.

But I can tell you one anecdote to that story is I sure couldn't club myself off him. The par 3s, he was hitting 3 woods. "How am I going to tell what to hit? How am I going to know what's happening out here with you hitting 3 woods in there and I'm hitting 8 irons?" We kind of laughed about that a little bit, too.

Q. You were talking about the wind, so, basically, you're saying that you're a good wind player?

DANA QUIGLEY: I'm a real good wind player. I don't like playing in the wind, like everyone else, I don't like playing in the wind, if I had a choice between a day like today or yesterday afternoon. But I tend to I tend to the wind doesn't affect me adversely as much as it does most of the other players because I have a low flight and I don't really think a whole lot about the wind. The other players, the high ball hitters really have to figure in their club selection, what's the wind going to do to the ball; whereas, I don't really change clubs very often in the wind.

Q. Do you expect your lead to hold up throughout the day?

DANA QUIGLEY: I don't think so. I think I'll probably be maybe within two or three of Gil. I hope I'm that close on the weekend. Still, two rounds, there's a lot of golf left to play. There's a lot of time to catch, him but you don't like to get you don't like to get too far behind the best player on our tour this year. He's had just a magnificent year. He's had a Top 10 every week, he has not won and he's a hard guy to get too many shots ahead. So hopefully I'll be within two or three.

Q. So you're not this is the milestone tournament that you're playing in, the 250th, did you expect to you seem to be handling it very well; you're playing great and handling all of the media attention.

DANA QUIGLEY: Media attention is great, I'm a hot dog, man. I love the media attention. When they are not talking to me, then I start worrying. You know, I told everyone yesterday that I treat this as, it pumps me up to hear all of the questions about it and everyone saying, "Go get 'em, Ironman," and all that. Doesn't distract me one bit.

For some reason, probably because I played so much golf, played so much at the club with 20 handicap guys, I mean, I can carry on a conversation here in ten seconds I can be ready to hit a shot and focus so my mind somehow works it doesn't play. You know I'm very confident over the ball that I'm thinking about where I'm supposed to be. So I enjoy the conversation between myself and anyone else about the streak and all that while I'm playing.

Q. You said you played 17 almost perfect golf holes. What happened on the other one?

DANA QUIGLEY: The bogey I made on 7, he hit a great drive, a great lay up shot. I had 95 yards to the hole which is a perfect sand wedge. I got a new sand wedge and I chunked it. I hit it fat in the bunker. That was the only shot, I think today, that I hit that I would like to recall, you know. I did dunk one on 17 but I was still able to make par.

But, you know, I just I wasn't in any kind of trouble out there. It was just great. I mean, it was just kind of like walking around and just enjoying the weather and the golf course and Lee Trevino. I really, really enjoyed playing with him.

Q. Beyond playing every week, obviously which you get a lot of attention for, just the fact of your game has remained at such a high level, does that surprise you at all that you've been able to get better, if anything, over the years?

DANA QUIGLEY: It does. When I first came out, they said you've got a window to 54 or so, and I didn't have any experience with whether you should or not. But my nephew, Brett Quigley, who plays the regular tour made a great statement to someone who asked me about that at one of the earlier tournaments. He says, "Dana will play good till he's 60." He's seen my swing all his life and it has not changed at all. If anything, I've gotten better.

My health is I've got a lot of energy, I'm not tired, I'm not sore, and if my confidence gets better, I can only play better. I am surprised that I got past that window that they all talked about before I came out here. But living through it, I'm not surprised at all because actually I feel as good as I did from the day when I was 50 when I walked out here, energy wise, body wise. And I think I've gotten to be a better player, too, which a lot of times, even as late as this morning on the first hole, the pin was back right and every year I played here I've kind of hit it left of the pin and gone in that bunker, bogey half the time. I hit a shot right of that pin today and I turned and said to my caddie, Larry, who has been out here four or five years with me, I said: That just shows that I'm improving as a golfer, because in all of the other seven years I was here, I never went right of that pin and that was confident to go right at that pin and feel like I could hold the shot there.

And today I just got up and hit it right of the pin and it just shows that I am definitely still improving. So I think I'm getting better to be honest with you. I don't know why, but who the heck knows? I'm a freak, what can I tell you. (Laughing).

Q. So you put the sand wedge in your bag today?

DANA QUIGLEY: I put it in Wednesday.

Q. Are you going to keep it in the bag?

DANA QUIGLEY: No. I'm going to go back to my old sand wedge. It's the same company, Cleveland. Trevino was telling me, this doesn't have enough bounce. And the guy, because I play like he does a lot and I put my hands well ahead of the ball, you know, I forward press. I have a little forward press. He says if a wedge doesn't you know how he's crazy with the clubs; he tinkers with them all the time; he's like Arnold. He says because my hands are ahead of the club, the club isn't bouncing. It's big and the front edge, it becomes real sharp, especially on a new club, and that's where I hit a couple of them fat.

He told me that when I was through. I said, "Why don't you tell me that when I'm playing?" (Laughter).

So, yeah, I'll have the old one back in there which I don't have a tendency to hit fat.

DAVE SENKO: Birdies, starting at No. 2.

DANA QUIGLEY: I hit a beautiful drive in there and hit a gap wedge 113 yards to about two feet.

5, I hit another great drive there and only had a pitching wedge no, I hit a gap wedge there, too. I hit 108 112 I had to the hole. And I'd say I hit about 12 feet behind the hole and made a really nice quick putt down that hill there.

6, I hit 3 iron off the tee and hit gap wedge in there, sand wedge, and that was don't think I wasn't thinking about chunking that with the water in front of me. I hit I actually hit that one about 10, 12 feet by the hole and made it. The only bogey came on 7 where I hit two perfect shots to 95 yards and dunked one in the bunker and then I hit a really high, I had like a 60 yard sandshot, hit that over the green, got up and down and made about a 5 footer for bogey. That was really my only glitch in the round.

No. 10, I hit another great drive. I hit that 60 degree sand wedge again, and I hit it about 15 feet left of the hole and made it.

13, I hit not a great drive, but it was in play on the right side. And I hit a 4 wood, I had 231, 262, so I hit a 4 wood probably 245 right in the middle of that green and 2 putted for birdie.

15, I hit a great 6 iron, landed about three feet in front of the hole and went to 12 feet beyond it and ran it down in there. So it was exactly 12 feet.

18, I missed a really short, short one for birdie, probably a 6 footer. It was really nice. I kind of really wanted that, but, you know, when you're shooting 67, you can't really complain too much about not making it. I certainly made my share, but you know, we're all pigs, we want more.

End of FastScripts.

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