KEMPER INSURANCE OPEN

June 3, 2000

Franklin Langham

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Yeah, I was asked the question earlier, do I like where I am. And of course I do, because that's where I am. But all you can do is ask for a chance to win when it comes to Sundays out here. I'm sure it will be asked, but earlier in the year, I had a chance, but it didn't end up quite the way I would have liked. All I took out of that was that I know that I can play well enough to win. I just was beat by a better player that week and my goal is just to get back in this position as many times as I can and the odds increase every time you're there, and eventually I'll win one. Hopefully tomorrow.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Sure. Birdied 2. The par 5 it was playing really long today. I hit driver and utility club, laid it up to about 125 yards. Hit pitching wedge in there about 15 feet and made the birdie putt. 3, made a good par on 3. Birdied 5. Hit a pitching wedge to about four feet there and made a birdie. Parred 6. Birdied 7. Hit a drive it was back into the wind today. So I hit 5-iron into that hole and hit it in the back fringe, wasn't quite on the green, but I was only 18. 20 feet. Hit a solid putt right in the center. Missed it from about 10 feet on 8 and 11, hit 9-iron to about four feet, made the birdie. 12, I drove it, not that bad. Hit a pretty solid tee shot. If you know the hole there's some rough down the left side before you get to the creek and you try to get as close to the rough without going in it. It just went in the rough. I laid up short. Hit a real good third shot with my wedge to about six feet but missed the par putt. 14, I hit sand wedge from about 90 yards to about four feet. Made the birdie. Missed it from about 8 feet on the next hole. Made it from -- made a good putt on the next. It was downhill. Kind of quick putt on 16 there. It's probably about 25 feet. Buried it in the center. It was a good -- after missing the one on the hole before, it was nice to make that one. You know, 2-putted 17. Made a good par on 18. I made about a 6-footer there on 18. Made a good up-and-down there. Kind of keeps a good taste in your mouth coming back to tomorrow.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: I knew I was under -- not trying to act like I was oblivious -- but I was so caught up, and that's the way you want to play. And that's the way I want to play. Don't get caught up in all the what ifs. Just keep playing one shot at a time. My caddie and I were having a good time. We were pulling the right clubs, I was hitting solid putts. Just one of those days you enjoy being on the golf course, it was beautiful weather. I could not have scripted a better round. I wasn't scoring; I was just trying to hit good golf shots.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: I saw it three times today. I saw it on 9 -- you're not sitting there, "I started at 5..." You're just kind of sizing up where you are. On Saturday, if you're on that leaderboard as long as somebody is not running away with it, you're in good shape. I remember looking on the par 5, 13, saw that I was -- I was like in third place, I think. Second or third. Stankowski I think was in second. I just looked long enough to see that. Knew I was doing well. Just said, keep going, make some birdies and birdied the next hole. I try to look at it as incentive to keep going. It's nice to see your name up there. We have so many weeks out here where we're struggling. It's fun when you're playing well.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Thompson, Georgia. About 30 miles. Thompson, a little small town. I was technically born in Augusta; no hospital, it was such a small little town. I played a lot of junior golf there. Only 30 miles from my house.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Never played in the Masters. Played the course a number of times, but not that tournament. I was on the Walker Cup team, and I think two years prior, they just stopped inviting members of the Walker Cup team. It's when they started having more foreign professionals and cutting out some of the Amateurs, which was unfortunate. But it was definitely a goal to get back there.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Yeah, my sophomore, junior and senior year there, No. 16 the par 3 and my dad knew a friend of his that was in charge of it, and got me hooked up. It was great. A lot of fun.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: End of March maybe?

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Second.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Jim shot 30 on the back nine. I had a six-shot lead with -- how many holes did I have left, 8 holes left. Unfortunate thing for me. But I didn't play bad golf. Shot one-over on the back coming in and had a chance for birdie on 18. But that's the way it goes. It was like a train wreck. Jim and I played college golf together. Played on the BUY.COM TOUR together. So, you know, he's a good player, and you know when we go back there again it might turn out my way. But that day he just had a great nine holes and my hat was off to him.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Really, I think handled myself really well. I thought back on it a number of times and my mind was in the right place every shot I hit. I never was scared. It wasn't anything like that. It just was -- and believe it -- I prepared myself. I kept saying, you know, "it's six, but it doesn't matter," because guys are so good out here now that I fully expected him to throw three or four birdies. I didn't expect it to be six, but I expected him to have a run there, but he just kept filling it up and played awesome. So you prepare yourself for things like that because the players are too good out here to take it for granted. And if I get up six tomorrow I'm going to try to make it ten, because you're never done until you're in the clubhouse.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Honestly, for you guys, probably names you don't recognize. For all of us, we know these guys are good players. Honestly, you know, I think if -- well, outside of Tiger, if there were other name players here, probably winning score would be the same. I mean, he's on a roll right now and every time he shows up he's going sub-zero. But the winning score, I don't think you would see it change a lot. There might be more names you recognize on the leaderboard, but the great names have bad weeks -- or week that is they don't play up to what they expect to. I know Ernie Els is here and probably not having the kind of week he would like to have. I think you're going to see great golf, and they may be new names to you guys, but whoever wins tomorrow is a great player and will have earned it.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Yeah. I think what did I turn the front two or three in three, so I was playing well. And you know, when you get off to a start like that and you jump up on the leaderboard you just want to keep doing the same things, not get too caught up in where you are and what you're doing, but just staying in the present and play one shot at a time. I hit some real solid shots on the back nine. I only had one bogey today. I don't think I had any yesterday. So I've been playing good, solid golf; so I don't want my mind to start playing tricks on me. I just want to keep playing golf.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: I'm going to approach it the same way I did today, you know. The leaderboard is so jammed with good players that, you know, guys -- I saw Stuart Appleby had a great round; so he's back in the tournament. There are a lot of guys who being still win this golf tournament. Whoever wins tomorrow is going to have to go out and play a good round of golf. That's what we've got to get prepared for.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Really? I didn't known. This is the best I've played here so I wasn't paying attention to the winning score, just trying to get it in the hole. It's a pretty good golf course. There are some holes that you think are potentially easy holes, "easy/uneasy" but you look at them as birdie holes, but they could jump up and grab you. You'll see a lot of guys putt for eagles like a hole on 6, but you've got to expect -- there are a couple of bogeys this week with guys trying to go for it. Golf is a great equalizer. I think it tend to ebb and flow, and you just try to enjoy the times that you're catching that high wave. But this is a good golf course. You know I was talking to a friend of mine, Stewart Cink, yesterday and we were talking about the greens, and I asked him how many double-breaking putts he had, or did he have any. And he said "did I not have any." Because the greens are very undulating. And I think you see that, you know, in the scores -- the scoring to really get on a hole and start burying everything, because you don't find many straight, uphill, flat putts up here. A lot of double-breakers and you try to read the greens, and I think it tends to limit the number of birdies a number of people can make in a week.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: You may see some guys that are back trying to go for it. We've seen eagles in the past, but you'll also see bogeys. Like you say, there's many birdie holes but you've got to expect them as well. It should make for fun golf tomorrow.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Maybe it will have some good effect on me tomorrow. I hope so.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Oh, yeah. I'm not the first person to ever lose a lead on the back nine. It's just one of those things you hate to have happen to you. Like I say, I look at it as paying my dues. I know I played good enough that week to win the golf tournament. Unfortunately, he played a little bit better. But, yes, any time you can get experience like that under your belt, it's priceless. And I'll always draw from that and, you know the next time I'm there, I'll be telling myself it's my turn. You know, you gain respect for yourself and from your peers. The more time you're there, the more you prove yourself as a good golfer and eventually your time will come.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: I do. This is my fourth year on tour. I'm so much more comfortable I guess in my own skin, for lack of a better term, you know, because I know my way around. And I'm telling you, it is a difference -- I went last week to the Memorial. First time I've ever been there; I felt like a rookie again. I'm standing over shots going, wow, I'm not sure what it hit. Every day was different conditions. But I come back here, and I've seen this course play hard and fast. I've seen it play soft; like we got a little more rain last night. So nothing is a surprise for me anymore. It's always comfortable to go back to a place you've already been, whether it be -- in anything. And coming back to these courses for the fourth time, third and fourth time, you're a lot more comfortable with what you're doing. I'm not killing myself to play two practice rounds every week to try to familiarize myself with the golf courses. I'm trying to, you know, peak during the tournament. But your rookie year, you've got to do that, play a lot of times to try to get yourself familiar. Doesn't mean you can't play well, but I think the more times you play somewhere you set yourself up to be in more of a comfort zone and probably play better.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: It's hard to put a pinpoint on it. I'm still working with my same teacher. I feel like my swing is better than it was three years ago, of course. I would be upset if it wasn't, because, you continue to work, we're always trying to improve out here. You know, you try to get better whatever aspect it is, whether it be short game, hitting your irons, driving the ball, whatever it is. And I think in turn, you know, it wasn't like I came in this week hitting it great. I'm not -- this is by far my best ball-striking week but I'm learning to manage my own game. I know my tendencies under pressure. I kind of worked my way into hitting the ball well this week. I probably have progressed: First day was so-so. Yesterday, I hit the ball good and today I hit it pretty good. I feel like I've got a pretty good chance.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Yeah. Cautiously-aggressively. Like I didn't go for 6 today. I didn't go for 13. I probably had go-for yardages, but not the go-for shot that you want to hit. So I'm going to pick and choose. I think that's what you have to do, pick and choose on this golf course; there's some birdies and there's some bogeys. You've got to pick and choose your opportunities. When you feel comfortable -- when you do, go ahead and line it up and if not. Of course, where you are in the situation will dictate it, as well. We'll just kind of play them one at a time. See how they add up.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: It's hard to win. You know you're a marked man when you lead a golf tournament. I don't know, I guess we can analyze it here all afternoon, why the third round leaders didn't win. But I'm sure there have been some in the past that have won. You just play the best you can. If you're leading, great. One or two back, fine. You still have good chance of winning.

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