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OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE PRO-AM

February 13, 2007

Mark James

LUTZ, FLORIDA

PHIL STAMBAUGH: We have Mark James with us this morning, Mark won last week's Allianz Championship, his third career victory on the Champions Tour, his second in Florida with a three-round score of 15-under par 201, two-shot victory over Jay Haas.
Mark, you've had had a couple of days to reflect back on last week, just a couple of thoughts about your victory after three weeks of skiing.
MARK JAMES: Well, I mean, it was a big surprise to play so well. I could have understood if I had holed everything, but I played pretty well and it was a big surprise to me, simple as that.
PHIL STAMBAUGH: Can you recount the key moments in the final round last week that propelled you to victory?
MARK JAMES: I put 2-iron in the bag instead of a 5-wood. A bit more wind, I thought 2-iron might be exactly the right club for the 7th, par 4 which was downwind the last day. I just failed to get up-and-down from ten yards short at the 6th and made par when I should have made an easy birdie.
And at 7 I hit 2-iron and hit it right down the float into 30 feet past the pin and made an easy birdie. That was big. You know, it was an easy birdie and I hit a really good shot at the next to about six feet and holed that.
And at 9 I holed a 12-footer for a bogey.
So those three holes I think were the main key that sort of got me going, broke away from the pack a little bit. That gave me a lot of confidence.
PHIL STAMBAUGH: You touched on last week that you had a checkered past in starting real fast, but at least in your Champions Tour career, you've been a fast starter with a win in 2004 there in Dearborn, I believe, that came in July, but then you won in Naples early, last year here in Tampa you contended and you won this year in Boca Raton.
MARK JAMES: Yeah, I won a few times, my first tournament in Europe, and I never know what to expect but given a good venue and practice facilities, I start very well. It varies, you never know. Last week, the first tournament, got me off to a great start and just kept it going.

Q. Where did you go skiing, and how long before last week had you been involved in practicing?
MARK JAMES: I did actually hit a bag of balls before Christmas, but -- well, I hit about 20 balls, I put my back out sort of about the 15th, and had to go straight to the physios and didn't hit balls. I went skiing for 3 1/2 weeks and I hit balls maybe the Saturday before coming out here and I hit balls on the Sunday as well, it wasn't too bad at home and came out here on Monday, so not much.
Practicing in bad conditions really doesn't do much good at home. It's wet, you hit balls at the range, each ball comes out with about half a pound of mud on it.

Q. Where did you go skiing?
MARK JAMES: The Alps, an area called Trois-Vallées.
PHIL STAMBAUGH: Near Albertville.
MARK JAMES: That's exactly right.

Q. Is preparation the same every week, or is it just the format, is there different thoughts or different preparations?
MARK JAMES: This one's different. It's a Pro-Am, so it's quite a leisurely week this week. I'll play after the Pro-Am tomorrow and then just hit balls Thursday, yeah, very leisurely. You normally play one or two Pro-Ams, which you need to try at least play reasonably. You don't turn up to shoot 96.

Q. (Does it bother you to play in Pro-Am tournaments)?
MARK JAMES: No, it didn't bother me, no. I had it over the years in Europe, Pro-Am tournaments. The only thing you've got to watch out for is not getting hit.

Q. Did I understand you didn't have your regular caddie last week, and your regular caddie, have you talked to him?
MARK JAMES: He's currently in a mental ward. (Laughter.) He's been working with Alejandro Canizares in my off-season around the world quite a bit. He wanted to finish off one more week with him last week. So I said, "Yeah, no problem, as long as you fix me up with another caddie."
And McNulty pulled out, so yeah, I guess you could say Rocky might be kicking himself.

Q. When did you decide you were going to play the American Champions Tour? Was it something you waited to do or one of those, "Well, now I have the chance, might as well give it a try?"
MARK JAMES: I wasn't sure. I had done a bit of TV work before leaving the main Tour and I played right through, so my game was in reasonable shape. But I wasn't sure whether I wanted to stay in Europe and play European Seniors and do a bit of TV work or what.
My wife really said, "Look, if you don't go, you might regret it." So at least if you go and don't like it, you know, don't get on with everyone and whatever, you can go back to Europe. But if I don't actually go and try, I'll never know. I'm glad, it was great.

Q. Do you look back now and say, "I wish I had played more in America back when we were all young and limber and flat-bellied?"
MARK JAMES: I would like to think that I'm not exactly a tubster now.
No, when I was that age, I wasn't good enough I don't think to be honest, late 70s, early 80s. I think Europeans only started to compete during the 80s, and by that time I had a mid-80s slump, and before the slump I probably wasn't good enough to cut it over here.
After the slump I probably was, at 35, 34, when I started playing really well again in '88. And you know, that was -- you come over here then and if it unsettles your game moving to a different tour, it's very risky. It would have been too risky then to come over here when I felt I probably was just about good enough, and I stayed in Europe.
It probably was the best decision. I made the next four Ryder Cups. I think it was the right decision. But certainly I think the late 70s, early 80s, I had played over here a bit but I wasn't really good enough.

Q. That mind-set has changed a great deal the last few years, there's so many international players now on the PGA TOUR, and this year is the first year ever there's going to be more international players than Americans in the Masters, obviously a lot different than in your day. Do you have any thoughts on why that has happened; is it the World Ranking, the money perhaps?
MARK JAMES: I don't know. It would be any number of reasons. I was reading in USA Today, is it the Match Play this week, next week, there's 22 Americans in the field and 19 Europeans. That's just an amazing stat. I don't know, some say they are making too much money, it's too easy, they are not hungry. I remember Faldo criticizing Europeans players ten years ago for being like that, and I think too easy is an excuse. I don't know, I think you have to be hungry, but also I don't think anyone is happy on the Nationwide Tour. I don't think they want to be there for the rest of their lives, just like they don't want to be on the Challenge Tour in Europe.
I don't think it's the hunger. I think the guys over here are hungry. I don't have the answers.
What I do now is that finally Azinger has changed the Ryder Cup system so that at least gives you a chance for a good Ryder Cup Team. (Laughter) And that's been crazy for 25 years. I wrote an article two days after the Ryder Cup last year, and it was like Azinger had gotten the article and said that's a good idea; obviously he hadn't, but he's exactly right. At least that's the first step. Whether they have the players or not, that's a different matter. Sometimes you get two or three good players coming through and it changes the whole nature of a team, and it may change.
But certainly, you have to look at the last two Ryder Cup teams and say, it looked pretty bleak for the Americans.

Q. Have you heard or talked to Seve and any idea how serious he is going to be about the Champions Tour?
MARK JAMES: Seve is always serious about everything. How long that lasts, you never know with Seve because he's, as you know, a mercurial character to say the least.
I would love to see him do well. I don't think there's anyone in Europe that hasn't had a falling out with Seve over the years, but I don't think there's anyone who wouldn't want to see him do well and play good golf again. I really hope he's physically in good shape and mentally ready to play and plays well.
You know, you have to say it's a long time since he has played well. That makes a difference.

Q. Anything on this golf course here, you contended here last year, anything about it?
MARK JAMES: I can't remember that many holes, but no, it's a good course. The greens are not that big which I like. I putted really well last year, which I didn't play that well. I did great here, and funny enough, I did awful for the rest of the season after that. But I know I like the course. It sets up pretty well for me. If I play well, I like the course, I know that.

Q. The chip-in on Saturday, is that one of those things when you go in, you think, "Maybe it is my turn to win"? Is that one of those things that makes you go, "Okay, I'm fine"?
MARK JAMES: Well, looking back at the tournament, I think, I didn't get any breaks. When you've won or when I've won, you think, actually, I didn't get any bad breaks really the whole week. And sometimes you play pretty well and finish 10th and you've had nothing but bad breaks all week and it's only the weeks when you don't get the bad breaks, you sort of don't realize at the time that that is having a lot of luck, not getting bad breaks.
In golf, you get a load of bad breaks. Last week I didn't have many bad breaks. I got the right clubs generally and it was my week, and that was indicative of it, probably that hole.
PHIL STAMBAUGH: Mark, thank you very much and good luck.

End of FastScripts

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