DORAL-RYDER OPEN

March 4, 2000

Franklin Langham

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Yeah, it was -- I was pretty juiced when I got out there. I was excited. I wasn't-- I am sure there were some nerves in there but I was excited about playing. Hit a few kind of so-so shots starting out the round -- the thing was -- I think the thing that helped me get through it was I expected to do that. I am not looking for bad shots but I knew I was probably going to hit some shots that weren't quite what I wanted them to be, maybe hit them too far, adrenaline going, things like that. But I settled down, got more comfortable as the round went on and felt like I played a pretty solid round of golf, the wind sort of picked up today and you know, it made club selection a lot more difficult than the past two days, this is a what we are used to here, what we normally have. As you can tell by the scores I think they kind of calmed down a little bit. We didn't see any more 61s, I think. I felt really good about the way I played. The club feels good in my hands. Putter is rolling good. I am seeing the line good, and just going to try to keep doing the same things.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: I don't think I have. Never.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: PGA TOUR, no.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: I hope not. I hope I can have fun and enjoy it. It has been great. I came in here. I am not going to sit here and say if I don't win I am not going to be disapointed, but I am just happy that my game came back around I feel really good about it heading into this swing coming up: Bell South is kind of my home tournament, THE PLAYERS Championship which is a big tournament for all of us. So I feel like my game is back in form now and has been a big stepping stone for me. We talked about this yesterday when I was in here, never led after 36 holes; now I am leading after 54, so that is a step forward. You just got to keep making progress and I am just happy if I was 3 ahead; 3 behind; whatever it is, I have got a chance to win tomorrow. That is all you can ask for. I have got a fair shake and if I go out and play good golf, hopefully I will win.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Probably leading three or four, maybe. I played well before coming from -- time I won I was leading going into the last round, so I expect guys to be shooting low rounds because they have got -- they are firing at me, I am a marked man now, so they are going to be playing with nothing to lose and which they should do. I'd be doing the same thing if I was in their position. They will be firing at pins. It ought to be exciting. Hopefully I can keep continuing to hit good golf shots and roll the putter.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: No, I was really calm after it. I hit a bad tee shot. That was one of the holes that was downwind. All of a sudden I pull out a club I haven't hit off the tee. I hit driver and 3-wood there; then I was hitting -- rescued a utility club, it was downwind, I was first to hit. I didn't know. I was a little bit undecided on the tee shot. I should have probably had a little bit more definite plan but I'd pulled it left and I was in the rough and actually the second shot was a pretty darn good golf shot. It got up to quick out of the rough. I was left on three, it caught the tree. I really didn't think there was -- ball was sitting down in the rough. I'd pictured the shot coming out here. Nicked the tree, went in the water. I looked at my caddie. I said, "Gollie, I hit a good shot." I can't be upset. Let's regroup, try to get it up-and-down. Didn't hit that great after four shot. I made double of the -- I came right back on the next hole, hit an awesome 3-iron in there pin-high. After that I was kind of like, we have got a long way to go, let's just keep going. I told myself if something like that happened, not to get out of sorts. I prepared myself for it. You don't look for bad holes but you know that there is a possibility it can happen, and it is such a long round of golf and the fact that I am hitting the ball well. I think that is the thing I think. If I was playing bad a lot of times it is tougher to play for the cut than it is to play to win because you are not playing quite up to your game. I didn't truly panic. I felt pretty calm, knew I was hitting the ball well, felt like my shots would come.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: I don't know. I mean, I haven't really done that it much. I don't know. I won one time on Nike Tour when I was in my first year out there and it all comes down to executing the golf shots, whoever plays the best tomorrow is going to win and I hope it is me. But I am sure I will be a little nervous. I expect all that, excited; all those emotions you go through. But I guess you got to get there to experience it and stomach it and go forward.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: No, I am not saying that. I am careful not -- I didn't, no. I expected every shot to be good. I am hitting the ball so good right now. But I expected my nerves to play a little bit of a roll in it. First hole of the day, my mind was just racing. I hooked a high tee shot left. I wasn't standing over the shot going, okay, I am probably going to hit this bad. That wasn't it. But I said, you know, let's be focused, picture the shot. But if something -- sometimes you can get good shots and bad things can happen. Stephen Ames played a great round of golf today, he hit a little shot thin there on 16. It really wasn't that bad golf shot. Hit the cart path, ended up making double, going long. Stuff like that happens. That is why it is golf. I wasn't expecting bad shots, but I prepared myself if I got in difficult situations not to panic because I knew I was hitting the ball well.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Yeah. It comes with being confident in yourself and knowing -- this is my fourth here out here. I know I can play. It is not like I hit one shot bad or whatever and go, oh, golly, I don't know if I can do this. It is not that anymore. That just comes with experience. People can tell you about it, but until you go through it yourself, you know, nothing can take the place for.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Yeah, I think all your experiences leading up to wherever you were, I wasn't leading going into the last round, anything like that, but I had a chance to win, real good chance to win. I was playing well hitting the ball well, and I think the main thing I learned is Tiger was in the middle of that stretch playing better than anybody in the world. I knew that, but that is the great thing about the game of golf is, you know, everybody has got a chance. So many good players out here nowadays that don't short yourself -- don't sell yourself short, just know that if you keep doing the things that got you there you have got as good a chance as anybody. Day in day out he has beaten all of us, but I am just saying that was the thing I learned from that lesson was play my own game be relaxed, have confidence in what you are doing with your game and just play the best you can.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Yeah, I am sure, heck, if I did lose it, people are going to say, well, he lost the tournament. But if I do, that is fine, I have gotten myself in this position, I am really happy to be here. I will take it. I am playing good golf and I feel -- I don't feel like it is a fluke that I am here. I am just happy that the putts are rolling in for me. That is what happens, like I said, so many good players now just the guy that makes a few more putts every week, that hit a few more good golf shots, and it is a fine line there between winning and like I have said before in other interviews, sometimes winning just happens to you. All you can control is playing good golf and giving yourself a chance to win.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: We -- my wife and I got -- we actually -- I am meeting her downstairs - been nice, one of the convenient weeks, ate downstairs at the buffet; took the boys back; bathed them and I talked to my dad and grand dad on the phone and we watched a movie and kind of just relaxed, went to bed. The hardest part was this morning, you know, golly, waiting 'til two o'clock to tee off, I was just like holy mackeral, what am I going to do for these many hours because the boys get up around 6:30 or 7, and so we watched a little cartoons with my little boys and they had some snacks in bed. We came over and ate breakfast. I took them to the pool, my wife and, you know, hung out there for a little bit; then went back, stretched, and got ready to play.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: He likes Dragon Tails and I forget the name of the other one. He usually likes Comfy Cats but it wasn't on this morning, so.... But it -- he is pretty entertainable right now. The infant, he just wants to be held so that was easy.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Yeah, it is going to kind of -- I don't want to get ahead of myself because I haven't won. It sure would be nice to get in, but maybe it will, I guess if a local boys does good, maybe they will kind of rethink it, I don't know. I know I am a nobody, but it sure would be nice. It would be a neat story, but --

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: I don't know. I got to move up on the world rankings I guess, I don't know how they -- I know --

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: So probably there is no chance of me getting in.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: That is true. Yeah, I think so. But I guess the way I look at it will get me closer to top 40 next year on the money list that gets you in. We will try to do that.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: You know, I mean, to the general public, I mean, if you don't have one of the Top-10 guys, you know, showing their pictures playing tomorrow, a lot of people don't recognize it. People inside of golf, I hope they don't think I am a nobody. I know the guys I play with out here don't think that. I am just saying for your average guy, probably like hey, maybe wants to see a young kid win but they probably don't know me by name.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: I have no idea what the record is.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Yeah, I mean, I guess my words: Don't sell yourself short. I am playing good. I don't want to go out and say if I can shoot even par, I think I will have a chance to win if nobody else -- I don't want to do that because I am playing good. I think you handcuff yourself a little bit. I am going to go out, play as good as I possibly can play, if I play, you know, like I have been playing the last three days, heck, I might break the record, I don't know, the conditions have really helped that -- guys have a shot at doing that, but I am not the only one that has got a chance to break it. I know that. I have got to play good golf to win. But back to the old saying of my dad: Just take them one at a time. That is all you can do. You can't control how many birdies you make or what everybody else does, you just got to take them one at a time.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: I don't watch the scoreboard. I did look halfway through the round. I don't know if he was on 16 or 18 but I saw he had a good round, and I am -- I might have looked one time before I teed off, because you look to see if anybody -- you wonder -- it kind of gives you an idea how the scoring is going out there. I saw he was on the leaderboard already so I knew he was playing a good round, I think, at that time he was probably 4-, 5-under, but I expected that. Wind picked up today so you don't expect to see a lot of low numbers but somebody like him plays good here, just generally a good golfer; doesn't surprise you at all. I expect that. I am expecting it tomorrow, so we will just do the best we can. If I play good, great.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Same kind of thing, boys will keep me busy, my little boy, he likes to putt on the carpet in the room all that. I have taken him to the range earlier this week, but we will get up probably -- heck, it worked today; probably just do the same thing, go eat a little breakfast, watch some cartoons, maybe, they will probably go to the pool for a little bit. He loves the water. My little infant, I have strolled him around 'til he took his morning nap this morning, so it just kind of takes my mind off of golf. Then when I get here, focus on golf and get give it everything I have got. Main thing is not wear yourself out before you play.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Fourth year.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Yeah, it is great. Those guys waited a long time to win and they were very deserving of a win. That, along with guys like Scott McCarron who is a good friend of mine and Paul Stankowski, those guys winning and doing well, you know, it is just -- you know it can be done, probably there were some people surprised when they won for the first time, but I wasn't. We all know we are all good players or else we wouldn't be out here. That is probably one of the differences in the Tour, I think, almost everybody tees it up every week has got A chance to win. Competition level has gone up so much and we are seeing that winning scores don't change a whole lot, but the cuts have really gotten a lot lower out here. I think that is attributed to the depth of the field. It is pretty strong out here.

FRANKLIN LANGHAM: Actually, no. I wish he was. I mean, I think when you are playing your best golf you want to play against the best players in the world. If you don't, you probably shouldn't be out here. But it has been great to watch. He has been great for the Tour and he is phenomenal. It is just -- I think you want to go against the best and just another feather in your cap if you can beat him. But I am sure he'd be close if he was here, so....

End of FastScripts….