U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 10, 1999

Hale Irwin

HALE IRWIN: It did. The fact that I got in with a couple of birdies there late in the day certainly salvaged what was, up through 15 holes, was fairly disappointing. But had I made that putt at the last hole, it would have been an extremely nice finish, so it leaves a little something for tomorrow. I didn't play badly. I am ignoring the statistics, because I don't think they are pointing out some of the shots that I did hit that -- let's say missed greens, a couple of times I hit very good shots into the greens only to roll off. I don't think that -- I don't even look at them. Excuse me, but I am not going to pay any mind to the statistics. Today, I did use a different driver than I have in the last several weeks. It is still a Cobra driver. It is very much like the one I have been using. It is just one swing point lighter. Felt like I was just not driving the ball quite as effectively as I needed to. Even though you might have a lot of fairways hit, they weren't effectively hit. So today I drove the ball much better, little lower trajectory. And I felt like today we just had a different golf course again. Surprisingly, the scoring was tempered I think by a different wind direction, different -- just a different golf course. If we have these same conditions tomorrow, which I think we are supposed to have, I think you might see some, a little better scoring, just because the players will have seen "the course" before they were surprised with a different wind direction. I am not in the perfect position, but I am not in a bad position. I think I need to go out tomorrow and play that mistake-free golf that I have yet to play. I don't feel like I have had my round yet in the tournament. They have been respectable rounds, not those kind of rounds that I feel like I can't generate. And hopefully I can have that tomorrow.

HALE IRWIN: I am pleased with the way I finished. I am a little dis -- not discouraged, disappointed with some of the putts I hit. I feel like I am trying to get too mechanical with my putting, and on these greens you just cannot be mechanical. You've really got to feel your way around these greens. I am going to go out and do a little work here this evening and try to get some of that feel back in there. When you have these greens that are big slopes and you got speeds and you are coming up and over things, you really -- you can't be mechanical. You can't connect the dots. And that is what I have been doing. I am going to try to forget about that. The best putt I hit at 17, I told myself: Let's get a good, solid roll on this thing, and it went in. The old dog learning a good trick maybe. But it is that same old dog and that same old trick everyday, and it just sometimes works.

HALE IRWIN: Yeah, I think -- I am not at all -- a little disappointed, but I think -- if you are going to have your bad day, have it before the last day. Not that I am going to play better tomorrow. Heavens, I may play worse. But I feel like I still have some birdies. I have only made -- only four birdies today, and two and three, so only had nine birdies. That is only averaging three a day. That is pretty low for the way I have been playing.

HALE IRWIN: Yes.

HALE IRWIN: Trying to get it down in this wind, I was getting the ball up to high, wind was throwing it around too much. This one has just a slightly less loft on it, but may be a half a degree, if that. It is just a swing point lighter. So rather than kind of hanging and hitting these high-to-the-rights, the club head is coming around a little bit, and it is shutting it down, and I am getting a little better trajectory out of it.

HALE IRWIN: Well, it can only be of great benefit. I think experience leading into any tournament, but particularly one of this stature and the way the course is playing, is extremely helpful. But bear in mind there was a young man back in 1974 who didn't have any experience whatsoever and came out a winner. So it is not imperative to have it. It is certainly nice to have. It is like having a 15th club in your bag sometimes. And that is where I hope that those 15 clubs will help me tomorrow.

HALE IRWIN: We answered all the questions. Thank you very much. Hope to see you tomorrow.

HALE IRWIN: I was supposed to remember this. I can see it from here. You mean missed-greens kind of thing?

HALE IRWIN: I made a great par at the second hole, but we won't talk about that. No. 5, birdied No. 5 hitting a driver, 7-iron, making about a 12-foot that probably had three feet of break in it. Let's see, birdied No. 11 from the green-side bunker making a 4-foot putt there for birdie. Bogeyed 13, again I hit the shot I wanted to into the green it, hit on the downslope and ran through into the rough behind and missed about a 5 foot par-putt. 15, the par 5 I drove it in the left rough, from there I laid it out just into -- just off the fairway into an old divot. I didn't mean to hit it there, but it was in an old one. From there I thought I hit a good shot but it came up short of the green and then I pitched it long 2-putted for a 6. So that was not too good. But at 16 I hit a very aggressive 3-wood off the tee, pitching wedge to within a foot and a half of the hole. 4-iron, 17 making, a putt of some 20 feet. Landed probably four feet left of the hole. Started one of those slow trickles; almost went off the green, so, then at 18 I probably hit the best shot of the tournament really. Hit 4-iron in there real close and missed that putt. But a lot of good shots. A few loose ones, but all and all, I think could have gotten more out of. That missed a few putts along the way that were much easier than the ones I made at, let's say, 5 and 17 I missed several that much were easier than that. But there you have it.

HALE IRWIN: 18 was about twelve feet. It was just outside the right edge and I just didn't hitter quite hard enough.

HALE IRWIN: I don't think I said jewel in the sky.

HALE IRWIN: Oh, maybe I said a lump of coal. (laughter). No, I think I said we discovered a jewel in that we have had so many people coming out and there have been so many wonderful things that the support this gallery and the people have given us and the community, it has just been fantastic. Such warm receptions and it has just been great and that is why I mean I think there is a real jewel here and maybe we should rediscover it with another tournament.