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ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS

April 20, 2010

Jerry Kelly

AVONDALE, LOUISIANA

THE MODERATOR: Jerry Kelly, thank you for joining us here in the interview room at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. You're obviously the defending champion. It seemed like just a quick second ago you were here being the voice here in your winner's interview. Obviously, since then you've had a pretty solid second half of '09 and went on to win the Shark Shootout with your good friend and fellow Wisconsin native, Steve Stricker, who is also here this week at this tournament. Coming in here on some good form, too. Played well at the Masters. Give us some thoughts on what the year's been like since you won, and what you're looking forward to this year at the Zurich Classic?
JERRY KELLY: Yeah, well, things are getting more consistent for me every year. I think I'm improving. Even though I'm getting older, I'm getting better. I've been working for four years now on my swing with my brother-in-law, Jim Schuman.
Things have progressed. Not as great as I'd like, but better than I thought they'd ever get. So I'm just kind of scratching the surface now. It was just a glimpse of it last year. I've hit the ball very well this year, and haven't really gotten much out of my tournament. And sitting right there with a chance to win a few.
So if I strike the ball the way I know I can, and my putting is much better, so, who knows.
THE MODERATOR: Did you arrive in the Bay, and get some good vibes?
JERRY KELLY: I got here Sunday night. Went straight to August. So started out with a little John Besh restaurant and started it out right, and Drago's last night. And I held myself to 30 oysters, that was pretty good. That was well below my quota.

Q. What is your quota?
JERRY KELLY: My quota a few years ago was 52 in one sitting. So that's pushing my limit right there.

Q. Where was that?
JERRY KELLY: 10th tee (laughing).

Q. What is your favorite memory from last year's tournament?
JERRY KELLY: Favorite memory from last year's tournament would definitely just be sinking that last putt. It had been a while since I had won, so just the feeling of closing it out, getting it done. That's what I take out of it.
You know, I've been close. I've found a little better mental attitude in the last month or so, and it's helped me an awful lot. Held me into some times when I wasn't striking it well. It let me be very consistent for four days when I was striking it well.
So I was very tired last week. I let go of all my basics and that cost me in a place where that's all you need to do is your basics and hit the ball straight. So I worked yesterday. I was going to take a day off and came out here, ended up working for three and a half hours.
Got out there today with Strick, and we always have a good time out there. It's fun getting beaten by him.

Q. Did you feel confident that the tournament last year that you were in good form and it might be your week?
JERRY KELLY: Well, yeah, I had just come off Hilton Head where I think I was on my way to a 15 on the 15th hole. So I was feeling pretty good. I had to pull out because I had the flu and still some remnants of a dislocated rib.
And I came here wondering if I was going to be able to play. I knew I felt better. But I was kind of feeling my way through the swing every shot that I hit, and made sure that everything was staying in place and staying solid.
But once I felt that that was all right, then I just continued playing like I normally do.

Q. Certainly winning the way you did last year, you could have won anywhere. But does winning in you New Orleans suit you? You seem to relish the moment?
JERRY KELLY: Well, I've always looked back and tried to pick apart why I play well in a certain place and why I have a good attitude in a certain place, and it really boils down to people. When I can interact with the people, and you just feel how genuine they are, and they appreciate you coming to their tournament. And I guarantee you, walk down and ask just about any of them, and they'd probably invite you over to their house for dinner. I'd love to do that.
But that kind of sets the tone for the week for me. No better place than here. I mean, they are just open arms and right out there in front of you. If they like you, they love you. If they don't like you, they're still going to respect you, but may not invite you over.

Q. Do you think it's the vibe of the tournament?
JERRY KELLY: Absolutely. I big on the overall feeling of a tournament. I've got to like the golf course. I've got to like the restaurants. I've got to like my hotel. That really sets everything up for my golf to be very steady.
It's just a great week for me. The golf fell in line last week. I enjoy the changes to the course. And I'm looking forward to getting out there and playing again this year.

Q. What opportunity did the victory last year bring to you? Did you get to play in more international events?
JERRY KELLY: Yeah, I got to play in China. There are definitely a few tournaments. It vaulted me into the position where I got into the Tour Championship in the Top 30, and into the Masters and things like that.
Any time you win a full FedExCup event, especially you're going to have a lot of opportunities coming your way. It's unfortunate with the economy, but it's not like you're reaping the rewards. You just enjoy the win, and that's the best part about it.

Q. If I could stray a moment away from this tournament. Last week Brian Davis took the two-stroke penalty and lost a chance to win it. In the process, lost $400,000, something like that. Does it make a player like yourself particularly proud? I know that's the rules of the game, but does it make someone like you that is in the game proud that this is the way our game is played? This is the way we police on ourselves?
JERRY KELLY: Yeah, and the funny thing is it does make you proud to be in a membership that is honest like that. I don't know of any other sports or any other businesses in the current climate that we're seeing happen where stretching the rules just doesn't happen.
I mean it's much more commonplace for someone to call themselves on a questionable rule. And you'll have the guys in the group going are you sure? Maybe it didn't move, you know. And the guy will always say, you know, I think it moved. Therefore it moved. You know, and he will call it on himself that way.
Everybody always appreciates when something happens, we always feel bad for the person, but it just shows what kind of game we have and the standards that we try to hold ourselves to while we're playing the game.

Q. How's your back? When you were here for media day you were talking about a lower back injury. Can you talk about your Masters performance, especially Saturday's round?
JERRY KELLY: Yeah, the back is good. I still can't do cardio. I can't do my running. I tried last week, and I made it a minute. It's there, but I've been working the right areas of my body, mainly the abs, trying to pull my back up a little bit and make sure that there's not any pressure down there.
So it is good. It's healthy while I swing, and that's key. But I can't do a whole lot of the other things that I normally do which allows me to eat the way I do. So I'm kind of paying for that a little bit right now. I've got to figure out some way to do it. Maybe an elliptical, I don't know. But we're going to find out after this week because I'm going to have to work it off that's for sure.
The Masters, that just shows where my ball striking is. My focus is always ten times better at Augusta than it is anywhere else, because you have to have such a fine focus line because you've only got five square feet to lay on the ball sometimes.
You have a very small window that you have to hit. It kind of brings that focus down. And it showed me what I've been working on is spot on right now. I need to work on being consistent. I need to keep working on my fundamentals so it can come out the way it did. I have to understand what makes my focus better in the hard spots.
You know, I seem to bogey with wedges and short holes many more times than if I had a 3-iron or 4-iron in my hand. And that is a focus thing. I've never really figured out why, but you know, it's something that I'm going to have to do going forward. Because those scoring clubs as I get older and I get a little shorter, even more emphasis will have to be paid on that. So I've put a lot of thought into it, and I need to put it into action.

Q. Talking about your back, can you kind of comment on the difference between playing hurt and playing injured?
JERRY KELLY: You should never play injured. Injuries require surgery. They require months, they require time. I was hurt. I stopped playing and found out whether I was hurt or injured. When I found out my spinal column was fine, my nerve canals were fine. My vertebras were fine. It was just an inflammation and swelling.
Once I got the abs to pull the spacing up there, I was fine. I wasn't hurt anymore. Doctor said I could have played through it. It would have been painful, and I did.
But you can play through pain. That's being hurt. Everybody is hurt out here somewhere or another. I don't care if you say it's only golf, there is always something. There always seems to be something with me, and I know it's that way with a lot of guys.
But injuries are a totally different thing. Injuries can destroy your game if you try to play through them because you have to protect. Otherwise further injury could be detrimental.

Q. Where else do you have reservations this week?
JERRY KELLY: Don't have the reservations, so I'm hoping Susan Spicer will let me into Bayona, and Emeril will get me into NOLA's. I've already been to August. Yeah, I'm going to do it pretty well.

Q. Later this summer going to a major in your home state. What are your thoughts on that?
JERRY KELLY: I think it's a good golf course for me. Kind of reminds me of British Open type. I always enjoy playing that type of golf. I need to get back at it after the last tournament that I had there.
It was a tough scenario. 35 during all the practice rounds and I had an afternoon tee time the first day. I get there, and the wind was down, there were 7 and 8 unders on the leaderboard. Next thing you know I completely changed my game and tried to go after everything and got caught just about every single time.
So that was just being young and dumb. You know, I wasn't even that young, but I was definitely dumb. You know, changing the game plan because of what somebody else is doing is not a good thing to do. I can't wait to get back there.

Q. Winning last year got you into the Masters. And going to the Masters this year and finishing high and you'll be back there again next year. How much of a relief is that knowing that you don't have to win or qualify in one of the other categories?
JERRY KELLY: It's nice to know that Augusta is there. But that's not the whole schedule. I really need to win a golf tournament. I want to get back to the SBS. You always want to get back to Maui.
Winning is the only thing we try to do out here. The money is great, but winning is what separates guys from other guys. It's the only thing that matters.

Q. Does being defending champion, is that sort of pressure, additional motivation? How do you wear that?
JERRY KELLY: I like it as additional motivation. Very tired last week, and I have a hard time getting the adrenaline up. I live on adrenaline out here. Coming back here right away Sunday night, I could tell I was ready to play already. I knew I was going to have that little extra in my step and in my swing to go ahead and get the job done. I love to defend. I've only done it -- this is my third time. But I've fared well the last couple of times and I'm hoping to do it again.

Q. You played with K.J. last week at Hilton Head. How is his game coming into this event?
JERRY KELLY: His game is very good. We both walked off the course on Friday -- he said, "I tired. I tired." I said, "I'm right there with you, buddy."
You know, Augusta is a tough place to play well for four days and come back. You know, the people aren't lining every single hole and giving it that definition. And in the practice rounds you're nervous because there's 40,000 people watching you in the practice rounds. You know, you really want to be on then too. So it really is a seven-day work week. It's really enjoyable.
Harbor Town is a fantastic event. I love the golf course. It says a lot about that Masters tournament. If I couldn't get the adrenaline up for that the next week. I was that tired.

End of FastScripts

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