THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 26, 1996

Corey Pavin

Q. We have reigning U.S. Open Champion, Corey Pavin. How was your game as you enter?

COREY PAVIN: Somehow my game is better, yes. I think it is pretty good. I played well at Bay Hill last week or two weeks ago, my last week, which was nice. I think that was my best finish there ever. So it was nice to play well there at home. I played nicely, hit the ball well; didn't putt as well as I'd like to, but it was getting better as the week went on. And I felt pretty comfortable right now. I had a nice practice round this morning; played well, hit nicely and putted better. And I feel pretty comfortable right now.

Q. Do you like this place, Corey?

COREY PAVIN: Do I like this place? Well, I like it better after last year, I think. I had a similar problem I had at Bay Hill, hadn't really played that well until last year, so it was nice to get a good tournament under my belt here. Certainly feel a lot more comfortable now. Every year I feel more and more comfortable here. I think it more of a function of my ball-striking is better; a little bit more under control than it used to be. Hit the ball a little bit further. Hit it straighter, I think. So all those things help here because this is a golf course where you really need to strike the ball well.

Q. Was there any particular shots out here or holes that seem to give you more trouble than others?

COREY PAVIN: Just 1 through 18. (laughter). I think the golf course is a pretty solid golf course all the way around. I think, you know, obviously holes like that 18 is a very difficult hole. You know, holes with a lot of water that come into play are going to be the higher scoring holes. I think, you know, 7 and 8 are very difficult holes. As I've said, 18 when the wind blows out here every hole is hard. But those holes in particular seem to stand out in my mind as some of the harder holes on the golf course.

Q. Do you like the course better when it is firm?

COREY PAVIN: Yeah, I do, definitely. I think, you know, the fairways have been narrowed over the last couple of years, which is good. But when they get soft, you know, you just carry the ball, and the ball just sticks, and it makes it, you know, easier -- an easier golf course, maybe, for the longer hitter than the stronger hitters when the fairways get firm and the ball runs a little bit. And I am glad to see the fairways are a little bit narrower. I think it is a better test overall. It tests your game better. When the greens are firmer, you have to hit better higher shots, you are going to miss some greens because the greens are firmer and you need to chip the ball well. It is similar to how you have to work your game at a U.S. Open or a major championship that you need to have your whole game in order to win here. And I think year after year they are trying to -- the Tour is trying to get the golf course into that type of conditioning so the person who wins is playing the best overall golf. And I think they are doing a good job with it. The course is in great shape this year. It is very nice. I think the greens are as full as I have ever seen them. And I think they are going to lower Mr. Mower down a little bit and get them a little bit faster. They are not quite as fast as they were last year, but I think they will be by Thursday.

Q. Corey, talk about the last three winners,

and --

COREY PAVIN: Here?

Q. No, last three events, Honda, Bay Hill and Doral, and -- Honda, Bay Hill, and Freeport. Do you think it is going to be more difficult for that first-time winner situation to come out this week?

COREY PAVIN: Well, you never know out here. But generally speaking, when you get into tournaments where the golf courses are harder and a lot more pressure, it is more difficult for guys that haven't been there before to come through. But you never know. I mean, guys are so talented now, they have so much experience when they get -- before they have even come out here, they have a lot of experience; whether they have played overseas or in amateur tournaments, the level of play is higher -- you know, at other levels than the Tour level. If you catch what I mean there. I don't know if I said that quite right, but there is not much of a gap, I'd say, between, you know, the Nike Tour and, you know, tours around the world and our Tour as there used to be. The gap is smaller. So they have experience. They learn from those tours, and other situations when they get out here, they can come through when you kind of think maybe they wouldn't. So I am not going to discount, certainly, a player that hasn't won anything here. It is more difficult here. You have a harder golf course, more pressure. There is a lot of things that happen here that are different than at other events. It is -- as I said, it is similar to a major type of feeling, and that is difficult to win. It is more difficult to win tournaments like that.

Q. Were you surprised that these guys hung on, you know, their first time under the heat the last couple of --

COREY PAVIN: Not really. Nothing really surprises me out here anymore, as I said. The guys are so good when they come out here and so experienced and have gone through situations that certainly aren't the same, but similar type of experiences, and I think they learn to deal with it quicker. I think younger guys are adapting faster and faster out here now.

Q. In addition to the Nike Tour, are more young players more inclined to go play overseas, or in Australia, Japan, things like that, than a few years ago?

COREY PAVIN: Well, I am not sure. That is more of a statistic, isn't it? But I would think so. I did that a long time ago. I went overseas and played, and I thought that was the best thing I can do. But then we didn't have, you know, the Nike Tour then either. I think it was TPS events, and it was more of a qualifying for each one. It wasn't an all exempt type thing. I think it was really different. I wanted to get into a situation where I was playing week after week in a four-day event, and there really wasn't anyplace to do that where I had any kind of a guarantee to do that, so that is why I went overseas. And I think, you know, players are doing that. You see a lot of American names playing Australian and in Asia, and some trying to get on the European Tour, and all around the world. In Japan there is some Americans over there doing quite well. So I think it is a good avenue to take. I think the best avenue is to get out somewhere where you can play week in and week out, playing in a Tour type situation and play four-round events wherever you have to go, I think that is what you need to do. The Nike Tour is a great place to do it. Certainly nobody really likes to leave your country to go play. It is awkward and it is difficult. It is very demanding on you. So if you can stay in your country or in your area, it is much easier.

Q. Do you think you played better here last year because the course is noticeably softer than the years before and because maybe the conditions -- do you turn it up a notch when course and weather conditions, wind conditions make it more difficult?

COREY PAVIN: Yeah. I don't know, I remember I putted very well last year. I remember not hitting the ball as well as I'd like to, but I played very intelligently, and put myself in places where I can get it up-and-down. And it played very hard last year, certainly 5 under 1. Is that right?

WES SEELEY: Yes.

COREY PAVIN: And that really opens the door for a lot of people, I think, because if you do play smart and you get it up-and-down, if you shoot par, you have shot at a good score. And that is -- you know, it's certainly easier to shoot par, I think, for me anyway, under tough conditions than on easy conditions on this golf course to shoot 6 under. You know, this is a pretty hard golf course, I think. Seems like whatever the conditions are, you pretty much shoot the same thing for whatever reason that is.

Q. Corey, if you can pick your score on which you think would win it, what would it be?

COREY PAVIN: Hard to say. Weather is the whole key thing here. The winds is the biggest key. If it's windy, you know, you are going to have a high score win. If it is not windy, and just get some rain and soften up, you are going to see some low scores. I don't know what the forecast is. I thought it was supposed to rain in the afternoon, but at this time looks pretty nice out there now. I would say if it firms up, if we don't get any rain, and the greens get firm, which they are getting right now, I really don't care if the wind blows or not, you are going to have some high scores. I don't think anybody will shoot in double digits under par if they get firm. That is probably the biggest key to the golf course. I hope they do that, it's a better test for all our games if the greens are firm.

Q. So you will take 9 under?

COREY PAVIN: Probably. You know, as I said, depends if it softens up. If the greens are soft, you can shoot good scores on this golf course. If they are firm, it is very difficult to shoot low scores here.

Q. Would it be fair to say given all the reasons that you gave about why players are better -- the younger players are better now, would it be fair to say that they are less likely to be intimidated too by more established players than they maybe used to be?

COREY PAVIN: Probably. You have to ask them.

Q. Do you notice that, though, when you are playing with them, that maybe when you first came out where you might have been, you know, looked at Jack Nicklaus or somebody from that era and said wow, there is Jack Nicklaus; these guys don't really do that now, they just kind of come out and play.

COREY PAVIN: Well, I don't know, it is hard to say what they are thinking. I mean, I knew when I came out I respected all these guys' games. I wasn't afraid to play against them. I was nervous playing with them, but I wasn't afraid to play against them. It is a bit different. You know, as I said, I think everybody is an individual, and they have different ways to look at it. So I can't really answer those questions. But I think as far as the pressure, I think they have a better ability probably to handle it, and every year it gets like that. I mean, what you just said is true. I mean, 20 years ago the players were probably -- you know, they didn't have as much experience. They came out there a little rawer. They didn't have world circuits to play. They didn't have as many amateurs tournaments to play or collegiate tournaments to play, so they probably didn't have as much experience. As a result, it took them years to develop that, and that gave them confidence after they got the experience. Now players I think are having more pressurized experiences before they come out on Tour, and that helps. But I haven't really seen many players come out that are in awe to the point where it hinders their play. I think maybe more nervousness, and that would be more hindrance to the player than anything else. I mean, it is hard to win out here. I don't care who you are, it is still difficult. The last 3 winners have gone through a lot. I am sure if you talk to them - I am sure you have talked to them - that they said that they were very nervous and couldn't sleep and all that. But they handled it and they did a good job with it obviously.

Q. Paul Goydos mentioned that he is kind of overwhelmed by the reaction from other players about him winning, and he said that it is -- he's thinking if I can't win it, I am glad it was you type of thing. Do you think that might relax some of these guys to know that it is one of these things where sometimes you get in situations where you are pulling for each other, or you recognize the fact that it was fun to watch Paul Goydos win that tournament?

COREY PAVIN: Paul is really a nice guy, and everybody knows him. And he is just a good guy, and people -- you know, I think it is just natural to want to see people like that do well. And, you know, it was a great win. You know, everybody out here is like that it seems to me. Everybody is really a nice guy, so everybody wants to win. Everybody wants to go out there and win the tournament. And, you know, if they can't they are happy for whoever else does. So I think it is a great Tour out here. There are so many good people out here, and I think it is just -- you know, I don't know, I mean, for lack of a better word, it is just a nice family of people out here. We all know each other very well. We spend a lot of time competing against each other. But we also spend a lot of time in practice rounds, and dinners, and hanging out, and chatting on the range. So it is a little different scenario than you would have, you know, in other sports. You don't have people that compete against each other hanging around each other all the time, so it is a very different scenario.

Q. What do you remember most about your first win?

COREY PAVIN: What do I remember the most about it?

Q. Yes.

COREY PAVIN: There is a lot of things I remember about it. Probably the most vivid memory I have of it is when I had 2-putted the last hole to win, and Shannon was there. We had just gotten a little dog, little Yorkshire terrier. She walked over to me and we had a nice big hug and, you know, that was the first memory. But there are so many, many. I remember sitting up late at night, neither of us could sleep, and I think we got out some sort of crossword puzzle, and we were working on that together. And it was very nervous night, anxious night waiting for the day to come.

Q. What kind of lead did you have or --

COREY PAVIN: Good question. I am trying to remember if I was one back or one ahead. You have to look that up.

Q. You knew you were nervous because you knew you were in the last group?

COREY PAVIN: Yeah, I was in the last group. I played with John Mahaffey. He might have been leading, actually, by one, maybe.

Q. But you were still extremely nervous?

COREY PAVIN: Sure. I knew I was playing well, and I knew I had a great chance to win. I had almost won at Phoenix earlier in the year in 1984. But I knew that I knew I was ready. I knew that I could win if I just went out there and did what I could do, or what I knew I could do. So, you know, it was neat. There was a lot of things that happened. That was in May, and that is when La Costa was in May, Tournament of Champions. That was the next week, so I qualified for that. I had an outing to do in Louisville the next day, so I went and did that, and I didn't go to sleep until 4:00 in the morning or something like that. I was pretty keyed up. So it was a lot of neat things. But, you know, the biggest thing that happened to me about that as far as golf went was that it gave me a tremendous amount of confidence that I knew I could win. I did it and I could do it again after that. I felt I was capable of it after almost winning Phoenix, but until you actually do it, you still have doubts. So, you know, once I won the Houston Open in 1948, I knew that I could go out and win any tournament I felt like I played in.

WES SEELEY: Anything else for Corey Pavin?

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