U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 10, 1997

Steve Jones

STEVE JONES: Crashed. Then crashed.

LES UNGER: What happened.

STEVE JONES: Well, it's just my game, you know. Kind of, you know, my game is kind of up-and-down. And, first of the year, I was still cruising away from September to February, I played really well and kind of hit a wall after that. And, didn't really take much time off on the off-season. So, ended up taking a month off after Hilton Head and just kind of got back in shape a little bit, came out and was playing okay, hitting the ball okay, just not scoring the way I'd like to, making a few mental mistakes. But, it's coming around. So, we'll see.

LES UNGER: What did winning the Open, other than the pride of that and the trophy and all that business, how did it change your life or did it?

STEVE JONES: Oh, yeah, definitely. I mean, any time you get a lot of attention, you know, winning a major, things are going to be different, you get more interviews, more opportunities to play in tournaments overseas, which I took advantage of a lot of those. I went to South Africa for two weeks; played in a couple tournaments there. And, played in the Grand Slam. And, let's see, what else did I do? Played in Japan one week and had a pretty full off-season.

LES UNGER: And how does Congressional fit or suit your game?

STEVE JONES: Well, it will suit it fine if I hit my drivers straight, long, and keep it on the green in regulation. It seems like every Open, that's the case. But, obviously this course is one of the longest -- is this the longest in history?

Q. Yes.

STEVE JONES: I knew you guys would know that.

Q. We don't have to play it.

STEVE JONES: Dealing with today's technology, I mean, this course is really long, so it will be interesting to see where the tee markers are for all -- the whole tournament, and it will be very interesting to see if anybody shoots under par for the week. It could happen, but --

LES UNGER: You're talking about a four-round score under par?

STEVE JONES: Four-round score, yeah. That would really be some playing to shoot under par on this course for the week.

Q. Steve, we just got done with Tiger and this place was wall to wall with people. Now, you're in here, there's maybe 50 people. Does that bother you at all? Have you been made the most anonymous U.S. Open Champion, feel that sometimes nobody knows you?

STEVE JONES: Well, I didn't know it until you just told me, so, it didn't bother me. (audience laughter) Now I'm really ticked off. (kiddingly). No, I mean, you know, it's -- you know, Tiger is a phenom. He won five tournaments in the last six months or so. That guy is a young superstar. He's a phenom. He's letting his clubs do the talking. And, I mean, the guy is awesome. What can I say? He's getting what he deserves. And, I just hope he continues to stay at the level he's at. It's going to be hard just because of all the attention he gets. I think that's the hardest thing he's going to have to deal with. But, hey, you know, if I won as many tournaments and hit it as long as him and was 21, I'd get a lot more attention too. But, I'm married and got kids, you know, I'm 38. I've only won one major, you know, I'm Cinderella again this week, which is fine by me.

Q. Let's talk about Steve Jones for a minute. Going back, this comeback, there's a lot of life lessons that maybe you could share with someone starting the game of golf. Let's look at three things that you could tell somebody. Let's start with "Never quit," and after that, what three things would you say that would be important?

STEVE JONES: Never, never, never quit. That's probably what I would say. Basically my dad always just told me, he said, "Just do the best you can." He never put pressure on me to do anything. He never put pressure on me to play sports. He said, "Hey, do the best you can, whatever you're doing." That's kind of what I've always lived. But, just tried to do the best I could. I only have so much talent and you work with what you've got and try to develop that. And, some weeks it works out on the golf course and other weeks it doesn't.

Q. Steve, at Media Day about a month ago, you sounded very dissatisfied with your game. It sounds like you're maybe a little more satisfied now. What has gone on in the interim to bring it around and what's worked; what hasn't worked?

STEVE JONES: Yeah, coming into the Media Day, I was -- I missed like three out of four cuts, or something, my last four tournaments. And, I was in the midst of my one-month layoff when I came back here. And, basically I've been working out physically for about six, seven weeks in a row now. My stamina is good the last three tournaments. This is my fourth in a row, hit the ball really decent. Just mentally I'm just not quite there. Maybe I'll never be there again, you know. But some people say I'm really mental all the time. But, you know, I hit the ball probably the best I've ever hit it in my career last week. I shot 2-over par, so that can kind of tells you that my thinking and my putting was not working. So, if I can continue to hit the ball well, like I have been doing and just score, then, you know, I'll be okay. That's just the way golf is. I mean, some weeks, you struggle. Some months, you struggle,, some years, you struggle. You just keep trying and try to get your game back up and hopefully it will.

Q. Did you play today with Lehman? Could you comment on how he's playing?

STEVE JONES: Yeah, I played nine holes with Tom and two other fellows. And, he's hitting the ball well. He's got his draw going, a little draw, and he hit a lot of 3-woods today. I think he hit two drivers. But, yeah, he's going to be there. I really look to see him playing well this week.

Q. Steve, is this a time that you look forward to as far as maybe turning your game around emotionally and defending the title?

STEVE JONES: Oh, I think it could. I've missed my last three cuts in the majors. I haven't made a cut since last year at the U.S. Open, as far as the majors, so definitely. I mean, if I play well this week and there it goes again, I could jump-kick my year again.

Q. Followup on that, Steve, do you feel a lot of different pressures coming in as the defending champion you want to jump-start, but there are different pressures than when you were the qualifier?

STEVE JONES: Actually, I don't really feel any pressure. I feel a lot more relaxed this year. I don't know if that's good or bad. Usually I play better when I'm nervous. Last year I was so nervous I couldn't spit on the weekend. I played really well, so I think the main thing for me right now is I need to be careful and not get so relaxed like I did at Augusta and not be nervous. Because I got up at the first tee at Augusta and I'd never been that calm in my life, I didn't -- you know, I could have held a tea cup on my finger. I mean, it was amazing how calm I was. And, I played terrible. You know, I was started up real aggressive at Augusta. Then I got real tentative. And, then I was gone. Hopefully this week, I can start off a little more nervous and play better.

Q. Steve, all those people you passed coming on here that were leaving the Tiger Woods deal are going to be between the ropes at the first two rounds. Are you concerned at all about that and the distractions it might bring or have you gotten used to that over the years?

STEVE JONES: Yeah, there will probably be some distractions, but we have them every week. Obviously, because of the way the course is set up, the viewing is very difficult on the older courses. You know, they don't have the TPC stadium holes, which is really too bad. I almost wish they would go back to some of these old courses and make a slight incline for about, you know, 20 or 30 yards on a lot of the holes just for the fact that if they're going to have majors on these courses, in changing times, you know, to accommodate these people, even have more people out here and have views. Because that's the hardest part, I think. And, even for me, I look at it from a spectator point of view because. My wife is there. She says I can't see a thing, I'll go home and watch it on TV. But, you know, last year, there was tons of people on the weekend, or every day. Every hole was, you know, lined with people. You know, people's never been a problem for me, really.

Q. Steve, to follow up on a question from before, I wonder if it's not just the opposite that you like the idea that somebody else is getting all the attention and you don't have to put up with it, maybe to the same extent that you would. You kind of like to be a little more anonymous?

STEVE JONES: Well, he's not getting all the attention, but he's getting most of it, and that's -- you know, last year I wish it would have come a couple months earlier, but too much after the Open for me, was really hectic. I don't play golf to get attention. And, I don't really know of anybody that does out here. But, if there was a way just to play golf and not have the attention part of it, that would be fine by me. But, it just kind of comes with your territory that if you play well, you're going to get more attention. And I've accepted that fact and I've tried to learn how to do different things, say, well, I can't do autographs right now, I have to practice or whatever, you know, saying "no" to a lot of things. It's been a big adjustment, but I've learned a lot this last year.

Q. Steve, can you compare your expectations going into last year's Open to this year, you're the defending champion, last year, I don't know what your expectations were?

STEVE JONES: I think they're about the same. I mean, you never know how well you're going to play in a tournament. I thought I would play well last week and I thought I was going to play well the week before and I didn't. This week, you know, it's just part of the mystery of golf. And, I think the love-hate relationship that a lot of guys have with the sport, that I'm hitting it good, I'm putting it good, I can't wait to get started, then they miss a cut. Other weeks I'm struggling, struggling, struggling; then you get in on a Thursday and all of a sudden, you're leaving a tournament. I mean, figure that one out. So, for me, I just come in knowing that, hey, if I get it going, work on my concentration, and the bounces I can't control, but I can work on my concentration, work on my game and try to hit it in the right spots.

Q. Steve, if you can comment, it's two parts. You talk to a lot of different golfers, they're talking about if you can hit it long, you can probably beat this course and also your comments on playing 18, the par 3, that has a lot of sand traps around it.

STEVE JONES: Yeah, I don't think the sand traps on 18 are going to be the problem. I think it's trying to get it close especially the way they put the pin front, there's not going to be many guys trying to hit a 6-iron to get it close,, they'll be hitting a 5-iron and they'll be putting 20-, 30-footers from behind the hole there. I don't -- I think it's -- it will be different. Definitely 18 has a better viewing point for the spectators than 17, but those are probably the two best holes for viewing so close. You can see two holes that you could sit at one spot and see the tournament, you know, wind up the last two holes. So in that part, in that respect, it's good. So I don't really, you know, -- it will be -- I guess I'm trying to say, it will be interesting to see what happens, especially if, say, the score is tied coming to the last hole and the pin is tucked up front, see if someone is going to try to get it close or someone is going to make a 30-footer.

Q. Keeping in mind back-to-back wins, a defending champion coming in here, how difficult is it outside of the obvious question to repeat on a different course?

STEVE JONES: The last time I repeated was the Sterling Invitational, 1979, '80 and '81, Sterling Invitational, Colorado. I won it three years in a row. It was an amateur tournament. And, so, I've got some experience at repeating. It's been 16 years, but it's still there. It's in there. I talked to Curtis a couple days ago, and he basically told me a little bit about when he repeated what he was doing. So, I specifically went to him to try to gain some wisdom. And, I gained a little bit, but I can't share what it was.

Q. Steve, come Sunday, what would you consider a disappointment?

STEVE JONES: Me, a disappointment?

Q. What would be a disappointment?

STEVE JONES: Well, it will be disappointing to lose. I mean, I'd love to repeat. That's definitely a goal of mine. It's not out of reach by no means. I know if I hit the ball decent and putt well I've got a shot, just like everybody else here.

Q. Back to the 18th hole again. How do you feel -- philosophically, how do you look at a par 3 hole finishing at the U.S. Open?

STEVE JONES: Well, I'm not really a historian of the game or anything, but I don't -- I don't have a problem with it. I think it's fine.

Q. Steve, you mentioned it being a distraction playing with Tiger. But, do you consider it a plus or a minus to be with him for the first two rounds?

STEVE JONES: Well, I think it's definitely a plus. I don't look at him any different than I look at Nicklaus or Palmer or Norman or Lehman or Couples or, you know, I try to treat everybody the same because I think we're all equals. So, whether it's a locker room attendant or janitor or Tiger or Norman or the President, hey, we're all human. I'm going to treat you the same. I don't put him on a pedestal and I don't put a janitor on a pedestal and I don't put myself on a pedestal. So, that way, I can look at him the same and I feel like I can concentrate on what I need to do, no matter how good he is or no matter how long he hits it, you know, I just look at it, you know, he's a person like everybody else, he has to put his pants on by himself. Well, you know, is he still doing that? Maybe he is. (audience laughter). Oh, no, I can see the headlines tomorrow "Jones says Tiger doesn't put his pants on by himself anymore." Please don't write that! Oh, jeez. Scratch that!

LES UNGER: Strike that statement! It will not appear in the transcript.

Q. Steve, once again, can you share your thoughts on winning the U.S. Open one of the big majors and how special it is to win this event?

STEVE JONES: You know, I had no idea how special or what a thrill it was until a year has gone by, and there is no doubt, been one of the greatest thrills -- has been the greatest thrill of my golfing career, obviously. That moment will never be recreated. I mean, it's lost in time, winning your first major, all the puzzles fit together that week, and, you know, when it's your tournament to win, it's your tournament to win. It seemed that you just can't lose it. That's the only way I can explain golf, is kind of a mystery. It's like when it's your turn to win, it's your turn to win. That's not really saying much, but that's the only way I can explain about winning, especially a major.

LES UNGER: Lehman is a very close friend of yours, and you were with him when his drive on 18 trickled into the bunker. What was your emotional or how did you react to that?

STEVE JONES: Yes. No, just kidding.

LES UNGER: You don't have to say anything.

STEVE JONES: Just kidding. Boy, I'm in trouble. I've got to go. (audience laughter). You know, he hit first. They were trying to going back and forth 3-wood driver. I pulled my driver out right away. That's what I hit two practice rounds and the three previous days, but he hit it. I saw he drew it just a little too much. It started kicking and I was surprised it got to the bunker. I thought the rough was going to hold it up. But, either way, he would have had to lay up. But, you know, I saw it. But, then I went right back to my game, just like I'd been doing all week. I thought about what I needed to do, aimed it down the right side, just let it fly. And, luckily it stayed on the earth.

Q. Do you understand how you started off aggressively and then sort of came head-to-head? I'd like to focus on this whole of competitive innocence and how does it happen and how does it begin to take on.....

STEVE JONES: Well, at Augusta, it -- for me, basically I par birdied the first two holes, started off, both days par, birdied, then just blew an engine, started on 3 both days basically. From then on out, I hit it in a bad spot above the hole or in a spot you shouldn't have been, you chip it past, you 3-putt. You double. All of a sudden, I'm 2-over par, I should have been 1-under. I wedged the green, I make double, you know, it kind of keeps avalanching on you. You can't explain why or how, but no matter what, you do sometimes. It just doesn't work out. And, I think a lot of that has to do with -- part of it is mental preparation and part of it is with just the way you think and the way you handle your game. And the way you attack the course or the way you're defensive on the course. And, I never really had a game plan that week, other than trying to hit the fairways and hit the green in the right spot. But, you really have to know your game, because if you hit a 7-iron to 155 yards and all of a sudden the wind kicks up and you hit it 140 and you bury it in the bunker, you say to yourself "I should have hit 6." Well, you play that, you hit the 6, the wind doesn't blow and you knock it over. So, now you're going -- I can't do anything right, so you lose confidence and you just keep going downhill. It's hard to, you know, it's hard to repair the flat tires as you're driving down the road. You know, you can't stop out there and repair your tires. You have to keep going. Then you get another flat tire. Then you get another one. You know, flop, flop, flop. That's the best way I can explain it.

Q. Steve, is distance how you win here at Congressional, the guys who can hit it long, do they have the advantage for the week?

STEVE JONES: I think there's definitely an advantage for them. I think if you look at last year's Open, the guys who hit it the longest, there was a bigger percentage in the Top-10 than the shorter hitters. You also remember, I don't care how long you hit it if you don't hit the fairways, 50 percent of the fairways, you will not win this tournament. You just can't do it, unless you putt like me in Phoenix, and then you might have a chance. That was once in a career. So, definitely, length helps. But, I mean, it's a combination. You know, obviously it's so obvious it's right in front of you. You're standing up with a driver and you're telling yourself, hey, you know, you can't miss the fairway, but yet you have to go ahead and put an aggressive swing on it. That's what makes the Open so special and so difficult to win. And that's why the scores are always so high.

Q. You said "When it's your turn to win, it's your turn to win." And, you described it as kind of a mystery. Is it also a mystery that for some guys their turn comes more often?

STEVE JONES: Yeah, I would like to figure out that one. Kind of help me out a little bit, you know. I think if you look at the guys who have won the most majors, obviously, I think they're some of the best players in the world, obviously. Look at Nicklaus, I just got a look at his concentration, the way he concentrated. The guy could just flat concentrate. He wasn't thinking about dinner that night or he wasn't thinking about the bogey he made on the last hole. He's thinking about this shot, how he's going to get it close to the hole, how he's going to make the putt to win the tournament. He did that better than anybody.

Q. Steve, you've had a pretty good year thus far and good week last week and got here a little late. So, I don't know about this question, but what's the mind-set right now of you getting to start to defend your title?

STEVE JONES: Well, right now I feel like I'm pretty relaxed. But, for me, I just have to stay focused on what I'm doing and I've got a little bit of work to do tomorrow as far as my short game, and that's basically it. That's kind of my routine on the majors. I play Monday, Tuesday. I don't play Wednesday, short game on Wednesday, try to relax a little more on Wednesdays, try to getaway from, you know, the whole circumstances and, that way, I can be more -- I can be fresher when Thursday starts.

Q. Steve, has your game changed at all in the last year? And, do you think you have a mental edge now, it's Steve Jones defending U.S. Open Champion, against the rest of the field?

STEVE JONES: Well, I think for my own personal game, I might have a little bit of an edge because when you win an Open or any major, I think, or any tournament, it gives you more confidence and your level of confidence is greater. And any time you've been somewhere before, you know, it's like you go to a fishing hole and you've fished there for 10 years and, you know, there's fish in there. And, you know, how it works - you're not going to go in there with some weird lure that doesn't work. You're going to go in there and use the right lure so you have confidence to go in there. No matter what people say, well, your swing is funny, you know your lure isn't right, you're not going to catch fish, any fish like that. Okay, whatever you say. You go in there and catch some fish or you win the tournament because you know what it takes. That's the way I look at it.

Q. You won on the golf course that Ben Hogan has said "I brought the monster to," whatever. What do you think Ben Hogan would say about this course out there?

STEVE JONES: I don't know. I wouldn't even want to try to answer that one. But, I know that he would talk about its length.

Q. Steve, you played with a gentleman today who came through the qualifying process as you did last year. Can you still relate to that experience and kind of go through your mind what was your mind-set then and what set you up for the tournament last year?

STEVE JONES: Yeah, I played with two guys today that qualified through those ranks like I did last year. But, yeah, I'll never forget that. That was the first year I'd ever qualified by going through qualifying for an Open. I think I tried like ten times and missed every time. I'll never forget that experience, and hopefully I'll never have to do it again.

Q. Obviously, leading into this tournament, there's been a great deal of focus on Tiger Woods and his, I guess, alleged effort to win the Grand Slam. This is part of a two-part question. Can any golfer currently on Tour win the Grand Slam and can Tiger do it?

STEVE JONES: Well, if anybody can do it right now, he can do it because he won the first one. It's kind of hard to do it if you don't win the first one - no doubt about it. If he can keep his concentration and focus the right direction, it's going to be awfully hard because of the attention he gets, but there's a guy that has all the game in the world that could do it, no doubt about it.

Q. Steve, how many times do you use your driver each round and could you comment a little bit on the 6th hole. Three or four other players have said what a difficult hole that was?

STEVE JONES: Yeah, the par 5, but we've got to play it as a par 4. That's quite a hole, it really is. It will be interesting to see if that's the hardest hole on the course or No. 2. Hit a 3-wood on No. 2. So at least on No. 6, you can hit, you know, anywhere if I hit a 6-iron in there and, you know, a lot of guys hit long irons or 4-woods. So, the other part of your question was the amount of drivers I hit.

Q. How many times have you used a driver?

STEVE JONES: Out of 14, I'm looking at between 8 to 10.

LES UNGER: How far does your 6-iron travel?

STEVE JONES: My 6-iron is approximately -- -- it was downhill, downwind, and I hit it 190, so, normally, it's about 180.

Q. Two unrelated questions, if you will. First of all, are you living in Montana now? Is that a second home or what's the deal? How much time are you spending there? Then the other unrelated question, about the length that you've already talked about, how does this compare to other Open courses that you've played, you talk about the necessity of hitting the fairway. What is the difficulty of that on this course?

STEVE JONES: Yeah, we moved to Montana three weeks ago. That's our primary residence. This is only my fourth Open, so I don't have a lot of Open experiences. The first one at Medinah in 1990. I think I finished 8th there. Basically hit the driver on every hole. It was a long course, the rough was tough. And then the one in Minneapolis, what is the name of that thing, Hazeltine. Boy, that was brutal - at least, for me that week. I played terrible, missed the cut. Then last year and this year. So, I really enjoy the tournament. It's just very difficult to get into. I mean, if you're not playing well, it's just hard to get into this tournament. So, you know, there's not a lot of guys out there that's played this thing 10 or 15 times that are my age.

LES UNGER: Steve, we wish you good luck defending and we're going to call this interview because of darkness and keep going.

STEVE JONES: Thank you very much.

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