BUICK CLASSIC

June 8, 2000

John Maginnes

JOHN MAGINNES: It's been so long since I played well, I'm at a loss for words. It was a lot of fun. I mean, it was a beautiful morning. I don't know if any of you guys were here at 7:10 this morning, but it was really nice outside. It was a little cool. But, you know I get excited about this tournament every year, because it's on such a great golf course. You know, it's one of the few that's been in the same place for 30 or 40 years. Played 36 down in New Jersey on Tuesday and came out and hit balls for about an hour yesterday, but was too tired to do a whole lot and said, "Well, we'll just go and see what happens." I didn't play a practice round. Just got it up there and teed it up this morning. I had a fun day. It was a very relaxed group. I've played with Murph a lot, Sean Murphy, who played well. I think he shot 1-under. And he and I are just sort of gabbing out there and having a good time.

JOHN MAGINNES: I made about a 25-footer on No. 2, which is a nice way to start the day. The next birdie I made was on 6. I almost made a 1. I hit a little wedge in there three, four inches from the hole. It should have gone in, actually . No, I'm just kidding. (Laughs). I missed a lot of birdie putts that I could have made today, but then I made one on 9 from 35, 40 feet after hitting it on the rough and having 6-iron to the green for my third shot. But I hit it close on 10 and 11 and missed them. And made a bogey on 12, which that hole, par is really about 4 3/4; so to make a 5 there, you're not really losing a whole lot by the field. Then I came right back and hit it to eight feet on 13 and got that one to go in. And made a 6-footer on 17. It was about as easy a round as you can have at Westchester, as far as not struggling to make pars, because there's a whole lot of bogeys out on that golf course. And I managed to keep it manageable all day. I made a few really nice putts for par, but nothing outrageous.

JOHN MAGINNES: No. I'm going to Maine to eat lobster next week and drink beer.

JOHN MAGINNES: You know, if I knew, I would be better. It's just a crazy game. You know, the harder you work out here -- I mean, I keep getting up in the morning and saying: "I know I can play, I know I can play." And the next thing I know, I'm 3-over par. You know, I stand on the range and hit the balls and put in the time and put in the work. You know, you just do the best you can. I'm not the kind of guy that gets real down on myself anymore; I used to. It's a long year, you know. I haven't started worrying about losing my card or anything like that. When I play well, I generally play well over a length of time. I'll have a bad stretch and then I'll have a good stretch. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a good stretch.

JOHN MAGINNES: Oh, yeah. I think it's happened to all of us in our golf game, hasn't it, regardless of whether you can shoot 67 or 87 and smile at the end of it.

JOHN MAGINNES: No. I played 36 in that rain on Tuesday. (Laughs). I played 36 holes in New Jersey with it raining side ways and 50 degrees. I had plenty of practice time. And my game tends to get better the more I play, and I haven't played a whole lot. I think it is a -- I didn't play New Orleans, I didn't play Memorial, I didn't play Colonial. So I haven't played a whole lot. Didn't play Atlanta. Didn't play, obviously, the Masters. And I need to play a lot more golf, and I think Tuesday actually helped me. Although, I didn't qualify it was 36 holes of competition that I really needed.

JOHN MAGINNES: I didn't get in the invitationals. There are a couple tournaments that just don't suit my game, and before you know it, you've taken two or three weeks off. And I've been reading a book that everybody should read, John Wooden's book, Reflections of a Lifetime on and Off the Court. And last night, I was reading this part of it, he said, you know, whether you have a Ford or a Cadillac, you have to make it the best possible car out there running. And it kind of hit me. I said, you know what, maybe I am a Ford running against a bunch of Cadillacs out there, but all I can do is be the best Ford I can be. I can't worry about what the Cadillacs are doing. I'm an old '67 Mustang with vinyl seats and eight-track cassette and eight-track player trying to beat up a bunch of Cadillacs.

JOHN MAGINNES: I can't wait until tomorrow. Yeah, I mean, that's the thing about this stupid game is I know I can. Whether or not I will is another story. But I know I'm capable of getting it around the golf course. I'd like to have a shot Sunday afternoon, obviously, but that may or may not happen. It doesn't scare me to think of winning the golf tournament. I mean, I have an 18-month old to feed for the next 25 years. (Laughs). And my options are pretty limited as to -- as to what I can do if it doesn't work out. So I'll just keep working as hard as I can and staying positive. It's a shame the wind is starting to blow out there, too. I just wanted to add that. (Laughter.)