home jobs contact us
Our Clients:
Browse by Sport
Find us on ASAP sports on Facebook ASAP sports on Twitter
ASAP Sports RSS Subscribe to RSS
Click to go to
Asaptext.com		 ASAPtext.com
ASAP Sports e-Brochure View our
e-Brochure

VALERO TEXAS OPEN


September 25, 2003


Dan Forsman


SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Thank you, Dan, for joining us for a few minutes in the media center. Great round today, 64. It started out really well today and you still shot a great round. Talk about what was your mindset as you continued for make birdies.

DAN FORSMAN: It was one of those great days, Joan. I was aware of what I was doing, but I wasn't into it in the sense I wasn't getting all caught up. However, having said that, there was one instance on the par 5 on the back nine, was it 14, where I had driven it perfect and I'm standing there with a 5 iron in my hand, I'm thinking if I eagle this hole I'm going to get to ten and I know I'll birdie one of the last two, and I can shoot 59. I allowed me to think about it.

I made a good swing, but it came out to the right and hopped into the trees, back right, and I wasn't able to birdie the hole. It was a little bit of a let down. And then come back and bogey the next hole, and then bogey again. At that point, the momentum had switched entirely and now it was whether or not I can par the holes coming in.

That's the amazing thing about this game, you got it going, you are aware you're playing well, you're all systems go, and as a result of a couple of shots that don't come off the way you hope they would, you get yourself behind the eight ball and that's kind of what I did. My point is, if there is a way to feel good about a 64, that's a great score for me starting out a tournament. However, saying that, ironically, I'm disappointed I didn't shoot better, because I had the ingredients going today.

I putted extremely well. I'm working hard on my putting. My putting stats for the Tour are weak. I'm one of the top guys in greens in regulation, however my putting stats are 140th, way down, so I'm spending a lot of time on my putting. And I made a discovery last night. I told my wife I made a discovery, and sure enough, today I was making putts. It was natural. It was easy and they were falling. That was exciting as can be.

It was a good day. I had a good group. We played well together. The course was going to yield good scores in the morning because there was no wind. The greens were holding and there were some pins you could get right in there tight. I made a nice birdie on the par 4, 5th hole, down the hill, down and up, which was a tough pin, a 7 iron about three feet left of the hole. I got to two under and then I birdied the short par 3, the downhill par 4, and the one coming up the hill, the 9th hole. I shot a 29 on the front, 6 under, and I also birdied No. 3, the par 3. From there, I birdied 11 and 12, had a reasonable birdie putt at 13.

I drove it perfect on 14, and I ended up making par, which was a good. I had a chance of making birdie, a little disappointment on the next two holes and I shot 6 under.

Q. Aaron Baddeley said the same thing during his round, 59 crept into his mind, as well. If you're playing that well, is it bad to start thinking about that 59?

DAN FORSMAN: You get ahead of yourself. It's hard not to. You need to stay in the present. When you've got it going, there is that electricity in your body, you know in your heart you're on today. I guess it would be if you conceive and believe, you'll achieve. I suppose there is some of that. However, in hindsight, it should have been believe, conceive, and get back to business.

All in all, though, it was great for me. I needed a boost. What was ironic about it, I was on this crescendo and I was riding this huge wave. Everything was sweet. I could just feel it. And the next thing I know, I hit the white water. I almost went under for a while. It spooked me. I was able to get out of there with a 6 under.

Q. You had a string of birdies on both sides. Was that a matter of the weather changing throughout the morning?

DAN FORSMAN: No. I think what it is, is a sense of getting started and you're getting into your round and the momentum builds up. Maybe it's tougher once you get there to get beyond that, that elusive 60, 59 category where so few have gone before. That's a part of it, I'm sure. Mental and psychological aspects of it, I'm sure, are part of that also.

Q. Is a nice pairing underappreciated by us outside the ropes?

DAN FORSMAN: I think so. I think there are times when you get along well with the group, everyone is in a pretty decent mood, chipper, guys move along at a good pace, they're ready to play when it's their turn, they're complimentary. Craig Perks is a true gentleman on the Tour. Bob Estes is quiet, but very respectful and complimentary also. He was a past championship here. It was at Oak Hills, it was the last year before they moved to here. He reflected on that a bit.

It's been a good week. My brother lives here and his wife, and their little daughter were following me. We had some fun last night over there at Fiesta. I was playing this hole and looking over there and remembering how those little girls were laughing and having a good time. That was neat. Those are fun times.

Earlier in the week, I had a chance to go do a Pro junior over at Breckenridge Park. One of the other fellows had to pull out, not feeling well, and they asked if I would substitute. I need to do more of that. And I said I would do it. I played with 3 juniors, a nine year old girl, a 13 year old boy and a 16 year old girl, who all had qualified by virtue of the skills that they had, and it was run by Cheetos, I think was the sponsor and Shamrock, I think. Valero was involved, as well.

We played nine holes, a scramble format, and they were hitting the ball good and excited to be out there. We forget sometimes, as pros, that we can have a great impact on youth and yet we don't get enough chances to perhaps interact with them. I really gained a great deal from that. I thought it was a pay it forward, in a sense. I want to go out there and be with these kids and spend some time and plant the seeds in me, some of that innocence, some of that passion and joy of those little kids. I was a junior golfer once and I loved it. It's where I began. So that was something that was really meaningful to me and maybe good things will come.

Q. If they put you out there as a nine year old with a Tour player, how would you have handled it?

DAN FORSMAN: It would have been nerve racking, they were just as mature and charming kids and they were talented, and their parents were there, and they took pictures together. It was really a meaningful day. It was probably one of the better days I've ever spent pre tournament practice round. In fact, we ought to do more of that. I don't know how we could do it. I think the Tour should get involved and get players to play with these kids in tournaments, maybe a nine hole scramble, just to be around them, to associate with guys on Tour, watch them in the sports pages and golf world and so forth and know that they've been with them and kind of mentor, if you will.

Q. Just talk about your round today and what you expect from the course later in the week. Do you think it's going to get more grueling, and the hike that you had to take on all 18 holes.

DAN FORSMAN: In some sense, it's a new course because I've never played it when the 10th hole is a par 4. It's a different golf course for me. It's soft today. You guys have had so much rain, apparently. The course hasn't gotten firm, and the greens haven't gotten as fast and firm as they usually are. That's a plus in shooting good scores. The wind is starting and that may have an effect in drying it out. It's always been a good golf course. There have been some critics. I don't know why. I don't know how people criticize golf courses in the sense what is it, a three and a half million purse or more. There's a PGA Tour title at stake and prestigious one at that. The Texas Open is one of the longest continuous tour events on Tour. A long way of saying the course is going to get a little more difficult, it usually does each day. Tomorrow I need to go out and hit fairways and greens, and hopefully the putter will stay hot and keep it going.

Q. You're not shocked at all about your play here?

DAN FORSMAN: No, I've been playing well, I just haven't putted very well. My statistics indicate I hit greens and that's a good recipe for getting birdie opportunities, the problem is I'm not converting. Today I was able to do that.

Q. What did you pull out of the rabbit's hat in terms of making your putting a little bit better?

DAN FORSMAN: That's a good question. It comes back to fundamentals. It's getting my eyes over the ball. What happened is, being tall, I tend to get out over the golf ball, so my eyes are out in front of it as opposed to being right over it. I think it's a key fundamental for me. I've watched a lot of great putters over the years and those are the ones who seem to putt well, who get their eye line right over the golf ball. I was a little quick and stabbing last week at 84 Lumber and this week I'm a little more smooth. Watch Justin Leonard putt, right behind him, his eyes are straight on top of it and he has a nice rhythmic stroke.

Q. Are you aware Breckenridge was the original course for the Texas Open? Any thoughts about playing that kind of course today?

DAN FORSMAN: Well, when I played it, I thought it was a really nice golf course. I was curious how much they charged juniors to play, because I thought what a great play to go to play golf. It's a A.W. Tillinghast design. I was thinking why don't they design holes like this anymore. It seems so simple yet so fun to play to, a challenge if they cut the greens and tuck the pins, it would be a very good test. Obviously the big thing is the equipment today. Overall, with the beautiful mature trees and just all the things that are there, with the so park there, it's a neat place. I enjoyed being there. Isn't that where Souchak set the all time record? I thought it was neat, a nice course. It would be interesting to see what they would shoot if they went over there now. The greens are tough and quick, there are some slopes on some of those greens, it would be tricky.

End of FastScripts...
About ASAP Sports • FastScripts Archive • Recent Interviews • Captioning • Upcoming Events • Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297