INTERVIEW OF TOM WATSON

DAVE SENKO:   Well, just a couple of notes before we get started.  Tom's 62, as I mentioned in there, matches the best final round in this tournament's history. Hale Irwin had a 62 in '98. 

And your 62 matches your career low on this Tour that you've done a couple of times. 

And I believe, a quick look at the stats, you had 22 putts, which matched your career low – at the first round at Mitsubishi this year.

TOM WATSON:  Really.

DAVE SENKO:  With that, take us through your 62. It was quite impressive.

TOM WATSON:  Yes, the putter was the star today.  I made some putts today.  I kind of had an attitude going out there on the first three holes of both nines, the front nine and the back nine. I hadn't made any birdies. Those are short par‑4's. You ought to be making some birdies there. I told myself I got to get off to a better start. 

The first hole I knocked a sand wedge in and it spun back there 20 feet and I holed it. 

And then the next hole, I hit a 9‑iron to a foot. 

And then I holed a sand wedge from 88 yards from No. 3. 

And I holed a putt that breaks about 8 feet at No. 4 for 2. 

First of all, I had a hole out, and second of all I made some no brainers, and I got off to a good start there. 

Obviously, a lot better than I had expected.  But at least I did what I was thinking about doing.  

And the back 9 was the same way, I got off to a really good start there, too. I played pretty scrappy after that start. 

No. 5, I hooked my tee ball in the left rough, caught a tree coming out of rough, but then hit a wedge about 10 feet and holed that putt for par. 

9, I tried to cut a ball, and I almost hooked it out of bounds.  I was right up against the fence at No. 9 and caught it just the top of the trees my second shot. 

I actually had a pretty clear second shot.  I just didn't get it high enough.  Made my only bogey of the day there. 

Then I had a scrappy drive on the next hole. I tried to cut it. I cut it too much. It kind of rolled around the bunker. Fortunately I had a pretty good lie and I knocked a 6‑iron in 15 feet and made it. 

11, I knocked it stiff into the right rough.  I didn't knock the ball in the fairway, I knocked it in the right rough there at a good angle, I was trying to keep it down the right side at 11. 

Well, I didn't hit a particularly good iron in there. I holed that one. 

And then I did what I had to do, I birdied the par‑5, 15th and the 18th holes. 

Actually, 18 I got away with a really cruddy second shot. I was trying to hook the ball way up in the air, hit it right in the bottom of it, almost topped it, it rolled right up to green 30 feet from the hole for eagle.

How do you know?  What do you know? 

If I hit the ball up in the air, it's probably 50 feet behind the hole.  If I half skull it and top it, and I end up 30 feet from the hole. The putter worked great today. I hadn't putted better for years. I turned a 67 or 66 into a 62 with the putter today. That's what I did. 

Q.            Did you think at any point, geez, if I would have started a couple shots lower I would have been back in the tournament, were did that come to mind?

TOM WATSON:  I was thinking Freddie hanging onto 13. If I get to 12 and the weather coming in, we are supposed to have some real hard weather coming in here in 15 or 20 minutes, you never know what's going to happen.

Q.            Tom, you haven't played since January at Hualalai, you took some time off?

TOM WATSON:  Actually I played at Dubai.  I played at the Dubai Classic, European Tour a couple of weeks after Hualalai.

Q.            But on the Champions Tour, this is your first?

TOM WATSON:  Right. This is my second event on the Champions Tour. 

Q.            Time off help?

TOM WATSON:  Not necessarily. I only could hit golf balls once in that time period between Dubai and here, just a little too much snow on the ground, a little ice. The temperatures never really got above 20.  I didn't have a chance.  In fact, I'm playing with a new set of irons, CB1's that we came out with this week. I'm trying to get used to those. 

So it was the week of surprises I guess you might say. I didn't play particularly well the first nine.  I played pretty well the second nine the first day and yesterday I played kind of scrappy all day yesterday and just kind of hung around, and today I got off to the start that I wanted to get off to.  That was the key, to get off to a good start. I'm thinking let's see if I can shoot ‑4 to 6‑under par today, at least get myself back somewhat respectable in there.  As luck would have it -- 62. 

Q.            So today the poa annua, the putting surfaces have been good?

TOM WATSON:  Yes, sir.  I know I won't be doing that forever.  It's sure to do it one day when it counts.

Q.            On a Sunday crowd?

TOM WATSON:  Yes.

Q.            Can you contrast the wind conditions from yesterday and today and how were they difficult and how did it affect your day?

TOM WATSON:  Well actually the wind was different. The wind played some tricks on us today.  The wind was blowing in our face on the first hole.  It came from the south.  Now it's coming more from the northwest.  So it's changed directions three times a day and blew pretty strong, blowing pretty strong out there.  It's making the par‑5s play easy, the 15th and 18th holes. 

But it's also making some other holes, 17 going downwind is a little bit easier than 17 going into a hard crosswind in your face from right‑to‑left.

Q.            It wasn't quit windy enough to affect the putting?

TOM WATSON:  Actually, no, it wasn't. It wasn't quite windy enough to do that. It did make you think out there today, the wind.  Sometimes you really can't feel it on the ground, you look up in the trees and you see it blowing a certain direction, maybe you didn't think it was coming from that direction.

Q.            In view of the way you played, were you surprised that the leaders virtually did nothing the first 10 holes?

TOM WATSON:  Not really. This golf course, you should be able to get off to a good start on 1, 2 and 3. You got birdie holes. Especially where the flags were today on those holes.  hey were on the backs of the greens, easy access.  You think there would be a few more birdies.  But then the golf course starts.  You turn around and you got 4, 5, and 6 into the wind and 7 is always a wonder to play. 

7 is a great green, love it. 

8, is a really a difficult par‑3.

And 9 is a great par‑4, a great driving hole. 

Then you start downwind again on 10, 11 and 12. You ought to be making some birdies on those holes.  If you don't, there it is.

Q.  Tom were the green speeds today any different than they were Saturday or Friday

TOM WATSON:  No, they were in great condition all week.  Kudos to the superintendent.They did a great job here.  I've had some pretty good success putting poa annua greens.  22 putts, Dave?

DAVE SENKO:  Yes.

TOM WATSON:  That's pretty good.  

Q.  It's like a Gordie Howe hat trick

TOM WATSON:  3 of them.  2 of them.

Q.            Does a day like this get you anything about the Majors a little bit more?

TOM WATSON:  No, that's too far head.  But my next tournament is The Masters. I hope to be ready for that.  The golf course is kind of the limit of my capabilities.  But I think if I play my best, I can still compete there.

Q.            I believe you proved that at the British.  You kicked some butt?

TOM WATSON:  Thank you.

DAVE SENKO:   Did you have a chance to practice much before the event starts? 

TOM WATSON:  I'll stay in Kansas City.  I will be in Kansas City for a couple of weeks before.  The way the weather is going you never know, there could be 12 inches of snow. I will get some practice in there.  When I practice for Augusta, there are always certain shots that I practice.  I practice hooking the driver.  I want to hit some nice hard draws with the driver. Conversely, I want to hit high, soft, long irons the best I can. It's hard for me to hit a hard long soft iron anymore.  I hit too many bullets with it.  I can get it there. I think I remember how to do it. That's what I have to do there. Holes like 17, 14, I've got to come in there, that ball coming down with a parachute on it.  That's always been the case there though.  That high soft shot is really nice at Augusta.

Q.            Are those new irons going to help you do that a little better you think?

TOM WATSON:  The long irons are good.  Yes, they're good.  I like the long irons.

Q.            Tom, were you practicing anymore working on your putting several weeks ago?

TOM WATSON:  No.  I hadn't hit a putt until I came out here on Wednesday. I hadn't hit a putt for three weeks.  But I had a good thought in my mind from Dubai, because I made some field goals there in the last nine holes there. I made three nice long putts there to kind of put me back in the Top‑10 there.  That's always a good feeling when you leave a tournament like that, you don't get that feeling. Sometimes you can over practice.  You go out and you practice, you lose that feeling by over practicing.  If anything, I under-practice. 

Q.            Can you talk about the different vibe between a Masters, an Open and a Champions Tour event?

TOM WATSON:  You know, I honestly don't approach them any differently.  There is always more excitement in a Major championship when you tee it up.  I don't approach it any differently with the exception that I will practice, I will try to prepare a little bit more. 

At Augusta, I played the golf course a number of times, and I literally played it with just one practice round.  It really hasn't changed much over the last five or six years.  My goal really honestly there is to make the cut.  I haven't made the cut there now for five years, something like that. My 74, 75 and 83's don't get it.

Q.            No pressure missing the cut here?

TOM WATSON:  No, there is no pressure there. But there is always pressure playing in a tournament.  Like I've said a number of times, the reason that I'm so competitive at age 60 is I thank the Champions Tour for that to be able to compete.  I take every tournament the same.  I go out with the same attitude in competing when I'm playing in the Champions Tour as I do The Masters or the British Open. 

I try to win a golf tournament.  It doesn't matter what the tournament is.  When the chips are down, it's the same, it's the absolutely same.

Q.            Do you remember the last time you were 5‑under through 4?

TOM WATSON:  No, I remember I finished 6‑under the last 5 at Planter's (phn) No. 2 in the World Open in 1973 in the fourth round and they played eight rounds.  That was a great finish.  I shot 62 that round, too.  That was pretty neat.

Q.            What's your low PGA TOUR round?

TOM WATSON:  I think 62. 

DAVE SENKO:   You had a 63.  You did it three times.  The last one was at the Buick Invitational. 

TOM WATSON:  So 63 is my lowest out there.  62, two or three times here? 

DAVE SENKO:   Yes, JELD‑WEN and Dallas. 

TOM WATSON:  I remember the final round of Dallas and JELD‑WEN – 63.