U.S. Senior Open: Interviews With Greg Norman

Courtesy of ASAP Sports

August 2, 2009

THE MODERATOR: At 11-under par for the championship, Greg Norman.

Q. Greg, two really good weeks for a guy who doesn't play a lot, but probably not what you wanted either, obviously?

GREG NORMAN: Freddy played great today, and I played poor. He really deserved to win. He really played well.

Q. Can you just maybe review your round for us quickly?

GREG NORMAN: I don't really want to review my round, no. Just wasn't good. The middle patch wasn't good. Just wasn't good.

Q. Seemed like you got it -- I mean, you hit some good shots. You actually had the tee for quite awhile there on the back nine. Hit some better shots but by that time --

GREG NORMAN: Nothing was going my way. I was out of energy and the momentum -- not physically out of energy, but the momentum wasn't on my side and things weren't happening for me, and no matter what I did, always seemed like it was the wrong thing instead of the right thing, and I just couldn't turn the corner on it, you know, that was it.

Freddy kept making birdies and that was the end of that.

Q. Tough when the leader is shooting one-below scores all day; it's hard to catch him?

GREG NORMAN: Sure it is.

He played great golf. He deserves to win when you shoot 7-under, that's very, very impressive.

Q. A couple of good drives early, didn't capitalize on them, did that set the tone?

GREG NORMAN: Just momentum, wasn't my day. It wasn't my day. Just didn't feel like there was anything happening out there. No matter what I did seemed, like I said, it was the wrong thing. You got to be able to make sure you capitalize on good shots, and I didn't.

Q. Speak to the course and the fan support all weekend long.

GREG NORMAN: Well, the fans were great; no complaints about that. The golf course was great.

Q. When you look at some of the scores on that board, is that reminder of how well guys play on this Tour?

GREG NORMAN: These guys can still play. The golf course is very similar to what we played in 1991, and, you know, we are still hitting in the same places, hitting the same irons into the greens. So, you know, goes to show, these guys are still very, very good.

Q. Will you play JELD-WEN and then sort of look at what's going on, or is JELD-WEN it?

GREG NORMAN: Well JELD-WEN is the last of what I got on my list, yeah. We'll see what happens after that.

Q. Thank you.

GREG NORMAN: Thanks, guys.

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August 1, 2009

THE MODERATOR: 12-under for the Championship here, Greg Norman.

GREG NORMAN: Played nicely today, yep, probably the worst score I could have shot.

Q. What's your mind-set going into tomorrow?

GREG NORMAN: Keep hitting it to where I'm hitting. I'm driving the ball long and straight, and Freddy made the comment that I'm driving the ball like I used to do it. And so it's a good feeling when you get up on any tee and hit it the way you feel like you can hit it.

Q. Enjoy today?

GREG NORMAN: Yeah, I did. We both spurred each other on. And if I play well, he plays well. And it's always very comfortable to play with somebody you like playing with.

Q. You're in a similar situation, the two of you, in that you were leading off 54 last week, and he ended up in the playoff; how much energy does it take to do that?

GREG NORMAN: Last week seems like three months ago, to tell you the truth. It's hard to believe that we were outside London on last Saturday night. But it goes to show you, if you keep playing well week in week out, you're going to give yourself an opportunity to win a golf tournament, and that's what we're both trying to do and everybody is trying to do.

So what happened a week ago is long gone, and we're both going to be trying to win one tomorrow.

Q. What's the biggest obstacle the course will pose tomorrow?

GREG NORMAN: We have to wait and see what the weather looks like tomorrow. We'll wait ask see.

Q. Did Fred steal one of your shirts?

GREG NORMAN: No, he's been wear wearing my shirts for a while. We give him the shirts, and he doesn't have to pay for 'em. He's got plenty; right?

Q. If you could win this tomorrow, what would this championship mean in retrospect to the others that you've won?

GREG NORMAN: I'll answer that question tomorrow if it happens, okay, how about that.

Q. Tell us about the eagle on the back nine.

GREG NORMAN: Beautiful drive down there. I had 187 left to the flag and just had to hit a solid 6-iron into the green. I was trying to land it short, basically in front of the pin, so it released forward. I didn't want it to go anything past flag high, and short was good, and if I hit it perfect it was going to be flag high, and a putt broke outside the right edge. One of those that I read right and it went in.

Q. Do you feel tournament tough now? Tougher than last week?

GREG NORMAN: Tougher than last week, yeah, today was a good day for me.

Q. You're ready to go?

GREG NORMAN: Yeah, yeah. Thanks guys.

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July 31, 2009

Q. Just a quick review of the day. A little tougher, huh?

GREG NORMAN: Long day, it really was. I just said to Chris, my caddie, that might have been the longest day on the golf course I've had in a long time. It was hard work out there, tough pins.

The greens were tough speed to get figured out and my yardage always seemed like they were right in between clubs, couldn't go at a hard shot, and they were kind of like -- it was an awkward day, but Joey Sindelar played well.

Q. Only 36 holes, I would think you feel good about your position.

GREG NORMAN: Yeah, the way I finished today. Yeah, hanging in there late afternoon around the U.S. Senior Open golf course and a Pete Dye golf course, you knew it was going to be different. Joey and I said we can't believe the difference in the greens from yesterday morning to this afternoon. We expected it and tomorrow afternoon everything is on the same page now going forward.

Q. Fun and games over it's going to get a lot harder?

GREG NORMAN: I would think so. I think the forward tee positions and kind of -- it will toughen up, no question.

Q. Hole positions or firmness?

GREG NORMAN: Firmness. The greens have dried out, the upper crust of the surface of the green dried out quick, and there would be no spin. And sometimes you land it in an upslope and the ball would spin back, so it was confusing, and you couldn't get a good handle on where to land the shot.

Q. Although, like you said, you hung in there.

GREG NORMAN: All in all, very happy, yeah.

Q. Okay.

GREG NORMAN: Giving myself a good chance come the weekend.

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July 30, 2009

THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome Greg Norman to the media center. He shot a 66 today. General comments?

GREG NORMAN: Played well today. The golf course was there to be had, it was perfect conditions, the greens were receptive enough to be aggressive with the shots if you want to play in 'em, and the speed was nice so it was a good day for scoring golf.

Q. Greg, looking at some of the names on the leaderboard, some very well known names, is this a golf course that will separate the cream from the crop, so to speak?

GREG NORMAN: Well, it's a Pete Dye golf course, and he tests your shot-thinking ability, and there are things you can do out there to put yourself in a bad position, and Pete will always have something there to catch you, if he can do that.

Every time I've gone to a Pete Dye golf course I like the way he tactically builds the golf course. When you get up to a tee, you can't just pull out a driver, even though John Daly did that in '91. You've got to think about the shot, before you hit it, and a lot of the greens, especially the back nine, they've got a lot of undulations, so if you short-side yourself, it's difficult to get up and out like I did on 18 today.

Q. If you can go through on what happened on 18. It looked like after your tee shot you choked up on something, you changed clubs, you didn't seem like you were necessarily committed to whatever shot you were trying --

GREG NORMAN: Well, there is such a severe upslope, and the grain was going straight into me, so I knew my club head was going to decelerate very quick, and when you're on a keen angle on an upslope, it's difficult to keep that accelerating through because your body wants to fall back, so you're not getting a full rotation in.

So I changed to hit the ball higher to capture the wind to get more carry out of it. I hit the ball exactly like I wanted to hit it, it just came up about 4 yards too short, that's all.

Q. I noticed when you said before we started, did you say the tee box was 42 yards --

GREG NORMAN: Yeah, the tee box was up 42 yards and there is a note on our lockers saying that would do that on some of the holes, and 18 it caught me by surprise, and when I got to the tee I didn't have a line off that tee.

And when I was looking in my yardage book and trying to do the calculations, what's the carry over the water, I didn't have the time, basically, so I just didn't feel really 100% comfortable on where I had to hit the tee shot, and when I did hit it I thought it was going to be okay. I didn't think it was going to be in the situation that it was.

Q. Do you prefer four rounds rather than three?

GREG NORMAN: Oh, yeah, I played only one regular PGA Tour event, and that was in Cap Cana this year, and it felt awkward. On a Thursday you feel like you have to concentrate hard, and Friday -- it felt like the tournament was over before it started.

Q. How much of a challenge is it for you to play three Majors in a row? It's tough when you're in your 20s, but when you're in your 50s, it's even tougher, I would think.

GREG NORMAN: Well, it is. If it wasn't for the stature of the events I wouldn't be traveling back and forth across the pond. You do it because it is the USGA U.S. Senior Open, you do it because I like the golf courses, and at the end of the day you know what jet lag is like, doesn't matter whether you're in your 50s or in your 20s.

Everybody is affected by it, you plow your way through it. Sometimes experiencing how your body is going to feel is advantageous, but I'm not physically tired, that doesn't bother me. I would like to see them put a week gap in between the two of 'em, but I understand they've got the USGA has the ladies to look after and the amateurs, and all that, so it's probably tough on scheduling to do that, but from the selfish standpoint, we would like to see it spread out one week.

Q. Greg, conditions can change in the next three days but talk about the front nine and the back nine, what holes are opportunities for you to score low on each of the nines.

GREG NORMAN: Well, they're all opportunities if you're driving the ball well, I can put it to you that way. The greens are absolutely perfect this morning. I'm sure they're going to be firmer tomorrow, the greens, the surfaces are not going to be as perfect as what we had this morning, so there will be some adjustment, but we've all done that before, played early and then played late in the afternoon and normally when you play early, you play late in the afternoon three out of the four days.

If you drive the ball well, and if you're feeling aggressive, you can get at some of these flags. They tucked a few tight today, and if they wanted to be mean out here they could be mean. This is a Pete Dye golf course, he builds very quirky greens, to say the least, so when they start tucking the pins they can make this golf course defensive if they wanted to.

Q. Greg, would you compare the way you drive the ball now to the 1980s? Distance, accuracy, trajectory?

GREG NORMAN: Well, I can relate that '91 PGA here, I'm hitting the ball further on this golf course today than what I was in '91. I'm carrying the 14th hole without a problem, the big chop dogleg to the left, driving further down on the par 5s than I did in '91. So is that my youth? No, but that's got a lot to do with technology, obviously, the golf course is in pristine shape, the greens are cut at the same height, the ball releases a little bit.

Everybody flights the ball differently, most of us, every shot we hit it's a different flight anyway, but from pure technology we picked up some yardage. So the golf course, in my opinion, is probably playing the same clubs I hit in '91 I'm hitting now into the greens, and there is, what, 20 years separation almost in the time clock.

I know I'm not -- my club head speed isn't as fast as what it was in '91 so technology has made up the gap.

Q. What ball are you using?

GREG NORMAN: I'm using a TaylorMade Red ball.

Q. You talked about a Pete Dye course and the angles and subtle slopes and movements. With that in mind, do you think it's been an oversimplification over the years that this concept that John Daly just came here and completely overpowered the golf course, and that's how he won, has that been unfair to the quality of Crooked Stick?

GREG NORMAN: The quality of Crooked Stick is there, no question about it. John Daly did come here and bomb it over everything. He did, he just drove it out there. I remember watching him hit shots on television going, "Wow, you don't think about driving it the way he is driving it," but he had the utmost confidence in his driver.

Like I said before, if you drive the ball well and long around here, you can get at this golf course.

What did John win by, 3 or 4 shots back then?

Q. 12-under.

GREG NORMAN: 12-under? So probably the same thing is going to happen here this week.

Q. Tom Watson said every since he turned 50 the U.S. Senior Open and the PGA were the most desired events for him to win. Can you address where this ranks for you?

GREG NORMAN: They're all desirable for me, I don't have a ranking system. I think they're all vitally important, and I think when you've been a top player in your game over the decades, no matter whether you're teeing up in a regular event or in a Major, you want to perform well and give yourself a chance to win.

You know, I've been there in the past with the U.S. Opens, I've been there with British Opens, so I would like to have this tournament on my mantelpiece, no question. Like I said, they're all equal.

Q. Greg, can you address the crowds even during the practice rounds? And also as infrequently as you play, the galleries that you draw, why do you think you get so many people out wanting to see you play?

GREG NORMAN: I think they like my wine. Over the years it's been -- I think they enjoy the way I play the game of golf. I'm fairly aggressive, I like to play the game. I like to challenge myself and sometimes they see shots that they couldn't dream of hitting in their time, but the galleries here have been phenomenal.

I've been taken back by the numbers and the support and the enthusiasm that they have given us, and that tells you that this part of America has been starved for golf and they're going to support us for the next three days.

I just hope the weather holds up for us. You would hate to see any adverse conditions come in here and take away from anything that's so positive about this event. Everything is so great about it right now.

THE MODERATOR: Greg, thank you for your time.

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July 30, 2009

Q. (Question about how play went.)

GREG NORMAN: I'd have to say solid to say the least. I got off to obviously a hot start, four straight birdies in four of the first five holes, and i just wanted to keep it going.

Believe it or not, I feel like I didn't drive the ball as well as I'd like to have driven the ball. There were some tee markers up today that I didn't hit the tees off during the practice rounds and especially 18. It was kind of like didn't know where to hit it on 18.

But, you know, if I can put the combination all together I feel like I'm getting close -- even though I played very, very well today I feel like I'm getting close to getting it all together.

Q. Your putter, it was sure hot today?

GREG NORMAN: Even last Sunday I feel like I putted well. I didn't make any, but I felt like I was hitting the putt solid.

I changed to an old-style putter. I always rotate between that 88, 02, and that putter I used today; so maybe it's just a different look, different feel.

I read the greens nicely today. You can see the green a lot easier on this golf course than you did at Sunningdale. But you're right, 8 and 9, excuse me, 9 and 10 were crucial putts for me.

Q. What's the brand, the putter you are using now?

GREG NORMAN: That TaylorMade Rossa.

Q. You like that, obviously?

GREG NORMAN: Yeah, I like it. I like the feel of it.

Q. Does the length of this course make a difference?

GREG NORMAN: Well I think the golf course suits a guy that hits the ball long, there is no question. Jay Haas and I were talking about it a lot today.

A lot of holes at Bottleneck end, widen out once you get past the trouble. You are willing to just hit your driver and bomb it out there. You got to have short eyes into the green like I had on 16. Once you get it past all the trouble, there's nothing down there for you, so you can get in there with a pitching wedge 9-iron in your hand.

Q. What did you have left on 16?

GREG NORMAN: I had 127, something like that.

Q. (No microphone.)

GREG NORMAN: I took it over the corner, yeah.

Q. Playing three straight majors like you've done, how much of a taxing thing has that been on you if anything?

GREG NORMAN: Well, you feel it, I'm not going to tell a lie. I mean, the jet lag gets you. But normally it takes about three or four days to get over the jet lag. Today is the third day. We got in Sunday night, late, about, you know, midnight. So three days is normal. So, hopefully, from here on out, you start getting your equilibrium back into your body, away from jet lag. And you should start feeling a little bit more in balance with yourself.

But, golf wise, that doesn't bother me, playing three in a row. I really wish the they could get together and separate them for the good of all of us -- for the players and everybody. It's bit taxing, even on the media coming across the pond to get here. They are too good events, two really good events to really cram this way.

Next year we go from Scotland to Seattle, so that's even a bigger time change and trip, so we have to take that it consideration.

Q. It is what it is, I guess; that's the schedule that's laid out for you, got to do it; right?

GREG NORMAN: That's right. But, if they weren't the three tournaments they were, I wouldn't play three in a row. Flipping from one side of the Atlantic to the other, I wouldn't do it. You know, I didn't do it in my younger days; I wouldn't do it when I'm 55, 54. But, because they are the tournaments they are, and the stature they are, yes, you are going put your body through it.

Q. (Question about the wind).

GREG NORMAN: Absolutely. This morning it was perfect golfing condition. Great, light. You could get your depth perception really well. Even though you got your yardages, you could see exactly how far you needed to hit the shot so a perfect day for scoring.

Q. What's the crowd been like? Are you surprised about it?

GREG NORMAN: I made a comment Tuesday afternoon that the crowds for practice rounds here are as good as any regular PGA Tour event or any major championship we've played in. They've been phenomenal here. Look at it today, I mean, it's jam packed today.

I think that's a great decision for the USGA to come to Crooked Stick.

Obviously, tells you the Midwest is starved for good golf. They support us well here, and, hopefully, they keep coming out over the next three days, and they're going see some good golf. There's going be some low scores going up around here.

Q. '91 was a long time ago?

GREG NORMAN: Yep.

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July 29, 2009

THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to welcome Greg Norman to the interview area. This is Greg's third Senior Open; twice he's finished fourth. He's won 78 tournaments in 13 countries around the world and twice won the British Open Championship. Greg, playing majors back-to-back-to-back, tell us where you are with your game right now and your thoughts and expectations this week.

GREG NORMAN: I feel my game is fairly solid, actually. I have no complaints at the moment. I'm just a little bit like anybody would say coming off playing golf in Europe for two weeks then getting over here, it's bit of a slug on us. But it is what it is. I just wish there was a bit of a gap between the British Open and the Senior U.S. Open.

Q. You finished fourth in two previous U.S. Senior Opens, how do you feel Crooked Stick plays, and do you think you can kind of break that cycle this weekend?

GREG NORMAN: I hope I break it for the better, not the worse; right? Is that what you mean?

Q. Yeah.

GREG NORMAN: I like Crooked Stick. I think Pete Dye's done a good job here, no question about it. It's already hosted a major championship, and it's proven its credibility. So it suits my game to a degree, suits the longer hitter. Obviously with John Daly winning around here and flying the ball through the air you have some advantages. So if I keep playing solid, hopefully I can improve on that fourth place average.

But I like it. The people are great. Very, very supportive here. I've been surprised over the last couple days the number of people who have come out here and watched us in our practice rounds. It's been tremendous to see that. I hope we can all put on a good show for them.

Q. A lot of people have talked about the length and, you know, being a bomber's course. What about the second shots? There's a lot to deal with there, isn't there?

GREG NORMAN: Yeah, there's a lot of squirreliness on some of the greens, which is what Pete likes to do. He likes to test your mind. You got to know where you are going to hit the shot. And more importantly, if you are going to hit it and mishit it, where you are going mishit the shot.

The back nine greens, they're probably a little more tricky than the front nine greens. He kind of lays them out there fairly benign for the first nine holes, even the tenth hole, then all of a sudden things start to change for you.

Pete does that. He's a great designer of golf courses, but he also mentally challenges the player. No matter how good you are or how bad you are. And that's part of his modus operandi around Crooked Stick. He gradually makes things more difficult as the day goes on. Under the circumstances and under the pressure of the situation, you've really got to keep your head on the right way and make sure your game is strong.

So that's the art of a great designer, is challenging not only physically but mentally.

Q. Greg, do you think what you did last year at Birkdale and what Tom did this year sort of gives senior golf a little new found respect from some people that might not have had it?

GREG NORMAN: I would hope so. I would hope it's the younger generation sitting up and taking stock on the fact that if you are playing golf in your early 20s, you still got another 30-plus years of golf ahead of you. So just be patient and keep on your game plan and keep working at it. The game of golf will take it away from you but also give it back to you over a long period of time.

I think the last couple years the British Open has shown the fact that if you keep yourself in good physical shape, the best physical shape you can for the age you are in, and then make sure your game is halfway decent, you can contend with these guys. You are not going be able to do it on every golf course. There's certain golf courses that obviously takes the older players out of it to a degree. But when you get on golf courses like links golf course where a lot of experience and the ball releases is going forward, absolutely.

Q. Greg, just wanted to ask you how much you actually remember from '91 here. Are there things out there that seem familiar to you, greens or certain holes?

GREG NORMAN: I pretty much remembered it when I played yesterday 15 of the 18 holes. And I remembered all the back nine for sure.

The golf course is playing very similar to what we played in '91 yardage-wise. Shouldn't say yardage-wise, the clubs were hitting into the greens.

As a matter of fact, I made a comment yesterday I was surprised how short it did play and relative to what I remembered it back in '91. So you think of the 14th hole, for example, John Daly was the only one who could really carry the creek on the left. And now pretty much all are carrying the creek on the left.

So it's sign of the times. Technology's helped us advance in that period of time from '91 to here we are 18 years later. So we're all basically out there where we use to be 20 years ago.

Q. Some point in the last couple weeks you mentioned maybe not being as tournament tough as you'd like because you haven't played a lot of senior golf. How will that manifest itself and is that coming off? I mean, three weeks in a row, is that enough to get tournament tough?

GREG NORMAN: Yeah, I think so. Last week was a good indicator of that. I played very, very good golf from tee to green. And on Sunday I think it was a bit showing that I hadn't played -- I had not played tournament putting golf. I putted well, but I didn't putt the way I know you should putt on the final round leading a golf tournament. That's just from a lack of tournament play.

This week it will be a little better than what it was last week. And going into the JELD-WEN in two weeks time, whenever it is, it will be that much better again.

So there's no question, tournament play is good for you. It teaches you and it reminds you of the things that you know in your system, and it's not just hitting the ball. It's the ability of concentrating and making sure you read the greens right and hit them to the right speed. That's all tournament conditions.

Q. Are you concerned the five-hour time difference and all that might interfere with that momentum, that kind of rhythm you picked up last week or you'll just see?

GREG NORMAN: No, it will be okay. I think everybody's flown back across the pond, so we all have a little bit of jet lag. And we've done it for 30, 35 years of our lives, so you just got to plow your way through it and deal with it and tee it up tomorrow and do the best you can.

Q. Speaking of teeing it up tomorrow, looking at the forecast, rain possibly Thursday and Sunday. How do you think this course will hold up with the rains coming in here?

GREG NORMAN: Well, I think we had a lot of rain here last night, didn't we? And the golf course today was perfect. So I don't see any concerns or problems for the USGA or Crooked Stick as a golf course to put up with some more rain.

And most of the rain coming in are thunderstorms anyway, so we get pulled off the golf course because of lightning. So I think the golf course is going to be fine with no problem.

From my perspective, I play early tomorrow so hopefully I'll be in before the rain anyway when it comes in.

Q. Could you just talk a little bit about how much fun is senior golf for you. Is it more fun than you thought it would be? Did you think it was going to be fun, and what do you like about it?

GREG NORMAN: Well, I predominantly only played the major championships. I think I played one regular Tour event. That was down in Cap Cana. So I really can't make a comment on the regular senior Tour events. I haven't played enough of them.

But coming out here to the major championships, the golf courses are set up not as tough -- the senior PGA was comparable to any major championship we played. The USGA has been a little bit kinder for us in the outer-rough. But all the other -- the greens this week are not as quick as what they were last year at the Sunnydale at the Senior British Open, but I can understand that here because of all the undulations. If they got off too quick here we wouldn't be able to putt on some of them. So I think they've done a great job balancing it out.

We can move the ball forward out of the heavy rough and some of us, the stronger players, should be able to really try to advance it and get it on the green, which could be a disaster in its own right as well.

So I think the -- from playing in the senior majors or regular majors you still have the same atmosphere.

Q. Do you enjoy it?

GREG NORMAN: Yeah I enjoy it. I enjoy playing the major -- I enjoy playing four rounds, not three, I got to be honest with you.

When I played in the first senior tournament, I got in there Friday and it felt like the tournament was over before we even started. So, you know, it's amazing when you get use to doing something for 30-odd years, then when it changes, is was tough for me to make that adjustment. But that was only one event, so I really can't be too critical.

If I play another one, at least I'll know what to expect going into it. But I do enjoy playing, I really do.

Q. Greg, we talked last night about the directions you get pulled in and how much you enjoy doing other things. Given all that, are you a better practicer when you do practice than, say you were 10 or 20 years ago?

GREG NORMAN: Am I a better practicer?

Q. Yeah. Do you use your time more wisely when you practice?

GREG NORMAN: Yeah, I really focus on my practice, you know, when you're younger and you're trying to hone your skills you need to hit a lot of golf balls to get your muscles right and get your technique correct. As you get older, all you need to do is just bump off the rust, basically, and get the joints moving. So you can stay there and get a lot of work done in 90 minutes to 2 hours instead of doing it for 8 or 9 hours.

And now what I do is I practice for two-hour sessions; I'll go play golf, and before I never played. I always just hit golf balls, and I only played when I went to a tournament. I hardly ever played a round of golf. So my time was spent on the driving range, and now it's completely reversed.

THE MODERATOR: Greg, thank you for your time.

GREG NORMAN: Thank you.

For complete coverage of the U.S. Senior Open, please visit the Sharkwatch » Tournaments section of Shark.com.