Kevin Sutherland - 2/10/07 John Bush: We would like to welcome our co-leader after 54 holes, Kevin Sutherland, 14 under par. Kevin, thanks for coming by and spending a few minutes with us. Nice round today, bogey free. Just get some comments if we can. Kevin Sutherland: You know, I played good today. I hit the ball good today. I hit some good drives, I putted really well. The greens over at Poppy are tough to putt, I made a lot of four- and five-foot putts, some for birdies, some for par. I played solid today. John Bush: Good day to be at Poppy, considering conditions. Kevin Sutherland: I have a feeling, yes. It was really windy at Poppy, I can't imagine at Pebble. It must have been nasty. John Bush: All right. Go into questions. Questioner: Can you imagine it tomorrow? Kevin Sutherland: Very similar to today, yes, it's going to be windy and nasty. Questioner: Is that okay with you? Kevin Sutherland: That's fine. I don't care. That's the way it's supposed to be at the AT&T, I think, at Pebble Beach. So yeah, I'm looking forward to it. A couple years ago I think it was really windy, too, and kind of rainy early in the day, so I can maybe use that as a role a little bit. Questioner: How do you play in those kind of... are you accustomed... I know you played here, obviously you played San Francisco City when it was bad weather. Kevin Sutherland: I have played this course in bad weather. I'm pretty accustomed to what it can be like. Pebble always seems a little different every time you play it. It is windy. One thing about it, the greens obviously are a little bit soft, which makes it easier in the wind. If it were firm and windy this course would be brutal. Questioner: Second time in three weeks you are in the final group. Kevin Sutherland: Yes. Questioner: Second time in three weeks everyone is talking about someone else. Kevin Sutherland: Yes. That's to be expected. I'm playing well right now, I feel good about the way I'm playing and yeah, it's... you know, I'm hitting the ball well, making some putts. I feel like I'm shooting scores that I should be shooting given the way I'm playing. So I feel good about tomorrow. Questioner: What do you have to do well tomorrow? In your mind. Kevin Sutherland: You know, if the weather is bad just kind of manage, you know, the way your trajectory and all that. And obviously if the weather is bad you need to putt well. It's just that simple. Questioner: A few more calls from Sacramento after the 63 yesterday for tickets? Kevin Sutherland: No, actually not. Everyone wants to stay away, they are afraid. I... my brother and a bunch of friends came down on Thursday, so they went home and they probably figured they were bad luck, so I shot 63 the next day. So a couple people called but no one has asked for any tickets. Questioner: Kevin, can you talk about the final round at Torrey a couple weeks ago? 64. What were your thoughts at the end of it about what you had done there in the last round? Kevin Sutherland: You know, I didn't play very well. I didn't hit the ball as well as I did the first three days, it just seemed like I was a little quick with everything I was doing. And kind of back to Doug's question, I think that's knowing I need to get back into my little comfort zone. I was just a little bit quick on just about everything I was doing, so that's something I need to manage tomorrow. Questioner: It's kind of nice to have that fresh, right? Kevin Sutherland: Oh, yeah. Questioner: Obviously at Torrey it wasn't fresh being in the last group for a while. Kevin Sutherland: That's true. That's very true. You are right, you can learn from those... from things you have done in the past. Especially if it's just recently. And so tomorrow that's something I'm going to try to focus on a little bit. Questioner: With potential weather do you feel that maybe par becomes a good score? Are you more comfortable doing that versus not having to maybe shoot a 65 or -6? Kevin Sutherland: Uhm, yes, I guess. You know, either way they are both good scores... given the conditions of the day. I would say that I'm actually looking forward to it being kind of windy and stuff. I think that's good for me. If I was getting a birdie shoot-out, yesterday I made ten birdies, so I don't know, but I think I would be better off with tougher conditions. Questioner: Any significance at Torrey, the big name and the gallery and everything was in front of you with Tiger, tomorrow it's obviously with you and Phil. Does that matter at all? Kevin Sutherland: Not so much. I'm looking forward to playing with Phil tomorrow. I'm assuming I'm in the last group because of the amateurs, but I'm looking forward to playing with Phil tomorrow. I get along very well with Phil. I get along with Bones, his caddy, very well. I think it's going to be a lot of fun. John Bush: Take us through, Kevin, start with birdie on No. 1. Questioner: Did Phil ask you about Bill? Kevin Sutherland: No, not yet. That's a good story, though. First year I played with Bill he thought he missed the cut, went to the airport, was getting ready to leave, talking to a guy says what did you shoot? 22 under, whatever it was, I think you missed the cut. He said no, I missed by a shot, you better call. He calls, he made the cut. Next thing he plays Tiger Woods. So he says I've been kicking myself over that back in Newport realizing I could have been playing with Tiger, at home. Questioner: Have you noticed a difference in the years being in the theater with Tiger or with Phil? Is there a difference? Kevin Sutherland: Yeah, you know, Tiger kind of, he seems like he... I'm trying to think of a way to put this. He is almost bigger, in a sense almost bigger than the game a little bit. He transcends golf, I guess is a better way of putting it. So he kind of brings people who are more into seeing Tiger than maybe seeing golf, which I don't think is necessarily a bad thing, it's just the way it is. And Phil, I think most people following Phil are golfers and golf fans as opposed to just seeing Tiger. I think that's the difference between the two. Does that make any sense? There is no question that Tiger transcends the sport much more than Phil. That's just Tiger is the biggest sports figure in the country for the most part. John Bush: Kevin, birdie on No. 1. Kevin Sutherland: I hit a 7 iron to four and a half, five feet. John Bush: Birdie on 8. Kevin Sutherland: 8, I got kind of lucky on 8, I hit my drive left in the trees, I ended up in a spot where I had a pretty wide open shot. And I hit a 6 iron from like 140 yards and it went to about four feet. It was just... it was a very straightforward shot from the trees, I was lucky to find a shot. John Bush: 9. Kevin Sutherland: Hit a 3 iron on the green to about 20 feet, 23 or -4 feet and 2 putted. John Bush: 10. Kevin Sutherland: 10 I hit an 8 iron on the green straight downwind, hit 8 iron about 40 feet, two putted. John Bush: No. 18. Kevin Sutherland: Hit sand wedge from about 50 yards to five feet. John Bush: All right. Questioner: Have you ever hit an 8 iron into a par 5? Kevin Sutherland: Not that I remember. No. It was straight downwind and I hit a very good drive, but it was straight downwind. My 8 iron was, I don't know, from like 180 yards and it backed up. It landed on the back edge of the green and backed up ten feet. It's just the way it is over there, really soft. Questioner: You must have felt like Atlas for a minute. Kevin Sutherland: No, felt like maybe what it's like to be a bomber for a day. For a hole. John Bush: Anything else? Kevin, have fun tomorrow. Play well. Kevin Sutherland: Thank you.