TOM KITE IN COMMERCIAL:
NOW WATCH THIS. I LEARNED HOW TO DO THIS FROM MY KIDS.
GARY MCCORD IN COMMERCIAL
OH MAN, THAT'S RIGHT AT IT. YOU'VE BEEN WORKING ON YOUR WEDGE GAME.
(DOOR BELL RINGS)
TOM KITE IN COMMERCIAL:
OH MAN, WHO COULD THAT BE?
GARY MCCORD IN COMMERCIAL
OH LOOK OUT, LOOK OUT! WHO IS THAT? KITE?
WOW! THESE GUYS ARE SO GULLIBLE, IT'S UNBELIEVABLE.
TOM KITE IN COMMERCIAL :
OH JEEZ.
LANNY WADKINS IN COMMERCIAL:
OH, I KNEW YOU'D MISS IT.
(DOOR BELL RINGS)
TOM KITE IN COMMERCIAL:
LANNY, WHAT IS GOING ON OUT THERE?
LANNY WADKINS IN COMMERCIAL:
YOU GOT WEIRD NEIGHBORS.
GARY MCCORD IN COMMERCIAL
DON'T YOU JUST LOVE ROOKIES?
LANNY WADKINS IN COMMERCIAL:
LOOK AT THAT.
(SIGNS SHOWN:
Welcome Tom Kite
and LANNY WADKINS
This message furnished by the PGA TOUR.
THESE GUYS ARE GOOD.
(TV COMMERCIAL END)
LANNY WADKINS
IT'S FILMED A BLOCK FROM MY HOUSE. (CHUCKLE).
PETER KESSLER
DOESN'T IT FEEL LIKE FROM 30 TO 50 (YEARS OF AGE) GOES A WHOLE LOT QUICKER THAN 20 TO 30?
LANNY WADKINS
OH YEAH, I THINK I WAS 20 FOR 40 YEARS. AND I'VE BEEN . YOU KNOW, 30 TO 50 WENT IN ABOUT 5, YEAH (CHUCKLE).
PETER KESSLER
HOW COME WE SEE YOU AND TOM KITE AND TOM WATSON AND RAY FLOYD, GUYS THAT WE'RE USED TO SEEING WIN ON THE SENIOR TOUR, BUT YET WE'RE ALSO SEEING NAMES THAT WE DON'T REALLY KNOW, LIKE
WALTER HALL, AND WE DIDN'T KNOW WHO DANA QUIGLEY WAS, FOR EXAMPLE. HOW IS IT THAT THOSE GUYS CAN COMPETE WITH YOU WHEN YOU'VE BEEN DOING THE SAME THING EVER SINCE YOU WERE A KID?
LANNY WADKINS
WELL UM, HARD TO SAY. I THINK THESE ARE GUYS, THEY HAVE SOLID GAMES THAT PROBABLY FIT THE TYPE OF COURSES THAT THEY'RE PLAYING ON THE . ON THE SENIOR TOUR.
UH, THE MAIN THING THAT I JUST FOUND OUT LAST WEEK IS YOU'VE REALLY GOT TO DRIVE IT STRAIGHT.
IF YOU DRIVE IT STRAIGHT AND PUTT WELL UM, YOU - YOU'VE GOT AN AWFULLY GOOD CHANCE OUT THERE BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF MEDIUM AND SHORT IRONS IN YOUR HANDS.
AND I THINK THAT UH, YOU KNOW, A GUY LIKE DANA QUIGLEY IS A - IS A GRINDER. HE PLAYS - I DON'T - HE TOLD ME THE OTHER DAY WE PLAYED, HE HADN'T MISSED A TOURNAMENT SINCE 1997. I CAN'T FATHOM THAT. BUT UH .
I MEAN, AND DANA DRIVES IT DOWN THE - DOWN THE MIDDLE. HE HITS GOOD, SOLID IRONS AND UH, HAS A - A GOOD, SOLID ALL-AROUND GAME,
UM, NOT SPECTACULAR BUT - BUT ALWAYS IN PLAY. AND I THINK WALTER HALL DOES THE SAME THING. I THINK PEOPLE THAT HAVE GAMES THAT DON'T .
THAT DON'T GET THEM IN TROUBLE THAT - YOU KNOW, THEY - THEY MANAGE THEIR GAMES VERY WELL, AND THEY GET A PUTTER GOING ONCE IN A WHILE AND MAKE A LOT OF PUTTS, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE RIGHT THERE.
PETER KESSLER
IF AFTER YOU'D WON THE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP TO GO ALONG WITH YOUR OTHER MAJOR, THE U.S. AMATEUR, SOMEBODY SAID TO YOU, 'THAT'S GONNA BE THE LAST ONE YOU'RE GONNA WIN',
WOULD YOU HAVE BEEN SHOCKED TO HEAR THAT YOU'RE NOT GONNA ADD TO THAT STOCK PILE?
LANNY WADKINS
YEAH, VERY MUCH SO. UH, AND I HAD MY CHANCES. I MEAN, I HAD A RUN IN THE EARLY `80'S WHERE I WAS TOP-6 IN THE U.S. OPEN PROBABLY 5 OR 6 STRAIGHT YEARS. UH, AND I'VE GOT 3 RUNNER-UPS IN THE PGA,
UH, FINISHED THIRD IN THE MASTERS 3 OUT OF 4 YEARS. UH, I MEAN, I HAD MY CHANCES. UH, I PROBABLY DIDN'T MAKE THE PUTTS I NEEDED TO MAKE TO WIN THOSE TOURNAMENTS.
AND UH, WHEN I LOOK BACK ON MY CAREER, IF THERE'S ANYTHING I'M DISAPPOINTED IN, IT'S THAT I HAVEN'T WON MORE MAJORS. UM,
THE FUNNY THING IS WHEN YOU HAVE A YEAR WHEN YOU COME CLOSE ON A MAJOR OR A COUPLE OF THEM, WHICH I DID SEVERAL TIMES,
AND YOU'RE IN YOUR EARLY 30'S OR LATE 20'S, YOU ALWAYS THINK THERE'S NEXT YEAR. ALL OF A SUDDEN, ONE DAY YOU WAKE UP AND YOU'RE 45 AND THOSE YEARS ARE GONE.
YOU GO 'OOPS, I'M NOT IN THE MASTERS ANYMORE. I'M NOT, YOU KNOW, A FACTOR IN THESE TOURNAMENTS.' AND YOU KNOW, MAYBE IF YOU'D REALIZED THAT WHEN YOU WERE AT THAT AGE,
YOU MIGHT HAVE WORKED A LITTLE HARDER ON YOUR PUTTING OR DONE SOME OTHER THINGS. BUT UH, YOU KNOW, HIND SIGHT'S ALWAYS BEEN 20-20, PETER.
PETER KESSLER
ARE YOU A BETTER PUTTER NOW THAN YOU WERE 15 YEARS AGO?
LANNY WADKINS
HMM, I DON'T KNOW. I BECAME A BETTER PUTTER FROM ABOUT '82 ON THAN I WAS EARLIER. UM .
I STILL NEED TO WORK AT IT MORE. I - I GET .. YOU KNOW, PRACTICING PUTTING UM, IS NOT THE MOST FUN THING IN THE WORLD. SO I GET . TEND TO LOSE CONCENTRATION PRACTICING PUTTING. BUT UM,
I WORKED WITH PHIL RODGERS BACK IN 1981 ON THE MECHANICS OF MY PUTTING, CHANGED MY MECHANICS COMPLETELY IN THE WAY I - I SET UP TO PUTT AND IN MY STROKE .
AND UH, WENT OUT AND WON 3 TIMES IN 1982. SO IT WAS A . MY PUTTING IMPROVED CONSIDERABLY. I ACTUALLY WAS RANKED IN THE TOP-10 IN PUTTING SEVERAL TIMES UH IN THE `80'S AND,
I THINK, TO THIS DAY PUTT PRETTY CONSISTENT BECAUSE OF UH MY MECHANICS CHANGE. I - I WAS ALWAYS A GOOD SPEED PUTTER. I READ GREENS GOOD.
UH, I THINK THAT BECAUSE MY SPEED IS SO GOOD I DON'T 3-PUTT MUCH. UM, AND WHEN I GET TO MAKING PUTTS LIKE I DID YESTERDAY, THEY KIND OF GO IN IN BUNCHES.
AND THAT'S USUALLY THE WAY I'VE BEEN. WHEN MY PUTTS GO IN, THEY GO IN IN BUNCHES. SO .
PETER KESSLER
LET'S SEE WHAT NORMAN IN SOUTH CAROLINA WANTS TO ASK YOU. HOW ARE YOU, NORMAN?
NORMAN FROM S. CAROLINA
ONLY GREAT. UH LANNY, CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR WIN. AND UH, I'D LIKE TO ASK YOU ABOUT YOUR BROTHER, BOBBY, HOW HE'S DOING AND IF HE'S GONNA PLAY THE SENIOR TOUR?
LANNY WADKINS
UH, I'M SURE HE'D LIKE TO PLAY IT WHEN HE GETS THERE. HE'S 48 AND UH, WILL BE 50 JULY OF 2001. HE'S PLAYING THE BUY-DOT-COM (BUY.COM) TOUR RIGHT - THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS.
UH, I THINK HE'S GOT STATUS OUT THERE THIS YEAR AND WILL BE PLAYING OUT THERE AS MUCH AS I KNOW - UH, RIGHT NOW, HE'S ACTUALLY UH, I THINK, GOT ENOUGH MONEY TO BE EXEMPT ON THE SENIOR TOUR.
BUT HE'S GOT TO MAINTAIN THAT, YOU KNOW, FROM HERE, YOU KNOW, THROUGH UH, YOU KNOW, '01.
PETER KESSLER
HOW TOUGH HAS IT BEEN FOR HIM TO HEAR THE COMPARISONS ABOUT YOUR PGA TOUR RECORD VERSUS HIS RECORD EVEN THOUGH HE'S WON PROFESSIONAL TOURNAMENTS OUTSIDE OF THE PGA TOUR?
LANNY WADKINS
YEAH, HE'S PLAYED VERY WELL. UM, BOBBY'S GOT A LOT OF TALENT. UH, HE'S VERY HARDHEADED WHEN IT COMES TO SWING CHANGES AND - AND IDEAS.
BUT UH, MOST BROTHERS WOULD SAY THAT ABOUT EACH OTHER. BUT WE'VE HAD A GREAT RELATIONSHIP. I'VE ALWAYS PULLED HARD FOR HIM. UH, WE'VE PLAYED TOGETHER IN SOME TEAM EVENTS. AND UH,
WE'RE VERY CLOSE. AND - AND I WISH, YOU KNOW, MORE THAN ANYTHING, HE COULD HAVE WON A COUPLE SOME WHERE ALONG THE LINE. BUT UH, HE HAD SOME CHANCES. AND HE LOST A COUPLE IN PLAYOFFS AND UH,
LOST PHILADELPHIA ONE YEAR IN A PLAYOFF TO LOU GRAHAM, LOST UH THE HERITAGE ONE YEAR TO BERNHARD LANGER IN A PLAYOFF. AND .
BUT HE'S WON SOME BIG ONES. HE'S WON THE BIGGEST TOURNAMENT IN JAPAN TWICE, HAVE, YOU KNOW AND. UH, AND WON THE EUROPEAN OPEN ONCE. SO HE'S A .
HE'S AN ACCOMPLISHED PLAYER. AND UM .I - I WOULD BE SURPRISED IF HE DOESN'T COME OUT AND HAVE A VERY SUCCESSFUL SENIOR CAREER BECAUSE HE'S A STRAIGHT DRIVER OF THE BALL, ALWAYS HAS BEEN,
AND - AND DRIVES IT, YOU KNOW, PRETTY LONG AND IS A GOOD, SOLID IRON PLAYER. SO UH, WITH WHAT HE DOES, HE SHOULD BE A FACTOR OUT THERE.
PETER KESSLER
IF THERE WAS A SIGN-UP SHEET TO PLAY A SKINS GAME ON TV, BUT YOU GOT TO PUT UP YOUR OWN MONEY, WOULD YOU PUT LANNY WADKINS ON THAT SIGN-UP SHEET?
LANNY WADKINS
MIGHT BE KIND OF COOL.
PETER KESSLER
(CHUCKLE) WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK. DON'T GO AWAY.
(BREAK)
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