Interviews

An Interview With: R.W. EAKS

CRAIG SMITH:  Congratulations on a round of 64 in your first U.S. senior Open.  A great way to start.  Why don't you just tell us a little bit about the good parts, here, especially that eagle.

R.W. EAKS:  Well, that was on No. 3.  I hit a target like drive.  And hit a 6-iron in there about 14 feet and snuck it right in the hole.  And then I went nuts after that, didn't I?

CRAIG SMITH:  How about the rest of your round?  You got to 8-under par at one time.

R.W. EAKS:  You know, I got to 8-under par and started thinking about, man, maybe I can shoot 59 today.  And that was probably the wrong thing to do.  But I think you've got to think that way if you're going to try to shoot low.  You can't try to back off, you've got to keep playing aggressive.  I hit a couple of bad drives and made a couple of bogeys.  But I also made a birdie coming in, too.  So that worked out pretty good.

Q.  On 7, how close were you to losing the ball?

R.W. EAKS:  I think we looked for a couple of minutes.  It felt like about an hour, but I think it was only about a couple of minutes.

Q.  Since this does tie the record, could you go through every shot?  This is the best ever.

R.W. EAKS:  Sure.  I started out on 10.  I hit a 4-iron off 10, right into a divot.  And I hit a sand wedge from 105 yards, great shot out of that divot.  I hit it about 15 feet.  I didn't make the putt, but that was a positive note-- start to this golf tournament for me.

No. 11, I hit a 3-wood off the tee, and an 8-iron about 20 feet from the hole.  And I hit this putt, and it had to break 8 feet.  It right in the middle of the hole.  I said, "Wow, what's going on today?"

No. 12, I hit a 6-iron and made that.

13, I hit a 5-wood for my second shot in the bunker and hit it out about a foot.  And I made that.

15, I almost made a hole-in-one on 15.  I hit it about, I'm going to say, 8 inches.  And I hit a 5-iron on that hole.

That was an unbelievable birdie for me, because that hole has been bothering me all week.  I didn't have enough club to get there, but the wind was behind us a little bit.

16, I hit a really good drive there and hit a 52 degree sand wedge about 14 feet behind the hole and just toppled it over the left edge.  It just kind of hung on the lip and it fell in for me.

17, I made a bogey.  I drove it in the rough to the right and I hit a 6-iron, which I thought was a good shot in the middle of the green, but it came up about 3 feet short of the green and rolled back down, up against the collar of the rough.  I hit a very poor chip there, about six feet and missed that putt.

18 -- I played 18 like a champ, I just didn't make my putt.  I missed about a 15, 16 footer there.  I hit a 5-iron into that green.

And then I got back on another birdie roll.  I hit 3-wood off the tee on 1 and hit a sand wedge about -- probably four feet, down, real slick downhill putt.  I made that.

No. 2, I hit it too close to the green, I hit a 5-wood off the tee, hit it to close to the green down the right side, hit it too long, and made about a 25-footer there.

No. 3, good drive, 6-iron, made eagle.

Really nice 6-iron on the next par-3, just behind the hole about 18 feet, probably and just misread that one a little bit and missed that.  But played that hole very well.

5, I hit a ball on 5 that luckily somebody was there to find that one, because it was in the out-houses over there.  It had to be 50 yards off line.  It got relief from the fence, hit a real nice shot, hit a 7-iron out and it didn't hold the green.  And I made a terrible mistake.  I should have putted that ball from the fringe, but I tried to chip it.  At that time I was a little nervous about the shot and I just didn't pull it off correctly.

6, was just a normal par from the right rough.

7, I let my ego get in my way on 7.  I should have hit a 5-wood off the tee, short of the bunkers, laid down the fairway, but I decided that I was going to try to hit it over the right hand bunker, probably about 280 carry.  I tried to hit a hook.  I'm not very good at hitting hooks, but I decided to try to give it a chance and I hit it left -- luckily I found my ball, took an unplayable, and just made bogey there, just a terrible golf hole.

8, somehow I slid back into the other guy and hit it about -- I don't think it was more than nine inches.  I hit a 6-iron about nine inches there.

Q.  What iron?

R.W. EAKS:  6-iron.  And then, No. 9, I hit it right of the hazard on No. 9 in the deep stuff, just had a gnarly lie and hit a wedge out just left of the green, hit a terrible chip about nine feet and luckily it just toppled over the front edge and I made that.

All in all it was -- I had a great round with some 22 handicapper golf mixed in it.  But that's me, that's how I play golf.

Q.  How important was it for you to finish the way you finished with the birdie and then the save on No. 9, with the kind of round you had?

R.W. EAKS:  I think it was very important.  My son caddies for me, and he's doing a great job reading the greens for me, because I don't see very well anymore.  But we were walking down -- I made -- after I made the bogey on 7 we were walking down 8 after I hit it so close.  And I said the fun almost went out of this round, because I was on such a nice high and I made that bogey, just a terrible bogey.  Because I just wasn't thinking correctly.  And luckily, I hit it close and we were walking down 9 and I hit that terrible drive on 9.  He goes, "Well, we're still having fun, aren't we?"  And I said, "You're right, we're having a great time."  It's such high and lows to it, especially with my game.  Because I can hit it off the map sometimes.  And I've got to accept my bad shots and go on.

Q.  You played last week at Hayfields, but this week it seems like you're a different golfer.  Did you make any changes between last week and this week?

R.W. EAKS:  Well, at Hayfields last week I shot 62 in the Pro Am on Wednesday, and Thursday I shot 63.  I birdied my first hole of the tournament.  And the second hole I hit it in the right rough and I hit a 6-iron out just barely off the fringe of the green, which I made birdie and as I was walking to the green my back went out.  I couldn't even bend overall week.  But out there you've got to keep playing, because it's important that you keep playing.  And no matter how much money you make, it's still important to keep playing, because every dollar counts out there.  It was disappointing, because I thought I had a great chance.  It was a great golf course for me.  A little more wide open, the rough wasn't too bad, but I couldn't bend over.

Q.  How long have you been putting with the left hand low?

R.W. EAKS:  Good friend of mine John Jackson started me doing that in 1976.  And I've stuck with it, good and bad.  I can't even grip a club the other way.

Q.  Were you having putting problems at the time?

R.W. EAKS:  No, at that time he was out on the Tour and I was working at a golf course in Phoenix, that's where -- all the Tour players used to come back there and make, him, Mike Morley, all of these guys.  And he came back and he said, "I learned how to putt."  And I said, "What are you doing?"  And he said, "Cross-handed."  I said, "What?"  And he said, "Yeah, this is great."  I know it doesn't make much sense -- I'm left-handed, so it makes much more sense to me.  And I've just always stuck with it.

Q.  What does it do for you mechanically?

R.W. EAKS:  Well it used to not let me break down through the hitting area.  But I've acquired that one lately.  I don't think you can get the yips as much with it, as long as you just keep the putter flowing through it.  But it helps me get underneath the ball a little bit better.

Q.  R.W., you played for quite a few years on the BUY.COM Tour, and five weeks ago you turned 50.  What was it like to turn 50?

R.W. EAKS:  You know, 50 was great.  The only people that don't want to be 50 are the guys that are 49, you know?  I waited three years to turn 50 because in August of 1998 when I was on the Tour, I was probably playing the best golf I've ever played, '97 and '98 and I fell into a trap on the 16th hole and blue out my hip.  And it's just been a terrible struggle even trying to walk in the last three years.  So luckily I didn't do any operations or anything like that, we just did therapy, so it's been a long and tedious recovery.  But I think we've made it now.  I've walked three weeks in a row now, so it's been good.

Q.  Which leg?

R.W. EAKS:  My right hip.

Q.  R.W., what's it like to look up on the leaderboard and see your name on top with some of the greatest names in the history of the game?

R.W. EAKS:  It's always fun.  The first week I played out here on the Senior Tour I got to play with Lee Trevino one day and I got to play with Larry Nelson one day and when you haven't been around those guys -- Lee's like a legend.  You go out and the day I played with Lee I think I shot five or six under.  And I played really well with Larry, and they were really nice to me.  I go, "You know what?  I can play with these guys."  Even though they're older than I am, I just -- you always have that doubt whether or not you really fit in.  And I think I'm going to fit in fine.

Q.  What do you remember about winning the 1990  Quicksilver Open?

R.W. EAKS:  I'll tell you what, that was -- at that time that was one of the hardest golf courses that I've ever won a golf tournament on.  It was actually -- they had it set up for us almost like a U.S. Open.  We had 6, 8 inches of rough, the greens were running about 14 on the stimpmeter that week.  And that was a wonderful win for me.  That kept me out there playing.  Without the BUY.COM Tour, I don't know what I'd be doing right now.

Q.  You said that you thought at one time maybe I'll shoot 59 today.  How can you -- given the career that you've had, the struggles that you've had to get to this point, get yourself to that point where you're mentally thinking, I'm going to shoot 59 today?

R.W. EAKS:  I was sitting there thinking when I was playing, I go, "You know what?  I feel like I'm playing with the guys at home."  Our usual Monday, Wednesday and Friday games.  Everything just felt like I was just out playing with the guys.  I had a great group, Terry and Paul were -- they were root go for each other, and it was a nice, pleasant day.

Q.  Has it sunk in yet that you have tied the U.S. senior Open record and you've got something next to your name now in the record books?  What does that mean that it can't get taken away, all that stuff, after all the years?

R.W. EAKS:  It's always nice to have your name somewhere.  You know, I really didn't think about it.  I've never looked at the records for the Senior Open or anything like that, it just -- gosh, I don't know.  I'm kind of disappointed I didn't shoot 63, actually.

Q.  Tom Watson said earlier, he said you could hit it through this plywood.

R.W. EAKS:  Yeah, but I don't know where it's going to go sometimes when it goes through that plywood.

Q.  Are you that strong, and if you are that strong, do you work at that?

R.W. EAKS:  You know, I've always been able to hit it a long way.  Actually a little shorter now than I was three months ago.  I've lost 33 pounds and I think a little bit of my strength went with it.  But I think it's helped my hip out.

As far as working out, channel surfing is about as much as I work out.

Q.  Where did you injure your hip three years ago, what tournament?

R.W. EAKS:  Quad Cities, No. 16, left-hand bunker, 134 yards from the green.  I wasn't paying any attention, my caddy had set the bag down by the edge of the bunker and I went in once and came out and got a club and I went -- I must have missed the in-and-out that I went in by two or three feet, instead of being 6 inches it was about three feet.  And it sounded like a shotgun blast.  And that was it for me.

Q.  If the only working out you do is channel surfing, how did you lose 33 pounds?

R.W. EAKS:  I quit eating sugar.  No more soft drinks, no more sugar, just kind of watching what I eat, and that's it.  It's kind of boring, but actually we go out to dinner now or have a birthday and I don't even eat any cake anymore.  I'm afraid to get started again.

Q.  Can you go -- the medical terminology for the hip injury, is there a name for it and the rehab you had to do for it and how much it restricts you now?

R.W. EAKS:  Well, I tore what everybody else has been getting operated on, the labrum around the ball socket it's just been -- I'm one of these guys, I don't like to go in and get opened up, and I figured that I had a couple of years to get ready for this, and I thought we could beat it the other way.  And luckily, I found a guy in Phoenix that's been marvelous for me.  You guys aren't going to believe this, but no exercising.  Where I -- I wear a lift in one of my shoes and I be careful about what I'm doing.

Q.  Is he a doctor or an osteopath?

R.W. EAKS:  Well, I've got two of them, actually.  My best friend it a chiropractor, Dr. Maynard.  And this guy is a naturopath.  And he's helped me out tremendously.

Q.  Is the chiropractor what got you through last week, and why did you -- I know it's one thing about playing hurt and grinding it out, but coming into a major, did you have any second shots about taking that approach?

R.W. EAKS:  Well, what has happened throughout the three years since I've been hurt, my body is actually -- it's almost learned how to recover.  It usually takes me four or five days.  And I won't go see anybody else besides those two guys, that's it.  I don't trust anybody else and if I need to they'll fly up for me.  But it's just that they've got me in such good shape that my body is actually recovering.

Q.  How good a basketball player were you long ago and why golf and why golf forever, right up until now?

R.W. EAKS:  I was the black hole on our team.  You give me the ball, and you're not getting it back.  Our team, we were the -- I don't know how to say this -- we were all so competitive on our team, we all wanted to have the best game of anybody, but we were all buddies and we all worked together.  And it was probably one of the best experiences I've ever had my senior year of high school playing ball with these other guys.  It was just so competitive.  And then I went to college and actually played for my high school coach's brother, up in Greeley, Colorado, University of Northern Colorado, and we weren't very good.  We were one of these teams that everybody else picked on us, that's how we paid for our program.  We would go let the top-10 teams in the country beat us up.  But we played some great teams and we had a great time and still in contact with most of those guys.

And to answer your question about golf, I went up there to become a coach and it got way too political for me.  I could see the writing on the wall while I was at school, the do's and don'ts and everything, I didn't want to become a teacher, not because I didn't enjoy the kids.  I wanted to make a decent living.  And man, golf was -- that was so much fun, because I had two operations in college, and that's what I did for rehab, I started playing golf.  And I just got hooked on it.

Q.  Ever think of giving it up, ever been close?

R.W. EAKS:  No, not really.  Sometimes you get done with a tournament and you go, man, I don't know if I can play this anymore, and take a day or two off and all of a sudden you're ready to go again.  But this game is such a challenge to play.  You're just out there, it's just you, yourself and the game, and just the golf course and it's so much fun to beat the golf course every once in a while.

Q.  Do you have any idea what player will show up tomorrow morning?

R.W. EAKS:  No, I hope the same one as today, because that was a lot of fun.  Like I told you, I just go out and play.  If I have a great day tomorrow, perfect.  If I don't I'll be back again on Saturday morning to try it again.

Q.  Can you talk about the cumulative effect of walking this course and the change of elevations over the four days?

R.W. EAKS:  This golf course got me the last five holes.  I think the one good thing about this golf course is it's so hard to walk, but it's so beautiful that you forget about all the walking you're doing.  And it's just such a pleasure you're to be here.  This golf course is just one of the best golf courses I've ever played.  I thought I had fun playing in the U.S. Open in Medinah, but this is beautiful here.

CRAIG SMITH:  Is this your best round that you would have played professionally?

R.W. EAKS:  Gosh, I don't know.  I think I've shot a few lower rounds.  I've shot 60 a few times in some smaller tournaments, but this is by far the best round I've ever played under this situation.

CRAIG SMITH:  Thank you very much, and congratulations.

Error processing SSI file