Interviews

An Interview With: R.W. EAKS

MARTY PARKES:  It's my pleasure to welcome R.W. Eaks to the media center.  And maybe you could start off by going through your round for us today.

R.W. EAKS:  Just started the round off with a couple of good pars on the first two holes.  And I hit the worst drive you've ever seen in your life, I'm surprised it didn't hit the water on No. 3.  It was 60 yards off line.  I followed it up with another poor drive.  It didn't go in the water, luckily, kind of hacked it out, and somehow, chipped it up there about six feet and made a bogey, which was a great bogey.

4, I missed the green and putted it down there a couple of feet.  And I thought it was a good par.

No. 6, right before the rain delay, I thought I was He-man again, tried to hit it over the bunker on the corner and didn't make it, and caught not a very good lie on the bunker and hit it short of the green. And after the rain delay, went out and hit a terrible chip about 30 feet from the hole.  Almost made that putt, but I made a bogey.

No. 7 -- I played 7 smarter today, driver, hit two sand wedges, 5-foot putt and made that for birdie.

Parred 8 and 9.  10, I parred.  11, I parred.  All of those were kind of 2-putts.

No. 12, I hit a 7-iron probably ten yards over the green and hit a very poor chip about 20 -- probably 15 feet and didn't make that putt.

Next hole was a par-5.  I hit a driver, 5-wood on the green probably about 25 feet and 2-putted.

14, I had another 5-wood -- seemed to be my favorite club today -- down just short of the green and had 68 yards and hit it about two and a half feet.

I parred the par-3, hit a 4-iron about 18, 19 feet and didn't make that.

16, I made a terrible mistake on 16, I hit my drive to the right, in the normal U.S. Open rough.  It was a terrible lie.  And I tried to second guess coming out and I thought I'd pull it left and it came out to right in the bunker short of the green.  I had just a really hard bunker shot, over another bunker, green goes away, and I tried to bump it.  And I caught it a little bit too good.  And it hung on the back edge and rolled all the way down the slope.  And I did not get that up-and-down, so I made a double bogey there.

I hit two good shots on 17, about six feet and missed that.

18, I had probably one of the best up-and-downs I've had in a long time out of the back bunker.  I drove it left into the rough, hit a 5-iron, tried to run it up on the green, it went through the green, in the back bunker, downslope lie and I hit it about six inches.  It was a great shot.

MARTY PARKES:  Sounds like quite a round.

Q.  It's often hard to follow a great round with a good round, considering everything, are you pretty happy with the way you finished?

R.W. EAKS:  The way I started out I struggled.  I'll be honest with you guys, I was nervous starting out, because the way I finished yesterday, I was a little apprehensive about today.  And things didn't go too well in the beginning, and the thing that saved my round today was the rain delay.  It gave me a chance to settle down and I kept going back to 6-under, 5-under, got it back to 6 and then 7-under, and that's what saved my round.  But you've got to look at it this way, I'm only two back, and this is a U.S. Open.  And the guys that played good today, you never know what they're going to do tomorrow, two shots is nothing.

Q.  R.W., you got some big names on the leaderboard, Watson, Kite, Aoki, et cetera, is this fun or do you think you'll feel pressure this weekend or you still having fun?

R.W. EAKS:  After things got going today, I had a great time out there.  I was kind of watching Terry play today, he played good today, getting things going.  We had a good time.  But, how can I not have fun doing this?  This is wonderful.

Q.  Do you go out with the attitude next two days you have nothing to lose, the guys that are expected to win are guys like Watson and Kite and people like yourself and Walter Hall are obviously having terrific rounds.  You played some great golf at different points in your career, but do you think that it's almost easier to go out with that mentality than to think I have to grind and win and it's a U.S. Open?

R.W. EAKS:  Actually I've got three tournaments going on, here, for me being on the Senior Tour.  I've got the U.S. Open, which would be unbelievable to win.  I've got to make enough money to get in the Ford Players Series Championship in two weeks.  And I need to make enough money to keep my card.  I've got all kinds of things going here.  So it never stops.

MARTY PARKES:  Thank you very much for coming in and good luck tomorrow.

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