An interview with:
JOHN JACOBS

RAND JERRIS: Pleasure to welcome John Jacobs in the interview area. John is playing in his eighth Senior Open. He is fresh off of victory at the 2003 Senior PGA championship.

John, maybe can you start us off by talking a little bit about what you learned about your game at Aronimink, that you learned about your game this week at Inverness.

JOHN JACOBS: I learned that I could play a long wet golf course. This course is totally different than Aronimink. Aronimink was a lot longer. But as far as winning the PGA Championship, you know, now I know I can win so I'm not going to -- I'm not going to think my game is not good enough. If I'm playing good I think can I win any of these tournaments.

I mean this golf course here is  -- I played it two days and I can't figure out what to hit off the tees after two days out here. I called my caddy last night and I said said, listen, I think rather than hit balls today we better figure out what we are going to hit off these tees. I mean I don't know why -- I know they make the fairways on both tournaments, that it narrows. The further you go down, the more it narrows down. They do that so a guy doesn't have an advantage that drives the ball a long way. But I know that the guys that putt real well, they don't do something to handicap them on the greens. We got to be equal with them to greens.

I don't ever see anybody write anything about that; why take one guys advantage away and not even up the other part of it.

But you know, the PGA was wonderful for me. You know, you never know how you are going to react when you get the lead in one of those and finish. And actually, I had a nervous calmness about me. I figured that if I have gotten this far, you know, why not make a few pars, and a few birdies coming in. I drove it good all day. I just kind of sucked it up, took deep breaths and kept playing well.

Q. When you are preparing for a major like the Senior Open or PGA do you prepare yourself any different or mentally for the four rounds ahead?

JOHN JACOBS: Well, the only thing I do different is I chip and putt a little more. Because the greens in the majors are way, way faster. Way different. They are usually slopier.

You can putt average and maybe win the other tournaments that we play in. But in a major championship the greens are so severe usually. You have to putt good. There are no if, ands, or buts about it. Chipping is a good part of it because the rough is higher. We get chip shots that we don't get during the course of the year.

RAND JERRIS: Some questions out here.

Q. John, when you and your caddy get down to discussing this would you guess that there is maybe what five holes, tops, that you would hit driver on?

JOHN JACOBS: At the most. At the most. I don't even know -- even the holes I can hit drive on, the thing narrows down so damn much it's hardly worth it. And, you know, if you are hitting a 6-iron into these greens, or a 9-iron, I mean I don't know if it's that much of an advantage because you still got to get lucky where you hit it up on the green. If you don't keep it up under the green out here and it stays warm like this, they could crucify us on these greens because these greens were generally built years ago. They were built when the grass was a little higher. Maybe the slopes hadn't settled in the days they built it, but now it's brutal out there. They can control the scores, whatever they want out there on the pin placements. They don't have to have length. They could tee us up 300 yards on every hole and still control what we shoot.

Q. Expand a little bit, you make a valid point about guys on the greens don't get penalized for what their attributes are, and you are a big hitter, which probably played a huge role in winning on a wet Aronimink course; length is not an attribute here?

JOHN JACOBS: No.

Q. Can you follow up on your thoughts why they do that?

JOHN JACOBS: Well, I guess a lot of the guys are short hitters that set these courses up, I don't know. I mean it's not just this tournament; I see it every tournament I play in. I have never seen them narrow the fairway at 250 and widen it at 290. I mean there is some holes out here, if you guys got out there and walked, there are some of them ridiculously narrow down there where your ball is going to roll even with a 3-wood. It just gets ridiculous. It slopes in the fairways down there anyway. I mean it looks pretty. I'm not saying it because it's sour grapes; I'm just saying that it is kind of funny how they penalize the long hitter. I know in tennis they all play with the same racquet and the same courts.

Q. Can you address in what ways your life has changed in the last several weeks? Has winning a major meant changes?

JOHN JACOBS: I know when I first went home the first few days people asked me questions that they never asked me before so they must have thought I got smarter when I won. I didn't know what they were talking about before and I didn't know after but I answered. I got the same friends. When I won they probably had an extra drink and an extra bottle of wine. They were happy.

As far as me, I feel like I'm the same. I think biggest thing is that I know that if I play good I can win any of these tournaments. I'm sure I kind of thought that before but now the doubt is gone. Because mainly driving the ball, you know, is taking it away. I never felt like I drove it straight enough to win any of these tournaments. What happens when you drop back to hitting irons off the tee, you will see Tiger do it to, he gets flustered. You swing at your 2-iron and then you're behind where the other guys are, then you started hitting harder with your 2-iron, 5-wood or 6-wood, whatever you got. By the back nine you are trying to hit that even harder and then you kind of lose your swing.

RAND JERRIS: Any other questions?

Q. The five-hole stretch starting with No. 3 which is the par-3 with the pond to the right, starting there?

JOHN JACOBS: I know that one, I visited it already.

Q. Can you address that five-hole stretch and how important it is going to be in this tournament; it's probably the toughest stretch on the course, isn't it?

JOHN JACOBS: Well, yes, I agree with you, that's a tough stretch, but you know starting with 12. I was just thinking you cannot shoot wherever that pin is on the green; you have to hit it to the same spot over to the left. You can't shoot at the pin, you can't do anything. They are all kind of like that: 4, 5, 6. You have to keep the ball below the hole or it's goodbye. I know that I have been putting with a long putter and I haven't been able to lag a putt with a long putter out here so I went over lasts night and got two Odyssey putters; maybe I get a little more feel to get lower on it. I'm struggling trying to lag the putts.

RAND JERRIS: John, thank you.

JOHN JACOBS: I'm not into good of shape, I'm struggling on the greens, I'm struggling off the tee. It's going to be a hell of a week. I'm trying to think of one hole out here  -- I can't even remember. Half of them look the same, the greens. I'll say at least 10 of the holes out there, if you are pin-high you can't putt the ball within four or five feet of the hole if you are pin-high to start with or behind it. Of course, then, again, the first two days they usually put the pins on the higher spots because they don't want to ruin the area for the four days of the tournament. So hopefully they will hear this.

Q. You wouldn't mind seeing a little rain?

JOHN JACOBS: No, I really don't want to see any rain. I don't want to see them keep pounding these greens down faster. I'm not so sure the public wants to see a lot of 3-putts either which they will if they keep it the way it is.

RAND JERRIS: John, thanks for your time this morning, we wish you luck this week.

JOHN JACOBS: Thank you, very much.

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