May 22, 2009
AN INTERVIEW WITH:
ROSS DRUMMOND
KELLY ELBIN: Ross Drummond, ladies
and gentlemen, of Scotland, in with a 4-under par
66 in the second round of the 70th Senior PGA
Championship at Canterbury Golf Club. Two day
total of 136.
4-under par.
Tying the low
competitive
score
here
at
Canterbury.
Congratulations on the round and general
comments on the way things went today, please.
ROSS DRUMMOND: Thank you. Well,
I'm obviously delighted with the outcome. I was
happy with shooting 70 yesterday. I thought that
was quite an achievement.
My round today was a little bit
up-and-down to start with. I had two birdies and
two bogeys -- actually a bogey followed the birdie
each time on the front nine. So I wasn't really
making any headway. But obviously happy staying
around par. And then the back nine I just made
three birdies in the first four holes and 10, 11, and
13. And so that just kind of kick started things and
I managed to just hold on.
KELLY ELBIN: 4-under, 32 on the back.
Can you just do a quick recap of the birdie putts,
the length of the six birdies, please.
ROSS DRUMMOND: Okay. If can I
remember them. Third hole it was about 20 feet.
6, I was really lucky at 6. I hit it past the
pin and as you know, if you hit it past the pin on
these greens, it's very, very quick. And I over hit
my putt and it just went far too fast and if it missed
the hole, God knows where it would have finished,
maybe down the slope. So that was lucky, really.
ROSS DRUMMOND:
It was probably
about 20 feet again. Six paces or so.
Number 10, holed from about eight feet.
No. 11, an 8-iron in to around six feet. I
actually missed from three feet at No. 12 for birdie.
And I holed a 40-footer at 13. It's funny
how it goes at times. You miss a 3-footer and then
you hole a 40-footer on the next.
(Laughter.)
Then I just played nicely coming in. No
real problems, although I did miss the last two
greens and I got it up-and-down nicely.
I birdied 16. So I forgot about that one. I
holed the ball from about 12, 15 feet at 16 to go
4-under.
KELLY ELBIN: Ross needed just 24 putts
on the round for the record. Open it up for
questions, please.
ROSS DRUMMOND: Seriously, was it 24
putts? My goodness. That should give me
confidence for tomorrow then.
Q. Were you at all surprised or even
shocked to be leading this tournament right
now?
ROSS DRUMMOND: I would say so.
Yes. I qualified through the European Order of
Merit. I think it's an honor to get the opportunity to
play a course here. I was very excited at the
prospect. I played last year at Oak Hill. But I didn't
play very well at Oak Hill. But I think the golf
course was a lot tougher there. The rough seemed
to be a lot more severe. It was a lot thicker. I
really struggled last year.
So I was looking forward to coming back
and playing again this year and obviously trying to
make the cut, because I feel that my game is good
enough to make the cut. But I didn't expect to be
in or near the lead.
KELLY ELBIN: Talk a little bit about your
story, which I know has been documented in terms
of a book written about you. Give an American
audience if you will a little bit of background,
Q. How far was that?
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please.
ROSS DRUMMOND:
Well, as you
probably know, a journalist called Lawrence
Donegan who caddied for me in 1996 on the
European Tour. I had met Lawrence the year
previously, I think that he caddied for me at the
French Open, to do a similar piece about caddying
for The Guardian newspaper. And he just hatched
this plan that he wanted to caddie for somebody
full-time and write a book about just a behind the
scenes look at golf and caddies in particular.
And I said, well that was really it. I knew
Lawrence, as I said, from a previous encounter.
So I said to him, yeah, let's just do it. It will be an
interesting project to be involved with.
But I must admit, I did, I actually got off to
a fairly poor start to that season. And I must admit
I was close to sacking him, because I found it
made me have maybe just a little bit too much
pressure on me knowing that my year was going to
be chronicled in this book.
But fortunately things turned around for
me, and I actually, I did end up having a very
successful season. So it's really good to be able to
look back on that season through the write things
in his book.
Q. Two-part question. One is, when is
the last time you played in a tournament; and
secondly, how would you classify your career?
How would you characterize your career?
ROSS DRUMMOND: Well, I'm very proud
of the fact that I went 20 years on the European
Tour without losing my card. I hung about for
another four years after that, in actual fact.
Unfortunately, I followed up my best
season on the European Tour, which was 1996,
which was when Lawrence caddied for me, I
followed that up with my worst ever season and I
lost my card for the year.
I went back to the TOUR school four times
after that the. I won the TOUR school one year. I
think that was 1998. But I didn't manage to
reestablish myself on TOUR. So I decided after
four attempts at a TOUR school, I would just stop
playing. And concentrate on my local TOUR,
which was in Scotland.
So I just played in the PGA pro-am circuit
for five years leading up to turning 50 and joining
the European Seniors Tour.
So I've never done anything else.
I
managed to make a living with very little support as
far as sponsorship goes. So I'm really proud of the
fact that I've done that.
Q. When was the last time you played?
ROSS DRUMMOND:
I played three
tournaments on the European Seniors Tour this
year. They're all fairly spaced out. But my last
tournament was the first week in May in Mallorca, it
was in the Mallorca Senior Open. And I finished
16th.
KELLY ELBIN: Ross's best finish on the
European Seniors Tour is a tie for 7th at in
Barbados.
ROSS DRUMMOND: This year.
KELLY ELBIN: This year.
ROSS DRUMMOND: Yes, this year.
Q. Is it additional pressure because
people know about you from the book? I mean,
is it enjoyable that people know your name and
recognize you on the European Tour or is there
also, is it difficult because of this?
ROSS DRUMMOND: I don't think it's the
slightest bit difficult. I think it's nice when people
come up and tell me that they read the book and
that they enjoyed the book. Obviously, I had
nothing to do with writing the book, it was
Lawrence's craft that went into that. But I don't
have a problem with it. I mean it's been a long
time since the book was released, I guess. It's 10
years now.
Q. Were there things in the book that
weren't
necessarily
commendable
or
necessarily good?
ROSS DRUMMOND: Well, probably at
this stage I have to be honest with you, I haven't
read it from start to finish. I proof read it before it
went to print and I suggested that a few things
should be changed. But I really just read it very,
very quickly and things that pertained to comments
that I had made.
And I made the comment that I wouldn't
have said that, I wouldn't have said it that way. So
a few things have been changed. But I haven't sat
down and read it because I figured that not that it
would be too painful, but it chronicled my, one of
my most successful years on the European Tour
and I really thought that I would wait until I retired
before I actually read it.
Q. Everybody who plays golf at this
level is obviously an outstanding player. And a
lot of people go a whole career and don't win.
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And maybe people say, well, he -- have you
won a professional event on the European
Tour?
ROSS DRUMMOND: I've never won a
professional event on the European Tour.
Q. Have you won on the Scottish Tour?
ROSS DRUMMOND: My claim to fame I
suppose was I won the Scottish Professional
Championship four times. I won it four times in five
years.
So I think that was a pretty neat
achievement.
Q. What would have been the time
frame on that?
ROSS DRUMMOND: That would have
been '86, '87, '89, excuse me, '86, '87, '89, and '90.
Q. So you get to the -- I mean literally
the halfway point of this tournament -- but
you're in great shape. What kind of mental
muscle memory can you draw on to say, this is
what I, this is what I do?
ROSS DRUMMOND: Well, I think that
tomorrow's going to be very difficult. There's no
question about that. Because if you're playing in
the last group in a Major Championship with a lot
of high profile successful players, it is going to be
very difficult.
But I would add that that is why we play
the game. So that is basically why I play the
game. So I will be reminding myself of that
tomorrow and although I know it is going to be
difficult and I'm going to be nervous, but I think
then you just got to draw from that that you don't
come, you don't come to these tournaments just to
be down at the bottom end of the field, you really
come here to try and to try to be successful.
So I think that that is what I'll be reminding
myself of tomorrow and hopefully I can go out in a
positive frame of mind and just, I don't know, just
enjoy the process.
Q.
So much emphasis is put on
winning that, for somebody who did not win on
the European Tour, I mean have you been able
to live comfortably with sponsorships and by
making what you've done in purses?
ROSS DRUMMOND: I would say that I've
just squeaked by. I've never been supported by
sponsors. And I admit in the mid 1980's I had a
sponsorship for a couple years, but really it wasn't
a lot of money, it was just, it was good to have and
as I said, it helped me out.
But I've never had any endorsements as
such that paid big money. And I basically funded it
myself. Probably from, I would say from maybe
1986 I funded it purely by myself.
Q. Do you have a family?
ROSS DRUMMOND: I've got a wife and
daughter. Daughter's 10.
Q. We're only halfway through, but
what would a victory here this week mean to
you and your career?
ROSS DRUMMOND: Well, to be honest, I
don't think I even want to contemplate that. It
would be a dream come true, obviously. It would
be an unbelievable achievement. And something
to be very proud of. But I don't think I can even
contemplate that.
I think I just need to try and get through
tomorrow and see how things pan out. And if I'm
in a similar position come Sunday, and then play
well tomorrow would give me confidence for the
round on Sunday. I just got to take it bit by bit.
Q. Do you have a local caddie or did
you bring your own?
ROSS DRUMMOND: I brought a good
friend of mine to caddie for me.
Q. Not Mr. Donegan?
ROSS DRUMMOND: No, no, that would
have been good if I had, obviously. Yeah, he
would have liked that.
Q. What's his name?
ROSS DRUMMOND: His name is Duncan
Kerr.
Q. Are you surprised that you never
won on the European Tour? I mean obviously
you played a lot of events and I bet you were
near the top of the board a few times.
ROSS DRUMMOND: I'm not sure if I was
surprised. I've certainly had a couple of chances,
but to be honest I never really got myself in a
winning position on a regular basis. I think that -- I
think to win tournaments you have either got to get
your self in a winning position on a regular basis
and get comfortable playing in the last group and
being in contention and I really didn't do that much.
I came from behind in a few occasions to
come close, but I don't think I necessarily am
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surprised. I would like to have won, but I really
didn't get myself in a winning position enough to
actually step on to the winner's podium.
Q.
Have you played in an Open
Championship?
ROSS DRUMMOND: I've played, yeah I
played in many, I think I played in 13 British
Opens. I played one Senior British Open, which
was last year.
Q. And what's your best finish in those
13 British Opens?
ROSS DRUMMOND: It was 30th.
Q. What year was that?
ROSS DRUMMOND: It was actually at,
two 30th finishes at St. Andrews. I can only -- I'm
not great at remembering dates. I think one of
them might be 1985. Maybe when John Daly won,
possibly. And the other one might have been
around about the '80s. I don't have a great recall
for what happens.
Q. How did you find the golf course?
What did you, how did you see it and what's
your impressions of it?
ROSS DRUMMOND: I really like the golf
course. I think that it's a good test of golf. I think
it's a course that if you play well and you're in
control of your ball then you can certainly make
some birdies.
Whereas last year when I played at Oak
Hill I found that very, very difficult. I really, I
struggled at Oak Hill. I think it was longer, it was
longer and the rough was a lot thicker. If you
missed the fairway you just had to chop it on to the
fairway. If you missed the green it was very
difficult to get up-and-down because the rough was
so thick.
So we're not used to playing golf courses
like that or I'm not used to playing golf courses like
that. This year I think the greens are very difficult.
I find them tough because they are so quick. I've
coped with them quite well so far, other than a few
disasters that -- I was bad to start with yesterday
and on the first three holes, I 3-putted my 10th and
I took 4-putts from the fringe of 12. So I started
very shaky on the greens. But fortunately I
managed to contain things.
The front nine, you have to play for
position more so you don't have to hit drivers quite
as much. But the back nine you can hit drivers on
pretty much every par-4. So it's a tale of two
nines. First nine's trickier, but you got a lot more
birdie opportunities I would imagine.
It was just funny today that I made, I think I
made four birdies on the back nine. But that's
probably not the nine you would expect to make
birdies. I think you would expect to make your
score on the front nine.
Q. Do you think that your friends and
fans back home, what's their reaction going to
be when they pick up the paper and see you're
leading this tournament?
ROSS DRUMMOND: I think that they're
just going to be very happy for me. That's it. Wish
me well over the last two days.
Q. A lot of players who are as talented
as the guys out here, the ones who play
professionally, if they don't win for a certain
amount of time, especially if they believe they
should, they lose interest in the game. They,
and if they're financially set -- do you still love
the game or is this something that you are
doing, don't take this the wrong way, because
it is your job and you need the money?
ROSS DRUMMOND: I just don't want to
do anything else. I think that you are only, you're
only in this world once. So you might as well do
what you want to do. And I've always been a golf
professional. I started, I was an assistant golf
professional at Turnberry in Scotland, that's where
I did my apprenticeship. I spent four years there.
And as soon as I qualified for the European Tour,
got a players card, and I played full-time golf since
1978.
So I've never done anything else. I don't
want to do anything else. I don't want to -- if I'm
involved in golf, then I want to play the game for a
living. I think it's a wonderful way to make a living.
You go out and play golf and somebody gives you
a check at the end of it. Sometimes you would like
it be a bigger check, but I think that we're so lucky
to have the opportunity.
And so that's the way I look at it. I don't
want to do anything else. And hopefully I can keep
doing this for the next eight years or so and then I
can retire happy.
Q. What's your home club? Do you
have one?
ROSS DRUMMOND: I, I'm not a member
of a club, but I play at the Dundonald Links, which
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is at Ayrshire and it's actually owned by Loch
Lomond. And it's the second course for Loch
Lomond.
Q. And I know that you've already said
you're not going to get ahead of yourself,
you're just going to worry about tomorrow, but
on the whatever chance there is that Sunday
comes and a certain Scotsman's name might
still be on the top of the board would a pint or
two be raised perhaps at your club?
ROSS DRUMMOND: Yes, I would say so.
Q. One or two?
ROSS DRUMMOND: There's no question
about it, no. I think it will be one or two.
Q. That would be at Loch Lomond?
ROSS DRUMMOND:
No, not Loch
Lomond. Because I play at the Dundonald Links,
which is close to my home in Prestwick at the
Dundonald Links. It's owned by Loch Lomond.
Q. So that's the club, so I mean,
allowing for the difference of time.
ROSS DRUMMOND: Not many people
know me at Loch Lomond, but a few people do.
Q. But at the Dundonald Links they do?
ROSS DRUMMOND: Yes.
Q. And one or two pints perhaps?
ROSS DRUMMOND: Yeah. I think I'll
have a few myself.
KELLY ELBIN: For clarification, Ross's
best finish in the Open Championship was a tie for
31st in both 1984 and 1995.
ROSS DRUMMOND: I was making it out
as if I did better than did I actually.
(Laughter.)
Q. It's been 62 years since a European
has won this tournament. Just thoughts about
that. I know you don't want to think about
winning, but why do you think that is and just
talk about it.
ROSS DRUMMOND: Well, I think it's very
difficult for Europeans to come over and compete
in this arena. And on this type of golf course.
Because as I said, we don't play golf courses like
this.
I think that the greens are a lot faster than
we're used to. It's quite hard to get it up-and-down.
You need to manage your game so well and try
and leave yourself in the right spots.
We tend to play golf courses that the rough
isn't quite as bad and the greens are a lot flatter.
So I don't know, maybe it's just that the golf
course, the guys that are playing the Champions
Tour play golf courses like this on a regular basis.
Plus, it's their home country, they probably
feel a lot more relaxed. We, I don't know, not that
you feel intimidated, but you come in here and it's
a great field. There's a fantastic field assembled
here and you just know that it's going to be difficult
to compete.
Q. What was the first time you came to
America?
ROSS DRUMMOND: First time I came to
America was in 1977. And I worked at Bay Hill in
Florida. That was just for a contact that my boss at
Turnberry had with Mark McCormack and Arnold
Palmer. And they gave me a winter job at Bay Hill,
I spent three or four months and I worked on the
golf course. The golf course maintenance. And I
got to play as much golf as I wanted after I worked
and on the weekends.
So since then I've been coming to the
states quite regularly and I'm a very good friend,
Gregor Jamieson is a golf director at Lake Nona.
And we have been great pals since childhood. We
played against each other in Scottish Boy's
Championship, and we worked together at
Turnberry under his father Bob Jamieson.
So we have been friends for many many
years. So I visit Gregor, I don't know, once, twice
a year. I stay with him at Lake Nona, play and
practice and just hang out.
KELLY ELBIN:
Ross Drummond, the
leader in the clubhouse after two rounds at the
Senior PGA Championship. Thank you, Ross.
ROSS DRUMMOND: Okay.
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