What they said: Michael Allen

text size

MORE INTERVIEWS: Viking Classic transcript archive

Q. I'm your age. So I appreciate that you can still do that. You battled him, wouldn't you say? You gave him a good run?

MICHAEL ALLEN: Yeah, I was hanging in there all day, especially the front nine. I couldn't get much going even though I had a lot of opportunities, I thought. Finally, it looked like he was starting to get a little nervous or play a few straight shots, and I was kind of gaining on him. And then I really hit a good drive on 13.

Q. 13, yeah.

MICHAEL ALLEN: It was just a terrible bounce. Ball bounced 30 yards left and out of bounds. After that, I had some good opportunities on, you know, 15 14, 15, 16, to make some birdies, you know, and I just couldn't make them.

But it was a fun day. I had a great time out there competing with him. He's a great kid, plays great. So it was a great day.

Q. Was that driver you hit did you hit driver on 13?

MICHAEL ALLEN: Yes, I did, yeah.

Q. I was back where the green, so I couldn't see it. Was it just on the tree line?

MICHAEL ALLEN: It was just on the very right edge of the tree line. Right where I really try and hit. I like to have it five feet right of that. He has a lot more carry. So he hit on the same line and carried.

Q. And you just caught a tree?

MICHAEL ALLEN: Kicked left and left and left out of bounds.

Q. Golf is such a game of little things.

MICHAEL ALLEN: I know. It's kind of like the big guy kicked me right in the gonads, you know. It's like, God, pulled even with him. I'm ready to go. I'm playing well.

Q. What did you learn about Bill Haas today?

MICHAEL ALLEN: You know, he hung in there. He didn't really you know, he went through some tough spells too. 11, he hit not a very good one. 12, he hit a bad shot. And even really that par 3 15, he didn't really play a very good shot. He only hit a hard ball up in the wind. But, you know, he hung in there. It's like when I had that putt on 13, I guess. You know, he was right on my line. He had got lucky, just six inches inside me, and I knew he was going to knock it down, and he needed to. That gave him a three shot lead and changed the tournament really.

Q. Then 16 and 17, he...

MICHAEL ALLEN: Yeah, he made the putts where I couldn't make them. I had good opportunities on 15 and 16. He did what he had to do, and he played great.

Q. This puts you next week are you going to go play the PGA Tour?

MICHAEL ALLEN: You know, I'm still exempt out here.

Q. Okay, okay.

MICHAEL ALLEN: Right now, I really haven't even decided yet. I'm kind of hedging towards sometimes I am, a lot of times I'm not. It gives you a chance to get it done a little bit more. This has been a good experience for me.

Q. Is this a tournament you want to play next year?

MICHAEL ALLEN: I love coming here. I have all these great friends here in Jackson I've met over the last four or five years. This is one of my favorite tournaments. It's the smallest one on the tour. I enjoy coming here. It's a great time. I'll be coming back as often as they'll have me.