What they said: Mike Goodes

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PHIL STAMBAUGH: Mike Goodes, bogey free 7-under 65, open qualifier on Tuesday at 67 at Old Corkscrew, and you got off to a great start today. Just talk about the round. Great group overall, I guess.

MIKE GOODES: Oh, it was a great group. First thing you have to say, you don't get to see too many 62s, so that was a lot of fun. Larry played great and Jeff played good. Jeff just didn't get a lot out of his round today.

But I played well, hit the ball nice, drove it good, hit a lot of greens. The few I missed, a couple of times I had to chip and I was fortunate enough to get them up and down and made some nice birdies, hit some close shots and made some good putts, too.

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Do you want to run us through the round, talk about the seven birdies?

MIKE GOODES: Sure. If I can remember right and I go back to 3, what was 3? Par 5?

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Yeah.

MIKE GOODES: God, I can't remember what I did there. I birdied it, I birdied the par 5. Oh, that's right, I knocked it just over the green in two, chipped back about six, eight feet and made it for birdie.

And then 5, the par 5, I hit it short of the green to the right in two, chipped up about 10 feet past the hole and made it for birdie.

7, if I can remember that one. Oh, I hit it really close on my second shot, maybe four feet, made it for birdie.

10, I hit it probably about seven or eight feet, another good shot.

13, I hit it hole high just left the green but didn't hit a very good chip, the par 5, and ran it probably 20 feet by and made it coming back.

16, I hit a great 9-iron in there maybe about 18 inches.

And 17, I hit it in two. I had probably about a 35-, 40-foot eagle putt and ran it by a couple feet and made it coming back.

I think I remembered them all.

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Mike, talk about your year last year. You've got a number sort of on the money list but you're not fully exempt. Talk about where you're standing and if you did anything in the off season.

MIKE GOODES: I finished 34th on the money list last year, which gives me pretty good status, but it's not fully exempt. Fortunately, the last three weeks last year -- I've got a type of arthritis called ankylosing spondylitis and it really flared up and I was in pretty good position to try to move up close to 30th and I really had a tough time with my hips and back those last three weeks starting at SAS and then Houston and San Antonio.

Actually, I had to get an injection in San Antonio in my right SI joint to be able to play. Lucky to play. I was fortunate, I see a rheumatologist back home in Greensburg, Dr. Truslow, and he switched me over. Kind of like the drug that you see Phil Mickelson advertise, it's called Humera. It's an injection you give yourself every other week.

Since I started on that back in December, I feel like a kid again. You know, to be honest, that's the biggest difference right now is I feel good. I'm not favoring anything. I can exercise, I can walk, I can hit full shots and it's just fun to be able to feel good again. It's been a little while. So what I did in the off season, I got on a new drug. It's been a blessing to me, it really has.

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Okay. We'll just go to questions here. Seth?

Q. The mentality, sometimes when guys have a health issue like that is it can, I guess, wear on them or vice versa. Maybe you feel you have to make the most of every opportunity you get and sort of appreciate the windows that you have? Where are you with that?

MIKE GOODES: Yeah, I've dealt with this type of arthritis since my mid 20s actually. I've been on anti-inflammatories and stuff for all these years, for 30 years. Many times 25 years ago or something a lot of times I would have to back out of tournaments that I entered, but I've had a lot more success with it in the last 15 years, 12 years or something. The new drug I'm on, Humera, has so far been a wonder drug for me.

Obviously, if you feel good, take advantage of it because you don't know what tomorrow's going to be like. And that's for everybody. Nobody knows what they're going to have. I've got a few other friends that take a similar type drug that, you know, almost put them out of playing golf. Just like Mickelson, without that drug, I doubt he would have won last week.

So it's a blessing to have it and I'm very thankful and I really thank the good Lord I feel good. That's the main thing. Sure, I want to take every advantage of every opportunity I get. I love the Champions Tour. I mean, this is the greatest blessing as far as my career goes I've ever had. I appreciate every moment I've been out here and I want to fight like the devil to stay out here as long as I can.

Q. Going through Tuesday or Monday qualifiers --

MIKE GOODES: Right.

Q. -- does it wear on you mentally, or do you have to have that positive outlook?

MIKE GOODES: Well, I did it the whole year in 2007 and 2008, so it's not something new for me. And it is a mentality. When I first did it, you go through and you qualify, and it was almost -- crazy as it sounds, it's almost like a letdown when the tournament started because you build up for that qualifier. That's your whole week. The thing you had to learn was you've got to forget it as quick as you can. Now you're in the tournament and focus on the tournament. And you see a lot of qualifiers that struggle. They shoot great rounds in the qualifiers. We're not playing easy courses. Old Corkscrew is a tough golf course. Then you get in a tournament and you don't play as good, and there's no reason to. But it makes it a long week when you do the qualifier. Once again, you can do it. It's just putting your mind in the right place, knowing that you've got to forget about that, that's over with, you can't pat yourself on the back anymore, you've now got to focus on the tournament, you've got three tough days, you've got to go work on it.

Q. What did you have on 17? What's the wind doing? What did you have in?

MIKE GOODES: Today?

Q. Yeah.

MIKE GOODES: Today it was downwind. It was playing really short for the distance of the hole. I had a really good drive and I had -- I'm not sure, I had like 202 to the front of the green really was what I was looking at and it was maybe closer to 230, 225 hole. I hit a 4-iron hybrid. All I was looking to do was hit it toward the front part on the right side of the green, which I fortunately did and it ended up about hole high.

Q. Is that obviously a game changer?

MIKE GOODES: Oh, yeah, wind turns around, I can't get there. I wouldn't try with the water right in front of the green. My caddie and I talked about it the last two days playing the pro am. Wind turned around into us, I would probably hit a driver, lay back short, way back where you give yourself a chance to spin the ball coming in. You hit your second shot up there green high to the right of that bunker and you've got a miserable chip. I've tried it a few times.

So yeah, that hole, a couple of the par 5s are playing so short because it's really getting firm out there, and if your ball will roll some, it's going forever. You get one downwind and it's really amazing how much shorter they're playing. You know, it is for everybody.

Q. Talk about 17. I mean, you hit on in two and Larry's on in two.

MIKE GOODES: Yeah.

Q. Could you just see, well, he's just going to get up there and make it the way things are going for him, and then he does make it?

MIKE GOODES: I'll put it this way, it doesn't surprise me when Larry Mize makes a putt. If you ever watch that silky stroke of his, he's got one of the prettiest strokes ever. He just hit a great putt. We were about the same distance. He putted first, but there wasn't much difference. I hit a good putt afterwards. I ran it right over the top edge of the hole.

But, you know, some days they just go in and Larry could have made a couple other birdies out there. Let me tell you, yeah, the one over on, what was it, 15? 15, I thought for sure he would make that and I think he misread it. It looked like it broke a little right on him. It didn't surprise me when he made it. He's a great player, great putter. I think I've seen him make a few in his career.

Q. What did you guys have on putts on 17?

MIKE GOODES: I would say 35 feet, that would be my guess.

Q. It's early, but what would a win do for you with some of the pressures you face?

MIKE GOODES: Oh, well, a win for everybody's great. It would take a lot of stress off. But, you know, as much as I love to win, I just want to play good because if I found out anything out here, if I continue to play good, I have good finishes and the rest takes care of itself. It's really hard to control winning. If you can control yourself and play good, somebody like Larry could play great and I can't catch him, and that's okay. If I play good, I'm okay with that, you know? So that's the only thing, take care of what I can take care of.

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Okay, Mike. Good luck the rest of the week. Thank you.

MIKE GOODES: Thanks, guys.