MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen,
Head Golf Professional of Indianwood, David Zink.
Q.
When did you get the word?
DAVID ZINK: At 20 of 11:00. Had 20 minutes to soak it in and found out I
had to play. Kind of had prepared myself
a little bit all week that I might get to, because they asked me on Monday if I
would be a marker if there was a single player.
So kind of watched the scoreboard hoping that there wasn't because I had
a lot of work to do and I was tired.
Although at the end of the round
yesterday, if Bill Mory had made birdie on 18, he'd have been a single player,
and I know Bill real well. We're good
friends. That would have been okay.
I was going about my business,
carrying boxes back and forth from the merchandise tent to the pro shop. I heard Matt Sawicki was looking for me. I thought it was an issue. Then my assistant calls me and said, I think
they want you to play.
Q.
Kind of miffed that you got to switch gears a little bit.
DAVID ZINK: Thank God it's my own golf course. I was never ‑‑ I had fun. You know, Kiyoshi was a great guy to play
with. He didn't talk a lot, but we had a
good time, and he played very well. He
had a little struggle a little bit coming in, but so ‑‑
Q. You had a little razzing, guys saying
it's your course. You should be able to
play it in I think it was about a 9 or a 10.
DAVID ZINK: Yeah, I mean, I do know the golf course
better than anybody. I've played it
probably more times than probably anybody living. So ‑‑ but I haven't swung a golf club in
three weeks either, and I didn't swing any before I teed it up. I went right to the tee, I hit about 12
putts, and away we went. Took a little
while. I played better on the back
nine. I think I hit most of the greens
on the back nine, all but three. Played
okay.
Q.
[Inaudible] other folks are going to share this information, not just
the locals. How long have you been the
professional here? You grew up in the
area, all that kind of stuff.
DAVID ZINK: I've been the pro here for 32 years. I was hired in by the Aldridge family in '81,
right after they bought it. As a kid in
high school and college, I had belonged here, my family had, from '69 through
'74. I was the club champion as a 19‑year‑old
in 1973. So 38 of my 58 years I've spent
right here in Indianwood.
I grew up in Rochester, not too far
away from here. Have been a Lake Orion
resident for most of the last 32 years.
I now live in Oxford but own a house in Lake Orion.
Q.
You tried to qualify?
DAVID ZINK: I did try to qualify. That was the last time I played golf. I shot a 75.
Made a 9 on my 14th hole, par 4.
So that kind of shot me out of the competition at that point in time.
Q.
That was at Ann Arbor, right?
DAVID ZINK: That was at Radrick Farms in Ann Arbor,
right.
Q.
Will you play tomorrow?
DAVID ZINK: Probably.
I would assume there's an odd number of guys, and we'll probably be the
first ones off.
Q.
You'll shoot 62 tomorrow, right?
DAVID ZINK: No.
But I might play a little better.
But, no, I just, you know, it was fun.
Q.
What's the best you have shot out here?
DAVID ZINK: I have shot 62. I share the unofficial course record because
it wasn't done in an event. 63 is the
best in an actual event. But Bob May and
I have shot 62, along with Randy Erskine and a couple other guys.
Q.
A lot of good scores in the morning.
The course played pretty well?
DAVID ZINK: The wind hadn't picked up, and it was still
kind of soft. Towards the end of our
round, it was getting pretty firm out there, and the wind was picking up. And so it's a ‑‑ it's not the hardest
wind for Indianwood when it's downwind on 12, 16 and 18, because those are long
par 4s and they become not that long with the way the wind and the firmness of
the ground is.
But it's tough, that finishing
stretch. I mean, these guys have
struggled with 12 through 18, and I think they'll continue to, even with the
wind the way it was.
Q.
Now you've got to go back to work?
DAVID ZINK: Now I get to go see how many boxes
we're ‑‑ hopefully they're all out, everything's out and not much
merchandise left. We've got a pretty
good crowd here today.
Q.
How has it been this week, crowd‑wise?
DAVID ZINK: It's steadily increased. Yesterday was the first day I thought that we
had a really nice crowd, Thursday.
Wednesday, we just kept getting more and more people. Yesterday, it looked like a pretty nice
crowd. Today, it looks very good.
We've got a great leaderboard. I mean, the best senior players in the world
are right up on top of our leaderboard.
I think that's a good testimony for the golf course that the best players
are playing the best golf.
Q.
You have a big crowd following you?
DAVID ZINK: Well, not so much following me, but I got
members in every spot. I had to say hi a
lot out there, which is good. I love
them, and I've been here a long time.
Q.
Sign any autographs?
DAVID ZINK: I did, about five when I got off the 18th
green. That's why I was late to the
scorer's tent.
Q.
Finished strongly too?
DAVID ZINK: I birdied 15 and 18. Had a bogey in between there on 16. So I did finish pretty good.
Q.
Not many birdies on 18.
DAVID ZINK: No, but I think there will be a few. It's a fairly accessible pin. If you're a little long, like Kiyoshi went a
little long, that's a lot tougher putt than I had. I knew not to ‑‑ I was going to be short if
anything. Okay?
Q.
Thank you, sir.
DAVID ZINK: Thank you.