I’ve only made it to two interview sessions so far this week: Stewart Cink (Tuesday) and Tom Lehman (Wednesday). This is the first time I’ve been to a sports-related press conference room and I must say it’s very, very nice:

• The A/V equipment is great, so you can hear all the questions clearly.
• The lighting is bright enough so I can take still photos without a flash.
• There haven’t been very many people in each one, so you can easily get your questions answered, if you have any.
• The moderator is good at his job.
• Air conditioning!

I didn’t ask any questions during the first one, but Cink commented on how Hazeltine was “monster-long” and how “my 2-3-4 irons and driver will get a work out this week.” I also liked his Glacier National Park story, but Jim Souhan at the Star Tribune beat me to the punch on that one. He did leave out the part about getting a ruling for bear slobber, though.

During the Tom Lehman interview, retired Star Tribune golf writer Jon Roe asked about the Resorters tournament in Alexandria last week (in which brother Jim won and Tom’s son played with dad on the bag). I asked a follow-up question: “You mentioned the Resorters – are there other Minnesota courses that bring back especially fond memories for you?”

Mr. Lehman said during his college golf days, he and his buddies really liked to goof off at courses. At Hazeltine, they would find cracks in the parking lot pavement to place tees, then try to hit balls over the water tower. At Somerset, they would try to hit sand wedges while sitting on their knees. Lastly, he said they would get chased off Interlachen by Mr. Kidd for not playing by the rules.