BAY HILL INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY COOPER TIRES

March 16, 2002

Scott McCarron

JOHN BUSH: Scott, thanks for coming in after round three today. If we could get some general comments on your round.

SCOTT McCARRON: You know, I actually played pretty good today. Just missed a couple up-and-downs on the front side, but made some really good up-and-downs, too.

So the greens were really firm today. I mean, it was more like it was Tuesday; that's how firm they were. And they had some pins in some spots you cannot even get close. 12, the par 5, I'm standing on the fairway and my caddy and I are looking, it's like there's only one way to get it close; you're going to have to hit the pin; and I one-shopped it and hit the pin; that was the only way to get it close.

Next hole, pin is on the front part of the green. A I had perfect shot there and I've got 42 feet. So it's, you know, if you're going to put pins there, at least have some way of getting it close. I just thought that was a little too severe when there's no chance.

Then we had a long wait on 16, probably over half an hour, 40-minute wait, and I think I just lost my MoJo a little bit there. And bogeyed 16 and bogeyed 17. But played 18 real well. Any time you wait like that, it's hard.

Q. What happened on the swing, was that a noise or distraction on 16?

SCOTT McCARRON: A little bit. You know, Jerry Kelly was over on the fairway and when I took the club back, I thought I heard him hit and he didn't hit. I heard something, maybe it was just a photographer taking pictures of Jose coming out of the rough or Jerry over there. No big deal. Tiger seems to be able to stop at the top of his backswing; I haven't quite perfected that yet. I hit a bad shot. That's the way it goes. My next shot rolled two inches too far, and I really had nothing to get it close. Guarding against, you know, the grass, catching the nozzle and hitting in the water. And I just hit it out to the right in the bunker hit a good bunker shot and made a good putt and made 6.

Q. I know you're not happy with your finish, but what about your position?

SCOTT McCARRON: I'm very happy. I was four shots back going into today playing with Tiger, and now I'm only two shots back. You know, I've got to look at that as a positive, even though I should be maybe even or a couple ahead. I'm only two shots back in this tournament. I've got a great opportunity.

Q. Were you getting more motivated today? I've got to think there was a general perception out there that, gee, Tiger is four strokes ahead and you've got no chance.

SCOTT McCARRON: You know, maybe there's a little more motivation today. After reading a lot of the things that are written in the newspaper and a lot of the things that Golf Channel says, basically the tournament is over when he's four shots ahead. You know, I think if they are going to promote golf, they have got to promote all of us. Just to say, you know, Mark Lye saying last night on Golf Channel that "I don't think Scott McCarron has the fuel or the fire to win this tournament," and I'm standing there watching him say that ten feet in front of me before I go on. Things like that, obviously, fire you up a little bit. I think that that's totally uncalled for. You know, to judge what anybody's fire is, I mean, they have no idea. I have more fire than anybody right now. I want to win.

Q. You seem kind of fired up right now.

SCOTT McCARRON: I am fired up.

Q. By the turn, his four-shot lead was gone; that was pretty amazing?

SCOTT McCARRON: I must have been intimidating him out there. (Laughter.)

It was pretty amazing. He was a little out of sync there on the front nine. And if you miss fairways on this golf course, you have no chance to hit a green. I think that was proven time and time again. Any time either of us missed a fairway, we could not hit a green.

He was not playing his best. I actually was playing pretty good and missed a couple putts that I thought I should make, and, you know, really erase the deficit after nine holes. I was pretty confident going into that back nine. And I hit a great drive on 10 and had a 9-iron -- I was in between a 9-iron and wedge, perfect distance and I went with 9-iron and I thought I hit a perfect shot there, and ended up down in the bunker in a hole. I still don't know how that happened. Just trying to get so cute where the pin is on 10. And a lot of these pins, just got to talk your lumps, hit in the middle of the green and 2-putt for par times.

At that time I was a little more aggressive than I should have been. Because I wanted to have fuel and fire.

Q. What does it take beyond fuel and fire, tomorrow on a very hard, firm course? Is it a low round or is it a conservative round?

SCOTT McCARRON: I've got to think that being two shots back -- there's a lot of guys within three shots, four shots. I think someone is going to have to go low; and lower out here might be 67, 66; that's pretty darn low. You're going to have to play some -- (cell phone rings) -- no cell phones. That's $2,500, right into my retirement.

You're going to have to go low, but it's going to be difficult to go low, I think. If someone shoots -- if I shoot 4- or 5-, 6-under, I would certainly think I would have a chance. Depends on what the other guys are going to do, but I don't think going out there and shooting even par tomorrow is going to have a chance, that's for sure.

Q. Match-play is a different animal, but are these Sundays getting a little easier for you? You're just there all the time.

SCOTT McCARRON: It is getting easier, because I'm getting really comfortable being in this position. This is why I play and practice, to get in this position, to have a chance with nine holes to play, with 18 holes to play, going into Sunday. I mean, that's the whole deal. It's not winning; it's getting that opportunity to handle yourself under that situation and playing to win.

I know tomorrow, I'm going to go out there and play to win.

JOHN BUSH: Scott, can we get you to go through your birdies and bogeys for us real quick?

SCOTT McCARRON: Who was that? (Regarding cell phone call).

Q. My wife.

SCOTT McCARRON: That's okay then.

Birdies and bogeys -- I have no clue.

I bogeyed No. 2. I hit an absolutely perfect golf should there and landed a 4-iron right in front of the green and landed in back in a huge clump of grass right there and muffed a chip up there and made bogey.

I came back strong on 3. Hit a good 3-wood off the tee and I hit a perfect pitching wedge that landed one inch short of the green, basically, where I was trying to land it. You know, if I land it one inch longer, it's probably going to be 30 feet past the hole and made that putt for birdie.

Then 4, I hit two really good shots and 2-putted from the back of the green for birdie.

And then 5, I hit a good 3-iron off the tee and a 9-iron to about 18 feet and made that for birdie.

So, I was pretty pleased with that start. And then 6, I turned around and hit a perfect drive there and had 225 to the hole and hit 3-iron right at it and it just kicked over the green. I had kind of a muffy lie. Looked like it was sitting down, but it had a lot of grass under it, and made par.

Bogeyed 10. Already talked about that; hit a driver in the middle and what I thought was a perfect 9-iron. Ends up short, hitting on the fringe and ended up near in the bunker in a really bad area. One more foot, and that ball is probably a foot from the hole.

11, I made a great par on 11, I hit a perfect drive and hit probably one of my only bad swings of the day, besides 16, and buried it in the bunker. Had nothing. I chipped it out to about 40 feet and made that for par.

Then came back and birdied 12 with sand wedge in from about, oh, I think I had 87 yards or something like that. One-hopped it, hit the flag about a foot and made birdie.

Then I made a bunch of pars and I bogeyed 16 and 17.

Q. You bogeyed 17?

SCOTT McCARRON: I hit in the right front bunker there. It was kind of going up over this hill and I thought I had a little -- like someone raked it, not a very good rake job there. So I was trying to play a little running-type bunker shot and it just kind of stopped on the hill.

But I just watched Tiger hit 6-iron there sky-high. I mean, I can't believe how high he hit it, and it landed absolutely perfect and he couldn't even hold the green. I'm looking at it going, I have no chance to hit this green unless I land it just barely short. And I was just trying to hit a really high 5-iron and just peeled it off the right just a bit.

Q. I apologize if you've been asked this a million times, but did somebody say you built that putter in your garage from basically, well, out of, I guess, driver shaft?

SCOTT McCARRON: Putter I'm using now?

Q. Yes.

SCOTT McCARRON: No. I built a long putter years ago when I first started using a long putter and that was an old Ping Anser 2. This one is built by Stix -- they need the advertising -- the lacrosse people. When I first was putting with the long putter playing amateur golf, I went to the golf shows -- in the apparel business here in Orlando and saw the Stix guys and they were making the long putter. And I said, "Hey, would you guys make me up a long putter?"

And they said, "We are in the lacrosse season; we are not making putters."

They have come a long way in 12 years.

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