BUICK OPEN

August 10, 2000

Chris Perry

CHRIS PERRY: Real solid round. Good score today. Little bit of wind out there and the course is playing -- the greens are receptive, but they are pretty pure. But the course is playing a little bit longer, I think, than what it has in the past. Hopefully we won't get any rain and it will dry out. But probably in the best shape I have seen it; always been really good here. Greens got a lot of speed on them. Playing early, obviously, you have fresher greens, but I just hit the ball real solid today. I drove it -- I missed a few fairways but only by about a foot, so I always had a shot in and you are going to hit a lot of greens here because they are so big. I made a few -- made a nice bunker shot on No. 1, went for the green, right bunker, probably 50-foot bunker shot; end up making about a 10-, 11-footer on the first hole. Second hole, I missed the green just to the left; chipped it; lipped that out. No. 3, had to lip out for a hole-in-one with a 5-iron went; about six feet by, made that. Lipped out on 4 from twelve feet. Had it about 18 feet at 5. About 18 feet at 6. 7, I missed the fairway. I was in the trap, had to hit a 5-iron in for my third shot and that went right over the end of the hole from about 45 feet. No. 8, probably one of the more difficult holes today. 216 yards, I hit a 3-iron to about, I don't know, 17 feet; just missed that one. 9, another good drive and 9-iron to about eight or nine feet; missed that one. 10, had about a 16-footer; missed that. 11, 35 feet, 2-putted. 12, drove it within 15 yards of the front of the green, chipped it seven feet, missed that one. Par 5, drive and 4-wood from about 238 to the back of the green. I had about a 35-footer. I knocked that four feet past and I made that. Drove it five yards from the front of the green on 14. Chipped it to about eight feet, made that one. 15, driver in the fairway, 5-iron to 35 feet, I knocked that 7 and a half feet by and I made that one. Driver, driver on the par 5, about -- had about 45-yard pitch shot; hit that about twelve feet; made that one. Had about an 11-footer at 17, left it two feet short coming downhill, made the par-putt. Then 18 I hit a 7-iron to within about 11 or twelve feet and I missed that one. So yeah, I didn't struggle a lot today. I had a lot of opportunities and the score could have been better, but I am pleased with shooting 5-under. So just really drove the ball really, really solid, so that kind of has been the key to my game, my ball-striking has been pretty good. If I could get my putter a little hotter, it would really give me some good results.

CHRIS PERRY: I prefer the courses not to where you have to shoot 20-under par, 18-under par, becoming more of a putting contest. I think the reason they score so well here is usually there isn't a lot of wind. The greens are fairly flat and they are big, so as far as scrambling, you don't have a lot of tough up-and-downs because you hit a lot of greens hear and guys are going to 2-putt most of them most of the time. And they have four par 5s, and two or three short par 4s, so there is some good holes. You get the wind coming the direction it was today, 15, 16, 17, 18 are all into the wind; makes it pretty tough. The fact that they are receptive and holding is why the scores are always pretty good.

CHRIS PERRY: They always support this tournament pretty well. They come out a lot more on Friday, Saturday and Sunday than the first day. Obviously the fact that you have Tiger in the field, Ernie Els you have got a really quality, quality, quality field here this year. People are going to come out in droves because they want to see Tiger play and there will probably be more and more people this weekend. Don't know what the record is here for attendance, I mean, it will probably break the record this week. Especially if he is amongst leaders, which he will be.

CHRIS PERRY: I have played well here, but I have really struggled on the greens even though they are fairly flat. I haven't made a lot of putts. This is my 15th year on Tour. I don't know what my best finish is here. Last couple of years I think I have been in the Top-20, but I have been pretty good position but usually have to have a 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-under one of those rounds, you know, 6-, 7-, 8-under usually the guys that are winning. My friend Tom Pernice won last year. What was he 18, 19-under? I don't know what the record is, but years I think 26-under was shot here, but I think it was a little bit drier ball where everyone was reaching the par 5s which that isn't the case this year. Only the long hitters are going to be able to reach all four of them everyday; where medium hitters can't -- they are just too long.

CHRIS PERRY: I made some putts, yeah, but I had a lot of opportunities and that is kind of the key to shooting some good scores is. Sure, I am pleased with how I played, but I know that I could have scored better today. But that is the way golf is. There is days that you don't hit it as well and you shoot 3-under par and you only hit eight greens. That is how golf is. So as long as I can keep having a lot of chances, I think that is the key, as well as I normally putt, they are going to start falling.

CHRIS PERRY: I don't think really about what anybody does because "I" put "me" against the golf course. Until you get to the last nine holes on Sunday to see where you are at - this year I haven't played quite as well; not in contention as last year, then I had 14 Top-10s. I had 4, 5 this year. You try to shoot the lowest score you can. Coming up 18 you don't want to make bogey on the last hole, but you know you are going to have to get to 17-, 18-, 19-under. So as a professional you have got to -- when you are playing well, you have got to take advantage and keep going. You can't be satisfied by shooting 5-under par. That is not going to win the golf tournament. It is a good start, but you know you are going to have to keep playing very aggressive to get to that whatever, 20 or 21 figure. I don't know what it is going to be, but it is going to be somewhere in, you know, 16- to 22-under, I am sure.

CHRIS PERRY: I haven't reached them yet. I still have pretty much -- I have only won one tournament on Tour. I have played well enough last year where; with a little bit of luck, I probably could have won a couple of times. Consistency has always been there. I want to continue that, but the victory is what you are out here for and I have an outside chance of making the -- I was very close to making the Ryder Cup team. Just missed that and I believe I am 15th or so on The Presidents Cup standings with two weeks to go. So if I make it, great. If not, you know, that is the way it goes. But that was pretty much my two goals for the year. If not, then your goal is to obviously finish in the top-30 again.

CHRIS PERRY: When you hit as many greens as I do, then you miss one, you kind of don't know what to do. It is kind of a nice problem to have so you have got to keep your touch really chipping a little bit. But I just didn't have the speed on a lot of my putts today that ones I -- you are not going to make them all, but I should have made really a couple more. I don't miss as many putts as I did today. I am just trying to get a little bit more feel for the speed. Get a little confidence, I mean, putting is mostly confidence, so that is really what I am working on seeing the ball go in the hole. I felt my stroke was getting a little -- it was just getting a little soft. I wasn't like really banging them in the hole. I was dying them too much. I want to make sure I have an aggressive stroke. That is the way they go in. The fact that I am from Ohio and I come up to Michigan I get a little bit of extra adrenaline when I come up here. (inaudible).