WORLDCOM CLASSIC--THE HERITAGE OF GOLF

April 19, 2002

Cameron Beckman

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: I'd like to welcome Cameron Beckman to the media center. He shot a 63 today, 8-under par, 10-under for the tournament.

CAMERON BECKMAN: 9-under.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Just get us started on your round today. 29 on the front side, tied Paulson's front nine record. Let's go real quick through that and go into some questions.

CAMERON BECKMAN: First hole I made about a 10-footer.

Second hole I chipped it up like that (indicating).

Parred the third.

Fourth hole -- (indicating) -- whatever you call that, six feet.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: What did you hit in there?

CAMERON BECKMAN: 5-iron. Which is a hole, as you guys know, I wasn't really trying to make birdie, I just hit a great shot.

The next hole, 5-iron and 2-putted, par-5.

The next hole I hit a wedge to about six, seven feet, made that.

8 I hit it to about 30 feet, made that.

And then 9 I hit a sand wedge about four feet.

And I wasn't expecting to shoot that score, to be honest with you.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: As far as the backside, your one bogey came on 13.

CAMERON BECKMAN: Yeah, I 3-putted.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: And then birdied 15 and 17, as well.

CAMERON BECKMAN: 15 I knocked it on in 2.

Q. What did you hit there?

CAMERON BECKMAN: 5 up over the trees. It kind of scared me because I hit it a little thin, and it kind of went up and right through, nicely. I think I kind of caught the tree down by the pin. I was lucky.

And then I made about a 30-footer probably on 17. Just like that.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: What did you hit on 17?

CAMERON BECKMAN: I hit a 7-iron in.

Q. Why weren't you expecting to shoot that low?

CAMERON BECKMAN: Well, yesterday I was surprised at the scores. I mean ,this golf course to me is just not a course that -- today I got some good bounces, like the par-5, hitting the 5-wood that goes up there and it's perfect. But it's just a course that to me when Davis shot 9-under yesterday, I thought come on, you can't shoot 9-under here. So maybe it was having seen it, then you start believing maybe you can do it. But I didn't feel that great this morning. I just tried to -- I don't know what I did, but I hope I can keep doing it.

Q. For those of us who will never know what that's like, what does it feel like when you can get on a roll like that, and you know you're going to go low, and it's all in your head, do you start blocking it out, do you start bringing it in, what do you do?

CAMERON BECKMAN: Sometimes when you get off to a good start, you know you're going to play well. So you sort of start not worrying so much about the results of it. If you start two or three over, you don't feel good. And so today I was just trying to tell myself to stay out of my own way. You tend to start thinking about it, and it's going to mess you up. But it's just -- it's something you've got to learn to do. I don't know, I've gotten better at it, I've shot better scores out here. You've got to keep concentrating on every shot.

Q. And it comes down to putting.

CAMERON BECKMAN: I'm just trying to make a putt. And it's one of those days where -- even where I was trying to make a par, I made a birdie. Like I said, this golf course -- today was my day. It was a good day.

Q. When you make two or three in a row, do you try to build on it? I remember Johnny Miller saying guys get to a certain point and then they get tentative, they don't want to go too low?

CAMERON BECKMAN: That's kind of what I'm saying, when I get more under par I'm relaxed, because I know I'm not going to shoot 80. You see what I mean? Some people get, I guess, nervey. But I get more relaxed, because I'm playing well.

Q. What's the best you've ever shot?

CAMERON BECKMAN: What is it? 61, 60 -- I think 61 is the lowest. That's on my home course at home.

Q. Seems like the front 9 is playing very easy this morning, the back nine is getting around par, 1 or 2 birdies is good. Does your mind change when you turn to 16, 17, 18?

CAMERON BECKMAN: Yeah, the key on the front 9 is there's no wind. You can get home on 2 in two very easy. 1, I hit a wedge in there. There's a few holes that if you can just drive it properly, the right part, you can -- but when I got around the back nine, there's more wind. 10 you've got to be careful on. 11 is a tough hole. It's hard to keep that really rocking.

Q. Can you talk about making that turn back up the 16th fairway, probably a little bit more prevelant in the afternoon round, but when you first start to feel that wind?

CAMERON BECKMAN: 16 is a -- that to me is a birdie hole, if you drive it straight. I drove it too far down, behind the tree in the fairway today. But 17, the pin, there will be a lot of birdies today. And 3 is straight down.

Q. Cameron, could you talk about -- you get more relaxed when you play this way. Does this carry over for the weekend now? Will you stay relaxed tomorrow? When you come out, does it just depend on how you're playing in the first couple of --

CAMERON BECKMAN: Well, I'm trying -- when I was younger my first few years, I might have gotten a little out of whack mentally. I'm trying to start from the first shot and really concentrate and not think about results. And so you're always nervous when you start. But if you can concentrate and not make the stupid mistakes early until you get relaxed. But I've gotten off to a good start this year, and I'm getting more comfortable out here. I'm enjoying it, I've been in some pretty good positions in the year. And it's fun to be there.

Q. Looking at your record, it looks like last year was really a breakthrough year for you.

CAMERON BECKMAN: Yeah.

Q. What caused that? Was there anything that you discovered in yourself or the game?

CAMERON BECKMAN: Well, my first year -- last year was the first year I kept my card. I had to go through the Q-School, I did that the last three years. And to win the event last year. But I had already kept my card and played decent. And this year, I wanted to start off thinking let's think about winning more. And that's what I've been trying to do. But I started to get more comfortable out here. I'm not one of the players that was good in college -- I went to a small school -- I'm the later bloomer type player, I think.

Q. Can you give us the short version of your win, how it came about?

CAMERON BECKMAN: I birdied three holes coming in to beat a guy by a shot. That's all it was, right there.

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