THE HONDA CLASSIC

March 13, 1999

Bradley Hughes

BRADLEY HUGHES: The first hole, I hit it in the fairway bunker then hit it a little bit stronger over the green, no chip really, made a bogey. Second hole, I under-clubbed, came up short just in the rough, made bogey, too. Up-and-down at the bunker on four just short of the green for a birdie. 7th hole I hit a -- I think it was like 18 yards, hit 7-iron to about 6 feet, I guess. 10, I had a long putt, 30 feet, maybe longer. And 11, I hit an 8-iron to 8, 9, 10 feet, something like that. 16, sand iron to about five, six feet. Made 18, just missed the green right, chipped it up to about five foot and missed.

BRADLEY HUGHES: Pretty good. I mean it was a tough scoring day in the wind. The course probably needed something like that to sort some of the scoring out, O'Meara was going along pretty good. First, it's been a different wind everyday which has made it pretty tough a bit. First couple of holes I didn't really know what to do with the wind straight down, I was trying to -- tried to hit one, 1 club also and hit it on the first hole, then the next hole, 1 club more and neither worked. It threw me off guard there at the start. But after that I played pretty good.

BRADLEY HUGHES: I have never been to Doral, so I don't know that one.

BRADLEY HUGHES: Well, I guess wind has got something to do with it. I know a lot of the American players I have played with tend to hit the ball up in the air a lot so the mercy of the wind, in Australia we grow up in, I suppose it's pretty windy conditions, and then you get the other days where there is no wind at all, so you get to play a variety of shots and hook the ball against the left or right wind, hit it low, run it up and all those types of things. So this course, like I said, I haven't played Doral, but this course is set up pretty good for someone who has grown up in those conditions. There are a lot of gaps at the front of the greens, run it up, it's not everything fly up next to the hole and stick it like most of the -- a lot of the courses are over here.

BRADLEY HUGHES: I'm going to -- well, I have actually had -- I haven't really attacked a lot this week, I don't think. I had last week off to get rejuvenated again and I had a -- I watched some videos when I used to play putt really well, like eight, nine years ago and came across something that I was -- just hand position and I went back to a blade putter which I hadn't used in a long time, and I have been putting really well. I got some confidence, so I haven't been able to aim at the pins. I have been able to hit the ball in the right shot, so never really short sided myself on a shot to the green. In other words -- I have putted so well that I hold a lot of putts and it's taken pressure off the rest of my game, I can just swing freely and just get it -- not trying to hit close to make birdies, so it's taken a lot of pressure off my mind, I guess.

BRADLEY HUGHES: That's what you play for. It makes it easier schedule-wise and get into a lot more tournaments and things like that. I guess if you win over here you gotta be regarded as a good player. I mean everyone that's ever won over here has been a good players, not too many flukes come along, and I think one thing it will do if I do win is it will give me some confidence, that's just what I have been lacking. I have been close in a few, I know I have the ability to do it, it's just a matter of one day it happening, you find the comfort zone and keep going.

BRADLEY HUGHES: Yeah, I'm not really worried about them, like I said before, because I grew up in the wind, I'm praying for wind, I hope it is like it was today because that's -- I think that's to my advantage, because I can move the ball around pretty well in the wind, hit it low and then hit it high if I have to, so it doesn't really matter who's there, who isn't there, it's just a matter of hitting all shots, I guess, and staying out of trouble. And a lot of it you have to make it an easy round, I guess, not have four, five footers for your second putts and not have chips over bunkers and things -- if you can keep a lot of the stress away, it makes it much easier coming down the final stretch.

BRADLEY HUGHES: I played probably up until I was 17 and I was one of the -- probably the best player on the team, so once I got to that age they started trying to take my head off, so I had enough by then. I used to get injured and then recover enough for the next week and get beat up again.

BRADLEY HUGHES: Not really, but, I mean I could have, I trained for it but then I just said, no, I have had enough and went and played golf instead. I woke up. I got more serious about golf.

BRADLEY HUGHES: Not really. Coming out of the school like I have in the last few years, and this year is my first full exempt year, I have sort of been playing the opposite tournaments to those guys, I never see a lot of them really. I try to have a few practice rounds here and there, but they have other business going on, things like that. Cordial enough to say hello, have a chat here and there. I wouldn't say I have got one good friend on Tour, I just get along with everyone, I suppose. I don't really hang out with one person.

BRADLEY HUGHES: About 18 months now. He's been doing something else.