WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

February 20, 2002

Mark Calcavecchia

Q. What was the turning point in your match?

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: I would say No. 11. He had just birdied 8 and I bogeyed 10 and I was 3-up and it looked like he hit it in there about seven or eight feet. Turned out it was about 15, but it was right on the line. I didn't hit a very good shot, about 25 feet and turns out I made mine and he missed.

So, when we were on the tee there, it was looking like he was in there close and the match was going to be back to square, and I ended up coming out of the hole 2-up and that was it.

Q. Overall, what was the difference in the match?

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: I made more putts than he did. He actually drove it better than I did. He hit more fairways and probably more greens, but I did make a couple real nice up-and-downs and made two or three putts I wasn't expecting to make, so it was nice.

Q. And now you've got dueling Gator claws in round two against Chris DiMarco.

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: Chris, I'm going to have to play great to beat him. He's a Top-10 player in the world now, so he's obviously had a great couple of years, and we'll be clawing out there. Obviously, going to be outclawing the other one, I don't know who it's going to be, but, if you want to see some interesting putting grips, come watch us.

Q. He said the holes looked larger than a bucket. And you're putting pretty well; it's a full-scale revolution.

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: I heard him say it a couple of weeks ago, he said every putt he stands over he feels like he's going to make. And I'm like, "Ah, the secret to golf." No wonder he's smiling all the time.

Q. Why does it work for you?

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: For me, my right wrist gets a little kink in it under here, and I've got my grip under the shaft and it doesn't break down. The problem with my conventional grip is I get a little punchy with the back of my wrist and when it's under the shaft and you've got this kink in it, it stays right there and just kind of goes along for the ride. I just think: Pull through with my left hand and let my right hand go off, and that's basically how it is.

Q. Do you know much about Retief Goosen, have you played with him, watched him this week?

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: I played with him once. I just know he's, obviously, he's got a great swing, a very quiet guy, hard to get anything out of him. But he just seems to be playing well. Every time I see him, he's making a bomb somewhere. You know, if you make putts out here and start putting good and hitting it good at the same time, you're going to do well.

Q. As a guy who kind of burns as you do, emotional, you look at a guy like Goosen and say, "Boy, I wish I had that temperament," is that an impossibility?

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: Yeah, it's an impossibility. I've tried that for years.

Q. How hard was it for you to change your putting grip?

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: It took me a good two months to actually feel like I was putting my hands on it the same way every time. For quite a while I would actually have to look, like, is that right, because every time I put it on there it felt different.

But it was an instant fix on short putts. I wasn't yipping them anymore, and that was the main thing. I felt like I could stand over a 4- or 5-footer and make it.

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