BAY HILL INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY COOPER TIRES

March 17, 2000

Mike Weir

MIKE WEIR: Okay. No. 1, I hit a 3-wood and a 4-iron to 15 feet, probably, and made that putt. 4-iron on No. 2 to maybe 40 feet and made that putt. That was the long bomb I hit today. No. 3, I hit a 3-wood and 7-iron to three feet. No. 4, third shot was a sand wedge to 10 feet. No. 5 was a 3-wood and a 9-iron to -- probably 12, 14 feet. And then No. 9 -- missed some birdie putts on all three of those holes, 6, 7, 8. And 9, I hit a driver and 8-iron to three feet. 10, I hit 3-wood and a 6-iron to 15 feet. And 11, I hit a driver and a 7-iron to three feet.

MIKE WEIR: On the front side, you know, No. 6, I had it -- probably was about 20 feet. Same with 7 and 8, I had it close. I had about an eight-foot putt that I missed on No. 8 and on the back side. The par 5, I was a long ways away. Made actually a nice 2-putt actually from 35, 40 feet and 13. I was probably 12 feet and missed that putt. 14, I made a nice up-and-down, actually, the par 3. And then missed it from -- on 15, probably 10 feet. 16, from about 10 feet. 17, I 2-putted from maybe 35 feet. And then 18 I was, you know, 15, 16 feet on 18, missed it.

MIKE WEIR: A lot different. The wind was down. The greens were softer. It was a lot different golf course today. Early this morning, I knew I needed to take advantage of it early on because you never know how long the wind being down is going to last. It was perfectly calm the first six holes. It played much different. The greens were holding, even with longer irons which out here they normally don't do.

MIKE WEIR: Not really. Just lucky to make a putt of 40 feet. Outside of that, it was fortunate. I haven't made a putt like that in about four or five weeks, it seems like; so it was nice to make one like that, but then kept on going. Didn't get too carried away with it.

MIKE WEIR: I think an the Canadian Tour, I made seven one time, seven in a row. And Australia -- actually in the European Tour in the German Open, I made six birdies, an eagle and another birdie. In a stretch of eight holes, I was 9-under on eight holes.

MIKE WEIR: The holes seems big and you're just dialed in with your iron shots. You seem to hit the ball in the fairway, have the right yardage and never in between clubs. That's what happened today. I had the right distance most of the time. Most of the iron shots I had in were comfortable. It was never trying to hit an easy one or a very hard one, except for on the par 3 I was -- like on 14, I was kind of in between clubs. But other than that I was pretty much, you know, right on a standard iron shot.

MIKE WEIR: I don't think it sets up for lefties, per se. Steve has been playing solid golf all year and I've been playing pretty solid. I don't think it has anything to do with the golf course.

MIKE WEIR: It doesn't feel a whole lot -- I did play really well yesterday. Left a few on the golf courses yesterday. Played really well on the golf course yesterday, to shoot 2-under in those conditions on the afternoon. I guess through the first 11 holes, it did feel like it was going a lot better, but at the end of the day, it didn't feel a whole lot different because I parred my last seven holes.

MIKE WEIR: Not really. I've told this story before. When I was about 13, because in the back of my mind, I was -- dreamed of playing professional golf and I wrote Jack Nicklaus a letter asking him if I should switch to right-handed at a young age if I wanted to pursue golf. And he wrote back and said: "Stick to your natural swing and your natural tendencies and don't switch."

MIKE WEIR: Well, he was just -- he was an idol of mine, I guess, growing up. So if you're going to ask for advice, you're going to ask the best player in the world if you're going to switch and make a big change like that.

MIKE WEIR: I wasn't. I wasn't. It was just a thought of mine. Even at 13, I was thinking, you know I was young enough, I was even thinking, "Should I do it now"? I have a lot of time to work on it, if he thought I should.

MIKE WEIR: Yeah, I was surprised actually.

MIKE WEIR: Yeah, it was really nice. I've got it framed at home still.

MIKE WEIR: Yeah, when I was a younger, junior, it was a little more difficult to get equipment. You know, I just had a mix-and-max set until I was 14 or 15. And now, it's obviously much better. But back 15 years ago, it was.

MIKE WEIR: Yeah, I could tell that the crowds were getting bigger, and obviously, a lot of Canadians that come down here in the winter. It's exciting to have actually kind of a hometown feel, a lot of people pulling for you.

MIKE WEIR: Yeah, this game you're always learning and always trying to get better and learn something, and from the PGA, won a couple weeks later. I'm just trying to chip away at my mistakes and keep trying to get myself in that position so I can win tournaments. I think my experience -- all the experience that I've had in contention quite a few times last year and those all pay off in the long run. And you feel much more comfortable when you're in that kind of situation fighting it out for a title down near the stretch, and I think that will help me.

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