WORLDCOM CLASSIC--THE HERITAGE OF GOLF

April 19, 2002

Billy Mayfair

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Billy Mayfair. Thanks for coming in. Shot a 68 today, he's 9-under for the tournament. If you could, just get us started with some comments. Obviously you like the golf course and played well here the last couple of years.

BILLY MAYFAIR: Yeah, I love the golf course. And got up this morning and the weather was nice. I don't know if the wind blew quite as hard as it did today, maybe it was a little windier. But conditions were just perfect in the morning. The greens were a little bit softer and just a great opportunity to score.

Q. 3-under, do you feel like you got what you should have gotten out of your round today?

BILLY MAYFAIR: I really played good on the backside, which was my frontside. I made the turn at 2-under and had two par-5s in the front and really didn't take advantage of them. I birdied No. 5, but just kind of played a ho-hum round. I birdied 5, 6 and 7, and gave one right back on 8. Overall I hit the ball good today. There were some tougher pin placements out there today. And just -- just to have as many putts go in today as I did yesterday.

Q. The conventional wisdom is you shoot lower in the morning rounds than the afternoon.

BILLY MAYFAIR: I've never been conventional, that's why I went to Arizona State. I played as good as I good yesterday. So I played solid and played almost as good today, just didn't score quite as well.

Q. How many times did you pull your driver out versus years past? With the changes of the golf course, have you had to adjust your game off the tee for the extra length?

BILLY MAYFAIR: Well, you definitely have to pull your driver out a few more times, obviously on No. 3. And No. 8 you have to. On the backside, 15 has always been a driver hole. But the tee is back a little further now. But the wind dictates a lot here. You have to hit a driver off 3 today. I hit 3-wood off 8. Probably should have hit a driver, but I thought a 3-wood would get down there far enough. But it's the wind that really dictates what you want to hit off the tee and what kind of shot you want to hit into the green.

Q. Do you enjoy golf courses that are tighter, like Harbour Town, versus wide open like Scottsdale?

BILLY MAYFAIR: Yeah, obviously I'm not one of the longest hitters on the PGA TOUR. You have to drive the ball straight. When you have to do that, it plays into my game more.

Q. (Inaudible.)

BILLY MAYFAIR: Well, I don't know, I think the fairways are very soft out there. They're not rolling at all. The greens are right now -- I don't want to say too firm, but they're not real soft either. But they were softer this morning than they were yesterday. The guys this afternoon will have much firmer greens to play on. Again, the last group will be going off between 1 and 2:00 in the afternoon. If it blows all morning and into the afternoon in the sunlight, the greens will get firm by tomorrow afternoon.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Let's go over your birdies and bogeys. It started on the backside and had a birdie on 14.

BILLY MAYFAIR: At 14 it was a par-3, I had about 160 yards. I hit a 9-iron about 15 feet from the hole and made that for birdie.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: 17?

BILLY MAYFAIR: 17 I hit a 6-iron from 180 yards. It was the same exact club I hit yesterday, the ball just kind of rolled up about ten feet to the hole and I made that for birdie.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: On the front side, bogeyed on No. 3.

BILLY MAYFAIR: Bogey on 3, I drove right down the middle of the fairway, had about 190 yards, and basically laid the sod over it. Hit it fat and left, and the left bunker, rolled 30 yards in the hole. Hit a good shot and just missed it. Not a bad bogey.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Came back with birdies on 5, 6 and 7.

BILLY MAYFAIR: On 5 I hit a good 3-wood from about 240 yards out. And just rolled on about the middle of the green. I had about a 30 footer there for eagle and 2-putted there.

On 6 I hit a 3-wood off the tee. I hit an 8-iron into the green from about 160 yards. It was a little downwind, and in there about five, six feet from the hole and made that.

And then on 7 I hit a 5-iron from 198 yards and hit a real good 5-iron, hit the middle of the green, and just scooted its way back into the hole about ten feet and made that.

On 8, on the bogey, I hit a driver yesterday and played aggressive, and I didn't play as aggressive today as I should have. I hit a 3-wood left and got blocked up by the trees. I hit a little snap hook 6-iron around the trees, and was about ten yards short of the green. I hit a good chip about five feet and just missed the putt.

Disappointing, but I played solid all day.

Q. Conditions, does 20 plus under win if these conditions hold?

BILLY MAYFAIR: No, I don't think so. I think any tournament, when you get on the weekend -- you're not going to see too many guys shoot 9-under tomorrow. And if they are, they're probably not going to be up at the top of the leaderboard. I would have to say 20 is pretty -- I don't think so. Unless someone gets absolutely hot.

Q. Last year's experience obviously helped you with the confidence coming into the tournament. What else does it do for you besides the confidence coming into the event? Were you playing well coming in here?

BILLY MAYFAIR: I played pretty well last week in Augusta, tied for 32nd, and hit some good shots. At least I've got the crowd on my side. I think everybody feels a little bit for me after losing last year, and kind of pumping me up and cheering me on a little bit, which is really nice.

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