AMERICAN CENTURY CELEBRITY GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

July 19, 2002

Dick Andersen

Stan Humphries

Dan Quinn

Q. What year was it that you won this?

DICK ANDERSEN: I won it in 1994 and I think I've been second four times.

Q. Are you pleased with your round?

DICK ANDERSEN: Yeah, I'm pleased. I 3-putted 1 and 18. 1, I really shouldn't have.

18 was -- I just hit it too hard, and I missed a short putt on 8.

Other than that, I felt pretty good about my round. I hung in there the whole day. I mean, the golf course, from over the year, they have lengthened it and made it tougher. Than it was in the early years of the tournament.

Q. Some of the quarterbacks -- bunch of quarterbacks up top again have been talking about that there's something inside quarterbacks that they think gives them some drive. Do you buy that? Is there something about playing that position in football that's different?

DICK ANDERSEN: Well, I think pitchers and quarterbacks, they really have to have the hand-eye and pinpoint accuracy. Like the hockey players with the hockey puck. I think there may be something that relates to the hands and the delivery, and perhaps playing golf. And they have the time and money to play golf, too.

See, defense does all the work and the offense gets all the glory.

Q. Anything transfer from defensive backs to the game?

DICK ANDERSEN: You know, I was fortunate. I grew up caddying and then I played a decent amount when I was young. So I had a basis for playing some tournament golf in high school and as a junior golfer. And so I think that gave me a little bit of an edge once this Celebrity Players Tour started and this Tahoe tournament started, having played a little bit of competitive golf.

Q. Do you feel like your game is in good enough shape that you could win the thing?

DICK ANDERSEN: Well, I think what's really important on this golf course is to keep the ball in play, and you have to make some putts and eliminate the 3-putts. The year I won, I didn't have a single 3-putt. And so I already had a couple this year.

But there's a lot of places that you can get in trouble and you just have to be -- try to be intelligent and hit the greens as much as you can.

Q. Didn't get windy out there today, did it?

DICK ANDERSEN: There's a slight breeze toward the end of the round, but no, it wasn't -- I wouldn't call it windy.

Q. What's your expectations of the Celebrity Players Tour in the near future?

DICK ANDERSEN: We're having similar kind of problems that the Seniors and the ladies are because of the economy and 9/11.

But we have 12 tournaments this year, and we have most of our tournaments coming back next year and talking to a number of cities that want to have tournaments. When you talk about $7.5 to $10 million number on the PGA TOUR, and $2.5 to $5 million number on the Senior Tour, you can do a Celebrity Players Tour event for $500,000 to $1 million.

And it's good entertainment. I think the difference is evidenced by the parties here. All of the athletes go to the parties and the hospitality tents and communicate with the people that paid for the opportunity to play.

So I would just say, we are a lot more fan-friendly than the other tours and for that reason, I think the future is bright when the economy turns.

Q. It seems that there's a lot of camaraderie here. Do you think that's one of the reasons that you get so many athletes wanting to get on the Celebrity Players Tour?

DICK ANDERSEN: Absolutely. All athletes enjoy watching great players in other sports. Coming here, meeting the great players in hockey and baseball and basketball and the Olympics is really special.

So I think all athletes have that common bond, and so when we come to play golf, it's a separate different sport than we all played growing up, and professionally. And it's a great equalizer. Golf is a terribly difficult game, and so I think that's one of the things that makes it so much fun is the ability to meet and spend some time with the great athletes in all of the sports.

Q. What about the greens today, were they quicker than they have ever been in previous tournaments?

DICK ANDERSEN: I think they are. I think it's evidenced by the easier spring, the golf course is in great shape and they have the greens very fast. So putting, making two putts is at a premium and knocking the ball is a hole is at a premium. I think the greens are very fast and a real challenge.

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