FBR CAPITAL OPEN

June 5, 2003

Robert Gamez

JOE CHEMYCZ: We welcome Robert Gamez into the interview room. We appreciate you waiting around.

ROBERT GAMEZ: Beemer likes to talk.

JOE CHEMYCZ: Robert birdied 9 to finish 5-under for the round. Talk about your day and how you played.

ROBERT GAMEZ: I played great. I played a lot better than my score shows. I left about three or four shots out there today, and a little disappointed about that, especially after not qualifying for the Open yesterday. But it was a good start for the week, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the week.

Q. Conditions make the golf course a lot more difficult for you today?

ROBERT GAMEZ: I thought it was pretty easy, because you've got your hands on it. I hit 16 greens, and hit the ball close a lot, I missed a couple of short birdie shots on the 2 par-5s on the front. And I had a 3-putt on No. 4. And I left a few out there. But I really thought the golf course played pretty easy today. It played long, but the greens are soft, you can fly the ball right at the hole, and the greens are the best I've ever seen them. It was a pleasure to putt on them today.

Q. What changed the last year to for you? Is it a focus issue, something clicked that brought you back to where you hadn't been in five or six years?

ROBERT GAMEZ: First off I started playing more aggressive, and I started making more birdies. If you start making more birdies you're going to shoot lower scores. And I went for the belly putter at this event last year. I switched to the belly button putter, and it's changed everything in my game. I'm not making a lot of the putts. I made quite a few putts today, but obviously I had two bogeys and 7 birdies, so I made my fair share, but I still missed a couple that I thought I should have made. I made one that I probably was an iffy one, up and over the slope on 15. But other than that, all the rest of them were pretty makeable putts, and I made them. That's the main thing was just the aggressiveness, putted better, started -- my confidence came back. And you play out here with confidence and you're going to do pretty well.

Q. You talked about at the beginning about not qualifying yesterday for the Open. Talk about getting over that disappointment yesterday and coming out and going 5-under today?

ROBERT GAMEZ: Well, it was hard to get out of bed this morning. This is my 8th week in a row playing, and I'm tired and I'm having to play the way we did the last few days, and I lipped out way too many putts the last few rounds out there and I lost in a playoff yesterday. I lipped out a 10-footer on the first hole that would have got me in. I and made bogey on the second to get knocked out. It was disappointing. I was a little upset last night, a little disappointed. It was tough to get out of bed. I didn't get on the range this morning until 7:40 for my 8:03 tee time. I was just a little tired. But when I got to the tee, I got fired up, because I lovely this golf course, I love the tournament. The people have been great with me, Ben and Pete and everybody involved with the tournament has been great with me over the last four years when I needed their help. To be here, knowing I'm playing well, I was looking forward to playing.

Q. (Inaudible.)

ROBERT GAMEZ: Yeah, this is my 8th week in a row, and I wasn't planning on playing that many, but I kept getting in tournaments. I played well enough to get in Colonial, and The Memorial this year, so I just kept going. I was sitting there having breakfast and looking at my watch and knowing I should get going, but I couldn't. I knew it wouldn't take me long to get warmed up, I played 36 holes in the last few days, and I played a lot of golf. I loosened up and hit a couple of putts and went.

Q. Is there such a thing as a mudder in golf. And what would I mudder be, what kind of a player, and are you one?

ROBERT GAMEZ: I am not a mudder. I normally don't play well in the rain, when it's raining. I don't mind the wet conditions anymore, like they were today. We had the ball in our hand so, we basically got to cheat around there today. And as long as it's not raining I'm okay. I think the guys -- I'd much rather see the wind blowing 30 or 40 miles an hour than any kind of rain.

Q. (Inaudible.)

ROBERT GAMEZ: Well, Watson was one of the best in bad conditions like that, you know. I think he's one of those guys.

Q. The other thing is, have you found out who your friends are the last few years?

ROBERT GAMEZ: I have. You know, it's tough when you struggle, and you really do find out who your friends are, they're the people who still called you when you weren't playing well. Beemer -- I didn't get to know him that well before, but over the last two or three years we've played a few practice rounds together, and I've gotten to know him. He's a good guy, and people like that. John Daly is still there for me and Fuzzy, they've been there when I've needed help and been there for me.

Q. You have an unusual routine when you're putting, you look at the cup, and return your eyes to the ball, and the second time you return your eyes to the ball you putt it, is that what you do?

ROBERT GAMEZ: I've been doing that -- I started doing it the end of -- after I missed the qualifying school in 2000 in Palm Springs, I went to see Bob Rotella and he got me to start doing that, because I was watching my stroking back. I was watching the putter go back as I was making the putt. So my head was moving the wrong way. My head was moving this way, as I was trying to hit the putts, and so I was standing wide open. I actually take the putter back before my head starts coming back to the hole. That's what I try to do. And that's when I putt my best, because I'm not watching it. My blade is coming through when my head is back to square, and I don't move my head, I seem to make better strokes that way.

JOE CHEMYCZ: Take us through your round, birdie on 10.

ROBERT GAMEZ: I had 121, hit a wedge pass the hole. Spun it back, and had a 6-footer and made that.

Then I birdied the par-5, 13, I had a driver and a 3-wood, short right of the green, and chipped it to about 2 feet and made that.

14 I hit a 4-iron off the tee, and hit an L-wedge, came back to about 12 feet, made that.

And then 15, that's the 1 putt. I hit a 5-iron over the bunker, rolled to the left and I had about a 20-footer up and over the slope and I made that putt. That was a good putt. I lipped out on 18, and -- I lipped out a putt on 18, lipped out on 1. Those were about 30 footers.

Then I birdied -- 3-putted 4. I missed a short putt at 2 from about 8 feet for birdie, and then on 4 I 3-putted on 4. I hit it by the hole, my second shot had about a 20-footer or something like that, 25-footer, hit my first putt by about 3 feet and lipped out.

Then I birdied the next hole. Hit a good sand wedge about 15 feet and made that.

And then on 7, hit a good 5-iron left the hole-b 20 feet and made it.

And then on 8, I was on my downswing and a butterfly flew right in front of my ball. I hit it right, hit it in the bunker and hit a poor bunker shot. You know, being over at Woodmont the last few days, I didn't get to practice out of the bunkers, and didn't practice chipping out here. I thought it was going to be fluffier, and it came out and the club stuck and I hit it short. It was a bad bunker shot and had about a 30-footer and 2-putted.

I hit it left of the hole on 9 and made it.

End of FastScripts....