AMERICAN CENTURY CELEBRITY GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

July 17, 2004

Dan Quinn

Rick Rhoden

Billy Joe Tolliver

THE MODERATOR: Billy Joe Tolliver a total of 47 points, Rick Rhoden 45, Dan Quinn 45, you're at the top of the leaderboard after today. Why don't you each take us through your round briefly, highlights, lowlights and any other lights you'd like to give us starting with Billy Joe.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: Let me just tell you whoever starts it first, just reiterate for the rest of us. We all putted the same, didn't make anything. But, you know it was fun playing with these two guys, they are good players, and you know, I didn't really do anything out there. I putted for par exceptionally well. The putter held up again, same as yesterday. I just didn't give myself many looks at it.

Right now I'm chipping for birdie a heck of a lot better than I'm putting for birdie.

THE MODERATOR: You got it going on the front pretty good.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: Yeah, I got a little chip in on 5, 4, whatever hole it is,4, for an eagle. You know, after that, just connected the dots and didn't get anything else to fall. Got up and down from everywhere, made a bunch of key putts, and I got to the back side on 15 and flailed a driver, about, I don't know, probably 80 yards into the woods. It was pretty dark in there. I couldn't get a yardage. I needed a flashlight, so I could see how far I was. But made a double there and just parred in.

THE MODERATOR: Is 15 your favorite hole out here?

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: Yeah, it's really working well for me. 18 is really nice for me, too; I haven't hit a good shot there.

THE MODERATOR: Danny, take us a bit through yours, if you would.

DAN QUINN: There's really not much to say for me. I felt pretty good starting out and I missed it from about two feet on the first hole and sort of unnerved me, I don't know. I missed another 2 footer on 4.

Then I didn't hit a whole lot of good shots from there for the rest of the day, actually, didn't hit many good shots. Just sort of kind of hung in there and Billy Joe thankful I still have a shot because it looked like he was going it have a good round. I thought he putted great, made a lot of great 6 , 8 footers for par. Kept his round together. I thought he had a chance, if he birdies in next couple of birdies from the last four holes, he's got a nice cushion for tomorrow. But I'm tickled to be where I am the way I played today.

THE MODERATOR: You had some adventure out on 13.

DAN QUINN: Yeah, I hit a bad 9 iron. Probably should have hit an 8 iron, hit a hard 9 iron, pulled it about a hair, pretty unfortunate to be up against the tree, but a bad 9 iron and a bogey.

THE MODERATOR: Were you thinking of taking a drop?

DAN QUINN: No, I thought I could get it away from the tree. I can play hockey left handed and thought about doing that, but it looked like it was going to go to the same place. I took a shot at trying to whack it. It came out all right, got up and down, could have saved myself a couple of points. As I say I didn't play very well, didn't hit too many good shots. I snuck in with a couple of birdies at the end and happy to be where I am.

THE MODERATOR: Rick, all three of you played bad, all three of you are in the lead.

RICK RHODEN: We all played bad for us. I think most of us the whole day, we made a few each but that was it. I had about four or five decent birdie putts all day. Out here, if you're hitting your driver good, you should be getting some birdie putts and I didn't have very many today.

So, I'm with Danny; I'm glad I'm at where I am because I didn't play very good again. I made some nice par putts from five, six feet and that was it. You don't make too many birdies, you're not going to get too many points, that's the deal.

THE MODERATOR: You've all won before, and you're all going into tomorrow with obviously a great shot of winning it. What's the thinking here, Billy?

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: I think they ought to just quit and give it to me personally. (Laughter.) I'm a hell of a guy. Can we get a storm? Where's that fire? Is it coming this way?

RICK RHODEN: We've got four or five guys capable of getting 30 points in one day. I think somebody's going to do it tomorrow if the weather stays the same and doesn't get real windy. Someone is due to have a really good round, and I don't think anybody has had a really good round yet. This course here, you can make some birdies if you play good. I think somebody tomorrow is going to shoot in the high 20s.

THE MODERATOR: Last year you won on a 75. Today we're looking at 45, what do you think it's going to take to win it tomorrow?

RICK RHODEN: I don't know, I told my caddie, you've got to get to 70, you've got to get right around 70, somewhere between 70 and 75 probably.

DAN QUINN: I think the way it looks, you have a chance for the format to really lend itself to why they switched it to could be an incredible finish. Somebody could go ahead and have a great round, but there could be a great finish.

The format saved me today. You shoot kind of an average score and still have a chance because you can make up ground quickly, and I think that tomorrow lends itself to that with the way the leaderboard looks right now.

RICK RHODEN: As close as it is, it will probably come down to the last hole tomorrow. When you've got a chance for an eagle, you get a chance for a bogey there's so many players bunched up, I don't see anybody having a six shot lead coming to the last hole.

THE MODERATOR: Last year, Rick, you were on 18 with Wagner, what was the point situation at that time; do you remember?

RICK RHODEN: Well, he had about 15 feet for eagle and I had about 50 feet. If I 2 putt, I win no matter what he does. But if I par and he eagles, he wins by a shot. I had a five shot lead. It was interesting, this format, eagles are big. Billy Joe chipped in today and looked like he had a ten shot lead or something like that, fast. Eagles, you can catch up with an eagle in a hurry.

Q. Dan, if you're faced with a 9 iron shot tomorrow, what are you going to use?

DAN QUINN: Well, I used it on 17 and it didn't turn out too good. It's got a nice little bend to it. I knew if Rick hit it I'm a little longer with my irons. Rick hit an 8 iron, I tried to hit the 9. I think it will be all right. I'll go bend it now. It's not broken, just straighten it out.

Q. I followed you guys for a little while and there wasn't a huge gallery with you guys, and Jordan was right behind you, huge gallery.

RICK RHODEN: They weren't following us?

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: Whatever.

Q. Do people come to watch golf?

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: We come here to watch the chicks. Have you seen the ladies out there? I'm going to have to get Kim over at Caesar's to give me a massage out there; my neck hurts.

DAN QUINN: I think there's a mixture. There's good golf fans here. I think you've got obviously the people come here to see Michael Jordan and Charles Barclay and John Elway before they come to see us three. But I think in 14 years, I'm sure these guys would agree, a lot of great golf fans come here year and year out, the volunteers, Steve has covered it all the time, from the media guys, there's a really genuine likeness for the good golf that's been played over the years. So definitely the attraction is the stars.

I remember two years or three years ago when Rick, Jack and I were playing pretty good, we had the biggest gallery and nobody else had a gallery. Well, Michael had a few people.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: A couple.

DAN QUINN: I think there's a combination.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: Well, they have got great fans out here. I mean, you go out and play year in and year out, we go out and play, and you notice that they just appreciate good golf and good golf shots, regardless of who is hitting, because you don't really see partisan crowds with any one group as far as the leaders go. They just want to see good shots and they let you know about it.

Q. So back in contention, you get an early night, get some sleep tonight, do you have a game plan to prepare?

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: Well, we'll have to check the tee times first. If we're going early or late, I'll have to find out.

You know, you only need about four hours of sleep a night.

RICK RHODEN: My game plan is to hit the first ball over that bunker.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: Yeah, that's the plan.

Q. It looks like two of you will be in the final group but one will be back, I guess Rick might have moved in, anybody care about being in the final group, second to last group?

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: I think in this format, the last group has got the advantages. You get more holes with somebody in. You get to see what you have to do.

I mean, it's not like stroke play where you're worried about making a bogey and losing the golf tournament. You could be playing for a bogey and get zero points to win.

DAN QUINN: I think it's the opposite. I wouldn't mind being in the second to last group if it works out. They didn't do that by the scores yesterday, so you never know what they will do.

I think it's weird when you start out parring the first hole and you're caught. The points, all of a sudden you're down and you're trailing, I found that last year to be the case. So it probably won't matter, we'll have a good time whatever they do.

Q. I hope to get a hold of Ivan Lendl before he disappears, any thoughts on the way he plays, his game, tennis golf kind of similar what do you think about the way he place?

DAN QUINN: I played with Ivan a little bit in Florida. He loves the game. He loves it. He's a little bit maniacal just like he was in tennis. I think he gets a lot out of his game. It's not like he's better than he should play. He probably scored as well as he can for the way he plays and the shots he hits. I know he loves it and he's played very well this week. I don't know, I think he doubled 18; otherwise, he would have had a nice round of golf.

RICK RHODEN: He's won two or three of our events over the years. Seems like he plays better when the course is a little harder.

I enjoy playing with Ivan. I never played tennis, so I can't tell you how similar it is. Only thing I can think it would be similar is it's not a team sport. Tennis, the mind set is probably very similar to golf.

Q. Billy Joe, are you driving the ball further than you have in years past? You hit a couple of shots today that were right up by the green, like 14, I think it was, by the green side bunker.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: You catch one solid, they go. The higher you hit it, the better it is here.

I mean, it's a simple process now with the golf ball. If you can leave if the golf ball can leave the face at 168 miles an hour or so, it's 41 yards a second. You just keep it in the air. And, you know, they have moved us back a little bit so we're basically hitting it in the same spots.

But you know the golf ball is definitely going a little further, my biggest problem is I aim the ball poor. I'm used to it bending a lot one way or another and this golf ball just doesn't turn as much as they used to ten years ago.

You know, it doesn't matter, you can hit it as far as you want to, as hard as you want to, whatever, it still comes down to how close are you hitting it and how many putts are you dropping.

Q. What do you guys think about the way he drives the ball?

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: They liked it on 15, I promise you. I drove it really well there.

DAN QUINN: We just hold our breath he drove it good today, took advantage of it early and came back to bite him a little bit at the end. Hit a good one on 18, unfortunate to be in the bunker there. That ball fell left.

RICK RHODEN: That's the first ball I've ever seen in that bunker.

DAN QUINN: You could have had a wedge in easy.

RICK RHODEN: Long is always good.

DAN QUINN: I thought Billy Joe putted good.

RICK RHODEN: He did.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: Yeah, I putted well for last two days actually all week long, I've putted really well. The greens are in great shape. I putt well from five feet, six feet and in. Outside of that, I just don't think the focus is there. I just line it up, well, it's about right here, and at some point you've got to realize, well, you're good enough with your stroke to putt it where you want it. I just line it up in a general area and hit it. I just can't see from 25, 30 feet splitting the right lip. I'm not that good, so I put it in the general area. But from six feet I feel like, yeah, if I want to split the right lip, I can split the right lip.

And I've got the right mixture of booze, I've figured out the proper mixture of Grey Goose and tonic and beers, so that's important.

End of FastScripts.