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AMERICAN CENTURY CELEBRITY GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

July 16, 2005

Chris Chandler

Rick Rhoden

Billy Joe Tolliver

STATELINE, NEVADA

Q. Another good day for both of you, can you run through some of the highlights?

CHRIS CHANDLER: Not as many as yesterday. I had an eagle to throw in there. I think I played a little worse but scored better, so eagles always help out.

But hopefully starting tomorrow and for the rest of the time, I'll figure No. 9 out off the tee box. The only problem I had all day was that shot, but it's just so much fun, that's the bottom line. It's so fun to play golf out here and it will be fun to play with these two knuckleheads tomorrow.

Q. What was the eagle take us through the eagle

CHRIS CHANDLER: On 18 I hit wedge in and hit it about 10, 12 feet and made the putt.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: I hit sand wedge in.

RICK RHODEN: I had wedge, third shot.

Q. How far?

RICK RHODEN: Too far. From where I was hitting, I had probably about a 20 foot putt.

We had a good group today. Billy Joe and Rip are two good guys to play with. Everybody played pretty good. Billy probably played the best, and made two eagles and that's a lot of points.

So I just didn't have a whole lot of good birdie putts today. I made most of the ones I had, but I didn't have very many. I gave away with a couple, 3 putted one hole and didn't get one up and down from pretty close with a chip. Besides that, it was just kind of a ho hum day. I played pretty good on the back. I shot 3 under but birdied only one par 5 today, and out here you have to birdie at least two of them I think, two or three.

I never seemed to get it going good. You know, it's good, it's going to be fun to play with these guys. I played with Chris in Pittsburgh. His game has gotten a lot better. He's one of our best players now. And Billy Joe has always been a good player, he's playing good, so it should be it will probably come down to the last hole again especially with wedges. Eagle is a big possibility on the last hole.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: Not for me, man. I'm in the beach.

Q. How did you play today?

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: I played pretty solid.

CHRIS CHANDLER: We're just checking out our best ball. We beat him pretty good today.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: Knocked a couple of eagles in there, and shanked one on 12. It was a stellar shot. Dead sideways, very impressive. You know, I'm about 3 under at the time thinking, yeah, you're a pretty decent player. A still skank bait out there, nothing to it. I like to show them my skill every once in a while.

RICK RHODEN: He was getting too big a lead. He wanted to get back closer to us.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: Best thing that happened to me on that hole was Rick didn't make the putt. He's got in there close, you're about to talk about a five point swing, six point swing, whatever, with zero included, and he hit it, Rick hit a lot of shots in there today and just couldn't (get in). One, six inches more speed, one ball off, stuff like that. You know, that's the tough part for the best of us. He had his bad round today.

CHRIS CHANDLER: Good point. I never thought of that. (Laughter).

RICK RHODEN: I hope.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: And he still shot under par, he had his bad round today.

Q. Take us through your eagles.

CHRIS CHANDLER: What did you hit in on 4?

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: No. 4 I hit 5 iron. I was 222 to the flag, hit 5 iron to about, I don't know, 15, 16 feet, rolled it in on the last role. Then the easiest one I had all day was on 16, I had about a 6 footer inside the hole, 8 footer, whatever it was, and misread it, played it straight and I missed it on the low side. You know, stinking Mark Rolfing is standing right there looking at it, you would have think he could have told me, "Hey, man, split the left lip." What a jag he is.

Then 18, I finally kept a ball out of the right trees and had 129 to the flag and sucked me a nice little sand wedge back to there about 45 feet and got lucky.

CHRIS CHANDLER: Did you really? (Laughing.)

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: Might have been 37 feet.

CHRIS CHANDLER: 37 and a half.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: You know, you make anything that far, it's a pretty lucky stroke. You know, you can miss them from four feet, you can miss them as easy as you can make them.

You know I've been pretty fortunate with the putter for two days now. I mean, just like everybody else, I've missed my share of makeable birdie putts. But you know, like Rick said, throw in a couple of eagles, it makes up for a lot, even a shank bait.

Q. Chris, these guys are kind of used to being here the last few years, is this kind of new to you here, but I understand it's not new being in this position on the Celebrity Tour?

CHRIS CHANDLER: Well, in Pittsburgh, we were in the final group, I played real well the first day I was in the final group the last two days out there.

You know, I've been maybe not in the final group in the last two or three for the last handful of years. These two guys are going to be real fun to play with, and that makes it, no matter what group you're in, you always just want to get a couple guys that are fun to play golf with, which they are. It's going to be kind of interesting tomorrow, it's going to be a little different. But looking forward to it. Man, it's going to be a lot of fun. We've got Brodie out there driving around say, you know, looking good, doing great.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: Wow. That's fine.

CHRIS CHANDLER: It's been a lot of fun

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: Yes.

CHRIS CHANDLER: having Brodie out there. I think Rick and Billy Joe will second that, to see him out on the golf course.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: I hate the man. I just named my last child after him, that's all. (Laughter).

CHRIS CHANDLER: Did you?

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: Yeah, my last boy I named after him, Brody Jack.

CHRIS CHANDLER: It's been fun the last two days having John riding around on the tee box. He knows a good shot from a bad one and he'll let you know about it. It's just been a lot of it's been kind of special having him out there and I'm looking forward to it again tomorrow.

Q. Did you spell it B r o d i e, your son?

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: No. B r o d y.

CHRIS CHANDLER: My last daughter's middle name is Brodie.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: I went with Brody and Stan Bartkowski's dad, Jack, Brody Jack. It's a Texas thing. Y'all don't know nothing about it.

RICK RHODEN: Got to have two names in there.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: Pace yourself.

CHRIS CHANDLER: It's Brynn Brodie with an i e. We named her after papa, Brynn. That little feminine flare.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: That's Tolliver with two L's.

Q. Have you ever hit it any further on No. 18? That was quite a shot off the tee.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: I don't know. I've had sand wedge in a few times there, but I mean, hell, the rare part for me is I wasn't blocked by the trees. I've been a lot of times out there with sand wedge, pitching wedge. I had pitching wedge yesterday, but I was blocked out.

Q. What kind of number do you think it's going to take tomorrow?

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: Ask Rick.

Q. That was for all three of you.

RICK RHODEN: I think it's going to be at least 80. I would say at least 80 tomorrow.

Q. Any reason why the numbers are a little higher, as opposed to lower this year?

RICK RHODEN: Guys are just better now. Plays better. You have to shoot 80 if you want to win, so it makes you shoot 80.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: So if I shoot 80, y'all will let me win?

RICK RHODEN: You'll have a good chance.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: First guy to 80, you've give me that right now. I tell you, I'll finish out to get to 80 first.

RICK RHODEN: I think 28 points, that last eagle threw a cramp into a lot of things, my thinking. I was thinking 80, but I think maybe now 83. 83 or 84.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: I like the 80 you're talking about.

RICK RHODEN: Whatever it is, it will be. I hope we all play good. That's the main thing, don't just go out and kind of skank it around, like last year Danny and I played got last day, we came down to the last hole.

CHRIS CHANDLER: Billy Joe is going to be excited about seeing Broslowski (ph), my caddie. Hasn't seen him in a few years.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: My guy's skinny.

RICK RHODEN: Stay out of Mickey's way.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: My guy, he looked like No. 10 walking down the fairway.

Q. Has there been any kind of movement to try to help John (Brodie) make the Football Hall of Fame?

CHRIS CHANDLER: I sure hope there is. I don't know how it's done.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: I'm starting a grass roots campaign.

CHRIS CHANDLER: It obviously is not by people who really know football, my guess. I don't know how you have to get a guy in that is as deserving as John. I mean, almost everybody you talk to goes, when was Brodie in the Hall of Fame, or everybody thinks he is. There's not a person out there that doesn't think he's in the Hall of Fame. Should have been in the Hall of Fame years ago. It's just an injustice. It's a shame. Everybody in there is deserving, but John is as or more deserving than a lot of guys that are in there right now. So for whatever reason

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: I'm really not deserving, in case y'all are wondering.

CHRIS CHANDLER: It's not right but it's unfortunately the way it is. Hopefully that will get changed. Something I would like to see.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: We'll start the grass roots campaign now.

CHRIS CHANDLER: Rock on.

Q. Some of the tournament officials here think this is one of biggest crowds they have had, especially on a Saturday, what's it like out there? What's your sense of the gallery this year?

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: The one big tall guy was Ray Romano, from the Ray Romano show. He's got some issues on the golf course. He's got a very loud voice that carries.

RICK RHODEN: Yeah.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: What's his name, Brad?

CHRIS CHANDLER: Was he the mechanic?

RICK RHODEN: A lot of people following the last group today, more than usual on Saturday is right.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: Is this aggravating? (Tapping hands.)

Q. So what do you do tonight? Do you get to bed early tonight? How do you prepare for the final round?

RICK RHODEN: I'm eating sushi.

CHRIS CHANDLER: After two nights ago with the punishment on the blackjack tables, I'm going to take my daughters do you believe to the arcade again because it usually costs me two or three less zeros.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: I'm going to go in there and drink some Grolsch beer and pound them down before my caddie makes me stop.

CHRIS CHANDLER: He's not lying.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: It's like my wife, man.

Q. Do you really approach it any differently though?

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: No, I didn't drink last year.

RICK RHODEN: Just play good golf, shoot a good score, you've got a chance.

CHRIS CHANDLER: It's always a bit, you know, it gets your attention, first tee and all that, but it's still fun. It's nothing like, you know, pregame sitting in a locker room waiting to go up and face like, let's say the old New Orleans Saints defense with Swilly.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: Ricky Janson, Vaughn Hills.

CHRIS CHANDLER: It's not anywhere near the same type of anxiety. A little bit different. You're kind of out there on your own. But, I mean, you get rolling, I've got my Polish buddy on the bag, so he asked me if my caddie, "God, this is a long par 4," on No. 4.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: It is.

CHRIS CHANDLER: So, he's never been on the course. He's a good player and stuff. But just getting some friends around and you that's what makes it fun out there.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: All right. You're going to make me start crying. Let's go drink beer and eat.

Q. Rick, how many times have you gone into the final round with the lead and won?

RICK RHODEN: Couldn't tell you.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: Every time.

RICK RHODEN: I really don't know. I don't have it today. I'd like to know how many times I came from behind and won. (Winking.) I hope at least once.

BILLY JOE TOLLIVER: What's up with that, I had the lead last year and y'all wunked me. I hate y'all.

End of FastScripts.

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