DORAL-RYDER OPEN

March 3, 2000

Stephen Ames

STEPHEN AMES: I am playing with Shigeki, was very tough today. We both started off pretty rapidly making birdies all the way and I think I kind of pulled both of us on the way. Imagine shooting 67 here and feeling like you got left behind. This is what Robert did. I think it was a great day. We both played well. Shigeki played very well himself, he got 64.

STEPHEN AMES: 65. That was good.

STEPHEN AMES: One, Wednesday Pro-Am, I played nine holes -- nine holes on Tuesday.

STEPHEN AMES: Yeah, there was a bit of relief off my shoulders. My son being in the hospital for the last 24 hours with pneumonia and I spent Wednesday night in the hospital with him so I didn't get much sleep. Wasn't sure if he was coming out of the hospital on Wednesday afternoon -- well, yesterday afternoon 'til I got back after the round yesterday. So it was a bit of relief there. I wasn't on the golf course on the first day; today was a little different. I think it was just a relief that he is back home; well, back at the hotel with us now. He is not as sick as he was when we started the week.

STEPHEN AMES: Not a clue.

STEPHEN AMES: Probably travelling as much as we do. Just came from the West Coast to here, so, probably how he got it.

STEPHEN AMES: He is three.

STEPHEN AMES: Justin.

STEPHEN AMES: Of course it is. (laughs) you are hitting it down the middle of the fairway -- six, seven times out so you probably got your right number for your club to the hole itself, you don't have to play too many half shots or take a little off the club you were hitting. Today I had a few of those right on the number. Course is playing a little easier, the greens are receptable -- well, playing in the morning I guess it would be that way. They were softer. The wind didn't get up as much as it can here, which I have played in the past. Greens were perfect this morning.

STEPHEN AMES: No. This is low. This is low for me.

STEPHEN AMES: Yeah, it is. 11-under, definitely.

STEPHEN AMES: 63 twice, I think, or once. Bob Hope.

STEPHEN AMES: 63.

STEPHEN AMES: Yeah, I did.

STEPHEN AMES: Yes, 10 was -- well, this morning it was dewey; didn't hit it very long, driver, 2-iron to about -- it was on the front edge of the green, chipped it up to about three feet. 11, I hit 2-iron, 9-iron about eight feet. 12, I missed about a 15-, 16-footer for birdie. 14, I hit driver, 6-iron to about 15 -- 12, 15 feet. 15, I hit two-and-a-half feet, missed it. 16, I hit 3-wood, sand wedge, ten feet. 17, I hit 3-wood off the tee into the trap on the right, 8-iron to about twelve feet, made that. 18, I hit driver, 8-iron to about twelve feet, missed that. Driver, 3-wood into the trap on the right-hand side of the green got it up-and-down from about six feet for birdie on 1. No. 2 was a bit lucky 3-wood down the middle of the fairway, ended up into somebody's pitch mark, marked ball was sitting down. I had to dig it out, pin was tucked left, I ended up hitting it pin-high right to about 30 feet and I made that.

STEPHEN AMES: Wedge. Only had like 115 yards. Next hole I hit it like eight feet, I missed that. Then had another bonus on the fourth. 4-iron straight middle of the green about 35, 40 feet, made that. Next hole I hit 3-wood, little 8-iron about 18 feet above the hole, made it coming down the hill there. Hit driver, 3-iron. I didn't see it. I was told my second shot lipped out and it finished about four feet past the hole, missed that for eagle. 9, 8-iron pin-high right about 15 feet, 15, 16 feet, made that. It was easy. Real easy (laughs).

STEPHEN AMES: No, I didn't think 59. I was thinking the 62 because I knew in the back of my mind that 62 was a course record, just to shoot 63 out here is good.

STEPHEN AMES: Yeah, I think it is. You can get excited. I bet for David it must have been real exciting just to shoot the 59. Emotional-wise that must have been tough for him there. For me 61, I just want -- I just wanted to catch Maruyama because I was so far behind, he kept birdying on top of me. I make a birdie, he would put his in the hole. It was tough to get on. I think that was the fun of it which was good.

STEPHEN AMES: No, that is me. I am struggling to hit from ten feet in with my putter. I have been for the last couple of weeks. It is a technical thing, trying to work it out right now with my coach, the rest of it, it is coming out on the longer ones. We are starting to see the difference, shorter ones. I am not quite seeing the difference yet. Overall, the putter is starting to work better, feel better in my hands. My routine changed a bit today which was good. I realized something last night when I finished the round, overall I wasn't quite there, but at the same time felt that I wasn't putting 100% effort into it so I had to change my tee shot routine and that helped a lot. It is something I am going to continue for the next two days obviously.

STEPHEN AMES: 18. I couldn't get into the country 'til June.

STEPHEN AMES: It is elaborated very well in Golf World, in Golf Magazine. Get a Golf Magazine this month -- last month's Golf Magazine, you can read it there. I don't elaborate here anymore. It is a sticky situation, let's put that it way.

STEPHEN AMES: Dennis Sheehee (phonetic).

STEPHEN AMES: No, not this week.

STEPHEN AMES: My dad basically kicked me out of home, said to go study, which I didn't like. Not many kids at that age did. He came in here investigated a small college and I ended up going there for three-and-a-half years.

STEPHEN AMES: It never had basically a golf team. Second division NCAA II, second division I think it is called. I can't remember. Golf wasn't on my mind at that time.

STEPHEN AMES: Yeah, I left as senior, yeah.

STEPHEN AMES: Business administration to go home and eventually work which I never did. Started to play golf.

STEPHEN AMES: No, I won't.

STEPHEN AMES: Geez, I wish we all knew that. Not a clue. I think the probably the biggest difference was the fact that I was so relieved that my son was home back at home with us in the hotel room and not in the hospital and I didn't have to worry about it because I was probably this close from withdrawing, not knowing what the situation was and the doctor relieved me yesterday by saying that he was going to -- hopefully by 3, 4 o'clock in the afternoon, yesterday afternoon, that he was going to be discharged which he was when I got back down there yesterday afternoon. It is just -- it is the first time that he has been this sick and it was a worrying thing for me being a father twice now. Like anybody who has got kids, you know how the situation is, it is tough just to carry on with life basically. For me it was, anyhow.

STEPHEN AMES: Yeah.

STEPHEN AMES: Baptist Health.

STEPHEN AMES: Yes, I would have, definitely would have because I had to spend the night with him because we have a younger one which is still working on the good stuff basically you would say, still breast feeding, so Jodi had to look after him so it was only me left and if I had a morning time there was no way I was playing, no.

STEPHEN AMES: Both Canadians.

STEPHEN AMES: Oh, yes, I have, yeah. I think the difference today was just the putter made some good putts, ball-striking has definitely been a little better than this, feeling-wise, maybe not angle-wise, I don't know, but feeling-wise it has felt better.

STEPHEN AMES: I think the only reason it lacks the feel of a challenge is because the wind is not up. Like any golf course if the winds get up, then it becomes a challenge, but in the past with the changes that they have made in making it tougher and then adding the 25, 30 miles an hour that normally blow here wind-wise, it was too tough, yes. You got to expect that with any golf course in Florida. If the winds aren't blowing it is going to be easy. If it is blowing it is going to be too tough. You have got to balance it somehow. You have got to accept one year you are going to have -- 24-under winning and you are going to have accept the other year where 8-under might win. Which has happened in the past, 13-under has won last four years. It's a balance. You have to balance it.

STEPHEN AMES: No. No. Because I made three 30-footers, that is how I balance it out. That is basically -- I made three 30-footers; missed a couple of short ones. That is golf, isn't it? You don't know when it is going to come. You don't know how it is going to come. That is how it ended up today.

STEPHEN AMES: No. My home course I played at home is par 68. And I have shot 59 but it was par 68. Not 11 birdies, no. Well, I had 11 birdies, yeah, I have had 11 birdies in one day in Texas, I shot 64. I remember that.

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