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MERRILL LYNCH SHOOTOUT


November 10, 2006


Jerry Kelly

Rod Pampling


NAPLES, FLORIDA, First Round

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Rod, Jerry, 32 32, 64 in the alternate shot format. Just a couple thoughts from each of you on the round and any highlights you may have had.

ROD PAMPLING: I think we just had a really good ball striking day all day today. We didn't get ourselves into any trouble. It was always a really nice tee shot. I think we had pretty good numbers all day, as well. It was a really easy day out there relative to playing this game.

I think we knocked a lot of shots really close, which certainly made it easy to get some birdies going out there. It was just a nice, enjoyable day out there. It was fun to be out there.

JERRY KELLY: It's the same. We really struck the ball well. You know, when you shoot 8 under in this format and you're look, man, you've got to step back and say, man, we played a great round of golf today. It was very comfortable. We left some out there, which feels good for the next few days to go after and clean everything up.

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Rod, you were a late addition here because Peter had to withdraw. A couple thoughts about coming in late. When did you find out you were going to play with Jerry?

ROD PAMPLING: I think we got the call it was a couple of weeks ago, but yeah, I nearly changed my plans because I tried to get into the event just the normal way, and we committed to the Australian Open, and then when we got the call, it was a great surprise because that was something I've wanted to get into, this event. Then to find out you're playing with Jerry I mean, we're both very similar game and just personalities out there.

I think it was as soon as I found out I was playing with Jerry, I said to Simon, my caddie, I said, "That's a really good fit." We both use the same ball, same club company, and yeah, I was definitely looking forward to coming here and it's obviously worked the first day.

PHIL STAMBAUGH: I was wondering if we could run through the eight birdies and tell me about how long the putts were and who made them.

JERRY KELLY: You're going to have to do that because I pretty much go blank after a round.

PHIL STAMBAUGH: First hole is a par 5.

ROD PAMPLING: I chipped that up to maybe a foot and a half, two foot, and Jerry rolled it in.

Then it was the par 3, Jerry knocked that in to maybe ten foot, and I made that putt.

Then 5, next hole, we stuck it up there about four feet, Jerry made that one.

Then 8, the par 3, Jerry knocked that to six foot maybe.

JERRY KELLY: He hit his first shot, looked like he was about three feet away, then I knocked my shot up to the left of that.

ROD PAMPLING: And I made that putt.

11, I hit it into maybe it was like a 20 footer and Jerry made that.

JERRY KELLY: 14, I flared a drive he hit a good drive, but I couldn't quite get there, so I hit 3 iron to the left, and I put a perfectly right on the straight downslope with the grain going away right behind the pin, so he had a really tough shot in there, had to play it perfect, and he knocked it up there six inches. It looked like it was going in the whole way, just a beautiful shot.

ROD PAMPLING: Then Jerry hit it on the next hole to like two foot, so that was a couple of nice little kick ins for us.

JERRY KELLY: We both had a chance at a car on the next hole.

ROD PAMPLING: Yeah, that was pretty close. Mine was left the whole way but yours seemed to cut across the hole. I think mine finished about three foot, then rolled it in.

PHIL STAMBAUGH: What club did you hit?

ROD PAMPLING: 5 iron.

We kind of both had a chance on the last

JERRY KELLY: I missed a four and a half , five footer on 17.

ROD PAMPLING: Then I think I had maybe a seven or eight footer on the last. As we said, you're going to miss some of those throughout the week. We still had a great round out there.

Q. I just wanted to ask you, you said you looked forward to the pairing because you said it was a good fit, same ball, same club company. I'm just wondering are those the things that players look forward to most as far as a good match up? What else is there that made you guys mesh together?

JERRY KELLY: I think personality wise, ball striking wise. I think we're just all around similar. I get a little more violent when it's my own game.

ROD PAMPLING: You took your mustache off, though.

JERRY KELLY: I took it off a couple weeks ago.

It's happened to me in the past, and I'm sure it's happened to him before. It's funny, we're similar players, similar games, and we both strike it well.

ROD PAMPLING: I think the ball and the club is just well, it's more the ball, I suppose, is just a bonus, playing the same ball. It's not the be all and end all, but it definitely helps when you're not worrying about which ball you're going to pick or who's going to hit a shot in. It's just the same ball.

Q. How well did you know Rod before getting paired with him here?

JERRY KELLY: We've been playing for a lot of years.

ROD PAMPLING: I've been out here six years now.

JERRY KELLY: So we've been playing for a long time. We've always had fun with each other. We haven't played a ton together, but we've played enough to know exactly what the other guy is about. I respect him and I enjoy his company, and I think of him as a friend. That's what you want to be paired with out here is someone that you can call a friend. It's great.

ROD PAMPLING: Absolutely, yeah.

Q. Jerry, what did you hit in at 5, the par 3?

JERRY KELLY: That was a 4 iron.

Q. And then what did you hit in at 8, the other par 3?

JERRY KELLY: That was a 6.

Q. Second question, you said you're similar personality wise and stuff like that. By yourself you're a little more quiet?

JERRY KELLY: I'm a little more outwardly

ROD PAMPLING: We all have our moments.

JERRY KELLY: I tend to show it more, I think, when it's about me. When we're playing an individual golf tournament, it's so much about you and you get wrapped up in yourself and you get really down on yourself, and I do that outwardly a lot. I'm not going to do that when I've got a partner. I don't want my partner to have any bad blood, bad feeling coming from me. I want all positives.

Both of us were great. If anybody hit a shot that was less than perfect, there's no, "Oh, sorry about that." It's going to happen.

ROD PAMPLING: It's not like we're out there trying to hit bad shots. We all know that you're trying hard. You don't need to be like, "Oh, that's bad luck or whatever."

JERRY KELLY: I'd like to be a better partner to myself some day. It's coming, I can see it.

Q. Jerry, can you talk about the charity event that you did in Mississippi? We talked a little before that. How did that go off?

JERRY KELLY: It went off fantastic. You know, for a tournament that we put together in three weeks, I mean, I told Mickey "Let's get a Pro Am together," and he said, "Great, how about next week?" I said, "We need some time, maybe March when we're coming back across the state." He said, "The sooner the better would be great."

I said, "well, see what you can do with the golf course and hotels and stuff like that. I'll get it done and I'll get the players and get them there." He came back to me three days later. "We've got the casino, they're doing transportation, they're doing rooms, they're doing food, and then we're going to have Shell Landing Golf Course went ahead and gave us the course for the day."

So I had to pull up my end of the bargain and I went up and down the range a couple days at Disney and Tampa. I don't think I saw you did I ask you?

ROD PAMPLING: No.

JERRY KELLY: I was absolutely lost in who I had asked, who I hadn't asked. At one point I had the sugar packet out there because it was the only thing in my pocket, and I had seven names written on a sugar packet. That was the way we threw it together.

I kind of said to the guys, "Listen, this is thoroughly out of the pocket." I didn't even have to say that. Not a single pro asked me, "How much am I going to get paid?" They realized what it was for. They knew they were going to do it for free and they did it.

I thought I was going to have to fly them there, then all of a sudden Steve O'Neill, CEO of CitationShares, comes in there with three planes to get the guys from Tampa to the golf course.

It came together beautiful, it was a great day. We played in four hours, we had carts, beer out there, gumbo and jambalaya. It turned out fantastic.

Q. How much did you raise?

JERRY KELLY: I think we raised close to $80,000. We're going to be able to build four homes with that. Somebody donated the lots, and 84 Lumber is donating the supplies. Now we're just going to build the homes.

It was great. It's going to be in Mickey Bradley's old neighborhood. His friends and family that they knew lost 29 homes, and he was getting choked up when we were presenting the check and things like that. It's just a great thing to be able to do.

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Well, good luck to you both the rest of the week.

Q. I think we're going to see a cultural thing possibly, Australia and Wisconsin and just wonder what possible fun

JERRY KELLY: "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oy, oy, oy."

Q. I wonder if that creates any kind of friendship or cultural things.

JERRY KELLY: I don't think another state and another country can like beer more. How's that?

ROD PAMPLING: Yeah, that's it. I like that.

End of FastScripts.

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