BELLSOUTH CLASSIC

April 3, 2003

Chris DiMarco

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you, Chris, for joining us today. After a 5-under 67, you are the clubhouse leader at the moment.

You've had a very good year so far, three Top 10's out of nine events. You must be happy with your start to the season.

CHRIS DiMARCO: You know, I am, because I have not been, really, 100% hitting the ball. I've been fighting my swing a little bit all year.

Today was one of the better swinging rounds I've had where I was very consistent with my iron play and had a lot of really good shots at the hole. I was very much in control of my game, which I have not been that much this year.

Obviously, at the Hope, I played real well, but at the Bob Hope, fairways are kind of wide, you're hitting wedges. As long as you're putting good there, you can score. I putted really good there.

Putted good today, too. Kind of fought it early. Hit it way left on 1. Hit it over the green and made about a 20-footer for par and that just relaxed me.

5 is probably one of the toughest holes out here. I think 5, 14 and 15 are the three toughest, and I birdied them. So that helps your round.

TODD BUDNICK: The guys earlier were saying how firm and fast the greens are and thought they would be a little tougher this afternoon.

CHRIS DiMARCO: It was definitely tough out there. When you're on the driving range and getting ready to tee off and a bunch of guys are done and 3-under is leading, you know the course is playing tough.

We've said it all year long, that if you can get the greens hard, the fairways hard and fast, there's no rough on this course, and look at the scores. You don't need length. The course isn't playing that long but the greens are rocks. They are very fast and that's why the scores are so hard.

Q. Last time you were in this area for THE TOUR Championship, you were touting Florida, Georgia, the Gators, have you got any flack for that?

CHRIS DiMARCO: I wore my Georgia Tech colors today. But you won't ever see red and black on me, no. Don't worry about that, especially in this town. I have caught a lot of flack, but it's all fun and games. Golf is a game. Football is a game. I'm glad we won, put it that way.

Q. Do you like those kind of conditions, real hard greens, pretty fast, kind of separate the players a little bit?

CHRIS DiMARCO: Yeah, it surely does. The faster, the better, for me. I don't know why, but I just like really fast greens. I can see the lies better. I feel like my speed is better because I can control the speed better on them.

You know, I've always played good here. I've always had good success here. A couple years ago, Scott McCarron won and I played the last group with him and Phil. I hit 2-iron in the water on 18 that day and went from finishing third to sixth. It was right there in one shot.

I like this course, especially when it plays like this. I think it plays better fast and hard. There's some really hard holes out here. I hit some irons off tees today that I have never hit before I hit 2-iron off No. 12 today, 2-iron and 8-iron. It's usually a 3-wood or a driver hole.

Same thing with the par 5, No. 4. None of us hit drivers off that hole. You hit it in those bunkers right and you're making bogey. You just avoid those bunkers at all costs.

Q. (Inaudible.)

CHRIS DiMARCO: It would bring a lot more guys into play. Last year at Augusta, it was unbelievable, I putted good, played well, finished 11th and that was as good as I could have done. I hit 4-iron into 1 one day and that is not a green to accept a 4-iron.

Q. Talk about the drive on 18, were you not close enough to go for it?

CHRIS DiMARCO: I would have definitely gone for it. There's that ridge in the middle of the fairway. I hit it about a yard left of that ridge and went up the hill instead of the down the hill. I had 268 yard to the front. I don't think you necessarily, unless you've got an absolute perfect yardage or you have a mid-iron in there, that you can really even go at that green. If you can put it in that front right short bunker, it really opens up the green on every shot, or somewhere around that area.

I know Steve Elkington went for the green and hit in the back bunker. I was looking at it going, "I don't know if I can get it on the green," and he hit about a great shot to about 20 feet. Once you can get it on that green and put it where you want to putt it -- with the greens being this hard and fast, it isn't really worth it.

Q. Were they running about an 11 did it seem faster?

CHRIS DiMARCO: They are faster than that. Especially if you get one anywhere downhill and anywhere with the wind, they are really rolling fast.

Q. Have you been putting good all season?

CHRIS DiMARCO: Yeah, I think I'm like eighth on TOUR in putting, so my putting has been solid for a while.

Q. Do you practice putting at the hotel room at night, ever?

CHRIS DiMARCO: No. I used to, when I didn't putt good. So now I know I'm going to putt good every day and I don't worry about it. It's nice not having to bring the putter back to the room and try to figure something out. I pretty much know what I'm going to do. I hold it a little different than anybody else does, but I know it goes in like that.

I feel like I'm right up there with the best putters in the world, and it's nice -- I think a lot of the reason is because I'm not trying a new style. I putt the way I putt. I've been doing it for eight years. I haven't done anything else. It's not like I've had other Band-Aids. It's been one way for eight years now.

TODD BUDNICK: Let's go through your birdies and your one bogey.

CHRIS DiMARCO: Okay. 5, I hit driver, 6-iron to 20 feet and made that. 6, I hit driver, laid up and hit a sand wedge to about four feet and made that.

9, I hit a driver and a 6-iron to about 20 feet behind the hole and made that.

10, I hit driver, 3-wood to the front bunker, blasted out to about six inches.

11 and 12, I left it probably two inches short right in the middle of the hole, both of those.

13, I missed about a 6-footer for birdie.

14, I made about probably a 15-footer, driver -- or 3-wood, 8-iron to about 15 feet.

Next hole I hit driver, sand wedge. Killed it way up there, 108 to the hole, made about a 20-footer there.

Bogey at 17. I was right between clubs. I hit driver right over the bunker perfectly at 159 yards. And the wind was in our face and I tried to chip it, but should have hit a nice solid 8-iron. Went to the left of the hole and made bogey.

I made a 5-footer on the last hole for par.

Q. Is the Claw more conducive to these greens because it's more of a touch grip?

CHRIS DiMARCO: You know, a good putter is going to putt good on these greens. This is going to bring out -- the better putters are going to putt better on these greens because these greens you have to have some confidence. You can't -- you can have 3- or 4-footers out here that you'd better hit solid and keep it on-line.

I know that right now, for me, my grip pressure is really light and I know that's helping. Putter feels good. I putted great at the TPC last week and the greens were pretty fast there. It's carrying over.

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you, Chris.

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