HP CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS

May 3, 2003

Scott Verplank

TODD BUDNICK: Like to thank Scott Verplank for joining us. After a 5-under 6 you'll head in to tomorrow with a three stroke lead over the field. I guess over one player.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Okay.

TODD BUDNICK: We'll clarify that. Talk a little about today. The only mistake on 16. You had gone 48 holes without a bogey to that point. So it's been pretty smooth sailing for you this week.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah. That's a good way to describe it. Obviously I played pretty well. Going out, you know you got to keep making birdies. And I don't know, I missed a little short birdie putt on the second hole. And I just kind of hit a bad putt. And I think it was just a matter of getting going.

And then I the fourth hole I made a nice downhill 10-footer and that kind of raised my spirits a little bit.

Then the next hole I made a bomb. I made a probably 35-footer. I was -- you don't really expect to make those. Particularly even that one. Because it was kind of a tricky little putt. It ended up coming down the hill and right at the very end. And I did that. So when you do that, you just kind of, like I said yesterday, you just kind of step aside and let that stuff happen. Don't get in the way.

Then I birdied the next hole and that was a more conventional. Just hit it short of the green, chipped up about six feet and made it.

Once I did that, I started feeling a lot more comfortable. And a little more at ease with what I was doing.

I hit some pretty good shots on 8. I hit an 8-iron about four or five feet from the hole. That makes it a lot easier when you do that.

Then I birdied 11. I hit it just short of the green in two. Pretty much where I was trying to hit it. So I had an easy little chip. To about 2 feet.

12, I hit a 9-iron 12, 15 feet and made that one.

Had some pretty good looks and a few more good looks coming in. Hit some decent putts and just played along.

16, I just -- basically I missed the fairway. I missed it to the right in the bunker, had a nice lie. I had kind of an in between yardage, which is not great for that hole because the green is so small and firm. But I actually thought I hit a very nice shot. I hit a very nice shot. I hit it exactly where I wanted to. It came up just short, top of the lip and rolled back in the bunker. Hit a pretty decent bunker shot about five feet. I just pushed it. It was downhill, straight downhill, downgrain a little, left-to-right putt. And I just pushed it a fraction of an inch and it just kind of just missed on the right side. So like I said, I played pretty well.

TODD BUDNICK: First lead since the 2002 Mercedes Championships where you shared it with Kenny Perry. Talk about your mindset for tomorrow.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well I'm trying to get that band out there out of my head. I went out there to hit a few balls and that band that's playing, they're not that good. I couldn't even understand what song they were trying to play. Don't write that. They might come after me.

I think the fact that -- I actually like the Rolling Stones. It will be the same as it was today, really. I understand that the way the golf course is and the way the tournament is going you're going to have keep making birdies. So I hope that's what I'll do tomorrow. The only thing I can do is come out and try to focus on the things that I do best. I'm not going to over power the golf course. When I'm playing good, doing good, I hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens and give myself a lot of looks. And I'm putting good and consequently I can make a few birdies then.

Q. (Inaudible).

SCOTT VERPLANK: Maybe a little. They're all alike. Hopefully if I'm doing good they will be watching on TV.

Q. (Inaudible).

SCOTT VERPLANK: I'm going to just try to play good tomorrow. It would be special to me to win this golf tournament or any other one. But having said that, the fact that I've been playing golf tournaments in New Orleans for 22 years because of my friendship with him, with the late Tommy Moore, yeah, it would be cool. Because his widow and son were out watching me today. Went to the basketball game with them last night. And her mom and dad were out there. I haven't seen Tommy's parents, but I may here on the weekend. But I have a lot of friends down here and I've always enjoyed coming here. So, yeah, it would be special to me because it would endear me even more to this city and I feel I would have a good excuse to keep coming back.

Q. (Inaudible).

SCOTT VERPLANK: No, I usually don't come in until Tuesday. I like to stay home and rest with my family. No, I don't do any of that stuff. I go out and have dinner with Tracy Moore a time or two. And I like to go over there to the blackjack tables. But I'm not like John Daly or anything. I'll watch him. It's entertaining to actually watch. But the group of guys that I hang around with out here, we do that, but we will go eat crawfish tonight and probably go over and hang around in the Harrah's for a half an hour or an hour and then go on in.

Q. (Inaudible).

SCOTT VERPLANK: No, that's not one that I do. This year was kind of shaky. Last year I had a career year over at Harrah's.

(Laughter.)

Q. (Inaudible).

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well for myself I would hope not. Like I said, I'm not going to overpower a golf course. I could have gone for the 15th green in two, but I didn't like the number I had. I had 215. But I wanted to get, I wanted to be about 200. So I just laid up. I wedged it up there about eight or 10 feet and I missed it. But like I said, that's the way I play. Davis probably hit 7-iron. But I can't play his game, I have to play to my strengths.

Q. (Inaudible).

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, you can do that, but I think that experience has something to do with that. I think if you've been there enough times or you've been there a few times, you have seen both sides of it. I understand that you have to draw on what I can do. I can't hit a 7-iron 215. I tried one time and I made a 11.

(Laughter.) I did. I hit three 7-irons right at it all day. All in the water.

(Laughter.) But that was a long time ago.

If I'm playing good I'm going to hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens and have a lot of birdie putts. So like I said, that's what I have to do. That's what I got to do to play good and that's what I got to do to shoot, to make birdies to shoot low scores. So that's obviously what I will try to continue to do tomorrow.

Q. (Inaudible).

SCOTT VERPLANK: No, I wouldn't consider that running away. 8 or 10 might be running away.

Q. (Inaudible).

SCOTT VERPLANK: No, I don't know. I don't worry about that. If I didn't break a record and won the tournament anyway, then that's great.

TODD BUDNICK: All right. Everybody good? Thank you.

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