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VALERO TEXAS OPEN


September 27, 2003


Duffy Waldorf


SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Thank you, Duffy, for joining us for a few minutes. Great round 62. And great position going into tomorrow, the final day. Talk about that a little bit. I know you've had a lot of success playing well on Sunday when you're a couple of strokes back.

DUFFY WALDORF: Well, the really the hard part I guess is getting there. I don't get there all the rounds I play in every year and all the tournaments I play in. How many do I have a chance to win. It's exciting being in that position. Usually when I'm there, I'm playing pretty well.

I usually don't get to 15-under par, if I'm struggling. Today it came together nicely. I played real steady golf and I was able to hit the ball close today a lot. That was the difference. I made some key putts on the front side and the middle of the back side, but the last three birdies I had were all pretty short putts. That's a stress-free way to go. Hopefully I'll be able to play that way tomorrow.

Q. Any big adjustments to the course, any differences with the conditions out there?

DUFFY WALDORF: I thought yesterday it was a little soft and a little muddy, today it's a little dryer. I thought the pins were a little harder yesterday; today not quite so bad. We had a little wind at the end, last four or five holes, for me, so that was a slight change. They were subtle changes, not big changes.

Q. Where did your round turn around today?

DUFFY WALDORF: I thought the middle. I had a nice front side. I played real solid. I didn't really start -- I birdied No. 1, and I parred I think the next five holes, and got in good position with birdies on 6, 7, and 9, but I felt like early on the back side is when I really turned it around, got it to the point I was going to shoot a really good round.

I made a good putt for par on 10, and a 15-footer for birdie on 12, and then I had those nice stress-free birdies coming in. Three feet on 13, and four feet on 14. And then 18, I hit it about just two and a half feet for birdie. And actually had another 3-putt -- I 3-putted 16 today, but I hit it on the green with the drive. I had a long putt, 80, 90-foot putt. I missed about a 6-footer coming back.

Q. Another successful week for you here. Every time you come here it seems you do something well.

DUFFY WALDORF: I think this is about the ninth year of this event here at LaCantera. I've had my share of good tournaments. I don't think I made the cut last year, so I do struggle sometimes here. For the most part, if I'm playing well, I'm going to be in contention here, and it's nice to be in contention again.

Q. We've seen 20-under win this tournament. It looks like 20-under may be the third round score. Why low scores this year?

DUFFY WALDORF: The greens are soft. They're normally firmer. The fairways are even soft. Any time it's soft, the fairways play wider and the greens are bigger. So I think that's the main reason, that and the fact that the wind hasn't blown that much. It just allows you to be -- you can be fairly aggressive with just about every shot.

Q. If you were to win here, you would almost be in the Top-30, 32nd. Do you think about that at all?

DUFFY WALDORF: I don't really think about winning here. I think about going out and playing as good a round as I can. I really can't control the other guys. I've made a nice move today, and tomorrow obviously I'd like to go out and shoot as low as I can. I don't know what tomorrow holds. I'm going to play my game and hope it's good enough. If it's not, I'll be happy, as long as I do the things I want to do: Hit the ball in play, have some birdie putts and roll a few in. I can't control what the other players are doing. Someone might shoot 62 tomorrow and go right on by.

Q. The last few weeks, guys 40 and over have won. You qualify.

DUFFY WALDORF: Just barely.

Q. What's going on with that?

DUFFY WALDORF: I really think -- when I first came on Tour, the guys were in their late 30s and 40s. Everyone said that's the prime. Wait until you get to the prime of your career, your late 30s. You have to mature out here. I was in my early 20s -- 24, 25. Tiger Woods came out and all of a sudden you have to be 25. The young bloods they're the wave of the future. Just show up and all this talent. Guess what, the old axiom when I came out, guys in their late 30s and 40s are still very competitive and they're just showing it this year.

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Duffy, you usually put some kind of unusual characters on your golf balls. What was your lucky golf ball today? And who designed it?

DUFFY WALDORF: I was over at the Ogrins house, David Ogrin, who lives here in San Antonio, is a good friend of mine. He invited us over for lasagna dinner. As he said, the keys of victory is hitting it close to the pin, making the putt, and having lasagna. I've played well the two times I've done it, and he did it when he won. I think Loren Roberts did he when he won last year.

Q. Everybody was there last night.

DUFFY WALDORF: We had four there, me, David, and Tom Lehman and Loren Roberts. Hopefully the win will come out of that group. I had their kids do balls. I had a moose on one of them, "Don't mess with Texas," with a couple of Texas flags. That ball did pretty well. One of the balls that Dana Ogrin did was, it just had nice little designs on it and kind of a pretty one. They all did well today. There was no ball that was a favorite, they all showed up and did well. It's nice to have some guest artists like I did this week with the Ogrin children, and Melissa Lehman did one. Hers is due to come out tomorrow.

Q. Does Ogrin's wife make the meal? Does it have to be her making it?

DUFFY WALDORF: He's not going to make it. He's there to drink the wine with me. He has a more important job to do. She always makes the meal, yes. She had to make two trays.

Q. Do you like your position tomorrow, that you're going to be paired with somebody that hasn't won in a long time?

DUFFY WALDORF: What's important is I'm playing well. I don't know how -- if I'm playing with Tommy Armour and he's playing well. He will probably be tough to beat. I'm not going to go out there to try to beat him. I'm going to do the things I did today and put up a score. Hopefully it's a low one. It could be windy tomorrow. You don't know what the conditions are going to be, where the pins are. You can't go out there thinking about a score, you have to go out and take what the course gives you and what your game has that day.

Q. With the lasagna, are any of the other guys clamoring for invites or work their way in to get some lasagna, as well?

DUFFY WALDORF: With your permission, that's just our little secret. You will keep that a secret, won't you? Party at the Ogrins' house next year. 50 Tour pros show up.

Q. I wonder if Ogrin is wondering why the lasagna hasn't worked for him?

DUFFY WALDORF: It's not a guarantee, because there's usually only 3 to 5 guys over anyway, but it's got a pretty good winning percentage, considering how small the group is that comes there. It's not like the players' party on Thursday night when 60 people are there.

Q. Don't you think he says, honey, what about something for the home team?

DUFFY WALDORF: He had lasagna in '96, so it's pretty good.

Q. Lasagna only has so much power?

DUFFY WALDORF: Last year I didn't show up because I didn't make the cut. The lasagna has only so much power. I'm on my own tomorrow.

Q. David has been hurt, hasn't he?

DUFFY WALDORF: He's been reasonably healthy. He has been playing this year. He's been struggling with his putting, I know that.

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Let's go through your round.

DUFFY WALDORF: I birdied the first hole, I hit a wedge in from 115 yards and hit it about 12 feet and made it.

I birdied all the way to No. 6. I hit an 8-iron in there about -- I made a nice 20-footer.

The next hole, a short hole, I hit a 60-yard pitch shot, pitched it close, 5 feet, made it for birdie.

9, hit it to three feet with a pitching wedge and made that for birdie.

No. 2, I had 120-yard shot, hit it in there 15 feet and made that.

Next hole, 155 yard down the hill and I punched an 8-iron and hit it in there three feet.

The next hole, I hit my second shot left of the green, the par 5, and pitched it up about four feet and made that for birdie.

And then on 18, I had 171 yards and hit it 170 yards one foot, just on line, made about a 2-footer for par, or birdie, whatever that was -- birdie.

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Thank you for joining us.

DUFFY WALDORF: Hope to see you tomorrow.

End of FastScripts.

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