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MERCEDES CHAMPIONSHIPS

January 3, 2006

Jason Gore

KAPALUA, HAWAII

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Let's go ahead with questions.

Q. How did you enjoy your off season, what there was of an off season?

JASON GORE: Not much of an off season. It was good. Son is at the age where he's starting to know what holiday season is. We had a pretty good Christmas morning, watching him rip some stuff up. Just pretty much an everyday occurrence in our house.

It was good. Spent a lot of time practicing. Really didn't have much of an off season. Spent a bit of time chipping and putting, hanging out at the range.

Q. How different was this Christmas for you than last Christmas? Last Christmas you were playing the California mini tours, trying to get your confidence back. Probably didn't have as big a Christmas under the tree well, actually, your son was just born, young.

JASON GORE: Three months old.

Q. How different was it this year than last year?

JASON GORE: It was a little different. He's getting a little bit bigger. It was a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun knowing that I get to come here in a week. I had a job, security for a little while. It was a lot different than everything. I wasn't winding down after the final stage of Q School. It was very comforting and very enjoyable. Able to actually sit down and relax and not worry about where the next tournament was, what I was going to be doing.

Q. You really busted out last year in a lot of ways. People discovered you. Your confidence level changed dramatically. How do you plug all that into a new season? How do you deal with the pressure? How do you feed off all the great things you did last year?

JASON GORE: I think one of the good things was it wasn't much of an off season. It was three or four weeks of being at home. I really didn't take too much time off. Hopefully we'll just keep things going. I was a little worried when the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve, going into a new year. That's what makes golf a great game. You're only as good as the last shot you hit. You move on from there, and hopefully get off to a good start this week, see what happens.

Q. Have you had a hard time at all dealing with the fame or balancing at all, making sure you're able to focus on what you do?

JASON GORE: Not really. It's not as much as you think. People have been really good to me. I haven't had somebody come up to me... Everybody has been really supportive. It's been a lot of fun. That's what we all work hard to do, is to get to that point. I deal with about one billionth of what a couple of the other guys do, like Tiger and them.

You know, people have been great to me. It's actually been a lot of fun. When you hear stories that you've gone up and inspired people, I don't think of myself as anything like that, but if it did help a few people or inspire a few people to start playing this great game, that's pretty much an honor.

Q. How cool has it been this week? What are some of the things that have stuck out with you, some of the things you've seen, the things you've been able to experience?

JASON GORE: Well, the other day we were playing, I think it was New Year's Day we went out and played. I'm turning around, I haven't seen my caddie in a while. We were kind of catching up and talking. I think we were on the seventh tee, and I turned around and I looked at this big blue sign and it said "Mercedes Championship." It's like holy smoke. Pretty much knocked me off guard a little bit.

All of a sudden you get a flashback of everything that's happened and everything you've dreamed about for so many years. It's kind of right here and right now. That pretty much kind of sums it up. Just shows you what a great game golf is, how fast things can happen, how it's blind, how it could happen to anybody.

Q. Are you a goal oriented person? Has Preston had you focus on that? Are you a person, going back to the Fred Astaire image, are you just going to try and dance and see what happens at the end of the dance?

JASON GORE: Yeah, I mean, I always thought that the goals were pretty subjective. I think we've talked about this before, too. You know, either they can frustrate you if you set them too high or they can limit you if you set them too low. Really what I'm trying to do, my only "goal" is to walk up to the first tee on Thursday and hit a good shot and we'll chase it and go from there.

There are things that I'd like to achieve. The only thing I can really control is what I do Thursday morning on the first tee. You try to keep it all right in front of you and in perspective, in the now. I don't know how many more simplistic ways I can really explain it. You just try to keep everything in perspective and just worry about the task at hand.

Q. Let's talk about the new Nike contract you just signed. Little bit different scenario now. When you come into a season having done what you did, obviously the company has proven itself, but you must be excited to be able to lock that up and not have to go through the anxiety some players do about your equipment and the money that you're being paid.

JASON GORE: I mean, you know, pretty much was one of the first guys that helped me, Nike has been behind me since day one, through thick and thin. It's hard to find a relationship let alone a company that does that for you. They've made a commitment to me to be a better player. That's what I wanted to hear.

In an eight year time, they've made leaps and bounds that no other company has ever done. I want to be a part of that growing process. I think their future in golf is limitless. It's pretty much an honor to be a part of that.

Q. Can you give us an idea of your schedule maybe through Augusta, without holding you to it?

JASON GORE: Yeah, I'm going to hammer out a lot of the west coast. I'm a west coast guy. Probably take one week off in there, try to really since I am a west coast guy, try to get into match play, try to move up, see if that's a possibility to do that. That's really about it.

Then probably Bay Hill and Player's, see what happens from there. I mean, I kind of really don't know. Just how I feel.

Q. You're not currently in the Masters. 78th in the world ranking. I know we just talked about not setting goals. That would have to be a place you would love to be, a place where you would potentially play well based on your game.

JASON GORE: It's definitely a dream of mine to play there. I pretty much watched videotapes falling asleep, watching Augusta, for a long, long time, man (smiling). I think I definitely studied up on the golf course. I mean, I wouldn't be as well studied as the guys who played there a bunch of years, but... I know that the putt on 13 doesn't break right (smiling). Coming down the hill on 13, it doesn't break.

I think my game would fit very well there. But they've made so many different changes that I think it's actually fitting better. Guys are going ahead, drive the ball very well, make those comebackers. That's pretty key from what I've seen.

Q. The greatest luxury for you must be starting out a season knowing not only that you're exempt but that you can set your schedule, that you're not based on a reshuffle, week to week, am I going to get in, am I not going to get in. That would have to raise your confidence level going into the season, too.

JASON GORE: Yeah, knowing that you don't have to grind for next year, I have a two year exemption. I think right now, it's really keep trying to win, keep putting yourself in the hunt. That's really what I think last year I learned, how much fun it is to actually be in a golf tournament and compete. That's really what my I guess for lack of a goal, that would be my goal this year, just keep putting myself in be prepared to hit every shot and keep putting myself in contention.

Q. This golf course itself, you must love it. You can bomb it, big greens, you can really sort of let it go. You must look forward to the ability to go out and play this place.

JASON GORE: Absolutely. I mean, you know, it's got wide fairways, but we've had some rain this week, so it's actually playing wider. I can see when it actually starts to dry out, the fairways will tighten up just because everything kind of rolls and contours. The greens, even though they are very big, your area to hit it is really small to try to get it close to the hole.

It's a great golf course, really is. Should be a lot of fun. I hope the weather holds off, it kind of firms up, dries up, plays like what we've seen on TV for all these years. I'm looking forward to it. I think it's going to be a great week. The golf course is in great shape, the greens are perfect. Should be a lot of fun.

Q. I know it's a golf course you want to come back and play again and again and again.

JASON GORE: I'd love to make this an annual event, yes (smiling).

End of FastScripts.

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