BUICK CLASSIC

June 19, 2003

Deane Pappas

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Deane, thanks for joining us. Solid first round, 3-under par 68. If we could start with some opening comments about your round.

DEANE PAPPAS: Putted pretty well today. Didn't make any long ones, but I made all the five, 6-footers. I hit an I had a few of those to save par. Didn't drive it very well. Ended up in the rough a few times, got very lucky where a couple of times I was in casual water where I could take a drop. That helped me out immensely.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Let's talk about your season.

DEANE PAPPAS: I've gotten in maybe six events so far and should be getting into maybe 12 from here on out so that I can get in a bit of a rhythm from here on out.

Q. How come your brother is beating you? What's the deal?

DEANE PAPPAS: He's just playing solid. I went to the belly putter this week, and I started a couple of days ago with it, and I putted pretty solid today. So that's a good sign. It seems to be the irons one day, the putter the other days. Today I didn't drive it well and shot my best score of the year. So best opening round.

Q. What were some big adjustments that you had to make going to that belly putter?

DEANE PAPPAS: Nothing, really. Setting up pretty similar to what I would do with a normal putter. I think Rory Sabbatini gave me a tip last week, because I asked him what he was doing with it. Since he's gone to it, he's putted awesome. He gave me a tip on how to set up with it, and I've just been trying to do that. It's working pretty good today.

Q. Did you feel like you had to make a change because you just didn't feel comfortable with what was going on, just needed to make a change or was it just your putting was --

DEANE PAPPAS: Last year I putted pretty decent but very streaky. I was either making everything or not making anything at all. Making the 4-footers, it wasn't like I had a problem from five feet and in but I wasn't hitting it inside of five feet so I wasn't making many birdies. Every time I hit it close, I would make it. I wasn't making anything outside of five feet.

I hit some real good, long putts today that looked like they were going to go in and never went in, but at least they looked like they were going to go in. (Laughing).

Q. How difficult is it, I know you played Kemper, how hard is it to know that every week when you come in, you're just trying to find a way to hopefully just play well, versus a lot of guys that come in and are always thinking about trying to win this week?

DEANE PAPPAS: Well, I've been struggling a little bit this year, so I'm just trying to turn my game around. Once it starts getting better and better, then you start thinking, you know, I can come in and try to win this event. Right now I'm just trying to get a bit of consistency in my game where when I step up on the first tee, I can almost play ahead, where the first part of this year, I've been struggling with my irons, and I think we found something earlier in the week. My teacher is out here, and hitting the irons a lot more solid. The ball is starting to start more on the right line, so when it's starting 15, 30 feet off line, both ways, you're standing over the ball and you don't have much confidence.

Q. Who is your teacher?

DEANE PAPPAS: Mark McCann. He's from South Africa.

Q. Is it tough to get in a rhythm when you don't play a lot?

DEANE PAPPAS: Yeah, it's been that way this year. When you don't play for two or three weeks, you know, if you're struggling a little bit, it's just -- if you're struggling and you play week-to-week and you start to build on something, it gets better and better. But you can maybe struggle through one week and miss a cut or whatever and then you've got to go home and sit for three weeks, it's hard to build on anything.

Q. How important is it in that situation that you're in to get off to a good start today, you're three shots behind, two shots behind, you're right there for the first day and it gives you a little comfort zone?

DEANE PAPPAS: Yeah, I'm not out here just to make the cut. I want to get in contention. It's always my goal to be in contention the last day and then see where we are and how we are going to go about it, if we've got a chance to win or finish in a good position.

But, you know, for the beginning part of the year I'd shoot a fairly decent score the first day and then not so good the next day or 3- or 4-over the first day, so that you have to be on the 8-ball and you just start thinking cut. I can approach tomorrow with a little different attitude.

Q. What have you done on some of the off-weeks? Have you played any other tournament, Nationwide or anything?

DEANE PAPPAS: I played a few Nationwide events to try to play the week before I knew I was possibly going to get in.

I was actually playing very well in the beginning of the year and I wasn't putting well. I played well at the Kemper and then finished off bogey, bogey, double to miss the cut by one. So, you know, it's just things like that have been happening. Today I had my first few good breaks of the year, and my playing partner said, "Well, you know, at least you had some good breaks."

I said, "Well, if it's turned around, I've got about two or three good years of luck coming my way."

Q. What did you do last year during the U.S. Open week?

DEANE PAPPAS: Didn't do too much, actually. I did some video work on my swing just to see what I was doing. My teacher wasn't there. I just wanted to see where I was and I could talk to him about it this week. But I took three or four days off, just played with some of my buddies back home at my home golf course on the weekend and watched the Open.

Q. Which course is that at?

DEANE PAPPAS: West Orange Country Club in Orlando.

Q. A round like this where, outside of the breaks, things seem to go pretty well, you putted better, you got your irons at least going in the right direction, is this the most positive you've felt coming off the golf course this year?

DEANE PAPPAS: Definitely. I've been driving the ball -- I didn't drive it well today but I'm not too worried about it but I've driven it very well all year long. So I'm going to go out to the range now and I don't think it will take too long to figure it out.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: You had four birdies and a bogey; let's go over your score card, starting with the birdie on No. 10.

DEANE PAPPAS: Ten I hit a driver just right of the bunker. I had a pretty swirly lie in the bunker. Managed to get it on the green and drained down to about ten feet and made that. So making my first putt with a belly putter was a good, positive way to start the day.

15, I drove it right. I had a fairly decent shot at the green. I missed it just left and I think the grass was about halfway up to my knees. The pin was only 20 feet away and I was wondering if I could get it on the green.

2, I hit driver sand wedge to about three feet.

4, I hit 7-iron maybe eight feet from the hole and made that.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: And you 2-putted from about 40 feet or so on 9 for birdie.

DEANE PAPPAS: Yeah, I left it about five feet short and made another nice putt. Started and ended on a good note.

Q. What were one or two of those lucky breaks you were talking about? What were the best breaks you got today?

DEANE PAPPAS: I would say on No. 11, I drove it two feet into the thick stuff and was all wet, casual water. The only dry spot we could find was in the first cut of the rough. I went from having to lay up to being able to hit it right up by the green.

Then the same thing on No. 4, the ball plugged in there, took us a couple of minutes to find it, it was just buried in the ground. Also just a couple of feet into the thick rough and was able to drop it in the first cut of rough. Hit a 7-iron up to eight feet and made the putt.

Those kind of things haven't happened for me this year.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Thank you very much.

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