THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 28, 1996

Craig Parry

WES SEELEY: Into 33, 66, 6 under par. How did it go?

CRAIG PARRY: I obviously played very well. The conditions of the golf course were just perfect this morning. The wind wasn't blowing. It was just very, very timed as far as the TPC and Sawgrass goes because at what happened last year it was very difficult and this year it's a little bit less rough. The greens were holding when you hit into the green. It was just fun to play today.

Q. Why don't you take us around to these birdies?

CRAIG PARRY: Okay. I teed off on the 10th hole. I will start at 10 because that is where I started. The 11th hole I made a birdie. I hit a good drive; then hit 3-iron up the left-hand side and then sand iron to about a foot. And then on 12, I hit 3-wood off the tee, a metal wedge to about twelve feet. Holed that putt. 16, I hit driver, 3-wood just short of the green; chipped up to about 4 foot. And on the second hole, I hit a little draw off the tee which is very unusual for me, and hit 3-wood just short of the green; chipped up to about six foot, made that. Then on the third hole, I hit a 6-iron into about 2 foot and the other birdie I had was on number 6, I think; hit tee shot just right of the fairway. It was a yard into the rough. It wasn't very far in the rough. It wasn't -- I wasn't really in all that much trouble; hit 7-iron to about 12 foot and holed that putt. So didn't -- the only time I had a putt for a good save and putt for par was on number 14. I hit in the greens so I -- side bunker came out to about 9 foot and that was really the only problem I had out on the golf course.

WES SEELEY: Questions?

Q. You talked about the conditions in the morning. How did it change as the day went on?

CRAIG PARRY: I think the golf course gets a little bit harder as it gets later in the day. When we played early in the morning -- it was only 8 o'clock in the morning when we teed off and we had a little bit of dew on the green. You can be a little bit more aggressive at the putts, especially on the 12-foot putt range; whereas, as it gets a little bit later in the day, the greens are drying out and you have more spike marks that are around. The ball doesn't run as true as when it was very early in the morning, but I just felt as though the golf course was there to be attacked this morning. And obviously, it has been because the players are shooting low.

Q. How about wind, any wind at all?

CRAIG PARRY: Yeah, the wind got up at about the 9th hole. When we made the turn when we had to go to the front, the wind was about a 2 club wind at times.

Q. Really?

CRAIG PARRY: Yeah. Especially when you start to get out where there is not that many tries, 9th hole; 5, 6 and 7 actually played tough as well.

Q. You were knocking it fairly close. Was it your iron play -- some of your approach shots on the par fives?

CRAIG PARRY: I have done a lot of work the last couple of days. Last week I played my first tournament back over here in New Orleans. Hit four greens on Sunday and I hit 3 over par; so, you know, my short game was very good; so I had to get up and do a little work on my iron play in the first two days here. So it actually came back pretty good.

Q. What affect did the rain have on the golf course? Did it change a lot?

CRAIG PARRY: I don't think it changed a great deal, probably just made the greens a little bit more receptive to hit into. From the fairway side of it I would rather see the golf course playing a little faster. Then you have to hit the ball a little bit straighter.

Q. Was there anything in particular that had been difficult about your iron-play, some of your approach shots, something is going wrong?

CRAIG PARRY: I couldn't get on the golf course last week. I mean, I just aimed at one position, it would finish up in another position. I have been hitting these big fades that have been going 20 yards right on the target.

Q. How much does it burn you that you weren't invited to the Masters and how motivated are you to win this week or next to get there?

CRAIG PARRY: Obviously, I'd like to get into Augusta. It is a golf course that I feel I can play very well. The hard thing about it is I came over here and I have played my tournaments in Australia, and I am arriving for the first tournament of the year and the guys have already played 11 tournaments. So for me to make the top 30 in the order of merit is quite difficult. You have to be a great Norman to sort of do that. I feel as though I have got to support the Australian Tour and play at home, and you know, I have been over here and everything will probably seem a lot easier. But it is just a matter of time, and you know, hopefully I can win before now and Augusta and leave this week or next week and get into Augusta because I think it is a great tournament. It is a special spot to go.

Q. You did have a good finish there a couple of years ago.

CRAIG PARRY: Yeah, I finished 13th in the end. I think it was played with Freddy (sic) on the last 8. I actually had the lead with about 15 to go.

Q. Freddy (sic)?

CRAIG PARRY: Yeah.

Q. Are you a little bit put off by not being invited? Do you feel like you should have been?

CRAIG PARRY: Well, I mean, I think that I have performed reasonably well. I have only missed out -- only been outside the top 50 in the Sony Rankings like two weeks in about seven or eight years; so I am back into the 40s at the moment. So, if you are going to have the best players in the world, you know, if the Sony Ranking doesn't mean anything, maybe they should look at that. I mean, I can understand how they think. I mean I played the U.S. Tour, so they are not going to give an invitation to the U.S. Tour guys because there is quite a lot of players over here that probably deserve to be in as well. So I can understand where Augusta comes from. And you know, I am just going to have to perform better, simple fact.

WES SEELEY: Anything else for Craig Parry?

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