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MICHELOB CHAMPIONSHIP AT KINGSMILL


October 5, 2000


Steve Pate


WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA

LEE PATTERSON: Steve, wonderful start to the tournament. I know you had a hiccup on 9, your 18th. Maybe a couple thoughts about today; then we will open it up for questions.

STEVE PATE: I am glad it is over. I played pretty solid. Hit a lot of good shots; drove it real well for the most part. But I made birdies off my two worse drives of the day so go figure that one out. I hit three awful shots for the day; got away with two of them. So that was rather fortunate and just played pretty solid. Putted halfway decent for the first time in a while and see if I can continue that trend.

Q. Let's go over those awful shots.

STEVE PATE: Okay. Let's see, starting since I started on the back we will start --

LEE PATTERSON: Give us all of them. Start on 10.

STEVE PATE: Just the birdies or the awful ones. I birdied 10, drove it in the left fairway bunker one and hit 4-iron about 15 feet, made it. Birdied 12, hit 3-wood right rough which looked pretty dead, and I slashed a 6-iron in there about four feet, made that. The next hole pin was on 20 yards. I hit it so fat that I didn't even reach the green and I made 15-footer for par. That was the first awful shot. Birdied 15, hit driver and kind of a weak 3-wood short and right down in the gully and got it up-and-down. Birdied 1, hit 3-wood, 9-iron about five feet. Birdied 3, hit driver, 5-iron, just left of the green, made a yoker pitch; made about an 8-footer. Birdied 7, hit two 3-woods on the green and 2-putted from about 35 feet. Then 8 was my next awful shot. Pin was on about 25 yards. I one-hop it on the front edge; hit it fat again, 2-putted from a long way. Then hit a bullet pull-hook over in the grand stands on 9 over the green; did not get away with that one; pitched it on about eight feet, hit a good putt and made bogey.

Q. What has been the story this year? What has gone well and what hasn't gone so well?

STEVE PATE: Everything. I haven't done anything particularly well. I have played well at times, but main problem I haven't had a good week with the putter. I had weeks where I had two good days but I had not had one full week. That seems to be the biggest problem. It is a little easier to play with confidence if you know you are going -- your bad shots, you are going to slap them on the green and make par. I haven't had that feeling much this year. Therefore, I am 70th on the money list.

Q. You switched putters or --

STEVE PATE: I have tried.

Q. Just an aging thing or what is it?

STEVE PATE: I think so. Bad karma. I don't know. I just haven't putted very well this year.

Q. Is it hard to keep up the standards of last year? You played so great, you made the Ryder Cup team and then to get motivated again this season…

STEVE PATE: It is not hard to get motivated. It is actually a little easier to deal with this time because I have done this before. Gone from playing really well to not so well. When it happened the first time I kind of said -- state of panic set in. This time, done it before, so it is not really as big a deal. It is irritating, but there is no sense of panic at least.

Q. You have been making a lot of cuts, you just haven't putt those deep rounds to finish Top-10, only one Top-10?

STEVE PATE: Yes, putter. I haven't had a good week. Closest I came in Milwaukee, hit two days, one average day, and one day that was pitiful. That has been about the best week of the year with the putter.

Q. What can you do to change that? Obviously you have probably tried a lot.

STEVE PATE: If I knew the answer I wouldn't still be here answering that question. It is not from lack of effort. It is not from lack of work, I don't know. Keep working. It seems to eventually come around. Sometimes you just have to wait longer.

Q. Have you had anybody look at you, give you any advice?

STEVE PATE: Oh, yeah, there isn't anything I haven't tried.

Q. Nothing helped?

STEVE PATE: No, it is not like I have putted terribly. I just haven't putted well. It is not like I have-I have had very few years where I was terrible with the putter, but mediocre doesn't get it.

Q. Are you under the weather here a little bit?

STEVE PATE: Yeah.

Q. Suffering from the flu?

STEVE PATE: No, basic head cold, chest cold.

Q. How tough is it to enjoy a year on the Tour when your putts aren't going in? Does that get old pretty quick?

STEVE PATE: Yeah, but it wasn't too long ago where I had a year at home, so it is not too bad. It is a little easier to enjoy after that experience.

LEE PATTERSON: Anything else? Thank you, Steve.

End of FastScripts….

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