GREATER HARTFORD OPEN

July 25, 2003

Dennis Paulson

TODD BUDNICK: We thank Dennis Paulson for stopping in after an even par 70 today. A little different than yesterday, ten consecutive rounds of par or better in the last 10.

DENNIS PAULSON: It was actually real similar. I didn't hit quite as close to the hole. I hit probably more good shots at the pins that I was trying to get to. I had a lot of bad numbers today, where didn't feel comfortable. I couldn't get it inside of ten feet. I had a lot of chances for 12 or 17 or 18 feet and nothing went in. I made about a 12-footer for par on No. 8, which was my only chance of making a bogey except for the water ball on 17, and that was it for the whole day.

TODD BUDNICK: Did it feel good to walk off the course one back of the leader at this time of the day after not scoring as well?

DENNIS PAULSON: Yes, definitely it was probably as high as I could have shot today. I saved one and gave away a bunch. I hit it right in the middle of the green on 15. It went just over the back. You don't get that up-and-down.

12 through 16, I hit it inside of 15 feet on every hole. I made one birdie. That was disappointing because I played real solid through that stretch and I just couldn't make a putt.

But 18 was a perfect synopsis, a perfect drive right down the middle. A 9-iron, I got to hit it hard to get it there. Left of the hole is dead. Hit a good shot 18, 20 feet right at the hole. I hit a putt 10 feet from the hole, no way to get to the middle. Going down the hill, really slid down, it went over the top edge and stopped 2 inches away and that was basically the way it was all day.

TODD BUDNICK: We will take some questions.

Q. How did you manage to keep your sanity through something like that?

DENNIS PAULSON: I made it through the 18th hole, where I kicked my putter across the green. It was acting up, it needed to be spoken to a little bit. No, it's just, you know, it's unfortunate the course is playing hard enough where par is a good score. But it's not a bad score. I'm not hurting myself making pars out here. I'm hurting myself in the overall scheme of things. I wasn't scrambling to make pars today, I was hitting it down the middle. I was much more relaxed, much less tired today than I was yesterday. The wind wasn't a big issue. It was a real easy round of golf, the score just wasn't there. That's the way it goes sometimes. It wasn't like I hit one bad putt today. Other than that, a couple of misreads here, and the tee speed was little off, a combination of all sorts of things. It was good solid round of golf, just the score didn't show it.

Q. Can you compare how this course is playing today as opposed to yesterday?

DENNIS PAULSON: It played almost the same condition-wise with the greens. The greens are about as firm. The fairways are about as soft. There was a lot of dew. The course was really, really wet, like they watered it. I know they didn't. Let's not start a bad rumor. There was lot of overnight moisture, the course was wetter this morning, I would say wetter this morning than it was yesterday afternoon.

The course played about the same. It played different with the wind. The holes into the wind were easier, the holes downwind played about the same, you have longer shots but you could control it a little more. The golf course definitely played two or three shots easier at least today than it did yesterday afternoon for sure.

Q. Your shoulder feel OK?

DENNIS PAULSON: Yes, there is something going on in there. I have to talk to the guys in the trailers. I have to do my exercises. I haven't done my exercises since Saturday. Get in there and do my exercises. It's not a big deal. I'm 40, things start breaking down.

Q. These days that's a good age on TOUR.

DENNIS PAULSON: Yes, it's pretty good age. They have been playing real, really well. I'm starting to play better and I am looking forward to the end of the year. I'm looking forward to taking a break. I've got to withdraw for next week. 10 of 11 is a lot. I'm taking about a month off, I guess.

Q. This is 10 of 11 weeks?

DENNIS PAULSON: 10 of 11. Of that 10 of 11, two weeks on the road we didn't get to play. I was at Richmond Nationwide, where we got washed out. Kemper, I was first alternate and never got in, but I was still on the road. The family came out the week of the Kemper. I wasn't going to fly them all the way to Washington and fly them home for 5 days. We hung out in Washington D.C..

Q. You were on the road?

DENNIS PAULSON: Yes.

Q. Sitting around is worse?

DENNIS PAULSON: Sitting around is a way longer week, believe me. I would not wish Richmond on anybody. I played three holes on Saturday is what I played for the week. Three holes. We shouldn't have been out there. They were trying to do anything and everything to try to get some golf in. We said, why don't we use a tee. Tee it up there and use a tee. It was so bad. They played it last week and it was a successful event. So everything really worked out for the tournament.

TODD BUDNICK: We will go through that birdie of yours on 16.

DENNIS PAULSON: Big birdie. I hit an 8-iron there. It's weird, the wind was moving all over the place. There was downbreeze on 16, downbreeze on 17 and a crossbreeze on 18. You figure that one out. I hit an 8-iron 12 feet little left and short of the hole and made that. Hit it in the water on 17 and took a drop and had

53 and figured, well, the wind can't be helping again. I tried to hit a little 8-iron there and flew the ball to the back of the green. That was a 2-putt. It was tough where that pin was. I rolled it four feet by them. That was my second longest putt of the day, a four-footer, made that and rolled it over the edge on 18.

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you.

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