BOB HOPE CHRYSLER CLASSIC

January 30, 2003

Pat Perez

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: If we could get some opening comments from you about how the day went.

PAT PEREZ: I woke up and I didn't feel that great. There was nothing special about the morning. I didn't feel that good this morning. I got to the course kind of late. Warmed up, didn't hit too many balls. I just didn't feel that great.

Got off to a good start. Hit a 3-iron down the left side on 10. Hit a good 6-iron and just kind of went from there.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: It's obviously a different format this week, playing with amateur partners. Is that good, bad or indifferent for you or are you just concentrating on your own game?

PAT PEREZ: I like it. A lot of the pros don't talk a lot, so I've got three guys to talk to, and it's actually pretty fun.

Q. Did you have chances to go even lower the last seven holes?

PAT PEREZ: Oh, yeah. I had a chance on just about every hole coming in.

Q. What were the near misses?

PAT PEREZ: I missed a 5-footer on 5 or 6. I left one short on 7. 9, I had a good chance from about 15 feet.

Q. Is it like a no-hitter? When you get near 59, do you and your caddie mention it, do you not mention it?

PAT PEREZ: Oh, we talk about it the whole time.

Q. You say, "Let's go 59"?

PAT PEREZ: Oh, yeah. After 10 or 11 you can't really not think about it or not talk about it. On these courses, you can make 10 birdies in a day, but you don't expect to make them on the first 11 holes.

So after that, you might as well try and make six more coming in, because you can still shoot -- even if I birdie the first two, you can still shoot 30 on the back for a nice little 58.

Q. So you were thinking lower than 59?

PAT PEREZ: Oh, yeah, ten under through 11, I had never done that. I was confident as anything. I wasn't nervous at all. I thought, "No one does it. No one has shot 58, might as well become the first one."

Q. You like to play fast; right?

PAT PEREZ: Yes.

Q. The Amateurs don't play so fast, how do you deal with that?

PAT PEREZ: They are not actually that bad. They are actually not that slow. A lot of times, some of the guys can't get there in two anyway so they are ahead or they duff one off the tee or they have 300 yards to the green and they will hit one up there. By the time I get to the ball, it's usually my time to hit and I don't have to wait for anybody.

It's not too bad. It's not as bad as everyone thinks.

Q. You talked about some of the pros not talking during rounds. Did it actually relax you? I saw you holding the flag for these guys on a couple of holes; was it relaxing?

PAT PEREZ: Yeah, it is. It's just like a Wednesday Pro-Am. Your main focus is to make sure they have fun as well. You don't want them leaving, saying, "What a jerk. He didn't talk to us all day. He didn't help with anything."

I'm more than happy to help these guys and make sure they have a good time. They pay enough money to get in here and they are such a huge support for the tournament, you want to make sure they are having fun and playing every year.

Q. I heard you say your back was not feeling too good, was that right?

PAT PEREZ: I went for a run on the back nine around the Palmer. I rented a house over here and I went for a run, and for some reason I didn't feel good this morning.

Q. We hear so many times guys shooting low scores when they are sick or hurt; did you come in with no expectation on the round and was that part of it?

PAT PEREZ: That's kind of what it is, exactly. It's not expecting anything. It's basically not worrying about what you're going to shoot because you're worried about the way you feel or something else is going on. So you don't really think about what's going on. So yeah, that's a big part of it.

Q. Are you surprised that your 61 only tied for the low round today or do you expect that?

PAT PEREZ: Who else shot it?

Q. Jay Haas shot 61?

PAT PEREZ: I'm not surprised. The thing everyone keeps asking me, "You're in great position here," whatever, whatever, 14-under. I've got to make 18 more birdies. I've got to shoot 178 more, at least, in the next few days to have a chance to win.

I don't look at it as "Oh, I've got a great round and we are done. I need 17-under minimum the next few days to have a chance. You might see another one, a 60. The courses are in perfect shape no, wind. I'm not surprised at all.

Q. Some of us have not seen you in a while. You finished top 40 last year, almost won Rookie of the Year, you're going to the Masters. Is that Pat Perez's time? Do you go into this year thinking it's your breakthrough year? What are your goals?

PAT PEREZ: My goal is to be Top-30 this year. Last year I didn't really expect much, but this year I do, because I know I can play with these guys. Once I get really comfortable and I get comfortable with my swing, I think Top-30 is not out of the question.

If I win, I win. I'm not going to push it like I did last year, and really try to fight for that win when I get close to the lead.

I'll just let things happen and see what happens.

Q. You had Bayonet in 2000 and Pebble in 2002. Are you looking forward to going back?

PAT PEREZ: I haven't thought about it yet.

Q. Are you going to change your routine, stay in the same place or what?

PAT PEREZ: Do the same as always. If I could finish second there the next 15 years, I think I'll be all right. I'll take 500,000 every year and go home.

Q. Part of me thinks when I ask you, you might be upset about it, but it was a tremendous day for you. You won a lot of money and finished second. Positive memories or negative?

PAT PEREZ: Both. It doesn't even matter. It's just both.

Q. Did it stay with you? In that press conference on Sunday, you said, "This one is going to stay with me a long time." Did it stay with you as long as you thought it would or did you get over it fast?

PAT PEREZ: No, it has. It still has. I mean, I get questions like this all the time, so how can it not stay with me? The media asks me all the time, "What do you think about Pebble, what do you think about Pebble?"

It's hard to forget when you get asked about it all the time.

Q. The difference is you can answer whatever you want to, but how you feel about it is a whole other thing.

PAT PEREZ: Yeah, I don't know. I'll talk about it next week. I'm not worried about it right now. I don't want to talk about it.

Q. After last year, what did you take away from how well you played and all the top finishes? It was a struggle to get up to the PGA TOUR and then, boom, you had this great year. How much better was the year than you thought it might be in the beginning?

PAT PEREZ: It was a lot better. I didn't think I was going to have that kind of year with six Top-10s, two seconds, four top 5s. I didn't expect it at all in my first year.

I was just trying to fit in, get my name out there, see if I could play with these guys. Now that I know I can, I'm just waiting to get my chance again on Sunday.

Q. What did you do better than you thought? Why was it so good?

PAT PEREZ: Probably because I had no expectations. I had no expectations. The media didn't really -- I didn't have the focus week-in and week-out, "What's this guy doing?"

I had three people in my gallery. I don't have any following. It was easy for me. I didn't have a lot of questions every day. "You've got to report to the media center," and all this. I didn't have anything to worry about other than just trying to play well.

Q. Having said that, do you think you'll handle it well this year, more of this stuff if it comes to that?

PAT PEREZ: I don't know. We'll see. We'll see what kind of questions get thrown at me.

Q. Do you not like it?

PAT PEREZ: I do. The media has done nothing but bring up Pebble, but I honestly can't wait until next week and it's over. After next week, I'm not talking about it ever. Anyone's got a question, ask it on Tuesday because it's done after Tuesday - not talking about it anymore.

It doesn't matter. People lose tournaments all the time. But for some reason it always seems to come up with me. So after Tuesday, I'm done for it.

Q. Big day for you?

PAT PEREZ: Big day for the media. Hopefully Sunday we'll have something different to talk about.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Talk about the back side. Eight birdies in nine holes.

PAT PEREZ: Yeah, a nice little stretch. I hit 3-iron, 6-iron into 10 to about 12 feet. I got a good read from my caddie there.

On 11, we hit 3-wood, a little wedge, to about eight feet.

Hit 8-iron on 12 to about ten feet, maybe 12 feet.

Par 5, we hit driver, 5-iron, little pitching wedge to about four feet.

Hit driver, little sand wedge to about eight feet on the next hole.

17, I hit 5-iron to about 30 feet.

18, a driver, 2-iron just over, almost chipped it in. It was like a tap-in, like a one-footer.

1, I hit driver. I hit it way left. Chipped out with a 4-iron. Hit a little sand wedge to 20 feet. Made it.

2, driver, 9-iron to just left, about 15 feet.

8, 3-wood -- 3-wood to the front edge and 2-putted from about 60.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: What happened on 16?

PAT PEREZ: I hit a great drive and I came out of my 6-iron and my putt was only from about 25 feet or whatever. I was in the fringe and the fringe just kind of jumped left and just missed on the left side.

Q. Not just in PGA TOUR or other competition, but anything close to a 59 personally before?

PAT PEREZ: No. I've had nines where I've shot like 29 on the front, but I'd have to go because of darkness or something and I only played nine.

I haven't had one. I've never been 10-under after 11 to be thinking about shooting 57 or 58. I've never had anything like that. Usually someone shoots 11-under, they birdie the last. I haven't seen too many rounds where guys are ten after 11 and is looking to shoot whatever, under 60, for sure.

Maybe we'll get them the next three days.

End of FastScripts....