BAY HILL INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY COOPER TIRES

March 22, 2003

Brad Faxon

JOE CHEMYCZ: 65 today, 7-under par. Just talk a little bit about the third round and how you played.

BRAD FAXON: I played very well. I made a lot of birdies today, a lot of putts. I got off to a great start. I hit a good second shot that landed just by the pin on No. 1 and went to the back into the rough, and I pitched it in, which got me off to a great start.

And then I kind of made a bunch of pars and made a good birdie on 7 from the back of the green, fringe. Wild drive on 8, left rough, pulled a great lie out there of and made a great birdie.

The back nine, I don't know how many pars I had but there were not many.

JOE CHEMYCZ: Six birdies, two bogeys and a par.

BRAD FAXON: For some reason yesterday, I looked at the record book from tournaments here and I shot a 64 in the third round '95 or '96 when Loren won. I knew that would be a good number to try and shoot. Not like I can go shoot them when I want tom but with Tiger in the lead and the course was for the taking today. There was not much wind. It's still pretty soft. The greens, you can run at the cups.

Q. What was clicking for you today in particular?

BRAD FAXON: My putter was on fire today. I made a big putt on No. 10 from about 50 feet.

Then everything seemed to go in from there. I made a big putt on 11 from about 20 feet and 2-putted 12 for birdie.

Made about a 15-footer on 14 for birdie and a 12-footer on 15. 20-footer on 16. So they were flying in.

Q. How do you size up tomorrow?

BRAD FAXON: You know, I haven't really looked at the leaderboard. I know Tiger is leading, so I don't know who else is there. I don't know if it's threesomes, twosomes. I don't know.

Q. It's 14, 10 and 8 right now.

BRAD FAXON: Kind of in the middle again, aren't I?

Well, one of my goals this year was to play more with Tiger, and not in practice rounds. So I think if you're playing with him, you're doing okay. You know, he's the favorite. He's won here three times in a row. He looks like he's always looking here.

So, it's going to be tough. If I can go out and shoot another great round, see what happens. But I'm going to enjoy it. I feel like I'm in a good spot with my game and my head, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

Q. You played well in San Diego through about 13, 14 holes.

BRAD FAXON: Yeah, got a little wild in the middle of the round, but I thought I played pretty well there. Saved a couple shots in the middle.

Q. You also said you felt pretty comfortable there?

BRAD FAXON: I enjoyed myself. That was a raucous crowd there, to say the least.

I'm sure Tiger is the favorite here, living in Orlando, unless Ty Tryon  -- he's playing good, isn't he? What can you say about the guy. There's no superlatives left.

Q. You talked Thursday about guys getting psyched out thinking this course is not getting set up for them, but with a good attitude, that can be overcome; is that an example today with your round?

BRAD FAXON: I don't know if that's an example today. I hear more and more players saying that "course setup is bad, this is only favoring one type of player." I don't know if that's a cop-out or if it's the truth, but I'm not going to believe it. I'm not going to buy into that.

I think great players learn how to play well anywhere. If the conditions are such that they are soft fairways and hard greens, you've got to adapt somehow. You've got to  -- maybe it favors a guy that hits it further, but you've still got to hit good shots and still got to putt. It's not an automatic. Tiger is not going to automatically shoot 66 out here. It may look like it, but he's still hitting good shots and making putts.

Q. The background that you hear, do you live in the neighborhood?

BRAD FAXON: Close by. I was a member here at Lake Nona. I lived right off Conroy and Windermere.

Q. Until you moved back up north?

BRAD FAXON: Yes.

Q. When was that?

BRAD FAXON: '92.

Q. What do you have to do tomorrow?

BRAD FAXON: What do I have to do tomorrow?

Q. Yeah.

BRAD FAXON: I've got to take care of myself.

You know, I always tell people, people ask me if I have goals, but what I control is the process. What can I do to see a good shot, think good thoughts, be in a good state of mind when I go to play and be prepared on the first tee.

You know, everybody is a little bit nervous in the last group. If I can do that stuff and not worry about my results, I'm going to do okay.

Q. Speaking of results, not for a bad segue there, but what kind of margin is unreasonable, do you think, with Tiger, here?

BRAD FAXON: When he's four behind you or closer. (Laughter.)

No, I mean, when is the last time somebody came from four shots behind him and beat him? It would be a great story, wouldn't it?

Q. He's only been caught twice in 29 times.

BRAD FAXON: This is my second chance.

Q. Do you play a little bit looser because of that?

BRAD FAXON: That's what I can do. I can't control what he's going to do or whoever else is in the last group. I just want to go try to do what I did today, go at the flags and make some putts.

Q. Do you have a number in your head like you did today?

BRAD FAXON: I said that  -- it's easy to say after you played a good round. I'm not very good at saying, "Well, 66 is the number, go out and shoot it." Although that would be a nice number to shoot.

What would be a good number if you're four back of him, on this course  -- I don't go out with that in my mind. To me, that's a result and I don't think I have much control over it.

Q. Did he shift into that maintenance mode that he can get into when it was you and Phil and him at the Buick on the back nine and no one was breathing down his neck, where it was sort of just fairways, greens, par, move along?

BRAD FAXON: I never really saw him back up. When it's 490 and tight, I don't know how you do that. There's no really "cruise" holes. He scrambled a little bit on 14 and 15 he made that miracle shot out of the right rough. But I don't remember him taking 3-irons off tees. That was a course where you had to plow driver.

Q. Could you talk about 18, what was going through your mind when the ball was in the air and what you thought when you found it?

BRAD FAXON: Off the tee or second shot?

Q. Off the tee.

BRAD FAXON: When I pushed it? My tee shot, I thought, "There goes another tee shot."

I was just thinking maybe I'll get some kind of a shot here. And I've had to lay-up plenty of times on that hole where I have a full wedge and I've had putts for par. I got a very good break to get on the tee, but I had to hook it a long way. I had to hook it around this tree. I didn't quite catch the 6-iron. I hit it a little low, a little thin. I think if I hit it the way I wanted to, it would have stayed on the green and not run up there.

Q. What was your yardage?

BRAD FAXON: Guessing it was about 180 or 182. It was off the map. (Laughter.) I was six yards in direct line from the Gamez plaque.

JOE CHEMYCZ: Let's go over your birdies.

BRAD FAXON: 1, pitched in close from about 20 feet.

7, I hit a 6-iron on the back edge and made a 20-footer.

8, I hit 6-iron and made a 5-footer.

8 higher to 50 feet.

11, 9-iron to 20 feet.

12, 3-wood to 90 feet, 2-putt, right on the front of the green.

13 I 3-putted from 40 feet.

14, 20 feet.

15, 15 feet.

20 feet on 16.

End of FastScripts....