PGA TOUR MEDIA CONFERENCE

April 27, 2005

Chris DiMarco

CHRIS DiMARCO: It was a lot of fun performing the way I did and having a chance to win that tournament and going toe-to-toe with Tiger was pretty special. The last couple of weeks have been very good also. I don't think I can remember a last time where I've been congratulated so many times for losing. Looking back, I got beat, I really -- we both just played so great to beat the field by seven shots with that tournament. You know, it just was awesome to be able to perform, like I said, make putts when you needed to, make shots when you needed to on that stage. I feel like I really kind of elevated my game and hopefully moved to a new level.

CHRIS DiMARCO: Yeah, the course is great. Obviously, the Pro-Am, the tendency is always to play it as far back as we can play it, so it played very, very long today. They probably need to change a few of the holes as far as maybe just some tees up on some of the par 4s. I know it's supposed to be a little breezy tomorrow, also maybe a couple of the par 3s. 9 is a really difficult hole. I can see it maybe being ten or 15 yards closer would make all of the difference in the world. Still a great, very demanding golf course. The Zurich Classic is going to be very good this year. I think they have got a great venue.

CHRIS DiMARCO: I don't think it's a consensus. I think everything has been pretty complimentary as far as, you know, me stepping up and playing a good 18 holes of golf. I mean, that was probably one of the best ball-striking rounds of golf in that circumstance I've ever had.

CHRIS DiMARCO: Yeah, life has changed a little bit. I used to be able to go to Target, I used to be able to go to the grocery store, I used to be able to go to the bowling alley and had my anonymity, and it's not quite there anymore, but it goes with it. I'm quite honored, to tell you the truth, to have that many people actually care that much about me not winning and they felt it with me. It's pretty cool, actually. Pretty flattering.

CHRIS DiMARCO: No. It's funny, her husband used to have a dream about the Masters. He used to -- did he ever tell you that one, the one where he got shot on the 18th green and he nudged it in with his grip and it actually went in. I actually thought about that dream while I was out there at one point. There's not any shots that replaying back on Sunday I go hit over. For the most part, I hit -- I putted so good all week. I know I didn't make that many putts on Sunday, but I putted so good all week, and even on the front nine, I hit a lot of putts that looked like they should have gone in that didn't go in. That's the thing I've been telling people is when you have a putt at Augusta, eight, ten, 12 feet and you're hitting a foot of break and you're only trying to hit it three inches, it's pretty much when it leaves and goes three inches that it's out of your control. That's what's so difficult about that golf course. I did not have a 3-putt the whole week which is pretty amazing.

CHRIS DiMARCO: The good thing is I've had two weeks to kind of reflect and kind of get it behind me. Obviously that's something you never want to put behind you. It's nice to let it go on as long as you can. The bottom line is, I'm hitting the ball really it, hitting where I'm going and aiming and I'm still putting very good. I'm doing a lot of things real good. So as far as that's concerned, that's good for me going into this week. You know, I've really been hitting the ball good all year, and this -- at Augusta, I finally started scoring. I just haven't been scoring well all year and finally it clicked.

CHRIS DiMARCO: You know, absolutely. You can chalk this up for me, you know, getting to play in the Presidents Cup and being in that environment; the PGA last year, losing in a playoff; Ryder Cup, that was probably the most nerve nervous I've ever been in my life was at the Ryder Cup and still was able to perform and hit good quality golf shots and still help the team and do as much as I could. So when you do that, it's like anything else in golf, the more experience you get, the more comfortable you start feeling when the pressure is on. That's what I'm able to do. I'm starting to kind of revel in that kind of stuff. I like it. Tiger has always talked about, that's our drug is to be in that position on the golf course and be nervous as heck, but still be able to perform, and that's the feeling you want. If you can't have fun doing that, then you're not playing the right sport.

CHRIS DiMARCO: I was hitting the ball great all week and even, again, on that last night of the third round, I hit the ball -- every one of those shots, I hit exactly where I wanted to hit them. It just was a weird nine holes. Just nothing went right and I ended up on some bad slopes and I got a few bad kicks and I hit a couple of putts that lipped out and I added up to a 41 unfortunately. That was what I told myself going back, I would not have changed a shot. So we're hitting it where we want to, still hitting the shots we want to, and I just basically told my caddie when we were hitting the balls on the range, "It's time to step up, it's time to just put the fear, the nervousness everything behind us and go out and play golf," and show not only Tiger and not only the world, but show myself that I can do that in that circumstance, and I was able to.

CHRIS DiMARCO: The chip?

CHRIS DiMARCO: No, and unfortunately it was against me, so -- you know, it was one of those shots. He said it perfectly, he was just trying to chip it beside me and it went in. It was a great imagination, a little lucky to go in, sure, but, you know, he has a tendency to do things like that.

CHRIS DiMARCO: I live in Orlando, Florida, 30 years. I'm basically a native. Gators, too, yeah.

CHRIS DiMARCO: Not much. I mean, you can't. Golf, if I did that every week, I'd feel like I should be four or five or six shots better every week. You can't do that. It's golf. The way I played the first two days, there was not one -- I could not have shot one shot better than I did the first two days. 67-67 was probably as low as I could have shot. You know, granted, on Sunday, of course I could have been a couple of shots better. But you know what, I made a really long putt on 11 that might not have gone in and hit some really good putts. All of the 5- and 6-footers I was supposed to make, I made on Sunday; so you're bound to miss one of those, you would think, and I didn't. So it's hard to reflect and go back and think about the could-haves and would-have-beens. It's golf. Could-haves and would-have-beens are going to happen.

CHRIS DiMARCO: The great thing for me which I felt was awesome, which was opposite of the year before was when I teed off on the first year before, there was probably 99.8 percent people rooting for Phil. I think my parents, my wife, my son, and I think a couple of other friends were there rooting for me, and everybody else was for Phil; whereas this year, it was noticeably on my side. It was at least 70 to 30 percent on my side. It's easier to play when there's a lot of people rooting for you. It really started to get me pumped up and I was really getting into it.

CHRIS DiMARCO: Again, I mean, it was our -- arguably our greatest golf course we play during the year, in our biggest arena that we play in as far as the microscope goes, and I was able to perform in there and I've been able to perform in there. So every year I play there, I take out the fact that, you know what, I'm playing at Augusta and I'm competing to win this championship. I mean, I can't take anything but confidence going out of there. I mean, I grew up watching that tournament. We all grew up watching that tournament. That's one tournament that's a constant; it's at the same place every single year. It's just nice to know that I can compete and I can perform. You know, obviously, we're nervous out there and you can still do it in that arena.

CHRIS DiMARCO: It just shows that I've got guts, and for me that I know that, you know what if I dig deep enough, you know what I can push away the fears. I can push away the bad thoughts and I can just go ahead and play golf and perform, and that's basically what we're looking for. That's what everybody is looking for, is that in your most nervous time that you can perform. I mean, you're not going to do it all the time. There's no way. You know, I can guarantee that you Tiger, he won. But if he wouldn't have won, there would have been some questions asked about some of the shots he hit down the stretch, but he won. I tell you, it would have been almost the opposite for me if I would have missed that putt on 18. All of great press I got would have turned into negative press because I missed a 5-footer to get in a playoff at the Masters. It's amazing how one shot here, one shot there can change the whole outlook on everything. Glad I make it, yeah. I like this press a lot better.

CHRIS DiMARCO: Yeah, that was really a very -- for lack of better word, a stupid comment by, I don't even know who said it -- Watkins said it. He's a player, he should know, in that circumstance, obviously if he does his homework, there's not too many par 5s that if I have a chance I go for, I'll lay up on. That's just not the kind of guy I am. I just felt like I had, it was about a ten percent chance, and in that circumstance, if I hit it in the water, the tournament was over, I just handed it to him. So I felt like I needed to play up and lay up to my strength, which is my wedge game and I ended up making birdie thankfully.

CHRIS DiMARCO: It's pretty cool, to tell you the truth. Obviously, we all strive to be No. 1 in the world, and then when you get into the Top-10, I mean, you think about it, I told my kids that, both of my kids said, "Dad, there's only two other American players in front of you." And I said, "Yeah, that's pretty cool, isn't it." "Yeah, we didn't think you were that good, Dad." So it is, it's pretty special. I can tell you, it just shows a lot of hard work. I'm known as a guy that doesn't like to practice or work out or do anything, but that's far from the truth. When I'm home, I play a bunch. And when I'm out here, I know what it takes for me to play good golf, and me being Vijay Singh is not me, and I'm not going to play good like that. I know what it takes for me to do it. My formula has worked for me. And it is pretty cool, though, to look at the Top-10 in the world and see your name up there.

CHRIS DiMARCO: Well, obviously, as far as confidence-wise and what I take out of it, it was a win for me. I'm still a little disappointed that I didn't bring the green jacket, a lot disappointed that I didn't bring the green jacket home. But as self-confidence, you know, like I said, his chip went in and my chip didn't go in. If that's reversed, it's the other way around. So I can look back and I can truly tell myself that I did everything in my power to win that golf tournament. I just got beat, and that makes me feel less of a loser to say that than if I would have lost by five or six shots.

CHRIS DiMARCO: The one where?

CHRIS DiMARCO: Well, again, this year, at least I was there to the end. I was fighting, I was competing, I was there, I was in the mix. Whereas, last year, basically after 13, 14 holes, I was a spectator and that's no fun, just kind of going through the motions. This year, it is a lot more fun being in the mix.

CHRIS DiMARCO: I think that they really enjoyed my fight and they really enjoyed my emotions. A lot of times we get stuck with the stereotype that we are kind of robots out there, and I think that they can see that I'm not like that. You see me at the Ryder Cup, I'm not like that, I get into it. Some guys like to be real businesslike; it's better for them. I like to show my emotions on the course, it kind of pumps me up. I've always been that way; it shows my competitive side. I think when they see somebody out there showing like they really care a lot about it, I think that I won a lot of people over during the round.

CHRIS DiMARCO: This is the first I heard about it. I didn't even know she was in to tell you the truth. I really have -- as long as she's not taking a spot from somebody that's potentially trying to keep their card, then I don't have a problem with it.

CHRIS DiMARCO: As in monetary means?

CHRIS DiMARCO: Well, I'm sure that my manager has got a few things in the mix.

CHRIS DiMARCO: As far as money? Absolutely. (Laughter).

CHRIS DiMARCO: I don't know if there's any television commercials. But, I mean, you know, if certain financial rewards come from this, you know, absolutely. That's why we play golf is to do that. It's the way I make my living, and if certain things financially get bigger because of it, then that's great for me. I'm sure things are in the mix right now, a few things, but again, we play for so much money out here that if you play good golf, you're going to do just fine.

CHRIS DiMARCO: Can you just repeat that one more time because I didn't even hear you.

CHRIS DiMARCO: Well, this, by far, was his best week as, as mine, too. We've had talks in the past a couple of times where I've said: Pat, listen, I have been in the Top 20 on the Money List for four or five years now, Top 20 in the World Rankings four or five years. You need to step up and be a Top 20 caddie in the world, and you need to be more assertive and put your opinion in more; and you just need to tell me hey, slow down, let's think about it, this isn't a shot. I said, "You know what, we're a team out there and I need your opinion." We did that really well at Masters. We told ourselves going in that we were not going to hit one shot we weren't ready to hit at all, and looking back, I don't think -- I think we accomplished that. I don't think we hit one shot where we shouldn't have. So he was very, very important to me, and he's getting better and he's understanding his role a lot more. And, you know, he's understanding that you know I told him a bunch of times, listen, your job is not in jeopardy and I want you to speak up. A screw-up here or there might save us a tournament here or there, so you need to go ahead and be aggressive and be assertive.

CHRIS DiMARCO: I do like that about him is that he is awful quiet. He knows, you know, the three things of a caddie which are, you know, they have been the way they are: Show up, they keep up and they shut up. As harsh as that sounds, it's the truth. He knows that when I'm 6-, 7-under par, he just needs to keep the ball clean and keep up and that's it. If I'm 2- or 3-over, that's when I need him. That's when I need him to say, hey, it's okay, be patient, let's try to make a birdie and get something out of this round that is not going to kill us. He's doing a lot better job of that. His advice for me on the 18th hole when I had that putt to tie was great. He said, "Chris, you've made this putt a million times. Just go knock it in the hole." And I did.

CHRIS DiMARCO: Yeah, I did. He was blubbering like a little baby. It was good. It was a great wedding. He got a good girl. They are really good for each other.

CHRIS DiMARCO: There's no doubt, I want to win more. It just seems like the last, you know, other than The INTERNATIONAL, which I should have won last year, or could have won, I only had 36 holes left. But still it seems like every time I'm right up there, somebody just seems to be playing a better. This year David Toms plays probably the greatest he's ever played and pretty much drills me at The Match Play. And then, you know, Tiger and I won by seven shots at the Masters, and unfortunately he was in there with me. I played good enough to win over the last couple of years. I think last year at the beginning of Phoenix, I birdied the first six holes on the back side, and Jonathan Kaye matched me and beat me. I've certainly done a lot of things good to give myself chances to win. It's just that somebody always seems to be playing as good or better down the stretch.

CHRIS DiMARCO: I think that is the one I'm going to be taking off unfortunately. I'm going to be playing this counting and then three more, and then a week off and then the next four leading up through Westchester. So right now Memphis is not on. It could change, obviously; if I were to win one of next couple of weeks, I might take a week off I wouldn't have, and obviously things change. But right now Memphis is not on the schedule.

CHRIS DiMARCO: The only thing I was, obviously, I was pretty pumped up that I was still going to go play golf. He was obviously leading the whole day, and I finally caught him on 18. The only thing I was a little disappointed we didn't go to 10 to tell you the truth. I felt like every playoff I've ever watched at Augusta, they have always gone to the 10th hole. I don't know why they tried to change it this year. They told me as we were leaving, I was walking towards the 10 tee and they said, "We are going to 18." I said, "Why are we going to 18? Why don't we go to 10?" "Well, they changed it this year." To me, the 10th hole, it doesn't matter how far you hit the ball there because you just draw it around the corner and both balls go into the same spot. I felt like 10 was more of an advantage to me because we were both going to be hitting from the same spot and I was hitting my irons so good. It didn't matter. I hit my iron, he hit two shots and made birdie. I was a little disappointed we didn't go to 10; that's where it's always been.

CHRIS DiMARCO: They said they just changed it this year. You don't ask too many questions at Augusta. You just say okay and move on.