WGC ANDERSEN CONSULTING MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

February 23, 2000

Billy Mayfair

BILLY MAYFAIR: Well, after the parents came out last Tuesday, Phil and I looked -- I had just called Phil up and congratulated him on winning in San Diego. And he said, "Let's play a practice round at La Costa together." I said, "I'd love to, but have you seen the pairings?" And he said, "No." I said, "We play together the first round." I said, "We can still play a practice round." And he said, "No, I'll see you Wednesday morning." Phil and Amy are family to Tammy and I. We brought the New Year in together. We share houses together. Our nannies room together with the babies here and everything, and we're very close. It was very difficult to play Phil. And then going extra holes, I think both Phil and I just hoped that one of us wouldn't just give each other the match. I think Phil hit a good putt and thought he had made it on 2, and it either bounced or something. I feel very fortunate and very happy to win.

BILLY MAYFAIR: Yeah, Amy and Tammy both spent the day yesterday with the kids, and they said, "Let's go watch and follow every hole." And they were out there. And obviously when someone wins and someone loses, someone is going to be disappointed. I gave Phil and Amy a hug and vice-versa. And we just go on.

BILLY MAYFAIR: No, Phil's nanny and our nanny are good friends. In fact they're rooming together this week, the nannies are rooming together.

BILLY MAYFAIR: I had a great lie. I was up on the upslope a little bit, and I just was pretty much saying, "If you don't make it, at least get it close enough so you have a tap in and put the pressure back on Phil to make his to win." And I hit a good bunker shot, got a good bounce, and it rolled right in there, and fortunate to win the hole.

BILLY MAYFAIR: Yeah, I had 243 to the front. But it was straight downwind, so I knew I had enough club to get there. I had enough where I knew the water was out of play then, so I tried to hit it in the center of the green, and turned it over just a little bit. I had just a great lie in the bunker, though.

BILLY MAYFAIR: No. The hardest thing was the wind came up was one factor, and it was also warm at one time, and then when the wind came up it got cold. You never felt very comfortable out there. I think I had my sweater on and off two or three different times. I don't think the weather affected us that much; just made it uncomfortable.

BILLY MAYFAIR: I helped recruit Phil when he came to Arizona State. I was in my senior, the year I left he was coming in, and I helped recruit him. And obviously I had heard a lot about him when he was growing up here in San Diego, but the first time I met him when he was on his recruiting trip at ASU.

BILLY MAYFAIR: Yes, and I did things with the team and my first few years when I was on Tour, and he was on the team I would go out and hit balls and practice with the team and that's how we became good friends. When Phil met Amy down in Phoenix. Amy and Tammy, my wife, became good friends. And over the last two or three years, we've been sharing houses and all that, and we've become family now to each other. The Mickelson family and the McBride family, who are Amy's parents, are good friends with our family. We're a real close-knit family, that's for sure.

BILLY MAYFAIR: I think, like I said before, it's like we're playing Sunday every day here. Coming down the last -- I missed the greens on 16, 17, and 18. And I felt like it was last day of a tournament is what it felt like. Because obviously, if you don't win your match, you're gone and the tournament is over with. Even though it's Wednesday and the first day, every match I think has a little bit of feeling of Sunday to it.

BILLY MAYFAIR: Not -- usually I would say so, but not in this situation. I think Phil was probably a little down with himself. He hit a bad chip on 17. He didn't hit a very good second shot into 18. And he didn't put himself real close to make a birdie. And left the door open for me if I got it up-and-down, which I did on 17 and 18. On 1, we both missed the green. He hit a great putt on 1, just missed the edge; and I made about a 3-footer for par there. And on the second hole, I chipped in. I don't think neither one of us played really great, but we both played -- I don't know if we were playing each other, but we stayed close enough to one another where it made it exciting. If someone hit a good shot at the end, that person would win, and that's what happened.

BILLY MAYFAIR: About 6, 7 feet, just a little bit left-to-right. And I know that that back right-hand part that green is funny. It was one of the few parts of the golf course where the ocean does come into affect, and seeing Phil's ball, I think he thought it was going to turn more. I knew my ball wasn't going to turn at all, and I played it in the left edge and hit a good, solid putt, and it went right in the heart.

BILLY MAYFAIR: No, I know that Paul Lawrie won his match, and I was talking to him in the lunchroom. I'm not so much thinking about playing him so much. But obviously I didn't play as well today as I'd like, and I need to work on a few things and get ready for tomorrow. You don't know what the weather is going to be like tomorrow. I'm looking forward to the match. I think it gives me a little confidence in winning a match. I won a lot of match play tournaments, a lot of matches as an amateur and junior, but this is my first professional win. I got beat last year by Jose the first round. And to beat such a great player and a good friend like Phil gives me a lot of confidence, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

BILLY MAYFAIR: Like the amusement park, up-and-down. I won later on in August in the Buick Open and played pretty well. But last year was a roller coaster: Finishing second at the Mercedes Championship. I think that was my highest finish for the rest of the year. And it's up-and-down right now. I worked really hard during the off-season with Jim Flick in Phoenix, I tried to help my game get more consistent day in and day out. If you look at my stats, it shows it right away. I'm 15th in driving last year and 133rd in GIR. So somewhere along the way I'm losing something. We worked real hard in making my golf swing more consistent day in and day out. That's what I'm working towards to get better and better every day.

BILLY MAYFAIR: Match play, I don't know. I guess maybe match play I had the advantage a little more like Tiger does out here a little bit, I was at that time the best amateur player. If someone had to play me, I could intimidate them a little bit more, maybe. And obviously I feel the strongest part about my game, why I was so good in match play, because I hit fairways and hit greens and made pars and maybe a few birdies. Whereas the amateurs, back then, they missed greens, made a lot more bogeys, which these guys don't do out here. If you're going to win a hole, you need to make a birdie if you're going to win a hole. It's changed from the Amateur days to the professional now. Match play and match play, every hole is a match.

BILLY MAYFAIR: Yep.