DORAL-RYDER OPEN

March 8, 1998

Billy Mayfair

BILLY MAYFAIR: Played real good today. I played really well on the backside. I was very happy to have a chance to try to win, after making bogeys on 6 and 7. I made the turn, I birdied 9, and looked at the board and saw Michael was at 10-under, and I was at 6. I knew I had to go out and make some birdies on the backside, and all of a sudden the ball started rolling in the hole, and gave myself a great chance to win. Unfortunately I got a little too aggressive on 17. I had that putt up the hill earlier in the week, that was kind of in the back of my mind. I actually hit a pretty good putt. And the second putt broke a lot more than the first putt did, and missed it on the side. I was disappointed, but you give yourself a good chance on 18 to make birdie. And I thought 10 would be a playoff, at the worst. And I hit a real good driver, and 167 to the hole and just didn't allow for enough wind there on my second shot, kind of hit the edge of the green and rolled over in the long stuff. Now I'm hoping to get it up-and-down and hopefully something -- hit a great chip a couple of feet from the hole and made that for par. Michael played great all day and deserved to win, and made a great par on 18 to win.

BILLY MAYFAIR: Well, I think everybody out here dreams about when you get hot that you have chances to win, and to win last week and then come back this week and almost win again is obviously a great thrill. And to come back after being four or five shots down, during the middle of the round and come back and give myself a chance to win makes me feel good. And I'm not going to play next week at Honda, I'm not going to do very much changing with my golf swing or putting before Bay Hill, that's for sure.

BILLY MAYFAIR: Actually I thought -- I don't know what everyone has been saying so far -- I didn't think it blew today as hard as yesterday. The wind blew in a little bit different direction. It wasn't quite into us on 17 and 18, it was more right to left, and all that. But I thought yesterday the wind blew a lot harder. I know they didn't mow the greens as low as yesterday, and watered them a little bit, so the balls wouldn't roll off the greens. But to me the weather wasn't as hard today as it was yesterday.

BILLY MAYFAIR: Birdied No. 4, 3-iron in from about 210, about 20 feet above the hole and made that for birdie. Then I bogeyed 6 and 7. Hooked my drive off 6 in the left rough, and hit it in the bunker and it buried. I don't know how it happens, when you hit it off the rough and it burst in the bunker. Made bogey there. Drove it just in the right rough off of 7, and had like 110 yards, just caught a little bit of flier and went over the green, and chipped it back about 15 feet and missed that for bogey. On 9, I hit a 5-iron from about 177 yards, the ball just landed right behind the hole and went about 6 feet beyond, and made that coming back. On 10 -- 10 was a strange hole. I've never hit it before in 2, I don't think, before this week. And today off 10 I hit 2-iron, 3-iron. I just hit it on the back edge of the green, and kind of in a little bit of the long grass, and knocked it probably about 10 feet by, and made that coming back. On 11 I hit a 4-iron off the tee and 6-iron into the green from about 170. The pin was in the back, right-hand corner, I was off the green in the fringe, and uphill putt about 20 feet and made that. Then on 12, although I didn't birdie, I hit two good drivers, in the front bunker, I hit it about 5 feet from the hole, I watched Mike's putting right, right away, and my putt stayed straight on the left edge, and didn't go in. I was disappointed not to birdie that hole. In two shots you're in the front bunker, there, 10, 15 yards from the hole, you expect to get up-and-down. Then I came back on 14, hit a good 4-iron in from about 200 yards, about 20 feet and rolled that in. Then on 15 I hit a 5-iron from 177, wind was a little left-to-right, and hit it in about 15 feet and made that. And I think I talked about my bogey on 17. Made a great up-and-down on 18.

BILLY MAYFAIR: Well, obviously with -- I knew if I could make some birdies to start the backside and maybe play good coming in, with the wind in our face on 16, 17 and 18 I'd have a good chance, yeah. But I knew I had to get going. And I think maybe I played a little too cautious in the front side and more free wheeled on the back and made more birdies.

BILLY MAYFAIR: That putt on 12 is probably the one -- I came right back and birdied the next hole, which really isn't a birdie hole, I don't think, and made birdie there. Like I said, I'm real happy about the way I played the backside this afternoon.

BILLY MAYFAIR: This is my 10th year here at Doral, I knew what the greens were going to be like when I got here. It's probably the hardest and firmest I've seen the greens here in a long time. But I kind of knew what to expect when I got here. It was just a matter of getting some of the speed down on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then as the week went along they got faster and faster. They were a little slower today, I think, yesterday they were really fast. But the adjustment part -- being here -- coming back every year, I knew what kind of to expect.