BOB HOPE CHRYSLER CLASSIC

January 19, 2002

Kirk Triplett

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you for joining us. Another good round today of 67. A couple of comments on the conditions over there and how you played and then we'll ask some questions from in here in the media center.

KIRK TRIPLETT: Okay. Well, moving over to Indian Wells, the conditions are a little different over here, the greens seem to be a little firmer. It's kind of overcast, the ball wasn't rolling quite as far. I think it took some time to adjust this morning, and you really had to allow for a skip on your iron shots into the green, so that took a few holes to kind of get going.

But the greens are absolutely perfect, and they roll right where you hit them every time, and I ran a lot of them right today.

Q. You're going to be very close to the lead it looks like. I wonder how close do you have to be to be able to contend tomorrow? What's the range there? Is five shots about right or could be more than that?

KIRK TRIPLETT: Well, I still think it's just probably going to be right around 30 or 31, 32, something like that, unless somebody goes crazy, and gets 27 or 28. I look in not how close you are, but how close you are to that number.

I'm still really a good round away from winning this golf tournament, no matter where anybody else is.

Q. You said you thought 30 was going to be the number, so at 24 it seems like you must feel pretty good?

KIRK TRIPLETT: I know there's a legitimate chance. Shooting 66 at PGA West -- PGA West will play tougher tomorrow than it did during the first four days of the rotation, because they'll put the pins in a little bit tougher spot. So the scoring won't be quite as good, I don't think, for the entire field as it was for the first part.

But certainly very possible to shoot that type of number, 66, 65, somewhere in there. David Duval a couple of years ago shot 59. So it can definitely be done.

Q. Along the same lines, is there a 62 or 61 out there tomorrow, do you think?

KIRK TRIPLETT: I didn't think there was a 59 out there the day he did it, so I don't know how to really say that. I think, you know, guys can shoot those kind of numbers, but you always seem to be surprised when they do. And it's usually not the guy that's in the lead that shoots that number, it's a guy that's a few back and he gets on a roll.

So if you're looking at somebody shooting 8-, 9 -, 10 -, 11-under tomorrow, chances are it's going to be somebody who's at 20-under right now. So that's why I really think it's right around 30-under is going to be the champion again.

Q. Jay Haas is supposed to be getting ready for the Senior Tour, but he is playing so well. Do you have any explanation for that?

KIRK TRIPLETT: Well, he's got a lot of experience. I think that goes a long way in this format and this tournament, and the guy's been a good player for a long time, and I don't know.

We've had the same exact tee times every day, so we've been visiting in the locker room before we played, and he just looks very comfortable. And he's not too worried about what's going on. He's just going out and shooting these good scores and doing it again the next day. So maybe he does have a little renewed interest knowing he's going to be out in a year or two's time.

Q. What kind of mindset does it take to be successful in this format? Do you need to maybe be a little more patient because you're playing with the amateurs?

KIRK TRIPLETT: Well, you always need that, whether you're playing with amateurs or not. But I think the biggest thing here is you make your birdies in bunches. And if you have nine holes where you shoot even par or 1-over or 1-under, you let that get to you and say, "Now I've got to shoot 6-under." If you let it eat at you, you're not going to be able to come back and just kind of let the birdies happen.

So you've got to roll in a few putts, you've got to know that you've got a chance to make your putts and then you've got to wait for it to happen. Some years it does and some years it doesn't.

Q. Can you relax a little bit more or does your mindset change more tomorrow because you don't have the amateurs or is it just the same?

KIRK TRIPLETT: I think it's actually the other way around. The amateurs are a little bit looser out there, when it's one pro and three amateurs. Most of these guys have played in this tournament a long time. They know how to have a good time and stay out of the pro's way.

I was in the middle of a nice skin's game, they were playing against each other and doubling back and forth, and it was fun to watch. And it didn't bother me a bit, because they were having a good time and I was making a few birdies, and it was very enjoyable day.

When you play with two or three other pros, it gets back to the other business, so you do have to shift there.

Q. Being that you played so well here at PGA West yesterday and knowing that they're going to tuck the pins quite a bit differently tomorrow, what's one thing that you can take out of that round yesterday into the final round?

KIRK TRIPLETT: Just the fact that you've got holes out there where you've got water and you really have to commit to getting a good shot and not playing away from the trouble, and continue to play aggressive along the canals and the lakes. To get the birdies, you've got to take the risk.

And I think I did a pretty good job of that yesterday when I played there. I don't feel like I hit the ball that well when I played there yesterday, but I did do a good job of managing my game and not playing away from the trouble. Sometimes you get burned, but the biggest thing is if you make a mistake and hit it in the water or something happens, you have to get right back to it and keep playing aggressively.

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Go through your birdies and bogeys real quick.

KIRK TRIPLETT: I started on 10. I had a bogey, I hit the front left bunker and missed about an eight-foot putt.

I birdied 14, the par-5, I hit a 5-wood into the front bunker and pitched it out about a foot.

16, I hit a 9-iron about ten feet behind the hole, made the putt.

18, I hit a driver and a 3-iron into the green-side bunker and then made about a 12-, 15-footer for birdie there.

3, I hit a sand wedge about three feet.

Then 5, I had a bogey. I lost a ball in the palm tree, just to the right of the green with my second shot. And I hit a 3-wood ,and it hit the palm tree just short of the green there and stayed up. I hit another 3-wood onto the green and 3-putted.

I birdied the next hole, par-3. I hit a 9-iron about ten feet.

And the next hole I hit a sand wedge about six feet and made birdie.

And then on No. 9, I hit a pitching wedge in there and made that.

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: How long was that last putt, there?

KIRK TRIPLETT: 20 feet.

Q. Just wanted to ask you about your birdie following when you hit the ball in the palm tree. That was a good sign for you to come back with something good to happen after having a bad break like that?

KIRK TRIPLETT: Oh, yeah, very important to -- not even so much the birdie, but finishing out No. 5. I was in a good position in the middle of the fairway at 230 yards to the front of the green, and I was just trying to cozy a 3-wood up the gap, even land it on the green. And I hit it a little bit light, not horrible, but it would just be pin-high.

But there's one palm tree over there that's got about a hundred golf balls in it. It's got one of mine from about 5 or 6 years ago. The minute I hit it, I thought oh, no, that palm tree is over there, and it gobbled it up. But I hit my next one on the green and then 2-putt. I felt, "Okay, I just lost one, I've got to keep going." And I had a nice hole, the par-3, with a 9-iron, made good clean contact. Hit a really nice, aggressive putt, and then I felt pretty good after that.

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, for joining us, and good luck tomorrow.

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