BOB HOPE CHRYSLER CLASSIC

January 23, 2004

Kenny Perry

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Great round today.

KENNY PERRY: Thank you.

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you for spending a few minutes here with us. Why don't we just begin with a couple of comments from you on your round today and then we'll go into a couple of questions.

KENNY PERRY: It was just a so-so round. I shot 3-under on the front nine and had a lot of good chances on the back nine, just didn't make anything. It was a pretty smooth 69. I hit a few drives to the right, but all in all, I hit it a lot better but just didn't putt as well.

Q. All pars on the back nine, does that work on you in this golf tournament? Do you start thinking you have to make some birdies?

KENNY PERRY: Well, you know coming in you have to make a lot of birdies. That's just the way it goes. I missed about a 4-footer on the last hole and I missed a couple short ones on that back nine. I had my chances. I just didn't make anything on the back nine. I hit all the greens and 2-putted every one of them. It just wasn't meant to be. It seemed like these greens were a little grainier than the rest of them and I was struggling a little bit with the lines of the putts.

Q. Do you feel that you shot yourself in the foot and maybe knocked yourself out of the tournament, considering the fact that these guys are moving ahead and have already played La Quinta?

KENNY PERRY: Probably so, yeah. I'm going to have to go out there and shoot probably four or five, 6-under tomorrow, on probably the hardest golf course, which can be done. It's doable. So we'll see. Just try to get in position, stay within three or four of them and shoot a good one on Sunday to try to catch them.

Q. When you struggle like you did on the back nine, and especially missing the 4-, 5-foot putt, how do you put that out of your mind for tomorrow and get going for tomorrow?

KENNY PERRY: Hopefully you can get some momentum built up somehow. I didn't have any momentum today. It was a slow round of golf. You had a lot of waiting between every shot. It seemed like the other rounds, it was more in rhythm, more in flow, hitting and going. Today I was standing next to Stephen Leaney, I was standing beside him on every tee box and he was in the group ahead of me. It got me out of my rhythm, out of my routine. I just got stiff. I just never really got into rhythm, in the flow of it out there.

Q. If there were a NASCAR race, did they pass you a couple of times?

KENNY PERRY: No, I think I blew a left front tire. I didn't get passed. I wiped out. (Laughter.)

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Kenny for joining us, and we'll talk to you on the weekend.

End of FastScripts.