GREATER GREENSBORO CHRYSLER CLASSIC

April 25, 2002

Lee Porter

JOEL SCHUCHMAN: I would like to welcome Lee Porter to the media center. A resident of Greensboro too. Shot a 67 today. Get us started with some opening comments.

LEE PORTER: I'm glad it's over. I haven't played that great in opening rounds in years past. I knew I was playing well coming into the event, and I got into Hilton Head as an alternate last week and something clicked as the week went on, so I was kind of anxious to get out there and get going, and pretty happy with 67.

Q. What was the key in your round today?

LEE PORTER: Probably the first two-hole address. I made about an eight footer on the 1st hole for par, and 15, 18 footer on the second for birdie and from that point really putted well.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: If we could go over your score card real quick, you talked about two, you had a birdie, what clubs did you hit on No. 2?

LEE PORTER: Sand wedge in from 101 to the hole, and like I said it was 15 or 18 feet, and knocked that one right in the center.

Birdied 6, another sand wedge almost the same yardage, I think I had 98 there. Hit past the pin and spun back about 5 feet and knocked that one in.

8 I hit a 3 iron about 6 feet. 9 I hit driver and 3 wood just off the front fringe and chipped it probably about 6 feet.

Birdied 12. I hit a 7 iron and landed just short of the green, almost went in the hole, stopped a couple of inches past the cup.

13 was -- I didn't really hit hardly any bad shots on that hole. One of them looked really bad, I was on the downslope on the second shot and just caught a 3 wood by one line thin and it skipped off the water, and went to check up there and hit an L wedge from 78 yards and I didn't see where it handed, but I thought it was good when I hit it. It ended up over the green. The chip shot came out a little fast and I missed about a 5-footer for par there. That was a little disappointing. The only bogey of the day so I can't be too upset with that one.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: You came back with a birdie on 18 to finish up.

LEE PORTER: I hit a 6-iron from 171 on 18, probably about 20 feet to the left pin high. I knew from experience the putt didn't break a whole lot and got to the hole and fell in.

Q. (Inaudible)?

LEE PORTER: At least I can say I've done it, which is not something I've done in the past on this particular golf course. It's nice I've had a lot of family, my mom and dad and friends out there, that's nice.

Q. Did it take the pressure off you today?

LEE PORTER: A little bit, but there's always pressure to play well at home.

Q. Is it something you're getting used to now?

LEE PORTER: Playing at home?

Q. Yes.

LEE PORTER: It is, but it's never easy. It's been a crazy week so far. We've had friends over Monday and Tuesday night and I don't think I got to bed before 11:30 either night. I was able to get to sleep relatively early last night. There are a lot of things going on. You want to make sure your friends and family are taken care of. It's fun for them too. So that just adds a little bit of a hectic pace to the week, but it's great playing at home.

Q. What are the course conditions like this year compared to last year?

LEE PORTER: Almost identical with the exception of the length of the rough.

Q. It was tough last year?

LEE PORTER: The rough was down last year, which made it harder to stop the ball. You could hit a shot out of it last year, but you still couldn't stop the ball around the greens. This year it's much harder to hit it out of the rough, but at least you still have a chance to try to hit a shot as opposed to some years when it's been so thick and all you can do is hit it back in the fairway. The golf course is absolutely perfect and consequently you're going to see some good scores this week.

Q. Changes in No. 2 and No. 10?

LEE PORTER: No. 10, we played from the original tee box. I'm guessing because it didn't look like the tee box had grown in well enough to play in the tournament. No. 2 is definitely a harder hole now. With firm fairways the way they are, it used to be pretty much everybody in the field that hit it in the fairway on that hole could get there in 2. You really have to hit two good ones to get there now.

Q. You mentioned that putt at 18. How many times do you think you've had that putt?

LEE PORTER: Not a lot.

Q. Really?

LEE PORTER: More of what I know about the break is just from practice. It seems I've been in the rough and bunker and other places around that hole. I've had it probably a couple of times and it definitely doesn't break as much as it looks.

End of FastScripts....