CANON GREATER HARTFORD OPEN

July 4, 1998

Willie Wood

WILLIE WOOD: I birdied number two, hit a sand wedge in there about three feet from the heel. I birdied number three from about hit a six iron about 15 feet, and then I birdied number nine. One of the few holes I played poorly. I skirted off ten, hit a five iron in, usually a wedge or nine iron, turned into three under.

WILLIE WOOD: Putt there was about ten feet. Then I birdied 12, made a long putt, made about a 35, 40 footer on 12, birdied 13 from 12 feet and then 15. I hit the driver up out of the green, chipped it about a foot from the hole, made birdie. That was it, I had six birdies, no bogies. It wasn't spectacular, but it was pretty much error-free, except for the sky on nine, when I got away with it.

WILLIE WOOD: The course played pretty easy. The wind wasn't blowing for the first nine anyway. And then it blew for about maybe 30 or 40 minutes, and now it's not blowing again. So, I would assume there's going to be a lot of birdies this afternoon. I won't be leading at the end of the day, but I'll have a -- I'll be in pretty good position after the day's over. There will be some -- there will be some real low scores today. I don't know where the leader are right now, about 10 or 11.

WILLIE WOOD: I mean, 11th hole they've got --

WILLIE WOOD: They've got nine holes to go. There will be a lot of birdies made on the back nine, if the wind doesn't start blowing again.

WILLIE WOOD: I was more than ready for a week like this. I've been playing this year pretty so-so, making putts. I mean, making cuts, but not real good checks. The only good tournament I really had was the Masters. I finished 21 at the Masters, which got me back next year. But most of the year has been pretty melodramatic.

WILLIE WOOD: Nothing I could really pinpoint, I'm driving it okay. Doing everything just so-so. Nothing I can, you know, not doing anything bad, not doing anything good, and I actually started hitting it better at the Kemper Open about a month ago, made a decent check there. I missed the cut at the open, missing only three fairways, which is usually pretty key at a U.S. Open, but, you know, hopefully it's -- I've turned the corner this year. It's pretty much the way I played last year. I finished 121 on the money list, made a bunch of middle-of-the-road checks. It's not fun playing like this, but you just never know when you're going to get on a streak.

WILLIE WOOD: No, I'm thinking about tomorrow. I know that I'm going to have a position. I'm going to be in position. I'm going to have a chance when the day starts. I know I got to go low though. We've got some bad weather coming in. If it rains tonight, the course will really play soft and it could be a birdie feast tomorrow.

WILLIE WOOD: We've known each other a real long time. He's older than I. We didn't go to school together. We both went to Oklahoma State. There's eight of us that leave at Oak Tree and play the TOUR. So we all spend a lot of time together. He and I -- he didn't play a lot of golf when he's home and I do. So -- but we do see each other, you know, for dinners and other things like that. We don't play a lot of golf together.

WILLIE WOOD: Yes, yes we do.

WILLIE WOOD: Bob Tway is there. Verplank, Mark Hayes, Gill Morgan, myself, and doing and Brian Watts, Brian Watts played the Japanese Tour.

WILLIE WOOD: He might not for long. Oh, I know I got that. I'm with you there. You know he just won a tournament two weeks ago. The rain shortened him. I think he'll be over here before long.

WILLIE WOOD: Seven? How about Andy Dillard? We can still count on Andy?

WILLIE WOOD: Yes, yes. He is.