CHRYSLER CLASSIC OF GREENSBORO

October 17, 2003

Dicky Pride

TODD BUDNICK: Thanks for stopping by. 2-under 70 today, not really exciting, three birdies and just a bogey, and you hung in there. You're in the hunt for the weekend.

DICKY PRIDE: I played well. It wasn't as exciting as yesterday. I played very well, solid, 1-over on the back side, and one bogey. Made a bad swing on 16, which is a tough hole anyway, and stayed very patient and really didn't hit the ball great, but kept plugging away and got myself a few birdie putts.

Q. Important couple of last few weeks, 130 on the money list?

DICKY PRIDE: Yes, it is.

Q. You have to be happy with your stance after 36 holes.

DICKY PRIDE: I'm very excited. I have to say a lot for the tournament, Mark Brazil, the tournament director, called me Monday, I think about 11:30 here. I was in Vegas, and they got one of their sponsor exemptions back and gave it to me. It's a twisted thing how that works, but long story short, they gave me a chance to play, and I'm appreciative to them for giving me the chance. This goes above and beyond, I really needed the help and they stepped forward and helped.

TODD BUDNICK: It looked like you were well on your way to being in the top 125, but struggled since the beginning of September.

DICKY PRIDE: Yes.

TODD BUDNICK: It looked like you struggled with your game a little bit.

DICKY PRIDE: A couple of times, I just didn't play as well as I'd like. I definitely got a little fatigued. I went home Monday, which was October 13th. I flew up here Tuesday night, but I didn't play a practice round. I knew the course, but hadn't played the new course. I walked it Wednesday. Monday I got home, it was October 13th. When I got there, I realized -- I left home on August 16th, which was the Saturday before Reno, to go to Vegas for the qualifier to get in the Vegas tournament, which I did qualify for. I've been on the road a good bit. I got a good about 18 hours at home and then I took off and came up here, but that's okay. That's kind of the life we live out here. You have got to Love it.

Q. Any of that fatigue due to the illness last year?

DICKY PRIDE: No, I'm doing well. The only problem with my illness, I was fed through a tube for three months, so I really don't care what I eat now and I'm definitely overweight, but I could just care less. I don't think my wife really likes that, but that's okay, too.

Q. Jacobsen said the pins were tougher today. Did you find that?

DICKY PRIDE: The golf course is definitely more difficult today. The wind, I thought, was blowing harder this morning than it was yesterday. It was colder so the ball wasn't going as far, and they definitely tucked the pins away in a few places.

Q. Did you get hesitant on the first tee, seeing a course for the first time? Any comments on that?

DICKY PRIDE: I had a pretty good idea what was going on. I new the basic layout. I needed to see the course. I needed to walk the course and see a few guys play. Fortunately, I've been out here long enough, I know the people, so I've been able to watch a few people's shots and see how the green received them and see how they putted the ball, because I kind of know them and they know me kind of thing, so I was able to gauge that pretty well.

Q. Do you think the rules officials were getting worried about the pin placements after day one and made them tougher today?

DICKY PRIDE: I have no idea what the reason was. It was definitely more difficult today. I thought the cool weather affected it a lot. It was definitely more windy today. There was some wind yesterday, but it was whipping this morning. I teed off at 8:47 and it was ripping.

Q. So you hadn't been home since August?

DICKY PRIDE: No, a few months. Fortunately my family came and traveled with me a good bit of that time. And last week in Vegas was a lot of fun. My daughter had her birthday, and my wife and son's birthday were the week before that. They've been on the road with me. That's kind of the way we like it. If you choose this lifestyle, you have to be ready to travel. It would have been great to get home for a few days here and there, but that wasn't the position I was in.

My status, I'm not fully exempt status. I missed second stage of Q-School last year, and I'm sure they have got a whole big thing last year about how I was sick and almost died. The product of that is I'm not fully exempt. Fortunately this year I've had a couple of tournaments especially right now this one, that have given me an opportunity to play. I've been fortunate. I think this is my 20th event. I've qualified for three of them, but still that's a lot for my status. It's a lot of opportunities.

Q. The way it works, a Top-10 finish this week and you'll play next week?

DICKY PRIDE: If I make Top-10 this week, I'll be playing Disney next week.

Q. What happened last year?

DICKY PRIDE: I'll give you the cliff notes. I had a gallstone pass that got caught in my pancreas duct that caused pancreatitis, so I had gallstones pancreatitis. I was in the hospital for a month, fed through a tube for three months, I had a 50/50 shot for survival. I had an outstanding doctor, Michael Cohen, a good friend of mine, take care of me. I have a huge scar, I had my gallbladder removed in emergency surgery and then I had the pancreatitis subside. Long story short, I almost died, was in the hospital for a month and fed for a tube for three months.

At the time I went in the hospital, my son was 5 months old. I'm definitely more easy going.

Q. When did that illness start?

DICKY PRIDE: March 12 was the night I went in the hospital, last year. It was at Bay Hill. I was actually lucky, I was getting ready for the Bay Hill Invitational, which I live in Orlando, so fortunately I went to the emergency room and was able to see Michael Cohen. He saved my life. I think he did an outstanding job. I'm kind of repeating myself.

Q. What was your status last year?

DICKY PRIDE: Last year I was actually the same status. I missed at finals the year before and I was actually going to play the Nationwide last year. I was going to play the Nationwide this year, but I kept playing well enough to warrant staying out here.

This is how sick I am. I flew to Hawaii by myself to go to the Monday qualifier and made it. I shoot 66 and get in the playoff and get in the tournament. That was the one Michelle Wie won. And Michelle Wie, at nine holes, was beating me. It was not looking good for a while, but I brought it home on the back side. She was two groups behind me. I'm glad I didn't play with her, because she would have hit it by me a few thousand times. I played well there and at AT&T. Every opportunity I got, I kept playing well and it warranted staying out here.

The Nationwide Tour, I've played six events out there and I got a lot out of those six events. I learned a lot about my game and I improved. It's a great place to improve your game, but I kept playing well enough to say, okay, you know, you made enough money, you need to keep staying out here. It's been nice. I've had a lot of ups and down, but more ups than downs.

Q. What would it mean for you to secure the card?

DICKY PRIDE: It would be nice to have an off season, you know. I haven't had an off season since '99, with the exception of when I was in the hospital. And that's one of the things I learned in the hospital, you have to get away. When I came back last year, I was 20 pounds lighter than I am now. And I was playing at the Tour level and what happened was, I could play -- when I first got out, I played two good rounds, I made the cut and then my body gave. I was 183 coming out, I weigh more than that now. I weigh around 200.

I improved my game and a lot of it was because I had some time off. I had a hip problem for a long time, and I had enough time away from the game that my hip improved. So I would really love to have an off season. It would be nice to tell my family and my wife's family, okay, we're going to do this for Christmas, we're going to do this for Thanksgiving, we don't have to go to Q-School, we can make some plans for November and December. It would be nice.

Q. How much do you weigh now?

DICKY PRIDE: 205 pounds. The majority of it is around my waist. That's okay, too.

TODD BUDNICK: You said you had a bad swing on 16. Was that off the tee?

DICKY PRIDE: No, I've been driving the ball particularly well. I switched drivers from one I've played over a year and I've played well since then.

16 was 208 and I hit it so far right it was a joke. Great chip, I can't believe it stopped short, and just missed the putt.

After that I made a bunch of pars.

And then No. 5, I hit a driver out there, had 81 yards, and I hit an L-wedge about 50 feet to six, seven feet and made it.

9, I hit a really good drive and a 3-wood, I don't know how it stopped, but it was right on top of the mound just short of the pin, hit a really good chip to about four feet. I didn't know how I was going to stop it when I hit it. I hit it closer than I thought I could and made the putt.

Q. Is that a typical stretch you've been playing?

DICKY PRIDE: Close, I'm not sure. It's kind of one of those situations, I kept getting opportunities to play and when you get the opportunity, you go. Theoretically, I should have probably taken a week off in the middle there to get ready.

Q. How long is the scar? How many inches is the scar?

DICKY PRIDE: About this long.

Q. A foot?

DICKY PRIDE: Six inches, ten inches.

End of FastScripts.