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BUICK CHAMPIONSHIP

August 28, 2005

Michael Putnam

CROMWELL, CONNECTICUT

TODD BUDNICK: We thank Michael Putnam for stopping in after an unbelievable first professional Tour start here at the 2005 Buick Championship. Finished the tournament at 12 under, currently two strokes behind the clubhouse leader. We're not sure where you're going to finish, but a very impressive start.

MICHAEL PUTNAM: Thank you. It's great to be here this week. It worked out perfectly obviously. You know, I played well all week, enjoyed my time, and I guess I'm going to finish 3rd or 4th or something.

TODD BUDNICK: The Top 10 will get a chance to play next year, as well, and the money earned will give you a good head start to winning that $442,852 which would give you special temporary membership for the rest of the year if you can reach that. So talk a little bit about that.

MICHAEL PUTNAM: Yeah, that wasn't really my goal being in the lead. I wasn't really thinking about Top 125 on the Money List or anything like that, just coming out here trying to play well. If you play well then stuff happens. I played well all week. Today I putted the ball well, and I'm excited to go next week. Hopefully I'll be on the schedule for the rest of the fall.

You know, I'm excited to play professional golf out here on Tour.

Q. Does it help you at all having Jason Gore and Jason Allred in the field, guys you knew from college days?

MICHAEL PUTNAM: Yeah, I met with them on Monday. We played a practice round on Tuesday. It's fun having guys I know out here. It makes it a lot more comfortable, some guys to joke around with and hang out, and they're rooting for me and I'm rooting for them, and we had a lot of fun.

Q. What's the schedule looking like for the rest of this year? Have you received any other sponsor's exemptions?

MICHAEL PUTNAM: Not yet. We just got Boston next week, and after that hopefully the Canadian. It's only about three hours from my house, and I'd love to play in that. We'll take anything we get.

If the tournament director wants me to play, I'll play.

Q. Do you start lobbying for exemptions?

MICHAEL PUTNAM: Not really lobbying, but hopefully they'll come. We're just going to take it week by week, and if they come, they come, and if they don't, then I'll go back to Q school.

Q. Realistically you hope to do what?

MICHAEL PUTNAM: Realistically? You know, I'm just looking to play well. I prepared for the U.S. Amateur, which was the tournament I thought I was coming to, which was like a major or a very important tournament for me, and it carried over to this week. I got a sponsor's invitation on Friday coming out here.

So realistically, I didn't really know what to expect. I'm just trying to play well, and I did it this week and shot 12 under. I guess realistically maybe top 20. I was just trying to get my feet wet, and I jumped in over my head.

Q. And you readjusted after Thursday?

MICHAEL PUTNAM: Well, not really. I was just looking to play well. Obviously Thursday was a great start to my professional career. But I was just looking to play well all week, which I did.

Q. What did you do well this week personally? And secondly, what do you feel like having had such a successful start, what do you need to do better out here to be successful?

MICHAEL PUTNAM: I need to keep my head on my shoulders a little better. You know, my mind wandered a little bit out there on Friday and Saturday, and that's probably why I didn't shoot the numbers that I thought I should have shot. You know, right there a couple strokes, and I win the tournament. You know, I hit the ball really well this week. I think I was up there in greens in regulation and fairways hit.

So that's the strength of my game and I come to expect it. So next week, you know, keep doing what I'm doing, focus a little bit on the thought process when I walk out there on the course, and who knows what happens.

Q. Talk about the crowd out there. They gave you a nice hand on 18. They seemed to get attached to you, or what was it like

MICHAEL PUTNAM: Right, it was great. They actually started on No. 1. Guys were yelling from the crowd, yelling my name or yelling, "Make the putt," or whatever they were yelling. And they were really behind me, especially playing with Darren Clarke, who's one of the most well known players out here. They were behind me just as much as they were behind him. It gave me a chill sometimes, but it was great.

Q. Were you kind of nervous this morning playing for a big check as opposed to other final rounds?

MICHAEL PUTNAM: Not really. I was just coming out to play well, got off to a good start, made a couple birdies, which really calmed my nerves down a little bit, and saw the leaders kind of stalling, and I knew if I just rolled in some putts, I could be right there. I didn't really think about the money until I kind of tapped in my putt on 18, and I realized I didn't really have to sweat over the one footer, and I realized I just made 100 times what's in my bank account right there.

Q. Is that earmarked for any certain purchases or anything like that?

MICHAEL PUTNAM: No, not really. I have a car that I like, I have a place where I'm staying. Probably a good dinner tonight, but that's about it.

Q. What kind of car are you driving?

MICHAEL PUTNAM: I drive an Acura MDX, a 2002, I think.

Q. With as well as you played here this week, are there any regrets knowing if you had played this well in the amateur there are some exemptions attached to that?

MICHAEL PUTNAM: Not at all. I was happy to be here. Once I got the call with the sponsor's invitation, I didn't think twice about it. I was happy to be here and happy to start my professional career here at Hartford, and it was a great week.

Q. Had you ever played this golf course before this week?

MICHAEL PUTNAM: Never seen it. I saw it on Monday for the first time, and it really fit my eye. I felt comfortable out here. The tight holes really looked good to me. The open holes, obviously they're open so they didn't have to look good to me. So it fit my eye and I felt comfortable out here. It's just a good starting point.

TODD BUDNICK: We'll go through your birdies.

MICHAEL PUTNAM: No. 1, I hit a driver and a 9 iron to about five feet, made the putt.

No. 2, hit 2 iron, sand wedge, made about a 20 footer.

No. 8, I hit a 6 iron to the middle of the green and made about a 25 footer.

No. 9, hit 3 iron, wedge to about 12 feet.

No. 12, hit driver, 9 iron to about 15 feet.

14, 3 wood, wedge to ten feet and made it.

15, 3 wood, chipped it over the green and made about a 12 footer.

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you, Michael.

End of FastScripts.

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