BUICK CLASSIC

June 6, 2002

Loren Roberts

TODD BUDNICK: We have Loren Roberts at a 7-under 64. You started on the back side with a bogey on No. 11.

LOREN ROBERTS: Yeah, I bogeyed 11.

Made 2-putt today for bogey today with that pin placement. Made a good birdie from about six feet at 13 -- no, 14, the par 3.

Then made a really good putt from about 18 feet for birdie at 15.

Then kind of made bogey at 16 just from the right fringe there.

But probably the hole, the big factor of the day was at 17 when I drove it in the right rough and blew it over the green, impossible shot, and knocked it in for birdie instead of making 5. That kind of started the whole day for me right there, because I knocked it up the front bunker on 18 and made a birdie from about four feet.

Then hit a 4-iron almost in the hole at 1 and made birdie from about eight feet behind the hole there.

So a stretch looking like I could have maybe shot even or 1-over, and I go through that stretch 3-under par. So that was kind of the whole key there was that chip-in at 17.

Then I made it from about seven feet at 3.

Made it from about 15 feet behind the hole at No. 4.

Then believe it or not, I knocked it on the green in two on 5. Then 2-putted for birdie from the back part of the green there.

Then made it from the left fringe from about 20 feet at 7.

TODD BUDNICK: Great start to the tournament. Really happy about getting out of the rain.

LOREN ROBERTS: Yeah, very happy. I'm hoping everybody is going to finish today. It doesn't look too good for this evening.

TODD BUDNICK: Did it change the course at all?

LOREN ROBERTS: It didn't really rain enough, but obviously the course will really be changed tomorrow. So I would like to see everybody at least get a chance to finish today. I hate to see it get a lot softer for guys to finish in the morning.

Q. Was the course playing as easy to give up?

LOREN ROBERTS: I don't think so. I just happened to have a great day with the putter. I had an impossible chip-in and made a couple of long putts. I hit a couple of really good iron shots at the right time from tough pins, and I just kind of got on a roll today and hit it on the right spots. Tomorrow, you can't tell what will happen.

Like I said, on 17, I just kind of got up and started swinging at it the rest of the way around and didn't worry too much about it. Loosened me up a little bit, went at the flags and the shots turned out good.

Q. Shooting 64 on this course any time is a good score.

LOREN ROBERTS: Yeah, I love this golf course. Especially since they have come in and redone the bunkers and made this golf course a lot tougher. A couple of shots are tougher, just because it's really tough to get the ball up-and-down from the short-side now.

Quite honestly, I don't think we play enough golf courses like this anymore, old and classic. There are probably holes out here that guys would complain about if they were designed now. I like the nuances of this course. It's pleasing to the eye and it has some quirkiness. It's up and down and around. I think it's just a great test of golf.

Q. You are one of the many players who talks about how much they love this golf course and wish you played more courses like this. As a veteran, is there anything that you guys can do as players to play more like this, or is that out of your hands?

LOREN ROBERTS: That's out of our control. You know, money talks. We go where the money is.

It's a shame that we have lost some courses like this over the years.

What I like about this particular golf course and this style of course is that every player in the field has a chance. It's just not stand up there and rip at every hole. You've got a great mix of long holes, a great mix of short holes, and you have to hit every shot in the bag; you know, low shots, high shots, bump-and-runs, you have to hit them all. I don't see too many golf courses being built like this anymore.

Q. What did you hit from the green on 17?

LOREN ROBERTS: I was right of the right fairway bunker in the trees. I had to hit a cut out of the rough and just hit a flyer over the green. I got blessed with a good lie down there. That's what happened. I hit it so far over the green, but I had a great lie.

TODD BUDNICK: Just a wedge.

LOREN ROBERTS: Yeah, a little sand wedge, flip.

Q. How far was the chip?

LOREN ROBERTS: It was probably about 12 yards over the green. I had a little bit of an uphill lie on the shelf and the pin was I think six yards on the green over the back edge.

Q. How different is this course compared to Bethpage Black where I know you played last year?

LOREN ROBERTS: It's similar in the style of the bunkering. But Bethpage, obviously, is a much bigger golf course.

Q. I know you missed qualifying for the Open, so coming to this golf tournament, is it a bit of an advantage, like a lot of guys are thinking ahead, but obviously your mind is on winning the golf tournament.

LOREN ROBERTS: Well, obviously it is now. There's been two opens in the last ten years that I really wanted to play in, and that was Pebble Beach and had one. I'm sorry I'm not going to be in. But I've just got to redefine my schedule for the year. I'm here, so I'm going to try to win the golf tournament here.

Q. You have a pretty good track record, I think you have five Top-10s. Is it something besides the golf course that you usually play well here?

LOREN ROBERTS: I like golf course. And because I like the golf course, I have a good attitude about it. I think if you asked every player on TOUR why they play good at some place, it's because they have a good attitude about the golf course and that's one reason I play good here, is I really like the course.

Q. Obviously you wanted to play next week. What will you do next week? Will you go home or stay in the area?

LOREN ROBERTS: No, I'm going to go home. I'm probably not going to play Hartford. I'm going to go home next week and be at home for a couple of weeks.

Q. How has your year been to this point?

LOREN ROBERTS: Well, I've had good stretches. I played good on the West Coast in stretches. I played good in Texas for a week or two. But I've had weeks where I have not played good. I have not been satisfied with the way I've been striking the golf ball. I hit some good shots today, but I also hit a couple of poor ones that I just happened to recover from.

I'm just -- it's getting a little tougher for me physically to do some of the things that I need to do to be competitive on some of the longer golf courses out here.

I've never been that long of a hitter and I'm having to continually work on my flexibility and things like that to really stay, being able to play with these 20-something guys. I'm going to be 47 this month. I enjoy just being out here and taking a shot at it.

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you, Loren.

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