THE HONDA CLASSIC

March 11, 1999

Doug Barron

DOUG BARRON: Man, you're asking a lot. Let's see, I drove it in the fairway bunker on 1 -- I drove it in the bunker on 1 and hit I think -- oh, hit a 7-iron and hit it about 15 feet, made that put. Where did I birdie again?

DOUG BARRON: Sure, whatever you want. 4, I hit a bad drive and I had to chip out with a 7-iron out of the rough and I knocked the 3-wood on and made about a 20-footer there, so that was kind of like stealing a shot. 7, what did we hit in there, Scotty? I can't remember all these holes, they all look alike.

DOUG BARRON: Yeah, we hit a sand wedge and the green was kind of firm. I think we made like a 30-footer there. Bogeyed 12. I hit two good shots, it came up, I hit a nice drive and I hit a 3-iron in and it came up just short and I chipped it about five feet. I just missed it. I hit a decent putt. And then the next hole I hit a 9-iron in about three feet and made that and the par 5, 14, I knocked it just over the green in two. I got -- I hit a really big drive out there, about 310. It was straight downwind and knocked it over and got it down from just over the green. 17, I made about a 30-footer there, I believe, I hit a nice drive and a nice 5-iron, the pin was kind of left and I favored the center part of the green, hit perfect speed, it went right in the center. And 18, I hit it right down the middle. I think I hit an 8-iron from like 165 and made about a 25-footer there straight up the hill, so the greens were all really nice today. That was about it.

DOUG BARRON: Yeah, I left a few out there, but I made a lot of 20, 30-footers out there also. You feel like you could make it a lot when you're putting well. My playing partner kept calling me one-putt, I kept making them.

DOUG BARRON: The greens are really nice. I didn't play here last year, but two years ago I played here and they were perfect then. I think that's when the course just opened, I believe, they're still really nice, nice and firm and fast.

DOUG BARRON: Oh, Rick Fehr.

DOUG BARRON: I think any time you can tee it up for a couple of million dollars you're supposed to get excited. The way I tell people, I mean every week they give me a tee time on the PGA TOUR I'm excited. I don't care what course we play.

DOUG BARRON: Oh, man, I'll tell you what hole did it -- no, not the first hole, my 10th hole I missed the green and I got a really good up-and-down and it kept my momentum going. I think I picked the wrong club and I got it up-and-down and then I made a nice par save at 11 after running it by. Even though I bogeyed 12, I was still feeling good about it, so I think 10 and 11 were big holes for me today.

DOUG BARRON: I started out kind of slow on the west coast, obviously. But, I mean I think -- my last two years, my first year on Tour I made a lot of cuts but I never -- I haven't made that much money on the west coast, so you just kind of get excited to come back on Bermuda greens and I like playing in the wind. Last week -- I have never played Doral good, but a lot of goods things happened to me and I ended up playing well all week. It is just kind of nice for a change of scenery to get here on this side of the ocean.

DOUG BARRON: It really wasn't bad today. I was -- it blew like the first round last week, it blew really hard at Doral, it was the morning round, but today it kind of blew, it wasn't really a factor. It started blowing towards the end where the downwind holes were a little easier. I don't remember knocking it over that one par 5, what, 14 or 15 in two -- four, but I think it was a little wetter last time I played here two years ago, as I remember.

DOUG BARRON: From the west coast?

DOUG BARRON: No, the conditions are just different, your ball doesn't go as far, the different grass, the poa annua grass is the main difference from the west coast. Growing up on Bermuda greens and bent greens, a lot of guys say the same thing, I always kind of struggled on the greens more than anything out in the west, but it was just -- you can't control what happens. You just got to play one week at a time thank goodness.

DOUG BARRON: Usually it's not as hot out there, Pebble Beach it's 50 degrees everyday and it's cold and wet and the ball actually does go farther in the desert, Tucson and Phoenix, but it is real dry. I always -- every time I go out there I get sick every year from the dry -- I like this humidity. It is nice and humid over here, a lot of guys do.