THE HONDA CLASSIC

March 8, 2001

Fulton Allem

FULTON ALLEM: The course is playing pretty -- it was pretty receptive early this morning, but the greens started getting firm towards the end. I teed off at No. 10 and that was the only bogey I made. I hit it down the fairway and kind of misjudged my second shot a little and just left it just short of the green. And I hit a chip shot that I thought would release because, you know, the practice rounds, they were firm and it kind of stuck on me and I missed the putt from five feet. And after that I pretty much played forwards. I hit most of the fairways. I think when I chipped in for eagle -- I chipped in or eagle at 14. That kind of got me going a little bit. And then I think I birdied 17 and 18.

FULTON ALLEM: I've been practicing a lot. I've been going through a little bit of an equipment crisis and I've just gone to my old classical blades again, and that felt comfortable. So I'm playing all right. I just -- it's a question of getting my confidence back to the level that I want it to be at, where I don't second-guess myself too much.

FULTON ALLEM: I think I was looking for a little forgiveness. You know, a little cavity-back, trying a cavity-back out. Looking for some forgiveness. It was fine for the miss-hits. But when I hit a miss-hit and I hit it in the middle, I couldn't tell the different anymore. It felt a little strange and I couldn't quite work the cavity-back as well as I could work the old blades.

FULTON ALLEM: Yes.

FULTON ALLEM: Mizuno.

FULTON ALLEM: No. Taylor Made. Taylor Made driver.

FULTON ALLEM: It was bizarre. It was. The first four or five holes was kind of like you made a few swings that were a little indifferent, you know. You have to find yourself back in an old groove again, because we were practicing into a hard left-to-right, into the wind on the practice range, and I mean it had to drop -- there was still a little breeze. I don't know what it's like now.

FULTON ALLEM: On this tour, you have to take advantage when it blows, when it's calm and when it's everything. There's a lot of great players out here. You give them a smooth putting surface with holes in the ground, that will put some numbers up for you.

FULTON ALLEM: Well, definitely scoring a lot lower. It's more bunched. Back in the old days, they still used to shoot some low numbers but it wasn't as bunched. It's more bunched today.

FULTON ALLEM: Still trying to hit it in the hole, partner.

FULTON ALLEM: It's just as you get a little older and you know you are not as sharp as you used to be. Mentally, you are okay, but physically you just can't do the things that you used to do. You've got to try to get that happy medium where you can accept your limitations.

FULTON ALLEM: Never saw me in the press room again, did you? (Laughter.)

FULTON ALLEM: It's the first round, so I can't tell you. It will feel great if I'm sitting over here come Sunday afternoon.

FULTON ALLEM: You just don't have the elasticity. You can't stretch that 7-iron to 170 anymore. It just looks like you can because mentally you feel like, "I know I've got this shot." The spirit is willing and the flesh is weak.

FULTON ALLEM: About 25 yards. 30 yards.

FULTON ALLEM: 17, I holed it from about 10 feet. 18, I holed it from about five feet. I tapped it in on 3. And 4 was about a 10-footer. And then I tapped it in again at 7. That was just a tap-in, as well.

FULTON ALLEM: Sand iron.