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FORD CHAMPIONSHIP AT DORAL

March 3, 2005

Tiger Woods

DORAL, FLORIDA

TIGER WOODS: I had not made a bogey all day so it was nice to end the day without making a bogey. Especially on a golf course like this, it's always nice to go around here bogey-free.

Q. When you went out, there were already some 8-unders posted. Did you think that the scores being low you needed to post a good number or you would be left back?

TIGER WOODS: You know, it wasn't blowing that hard. It was blowing a little bit but the greens are so perfect out here, when you get greens this good, the guys are going to shoot some low numbers. With the north wind, even some of the par 5s that you would think that are unreachable, you can still get there.

You know, 8 played extremely short. Even 1 starting out of the gate even though it was into the wind playing very short. Even had a crack at it on 10. Even with the north wind, some of the par 5s still played short, and what that means, the guys are going to tear it up.

Q. When you saw the scores that low this morning, were you half-expecting weather to be a lot worse than it was?

TIGER WOODS: No, I thought -- I thought the forecast was the other way around. I thought the afternoon was supposed to get some rain. The wind was supposed to be early and supposed to have some rain in the evening or afternoon. Looks like we escaped all of that, so it was a nice day to get out there and play and post a good number.

Q. You've had 60 holes out here without making a bogey, that's not bad.

TIGER WOODS: 60 holes over -- since three years, two years, whatever it is?

Q. Since the first time you played here, 2000, whenever that was.

TIGER WOODS: This golf course has been nice to me. I've played well here the times that I have played. It's fun to play this golf course. I know that it's always fun to get onto the Florida Swing, get some smooth greens again and we can start making putts again which is nice. Today was a perfect example of that.

Q. Do you like bermuda as a rule?

TIGER WOODS: This is more overseeded than it is; last time we played here, they were not overseeded like this. They were really grainy. This year there is just a touch of grain but not that much. It affects it just a little but nothing dramatic where you have to worry about four-foot putts or five-foot putts.

Q. Is it just the way you're hitting in general?

TIGER WOODS: I hit it decent. I kept myself out of trouble. I missed it on the correct sides, so I had good angles and I was very pleased.

Q. Can you talk about 16, a lot of the power hitters were just going at that green as best they could. You played back. Did you give it any thought?

TIGER WOODS: The wind died down. We had no wind. I couldn't get there. So, early in the day when the wind was blowing, it's a perfect shot. Just take driver and rip it right at the green. When the wind died down, I hit 2-iron and barely carried over the bunker. There's no way I could have gotten driver anywhere near the green.

Q. Phil was saying he wanted to keep playing aggressively because the field is so good that you have to keep making birdies; did you feel the same?

TIGER WOODS: I think you have to play aggressive because these greens are so good and these guys all shoot low. Look what the cuts are nowadays. Tucson, 5-under par, 70 guys, come on.

So scores are lower nowadays. You have to be more aggressive, and the pins were not really that tucked. They are not three from the side on every hole. There's only one par 5, No. 12, was three from the side but other than that, pins were accessible today.

Q. You watched Tucson last week?

TIGER WOODS: I just heard about it. (Laughter.)

Q. Talk about the putts on 15 and 18 to save par.

TIGER WOODS: 15?

Q. Or 18, I'm sorry.

TIGER WOODS: 18 was nice to make. I didn't hit a very good drive there. I lost it a little bit right. Second shot, I kind of chickened out and lost it right again. I drew a not-so-good-of-a-lie, but I figured if I could just kind of creep it on the green, and I hit it way too hard. It was nice to actually end up on a good note. Finally hit a good putt. Good putting makes up for a lot of sins.

Q. Was that a quarter you found?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, somebody had dropped a quarter there. In my practice swing, I saw something shiny, thought it was a rock, and it was a quarter.

Q. Where was that?

TIGER WOODS: 18, the chip shot.

Q. Seeing Phil up on the leaderboard, can you talk about your relationship with Phil?

TIGER WOODS: We're competitors, cordial, and we go out and try and beat each other.

Q. On 12, you kind of grabbed your back after the second shot, was there a twinge there?

TIGER WOODS: You hit a shot that bad, you'd grab it, too. (Laughter.)

You start a ball left edge of the -- the left edge of the fairway and you slice it 60 some-odd yards, that's not very good.

End of FastScripts.

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