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FORD CHAMPIONSHIP AT DORAL

March 4, 2004

Chris Smith

DORAL, FLORIDA

JOHN BUSH: We have our leader, Chris Smith, 7 under par 65. Tough finish there but still a very good round.

CHRIS SMITH: Yeah, I played really good. I actually didn't hit too bad of a shot on the last hole. I just got a little bit over the top of it and the wind kind of got it into the water. It was probably the hardest shot I had to hit all day, so it wasn't it's not going to ruin my night. I played good. I felt good out on the course and I felt like I was in control of what I was doing. I finally made some putts so it's a good day.

JOHN BUSH: May take us awhile but take us through your card, starting with the eagle on 1.

CHRIS SMITH: The first hole was playing straight downwind and I hit a good drive on the first one and I had wedge into the green. Hitting driver, wedge on the first hole, the par 5 and driver, 5 iron on 18, the par 4. I hit it about, I don't know, 15 feet, I would say, and made the putt.

3, I hit driver and a little 9 iron probably 12 feet and made the putt.

5, I hit 5 wood off the tee and a little 9 iron into the green. I don't know, it was probably 10 or 12 feet there.

8, I hit driver off the tee and laid up with a 4 iron. I laid it up to 70 yards and hit a little gap wedge pitch shot and hit that one, I don't know, probably eight or ten feet.

9, I hit 6 iron, I hit that pin high about 20 or 25 feet left of the hole probably. Made that one.

10, I hit 3 wood off the tee, laid up with a 7 iron. I actually didn't lay up. I was trying to go for the green. I was in the first cut of rough and I hit 7 iron. It hit in the bank of the hill and just stopped about five yards short of the green and I pitched it up, I don't know, probably eight feet.

11, I hit 3 iron off the tee. Hit 6 iron in the left fringe pin high, which that pin I think was only three or four on there so I probably had 14 feet, I would guess, there. Next hole, the par 5, I hit driver, 5 wood just down in front of the green and chipped it up. That one got away from me a little bit. I probably hit that one 15 or 18 feet by the hole. Made that.

Next hole, the par 3, I hit 5 iron. I hit a really good shot there. That was probably seven or eight there and I made that one.

16, I actually hit a pretty good shot on 16. I was trying to hit 3 wood off the tee and I was hitting over the bunker. I didn't quite clear the bunker and ended up with 83 yards out of the fairway bunker which is not exactly where you want to be. I hit a pretty good shot out of there and it just got over the green. Hit a good chip that I couldn't stop that rolled all the way down, probably 20 feet by the hole and made bogey there.

Then 18, I hit a perfect drive. I think we had 172 yards and I was trying to hit a 5 iron and I felt like I had plenty of club and I felt like I was hitting the ball pretty good. So I went ahead and was shooting it back to the left side of the green and got over it just a little bit and the wind got it and got in the water.

Q. So you were pretty much going at the pin on 18?

CHRIS SMITH: Yeah. You stand out there on the fairway, if you hit it in those bunkers, you're not really any better off. You might be in the water in three instead of two. I felt like I knew what I was doing with my golf swing today and I felt like I had plenty of club, so I was trying to make sure I got it back into that back left part of the green and I just didn't quite hit it like I wanted to. But, yeah, I was trying to shoot it back there.

Q. How excited do you get at the end of the day and you look up, four or five holes left and you've got a five shot lead over a field

CHRIS SMITH: It's Thursday. (Laughing). I had excitement after I birdied the par 3 back there what is that, 13? I had excitement there because I thought I really might shoot 59, and so I was a little bit excited there because everything was just going right and I was making putts and I was hitting good shots.

You know, I'm glad that everything kind of came together and that's more exciting to me than the fact that I was the low round today. I feel like I've been pretty close and I feel like I've played a lot better out on the West Coast than the Money List shows you.

What's exciting to me is that I finally had a round that I felt like things kind of came together. I made some good putts and I was rewarded for some of the iron shots that I hit. And so that was exciting; that five shot lead thing, it's a little bit early to get excited. If I had that on the last hole of the tournament, I'd probably be a little excited, but not today.

Q. How is your health this year?

CHRIS SMITH: It's a lot better. I switched teachers at the end of last year and I started working with Todd Andersen, which is up in Palm Beach, and he has helped my golf game tremendously. He's helped my golf swing so much and my body feels better, too. I really haven't had any problems with my back this year. I've felt a lot better and I have much better control of what I'm doing this year. I think both of those things are because of today.

Q. What were you working on, any specific things?

CHRIS SMITH: Yeah, we changed the first thing he did, I started working with him in November and we totally changed my setup. After I got that down, that took me about a month and a half because it was my setup had gotten so bad and after we got that done, then we started working on my rotation and some of my spacing and stuff like that. I really didn't know what to expect making as many changes as I did at the start of the year but I did hit the ball pretty good on the West Coast and I felt like I got better each week.

I think that I'm progressing pretty good and I'm really pretty happy with the way things are going.

Q. This is your best ball striking round since, when?

CHRIS SMITH: Probably last week. I probably hit the ball (Laughter.). Honestly, I'm not trying to be smart or anything, but I think I hit the ball this good a couple of times last week. I just didn't make any putts.

I'm not sure that the conditions were as tough last week, but as far as hitting the ball the way I wanted to, I think I had two rounds last week that I was really happy with, too. I just didn't make any putts.

Today, I finally made some putts.

Q. Can you just speak to the level of frustration you experienced after winning and just where you're at now?

CHRIS SMITH: Yeah, I could probably sit here till tomorrow answering that question. But to make a short answer, I think the second half of 2002, I played really good. I won in June and I played really good the rest of the year. I decided I was going to stay home the whole off season and spend time with my kids and do the stuff at home. I got behind a little bit, I think, and then last year, I really fought it a lot. I got down last year. The guy that I was working with decided that he didn't want to work with me anymore at the TPC last year, and so I had a lot of stuff going on that was frustrating. I just felt kind of lost with my golf game all year last year and the harder I tried, it seemed like the worse it got.

If I were smart, I think I probably would have come home from the British Open last year and just put the clubs away and come out the start of this year, because I really didn't want to be playing at all at the end of last year. I was really ready for the year to be over and try to figure out what I was going to do with my teacher situation and all that stuff.

At the end of last year, I was kind of fed up with the whole golf thing. This deal with today has been great and it got me excited to come out and play again. It's giving me something to work on and it's giving me some focus and it's giving me some excitement. I've enjoyed playing again this year and I've played a lot better because I think I've gotten better, and it's also been a lot more fun for me.

Q. Was there a period of time last year that you played as well as you played over this last four or five weeks?

CHRIS SMITH: You know, no. I don't think so. I don't think that I had I don't think I had any rounds last year where I felt like I was in as much control of what I was doing as I have at times this year. So I don't think I played as good last year a single time as I did as I've actually struck the ball and the way my golf game is. I think it's been better this year than it was all last year.

Q. In your mind if you're setting goals at the beginning of the year, from what you had last year, what's your goal what would have been your goal at the beginning of the year this year?

CHRIS SMITH: Honestly my goal at the start of this year is I wanted, by the time I got to TPC, I wanted to feel like I knew exactly what my golf swing was doing and it felt comfortable.

I think I'm pretty close to that right now, and I think I'm right on track for that. You know, in 2002, I felt like I had several chances to win, and I felt like I had I played and put myself in spots that it really mattered what I did.

So this year, I kind of wanted to get going back in that direction, where I felt like I was playing for something besides last place check on Sunday and I wanted to get back into the fire of it and to enjoy it and enjoy the whole atmosphere of it. I think I'm progressing and I think I'm right on schedule, actually.

Q. Last year you had the exemption for winning so you knew no matter what happened you would be out here this year. Is there more pressure this year knowing that you have to perform again to stay out here?

CHRIS SMITH: You know, not really. I think probably if I look at it honestly, I think I probably put more pressure on myself last year than I have this year because I felt like it was time. I was getting a little bit older and I felt like it was time to go out and rack up a whole bunch of wins. And if you're playing like that, you really if I play like that, I'm not going to have a chance to perform. I think I need to just come out and concentrate on what I'm doing and not worry about what everybody else is doing and try to get better myself and go in the right direction and just worry about me. I think that's kind of what I've done this year, which has made it a little bit easier to play, actually.

Q. Who was your previous teacher?

CHRIS SMITH: Don't write anything bad about him because he helped me a lot. His name was Jim McGurk and he actually spent time here at the Jim McLean School here at Doral. I worked with him for almost five years and he helped me a lot. I think he just felt like it was it had gone a little bit stale and it was time to change it up.

It's not what I would have done, but I think that it actually everything kind of happens for a reason, and I think that it was probably a good time for me to make a switch and today has helped me a lot.

Jim helped me a lot when I worked with him and I've kind of been passed along and today is helping me a lot.

Q. Jim told you at TPC that it was going to end?

CHRIS SMITH: He was actually supposed to be there and he didn't come down. He called me and he told me on the phone. (Laughing) I was going to pick him up at the airport but he didn't quite make it. (Laughter.)

But I'm telling you, please don't write anything bad about him because the guy, he's still a friend of mine and he did help me a lot. It was a tough situation for me last year to just feel kind of lost and didn't have anybody to really lean on when I didn't know what was going on with my golf swing.

JOHN BUSH: Chris, congratulations on a great start. Thank you.

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