FEDEX ST. JUDE CLASSIC

June 27, 2002

Glen Hnatiuk

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: I would like to welcome first round could he leader in the clubhouse Glen Hnatiuk. Glen, great round today, 65 six under par. If could you talk about your round today and your expectations for the week. Obviously things went well today.

GLEN HNATIUK: It did. I hit a lot of fairways. And I hit a considerable amount of greens but the quality of iron shots I hit were very well. I gave myself a lot of real good opportunities.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: If we could we will go right into some questions.

Q. This seems to be just a good month of June that you're continuing here?

GLEN HNATIUK: Well I've been playing pretty solid tee to green I just really haven't gotten a whole lot out of it. Whether it's just putting bad or putting good and just not making anything, it all kind of adds up the same. So finally today I took advantage of a lot of good iron shots. And I think I made like a 25 footer today and other than that everything was pretty close.

Q. This is also a course that you play well?

GLEN HNATIUK: Yeah, I have played well here. I think the last two years I've shot 64 on Saturday both, like I said, the last two years. So I have had some good memories here and it's a tournament where coming in you know it's going to be somewhat of a birdiefest if the weather is good. And the greens are rolling good. We had a little bit of a breeze out there today to keep it about 90 degrees, I guess, other than maybe 190. But it's like I said, you have to stay aggressive for the most part.

Q. You mentioned that you hit most of the fairways, is that the biggest defense against birdies, on this course, is the rough here?

GLEN HNATIUK: Yeah, it is. And the thing is the Zoysia is just tremendous to play off. I mean you can't get a bad lie unless you're in a divot. And you have to take advantage of it. I think that's one of the strengths of my game is hitting fairways, because first of all I don't hit it long enough. And but, yeah, and for the most part you have mid to short irons in and begin you have to take advantage of that.

Q. Can you talk about having to stay aggressive. Is that part of your game naturally?

GLEN HNATIUK: Well, you know, I don't really think so just because I'm not like a flashy type of player. I don't have enough length to be, to really be that way. I'm more kind of a solid plod along kind of player. And another strength of my game kind of is my iron play. And for the most part even my mediocre or bad iron shots are going to be on the green or somewhere around the green. So I think that's more my style of play. Again, like I said, today the iron game kind of clicked and I gave myself a lot of good opportunities.

Q. If we could go through your score card you started on the back side and birdied No. 11, a par-3?

GLEN HNATIUK: I hit a 7-iron probably about 8 inches to a foot.

13, I hit a 9-iron to about three feet.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: 15 made a bogey.

GLEN HNATIUK: Let's see, I hit it just in the right rough and I flew an 8-iron over the green into the back TV tower, actually. So I hit a good chip. I hit about 8 feet for par. But I missed it.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: And then birdied 18.

GLEN HNATIUK: 18, I hit 8-iron in there and I pulled it and like I say, I had about 25 feet and made a real nice putt.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Then on the front side. Birdied, two, four, five and 7 coming in.

GLEN HNATIUK: 2, I hit a wedge about 12 feet.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Four, par-3.

GLEN HNATIUK: Four I hit a 6-iron about six feet.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Five.

GLEN HNATIUK: Five, came out of the green side bunker about five feet.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: And then your last birdie of the day, number 7.

GLEN HNATIUK: 7 I hit an 8-iron, about six feet.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: As far as expectations of the week, obviously it's early in the tournament. Being in the clubhouse with a 65, you got to feel good just maybe talk about your expectations for the week and maybe what you'll do the rest of the week.

GLEN HNATIUK: You're right about one thing, it is Thursday. And you can't win a golf tournament on Thursday. And tomorrow I'm just going to, it's a new day, it's Friday, it's the second round and that's going to be about it. I have no problem looking at the leaderboard, seeing where I am and everything else. That doesn't bother me. It would probably bother me more if I didn't look at it at all because I would be wondering anyway. But like I said, you start over tomorrow and again you have to stay in the right -- when you have the right opportunities have you to be aggressive. But it's still a cautious kind of aggressiveness.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Is it nice to play early on a day when the whole week is looking like play could be delayed until the next day. Nice to have that under your belt and not worry about it until tomorrow?

GLEN HNATIUK: It is. But again the same thing could happen tomorrow. Obviously Thursday and Friday you get one early, one late and sometimes you're on the good end of the draw and sometimes you're not.

Q. You were at Southern Miss for four years?

GLEN HNATIUK: Yes.

Q. And does it seem at all like home to you?

GLEN HNATIUK: It does. You know, I think there's a few people up here, who have some ties to Southern Miss and it's nice to get back down in the south. Coming from Canada obviously it was somewhat of a shock to me at the beginning, but I think I'm finally acclimated to it.

Q. Did you come down from Canada?

GLEN HNATIUK: Yeah, yeah.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Anything else? Thank you very much.

GLEN HNATIUK: Great. Thank you.

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