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VALERO TEXAS OPEN

September 17, 2004

Dean Wilson

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Dean, thanks for joining us for a couple minutes here. First two rounds, 64, 65, maybe just talk about your first couple of days out there. You're currently the leader in the clubhouse, a lot of players still out there, but you played well through two rounds.

DEAN WILSON: Yeah, I'm hitting the ball a little better so I'm giving myself a lot of chances, so I think that's the main thing. I haven't been doing that all year. My swing is feeling a little better, just hitting the ball a little better and starting to roll some putts in.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Where are you on the Money List?

DEAN WILSON: Way down, 150, I think.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: What's been the difference this week?

DEAN WILSON: The difference is just hitting the ball better. I've really struggled with my ball-striking this year, and the last maybe month it's been coming together a little better. I don't know what it is, just everything is getting a little better, I guess.

Q. There's the Ryder Cup happening a ways up the road. There's a big long shadow cast over this event, but there's a lot of dreams still alive here. Can you talk a little bit about playing in the shadow of that event but the things that you want to accomplish?

DEAN WILSON: Yeah, it's still a PGA TOUR event, and it's a good place to be, a lot of great players. It's tough with the Ryder Cup going on, you know, everybody is following that, and I'll be following it, too, and pulling for the Americans, but for all the guys here, the most important thing is the Texas Open for sure.

Q. Is this one of those things that it's -- you look at a lot of names, Ryan Palmer is out there, 125 on the Money List, you're at 150; obviously that's where you want to get. Is that kind of your focus or do you have to focus on something else?

DEAN WILSON: Definitely. So far this year I haven't played so well and dug myself a pretty good hole the last couple of months, so I need to start playing better. That's the main goal.

I'm going to be out playing every event until I make my money.

Q. Is there growing pressure from that end of things or do you feel that pressure when you're out there?

DEAN WILSON: Yeah, sure, definitely. I'm running out of time. I liked it last year when I had my money by this time. I had around $600,000 so I felt a lot better. Yeah, just got to get out of the hole.

Q. What have you done this week that's been different than the rest of your year? Shooting 129 has got to be a good feeling and a great start. What's been the difference?

DEAN WILSON: Just hitting the ball a lot better and making some putts and maybe being a little more relaxed on the course. When I wasn't hitting the ball as well this year, I put a lot of pressure on other parts of my game. I would get really frustrated. Everything feels a little better now, so if I miss a shot here and there, I'm not too worried about it, and it seems to be working so far this week.

Q. How about putting? It seemed like you putted pretty well the whole year. I watched you for a few holes yesterday and it looked like you were --

DEAN WILSON: Yeah, I've always been a pretty good putter. Unfortunately my ball-striking hasn't allowed me to putt too well. I think I was ranked somewhere around 150th in ball-striking and in the top ten in putting earlier this year, and that equals 200th on the Money List. If I could keep striking the ball well, you know, I could roll some putts in.

Q. What about tomorrow? Do you change your focus at all going into the weekend now, now that you've made a cut?

DEAN WILSON: Yeah, that's been the big hurdle for me this year. I think I'm going to try to keep the same game plan. If the weather stays the same, I'll have the same game plan on the course and hopefully keep making some birdies and keep moving up that leaderboard.

Q. A lot of guys talk about this course, fairways are kind of generous and you can get on the greens, and at times it can come down to a putting contest. Did you feel like you might do pretty well with your putting stroke?

DEAN WILSON: I played well in the Pro-Am, which helped, on Wednesday. Things started coming together. I got a better feel of the greens. We haven't played on Bermuda greens for a few months, so getting a feel for those is a little tough, but these greens are so good here; they don't have too much grain and not too tricky. It hasn't been that difficult.

Q. I'd also like to ask you, you played on the Japan Tour for a while?

DEAN WILSON: Yeah.

Q. I've heard a few people talk about what a great atmosphere it is for golf in Japan. What's it like out there?

DEAN WILSON: It's fantastic. They love their sports. I think sumo and baseball are the two biggest sports there and then golf, so we get pretty good crowds every week. It's quite amazing. I don't know, 30 tournaments on that Tour, and they're all in just Japan. That would be like 30 tournaments in California, and every week it's packed and everybody comes out and supports each tournament. When you think about it, that's pretty fantastic, the support you get there for golf.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: If we could touch on your round. You started out with a birdie on No. 1.

DEAN WILSON: Yeah, No. 1, I hit a wedge to about maybe 15 feet or so.

7, short par 4, I hit it down the fairway, hit a wedge to about three feet, four feet, made that.

11, there I hit a wedge to 20 feet, made that.

No. 12, I hit 9-iron to about six feet.

14, par 5, I knocked it on in two and had about 18 feet and two-putted.

Only bogey of the day on 15, I three-putted that hole from about 45 feet or so.

And the last hole is my next birdie, knocked it to two feet, a 7-iron to two feet or something.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Nice way to finish up, huh?

DEAN WILSON: Yeah.

Q. Just curious, as far as the two nines, is either side better for scoring do you feel like?

DEAN WILSON: That back side might be a little more scorable there just because you have a par 5 that's reachable, and on the front you've got a 600-yard par 5 that's not very reachable and a couple other longer par 4s where you're hitting long irons in. Also it's pretty tricky out there, too, so if you make a mistake you're going to pay for it.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Thanks, Dean.

End of FastScripts.

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