THE HONDA CLASSIC

March 10, 2000

David Sutherland

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Yeah, obviously a lot different round than yesterday where I got such a great shot with the double eagle. Today was just, you know, I played a real solid round of golf, birdies were sort of every second or third hole sort of thing. I did birdie 4. 4 was downwind so that I -- a lot of guys made birdies, a made 5-footer. Birdied 5, from 15 feet. Birdied 7. Birdied 9. 7 was about a 20-footer. 9 was about a 10-footer. I hit it about two feet on 11 which was a good shot there, down wind, made my one bogey on 13 actually just hit a bad shot and kind of caught a bad break, buried under a lip of a bunker; had to wedge it out. I actually ended up basically where my driver had been. Then I came back birdied 14, as you can see the -- I played the par 5s real well, birdied every one of them. Chipped short of the green. Chipped it up to three feet hit and a wedge about maybe eight feet on 6 -- 16 and I had some, you know, reasonably decent birdie putts than some of other holes - wasn't like I had anything really close, 10 foot, 15-foot range. I felt like I played good today. Maybe even a little better than I did yesterday. The wind was a little bit up. Obviously didn't have the great start where I was 6-under through seven holes, but feel good about my game and obviously feel like I am playing pretty well.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: It was harder today, no doubt. Even though I shot a lower score, the wind kind of equals firm greens and just can't control the ball. This is the way the golf course wants to play. This is -- I actually started to feel like I was playing here better today with the hard greens. Yesterday I felt like it was a lot different kind of golf course. This is the way I think this golf course should play. It is designed to be a bit windy because even with the flat greens, when there is no wind, it is just pretty defenseless. That is why you see those scores like you did yesterday where everybody shoots a low score. I expect probably more of the same. It is a more difficult golf course.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: They are not -- they are firm, but they haven't kind of crossed that line to where you can't control the ball. Downwind the ball will hit and run 15 to 20 feet. Seemed like some of greens are getting harder than the other ones. 12 is getting pretty firm as well as 11. 10. So sort of hitting in that direction. If you look back in the past history of this tournament it tends to get more difficult as the week goes along. Perfect example was last year where it played awful hard on Sunday. I wouldn't be surprised if by Sunday this golf course is playing pretty difficult.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Yeah, telling you earlier about that. A few guys have -- I was leading at L.A., this year going to the last round. I was just speaking earlier about how it was -- the great thing about playing well there was that it was such a big thing. It is Riviera, you know, Tiger Woods and that sort of thing. Really felt like I was able to put myself in an environment that I wasn't used to playing in which is a really -- what you really want to do out here. You want to get yourself as often as you can in a situation as the leading golfer on Sunday and the more often you are there, the more comfortable you feel in that situation. I probably felt a little more comfortable today than I did, say, on Friday of L.A. Even though I was playing well there. Hopefully I will feel a little bit better tomorrow. This golf Tour is all about experience in the sense of putting yourself in the position to win golf tournaments. I don't care if you are a rookie and you lead the tournament going into the last round and you don't do well, it is a good thing. You want to be in contention out here. I feel like I am playing as well as I was when I was there at L.A. and, you know, hopefully, obviously -- I hope that I play a little better than I did there on Sunday. I didn't play bad. I still finished 12th. But it wasn't -- it was kind of unusual, too, I think there was 29 people within three shots of the lead. It was -- actually similar to this week with all the guys. This one is going to be -- I mean, this is a tournament where a guy can make the cut by a stroke and win the golf tournament because the guys are 4-under par -- that is the can you tell. I mean, what 11-, 12-under par leading the golf tournament. There is not a better golf tournament on Tour to make -- go out in the morning, golf course plays a lot easier, know what I am saying; all of a sudden that wind picks up, who knows.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Yes.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Yeah, I was --

DAVID SUTHERLAND: I was awfully happy to see him win. Yeah, all the guys out here who haven't won probably get a little excited for the guys who win when they win for the first time. It would have been nice to see Franklin pull through last week. But Furyk is a bit of an exception in the sense that he has so much experience and it seemed like there was a sense of inevitability, you know, he is such a low-key guy that, you know, I think he kind of can get underrated by a lot of people who sort of passively watch golf, but amongst golfing circles I think a lot of guys were not very prized to see him there. As far as for myself, personally, doesn't really do anything for copying this week. I feel good about my game. Obviously it is early in the week. It is still Friday, I feel like, you know, I feel really awfully good about the way I am playing right now.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: You just kind of feel like, you know, like a hole-in-one, like, yeah, I mean, when it went in, I was like sort of, oh, shucks about it, wow, I can't believe it went in. Didn't really dawn on me that it was a double eagle and how unique it was until people told me there hasn't even be been one on Tour. You that feel, like, geez this may be my week, something like that. It isn't like you are going to get all the good breaks. I hit a good shot, and from what I understand, it would have been a gimme if it wouldn't have gone in. I feel like I just kind of got a one-stroke break. Pretty straightforward shot really, but I had think -- it is more mostly kind of put away, you just sort of say, well, I will always remember that. 20 years from now I will remember, you know, I mean double eagle on the 14th at Heron Bay, that sort of thing. I don't know if it is anything like, you know, like oh, this is the sign of, you know, this, that and the other. I have had weeks where I have made holes-in-one and missed the cut. So.....

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Well, today a little different, but I am sure, yeah, you just --

DAVID SUTHERLAND: I made a birdie today. Doubled my score, that is kind of unusual. Went from a 2 to a 4. I honestly -- this might sound strange, I never once thought about that today. It was -- that might have been because of the fact that I couldn't reach the hole in two, so...

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Yeah, well I hit a 3-wood but just couldn't get there; hit it 20 yards short of the green. So it wasn't like I stepped up to the tee felt like, well, I better, you know, hope I don't -- you know, because I mean, I am not going to make another 2. I mean, (laughs), if that happens then maybe it is my week.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: My first hole-in-one was the neatest. I remember that. Western Open, it is funny, I can't remember a single thing from that year, but 1981 hole-in-one 14th hole of Western Open. Funny thing was I was a rookie and I had like no dough, no money and they had sort of like a hole-in-one contest. If you made one, you were eligible for it, you get like $2,000. That was really exciting. I felt like I won a new car or something: It was neat.

DAVID SUTHERLAND: Yeah, didn't think of that. Made a hole-in-one on the 11th hole at the International, Castle Pines, actually flew that one -- I don't know. I don't know how important all this is. I also made a 3-footer one time. Made a cut shot from half court, great.