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VALERO TEXAS OPEN

September 19, 2004

Bart Bryant

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Bart Bryant, congratulations on winning your first PGA TOUR event this week at the Valero Texas Open. You joined the Heberts, the Hills, the Byrums, among others, for brother tandems winning on Tour. It's got to be an exciting week, and having your brother here has got to be exciting.

BART BRYANT: I hear he did a little commentating up at ESPN today, so that's cool. I guess I was the last one to get it done, but I arrived.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: You've been through a lot with injuries and elbow surgeries and things like that. You're playing on a major medical exemption this season and you were able to secure your card for two more years. Talk about what a relief that is and what it's like to get your first win. It's got to be exciting.

BART BRYANT: It is. It hasn't sunk in yet. I really wasn't letting myself think about what a win would mean. I was really focused on the present, and I don't know if it'll sink in until tonight or tomorrow what this win is going to mean for me. Cathy, we were riding in the cart on the way over, and she goes, "Two year exemption." I know it was on her mind. I'm going to have an off-season this year. I'm not going to Tour school. This is unbelievable.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: You've always been known as a very good ball striker, but this week is extraordinary for you. You hit more than 90 percent of the greens in regulation. Just talk about what went right for you this week.

BART BRYANT: My ball-striking has always been the thing that's carried me through. This week it was a little above average. I hit the ball extremely well. Then I had that one day where I putted awfully well. I didn't miss anything yesterday.

That seemed to be the thing that put me over the top. I had that one low round, and that's what I've been missing this year to have a real good tournament, and I finally got that.

I backed it up with a solid round on Sunday, which isÃ‚Â -- it's hard to do. You go out and shoot 60 or whatever, it's hard to come back the next day and shoot a real low round, so I was proud of the way I handled myself and shooting a 67.

I knew today would be a little different, that there was a possibility I was going to miss some putts because I had made so many. I tried to just shrug it off and not let it get to me and be patient, keep hitting the ball on the green. I knew that if I could keep doing that, I would at least have a chance to win the golf tournament.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Again, congratulations.

Q. The injuries that you had, how frustrated did you get by the injuries, or were you able to keep a good demeanor about it?

BART BRYANT: I learned a lot from the first injury I had. Actually I was an exempt player in 92 and I had the shoulder surgery and at that time I was just out of luck. There wasn't any kind of medical exemption even as an exempt player because I hadn't been on the Tour long enough.

I lost my game pretty bad at that point and went and played the Nike Tour and really struggled and thought about calling it quits and went home, played the mini-tours for a while and started relaxing, decided to go back and try for my card again and got it back. I've kind of been off and on the Tour.

The other surgeries, fortunately when I had my left elbow surgery and my right elbow surgery, they had the medical exemption for me. With my first elbow surgery, I was taking cortisone shots through Tour school and I told them before Tour school that if I didn't make it, I wasn't going to be able to play, I'd have to have surgery.

It was kind of like that with the second surgery. I took some cortisone shots that lasted me through Hawaii and then that was it. I had to have the surgery at that point.

I ended up playing I think five events last year, six total, and so they gave me 23 events this year to make X amount of dollars, and I think today I might have just crept over that.

Q. Now, the right was the most current elbow surgery?

BART BRYANT: Yeah, the right one.

Q. Are you going to need another cortisone shot after picking up that trophy?

BART BRYANT: I'll tell you, that is one heavy trophy.

Q. You know, when you got out there and started playing, it was a bunched field, but you could see nobody was really making a super low run. Was your mindset keep hitting fairways, keep hitting greens, don't do anything stupid, just keep plugging along?

BART BRYANT: I guess you could say I played a fairly conservative ball-striking round. You know, I think I was fairly conservative in my ball-striking and my putting. I didn't want to have a lot of four- or five-foot par putts today, so I tried to play aggressive, but yet, man, your words, "Don't do anything stupid." I played at the middle of some greens and tried to hit a lot of greens. I felt like at the beginning of the day if I could shoot 3- or 4-under somebody would have to go awfully low to beat me, especially with the wind blowing a little bit harder today.

Luckily I made the putt on 11 from aboutÃ‚Â -- the long putt there for a birdie, and that kind of eased the tension a little bit. Then I drove it in a divot on the next hole or the edge of a divot and had to play out to the right. I think I hit a pretty good chip, but it didn't get real close, but I made that putt, as well. Those two putts were huge. My ball-striking was really good, but those two putts were really big to win this tournament.

Q. Is it just coincidence that you made that huge putt after your caddie went down with heat problems?

BART BRYANT: I'll tell you, that was just bizarre. I feel for him. I'm glad he's better. He actually went in and got a little IV there and came back out. I was glad he was able to come back on the last hole because we've teamed up over the last few weeks and he got me through the first few rounds.

Q. What's his name?

BART BRYANT: Bob Chaney, Mr.Ã‚Â Clean.

Q. And you used your brother's caddie after that, right?

BART BRYANT: No, actually a friend of mine that's sitting right back there, Greg Poston, flew into town. Two of my buddies flew into town this morning from Orlando. They happened to be here. I guess it was a God thing that they knew to fly here today. Greg is actually going to caddie for me in Vegas this year, so we have a lot of fun together. He and his wife come out, and my wife and I, we enjoy it.

Q. Having family here and then Tom Byrum followed you the last few holes and seeing your brother there, what was that like?

BART BRYANT: I didn't know they were following me. I knew Brad would be there at the end. I didn't know Tom would be there. It was really special for Brad to be there and special for Tom to be there, too. Tom has had a lot of success out here. We played college golf together and we're good buddies. I haven't had the success that Tom has had, but he left a note in my locker before he teed off today, and I thought that was pretty cool. That was special. That was nice of him to do that. What he said on there was right on. I appreciated that.

I mean, I had so much support and so many phone calls yesterday from my family, from my mom and dad and people all over the country calling saying we're thinking about you, praying for you, believe in you, you can do it. That was huge.

Q. You didn't make a bogey for the last 49 holes, the last one on No.Ã‚Â 5 on Friday. Have you ever had a round where you've had that good of a run?

BART BRYANT: No (laughter).

Q. That's got to be pretty special.

BART BRYANT: I can pretty much guarantee I haven't. Yeah, that felt good.

Q. Now that you've got this winning thing figured out, is your next mission to go up to Oakland Hills and straighten up that mess?

BART BRYANT: What happened? It didn't look good on the board.

Q. 19 and a half to 8 and a half, I think.

BART BRYANT: Well, gosh, it's tough. You get behind the 8-ball there, those players are so good, when you get behind, it's tough to come back.

Q. Who do you think had more fun today, you or Tiger and Phil or some of those guys?

BART BRYANT: I think I did (laughter).

Q. Were you aware of the score? Did you see that on the scoreboard, the Ryder Cup scores at all?

BART BRYANT: You know, I was watching on the other nine. On the front nine I was watching the Ryder Cup scores, and on the back nine I tried not to look at the scoreboard until I got to 16 green, then I looked over there and saw where I stood, but I was kind of trying to stayÃ‚Â -- I didn't want to look at the Ryder Cup scores because I didn't want to see what I was doing and everybody else on the course, up until 16 green, then I looked and saw what I had to do.

Q. It seemed like it was a little overwhelming to get that kind of support and all the calls. What does it mean to you?

BART BRYANT: It's unbelievable how many people out there like Bart Bryant. I have no idea why. I do not deserve it. I mean, from all over the country, it's just amazing. I think it's because people love my wife so much, love my parents so much, love my friends so much. For some reason they get everything pulling for me. I don't think it has a whole lot to do with me.

Q. When did you feel likeÃ‚Â -- standing on the 18th tee, did it feel pretty good that you could just complete a swing there?

BART BRYANT: For some reason, that 18th hole has always set up well for me, and I just feel so good on that tee shot, and every day I just ripped it right down the middle. Of all the tee shots out there, for some reason I feel good with that one. The equipment and the ball has gotten just long enough to where you carry that hazard on the right, the water. When they first played here, I couldn't carry that on the right unless it was downwind, and now you don't have the fear of hitting it in the hazard because you know you can carry it over it. You aim down the right middle and hit as hard as you can.

Q. There's a lot of guys out here playing golf and they're all playing for one thing. Is it kind of hardÃ‚Â -- you're at the same level with all the past champions, and all the work you've done, you're finally a PGA champion, the same as Phil is a PGA champion or Davis is a PGA champion or your brother is a PGA champion. Is it hard to believe that you're in that range, too?

BART BRYANT: Boy, I'll have to think about that one for a little while. I'd have a hard time equating myself with Phil or some of those other guys, but I might equate myself with my brother just a little bit (laughter). One tournament does not make a career. You know, I hope this is just a jump start and there's a lot of more contentions ahead and more wins down the road, and this is just the beginning. That's what I would like.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Valero Texas Open champion Bart Bryant. Thank you and congratulations.

End of FastScripts.

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