JOHN DEERE CLASSIC

September 12, 2003

Jonathan Byrd

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Jonathan Byrd, thanks for joining us, second round 67, 10-under for the tournament, off to a great start heading into the weekend, a couple shots behind J.L. Lewis, but you've got to like your position so far.

JONATHAN BYRD: Totally, going into Saturday and Sunday and you're somewhat close to the lead and not struggling to make the cut, it's a lot more favorable position, and I'm playing well. I struggled at times today, but overall I was very pleased with how I handled myself.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Talk about the delay. It was only 30, 35 minutes, but before the delay there was some heavy rain. Did that affect you at all or not too much today?

JONATHAN BYRD: The delay wasn't too bad. A lot of guys came into the clubhouse and then the sun popped out, so I stayed out there and just stayed on the course, and it was a good decision. I think that made it easier for me to come back and get ready. The greens were just a hair slower and it just affected me at one hole, I left it four feet short, but I made par and two-putted that first hole.

Other than that, I made some good swings and poor swings coming in, but 4-under, I'm pleased.

Q. How much of a grind is it to play through these kind of conditions, even before the delay, that kind of steady, wet, not quite enough to stop it? Does it require your powers of concentration to be even more focused than normal?

JONATHAN BYRD: I think so. There's more things to think about. Things are a little soggy, you miss a green, it's a little more demanding around the greens with your chips. It's easier off the greens. The fairways are softer so it makes the fairways a little wider. The course played easier today than yesterday maybe, although it had some added length. Just like any round, you've got to concentrate all day for 72 holes, and I don't think it's any more difficult.

Q. You were talking yesterday about keeping your attitude positive. How tough is it to do that when you're leading the tournament, and then the next thing you know it's pouring cats and dogs and the conditions are going to change?

JONATHAN BYRD: It's not that hard. When you're out there and you're playing well and your attitude is good, there's not much they can throw at you that bothers you. I'd much rather it not rain than rain, so you have a little delay and the sun comes out and the course plays a little easier, so that was fortunate, but I had a little momentum going. I just made another birdie to get to 10-under and would never say it slowed me down, but you always like to keep playing.

Q. When you stopped play and you stayed out there, has experience taught you that maybe you'd better not get too comfortable, just stay where you are?

JONATHAN BYRD: Well, they told us to go in, and it started to stop raining, and I saw the sun coming out, and the water was draining so well. It was just coming off the green. All the standing water was gone, so I didn't see much sense getting in a van, driving to the clubhouse and then getting back in a van and coming back out. I figured I'd just hang out on the course and it would be easier, especially when you're close to the top of the lead. I just didn't want to come back to the clubhouse and have more distractions.

Q. What did you do?

JONATHAN BYRD: My wife was there, my caddie was there, there was a porta-potty there, and we actually just hung out with the volunteers and we were asking them some restaurants to go to. We made a poor choice on a Mexican restaurant and we're trying to find a replacement.

Q. How many holes did you play in the rain and how much easier do you think it was this afternoon than this morning when it rained throughout?

JONATHAN BYRD: I don't know, I wasn't out there, I was asleep, so I didn't see what the rain was doing. I don't know if they had any breeze this morning. We had a little breeze at times. I probably had seven or eight holes where it was just ideal out there. The course played a lot longer today than it did yesterday, probably 15 yards, especially off the tee, with no roll. I don't know how it played compared to this morning, but I probably had maybe six holes in the rain, drizzle. It was never pouring. I didn't hit a shot when it was pouring.

Q. 18 looked like the ball was holding better, you could go for the flag a little bit easier?

JONATHAN BYRD: It was. The ball was sticking. That definitely makes the course play easier. You can fly it all the way back to the hole. You know, it was sticking pretty good yesterday. I'd rather it play like it did yesterday so you can hit a little further off the tee.

A hole like 9, I hit 3-wood yesterday, and the hole was back, I hit 4-iron. Today I hit the same 3-wood off the tee and had 5-wood in, so it played about 20 yards longer.

Q. What were your thoughts, I believe on the front you were kind of going birdie, bogey, birdie, bogey?

JONATHAN BYRD: What was my thought? Well, that was my second nine. My first nine I finished awesome. I hit two of the best long irons I've hit in a couple months. I hit a 4-iron from about 222 on 17 to about 15 feet and then a 3-iron, I about made it from the fairway on 18. Going into the front nine, I felt like I could keep making birdies. I played it well yesterday, but unfortunately I hit it over the green on, I think, 4 or 5 and made a bogey, bounced back, birdied the next hole, bogeyed the next hole, birdied the next hole. You always like to follow bogeys with birdies, so I'm very pleased with how I responded to bogeys.

Q. You said the greens seemed to be draining very well. How did the rest of the course take the water?

JONATHAN BYRD: I don't know. There were some spots in the fairways it was kind of soggy. I saw Jerry Kelly took relief only once after the rain delay from casual water. Other than that, the course drained great.

Q. Slippery around the greens, though, would you say? Was it tough getting up-and-down?

JONATHAN BYRD: Whenever the turf gets like that, it's not extremely plush around the greens, so when it gets wet, the bent grass kind of lays down and you get some weird lies where if you don't hit the ground right, you kind of fluff it. It just makes it a little more difficult.

Q. You just have to concentrate a little harder?

JONATHAN BYRD: You've just got to hit better shots. Some walks in between holes you had to kind of watch because it got a little slippery, but the course was in fine shape.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: You started on the backside, birdied on 15.

JONATHAN BYRD: I got off to kind of a weak start. I had some pretty accessible hole locations that I didn't do much with. I had a little 5-iron to that hole, hit 3-wood off the tee and hit a nice 5-iron right of the hole about ten feet, made birdie.

We talked about the 4-iron on 17, just left my eagle putt right in the heart short.

Then 18, I hit a 3-wood off the tee and hung it like I did yesterday, and I had about 205 hole into the wind with plenty of green behind it, and I had to kind of aim at the left edge of the green because I was on the right side of the fairway, and I hit just a beautiful little cut 3-iron right on top of the flag and it went right over the hole about six feet. Everybody in the group made birdie there. That was pretty impressive.

2, good drive, 5-wood middle of the green, two-putt.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: You said you went over the green on 5?

JONATHAN BYRD: 5, purest shot I hit all day, 154, 155 hole, and thought it was just a normal little 9-iron, just a smooth swing, flushed it right over the green and couldn't hit a pure shot and made bogey there.

Birdie on 6, I think a tough hole location on 6. You can kind of miss it long and spin back. I hit a good 9-iron about eight feet, made birdie.

Then an awful shot on 7, way right of the green, missed a 15-footer for par.

Hit it on the fringe with a wedge to about 15 feet, made it for birdie on 8.

Then made a great save on 9 from the right bunker, made about a six footer for par there.

Q. Do you know J.L. very well, and how is that pairing going to be for you?

JONATHAN BYRD: I know J.L. okay. I wouldn't say I've hung out with him too much. He's got a family and they travel, especially in the summers, but J.L. is a great guy that's been real nice to me. He's been nice to everybody. He's a class act I would say.

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