BOB HOPE CHRYSLER CLASSIC

February 17, 2001

Mark Calcavecchia

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: Yeah, thanks. I don't know what to say. You know, I'm very happy with the score, for sure. I didn't know what to expect today because of the way my knee felt. I knew there were enough easy holes out there that I was bound to make some birdies someplace. But I didn't have any inkling I was going to shoot 7-under today, for sure.

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: You know, as well as Joe is playing, he's got a five-shot lead, as long as he keeps it out of the water, I've got to believe this tournament's over. He's got five par 5's out there, and again, as long as he doesn't start filling up the ponds -- you know, he's not just all of the sudden not going to make any birdies. You know what I mean? That can't happen. I don't care whether you've got the pressure of trying to win the tournament or not. He's probably going to make at least four or five or six birdies tomorrow at the very least, and again, if he doesn't fill up the ponds with his golf balls, he's going to win the tournament.

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: No. Those are all par 72. What's he shooting, 259? Well, the 28-under is gone, but not the all-time low number. I don't care about that. (Laughter.) Next year somebody will probably shoot 32- or 33-under through four rounds.

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: Well, you never know when somebody is going to shoot a 63 on you. But Joe will have a firsthand look at what I'm doing and what Kevin is doing. You know, if one of us goes nuts on the front nine, that might get to him. But I think that he's focused enough, and I heard him say the other day he just wanted to go out and play another solid round, which he obviously did. I think he's just going to think the same thing tomorrow. He's an excellent driver of the golf ball. Like I said, he's probably going to hit a lot of fairways out there and hit a lot of greens and play a good, solid round. I think for somebody else to win the tournament, we're going to have to go around 61, 62.

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: No, I can't, because I don't know any of that. I don't know how I hurt it. It started hurting on the 2nd hole yesterday, No. 11 at PGA West, and I just thought it was like a cramp or a little twinge or something, and it just got worse. It really started hurting throughout the day. I worked with the trainer in the fitness center. He seems to think I might have done something to my medial meniscus; have slight tear in that. My kneecap hurts, too. How it happened, I have no idea. I've done this to both knees before, so I know what it feels like. That's my guess. I'm going to see the Phoenix Cardinals guy on Monday and see what he thinks. We might be in for a little arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday or Wednesday.

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: Right knee. Walking on the flat ground is not so bad, if I walk slow. It just got very tired. Wasn't anymore painful than it was on the 1st hole. I just ran out of gas -- walking uphill and side hills are the killer. PGA West is not hilly by any stretch when you get to the fairways, but there's a lot going off the tee. You go down, and then you go back up, and then you've got a side-hill dip, and there's all kind of little goofy dips and side hills. It's a much harder course to walk. Having said that, hopefully my knee will be twice as good tomorrow so I'll have an easier time.

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: Oh, yeah. I got the limp working. Limping a little less when I make birdie, naturally. (Laughter.)

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: I heard that. That's great.

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: I thought it was great. PGA West would probably have been the last place I would have thought he would have done it. That's awesome. Like I said, I'm a little surprised he shot the two scores as high as he did the first two days, unless he was just rusty or wasn't feeling good or something, because he's definitely better than that, as his 71 showed today. But I thought that was great.

MARK CALCAVECCHIA: Birdied No. 2. I hit a 9-iron into about 10 feet and made that for birdie. Birdied No. 4. I hit a 3-iron to about two feet and tapped that in for birdie. Birdied No. 6 with a 9-iron to about six feet. Made that for birdie. Birdied No. 8. 2-putted from 60 feet, the par 5. Birdied No. 11. I hit a pitching wedge to a foot and tapped that in for birdie. Eagled No. 13. I hit a good drive and a great 3-wood to about 25 feet and made a 25-footer for eagle. And then I bogeyed 17. I hit a bad shot left of the green and not a very good chip and a bad putt. So all-around ugly bogey there. I had a 2-putt birdie on 18 from 20 feet.