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BOB HOPE CHRYSLER CLASSIC

January 19, 2006

Chad Campbell

LA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA

JOHN BUSH: Chad, 6 under, 66, another great day for you. If you can just comment on the round for us, please.

CHAD CAMPBELL: Yeah, you know, I played great again today. I hit a lot of good shots. I drove it in the fairway a lot, gave myself a lot of opportunities and was able to make a few putts. Really capitalized on the par 5s, and I think I birdied three out of the four par 5s. So that was kind of key.

JOHN BUSH: It's quite windy over at the Classic Club, how about the conditions over at La Quinta today?

CHAD CAMPBELL: I'm sure it's not quite as windy as it is there, but it was definitely blowing at times here. It was kind of gusty, you would play a few holes that didn't have much wind and all of a sudden it's blowing 20 miles an hour. It made it a little bit difficult at times.

JOHN BUSH: Take us through real quick, starting with birdie on No. 5.

CHAD CAMPBELL: 5, the par 5, I hit driver, 3 wood just to the front edge and 2 putted.

Next hole, birdied 6. I hit driver, 4 iron to the middle of the green and 2 putted there from about 25 feet.

Birdied 8. I hit 2 iron, 9 iron to about 15 feet.

And 10, I hit 2 iron, 6 iron to about four feet.

No. 13, the par 5, driver, 2 iron just to the front edge probably 20 feet from the hole, 2 putted.

No. 17, I hit 3 wood, 8 iron to about six feet.

Q. You had the added distraction of playing with three rock stars today, how did that go?

CHAD CAMPBELL: It was great. It was a great group. They are all really good guys and I enjoyed it. We had a good time out there. They hit some good golf shots and we just had a good time.

Q. Do they know, obviously they know how to act, but how about their fans, is it tough, especially I would think Justin Timberlake's fans could be a little overzealous.

CHAD CAMPBELL: The fans were great. We had quite a few people out there watching. Everybody knows what's going on, so they are quiet whenever I'm hitting and then whenever they are hitting or entertaining them, it can get loud at times, but, you know, they handle themselves great.

Q. I guess you know the bogeys are coming somewhere, but how important is it to avoid a series of those?

CHAD CAMPBELL: You've got to make so many birdies out here, you really want to limit the bogeys as much as possible. I don't know how the scores are going to end up today but always, this tournament, you've got make a ton of birdies. It always seems 25 , 30 under wins here. You've really got to avoid the string of bogeys that can really set you back.

Q. You mentioned you played the par 4 the par 5s 3 under today, and you were 5 under on them yesterday, is that the key to this golf tournament, just dominating the par 5s the way you are? They are all pretty reachable for every pro in this field, aren't they?

CHAD CAMPBELL: Yeah, they are. I think it helps a lot, just because if you get up to a reachable par 5 and you're not making birdie, you really feel like you're giving one back there.

So being able to birdie those, just birdieing at least three out of the four, that gets you off and running and gets you on a keeps your roll going or gets your roll going.

Q. Did you have any idea that you had taken the lead so early in your round with Perez's struggles over here, or do you care on day two of a five day tournament if you're leading?

CHAD CAMPBELL: Honestly, it really doesn't matter. I did notice. They had a few boards out here and I did notice that he was out there. You know, that course has got to be tough out there today. So, you know, with the wind blowing, I can only imagine how tough it is.

Q. You mentioned about the course being tough out here. You haven't played here yet. Would you rather have played here early and got it over with? Because now it's kicking up, you can even hear it probably over the phone. Would you rather have played here earlier knowing it's going to be windy all week?

CHAD CAMPBELL: It really doesn't matter. Everybody has to play the same golf courses. Just hopefully the day you go out there, it's not blowing quite as hard as the other days. So it's got a little bit of luck involved there.

Q. Of the three guys that you were playing with today, the rockers, anyone in particular that you've listened to more music than the other one?

CHAD CAMPBELL: I'd probably have to say Hootie and the Blowfish probably more than the other ones.

Q. And why, just more your style?

CHAD CAMPBELL: Yeah, I think it's just more a little bit more my style. They are all great and very talented. They have a great passion for the game of golf. It's amazing to see.

Q. When you play with guys like that, do you talk more golf than you do their industry, whatever it is, whether it's entertainment or sports or whatever? Do you usually talk more golf with them?

CHAD CAMPBELL: Really just a little bit of everything. They don't want to talk much about their careers probably, just me guessing, and I don't want to talk a whole bunch about golf, so we just kind of meet in the middle somewhere there.

Q. So what did you talk about today?

CHAD CAMPBELL: Honestly, I don't even remember, just everything. Just getting to know them. I've never met any of the three guys, so just getting to know where they are from, where they grew up. Just a little bit of background and how they got started in music and stuff like that.

Q. Going to your golf, you've had two good years that have followed the one incredible year, but you haven't had a win in the last couple, so can you talk about where you are now with your game and your thoughts about where you're at right now compared to, say, two years ago?

CHAD CAMPBELL: Definitely I think I'm a better player. I think, you know, hopefully every day I improve, that's the goal. That's what I'm working for. I've always said, I want to be more consistent, I want to be able to contend more often, like every week that Tiger plays, he's around the leaderboard.

I have my weeks here and there, but I'd like to be up there more consistently, and I think that's what I've been working toward. Hopefully this will be the year that that happens for me.

Q. Do you think you've got extra motivation for this week given the disappointment of what happened in the final round at Waialae Country Club on Sunday?

CHAD CAMPBELL: Obviously, I was disappointed and not happy with the way I played on Sunday. You know, looking back at it, taking a second out of the first week of the year after me taking two months off, in hindsight, it wasn't that bad of a week. More than anything, I took confidence out of it.

Q. You mentioned on television after today's round that the Ryder Cup factored high in your goals for this year. Where does it sit compared to the majors and the performance in the WGC events for you?

CHAD CAMPBELL: I would say it's right up there with them if not higher. You know, I really enjoyed the Ryder Cup last time. I didn't enjoy the outcome, obviously. But really enjoyed the team atmosphere. It's just something we don't get to do that often. So I really enjoyed it and being able to play for your country is pretty special.

JOHN BUSH: Chad, thank you and play well tomorrow.

End of FastScripts.

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