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THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 24, 2004

Chad Campbell

TPC at Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Chad, for joining us for a few minutes at THE PLAYERS Championship media center. Fun week for you last week, great play on Sunday. Talk about your second victory and just a little bit about this past couple of days.

CHAD CAMPBELL: Last week was a great week. The final round, I was going into it four shots down. I really felt like I had a good chance. I felt like I was playing well and just kept hitting good shots. I was lucky enough to make some putts, and everything worked out in the end.

I was definitely glad to be back here. I love in golf course. I had a pretty good week here last week. The course is in great shape, and I'm definitely looking forward to a great week.

Q. What's it like coming out of that tournament knowing you pretty well beat Tiger, Davis, Ernie, Retief, all the big guys, the household name guys? Does it make it any more special, and do you kind of carry that momentum into this week, with your chest swelled out a little bit?

CHAD CAMPBELL: I think so. It's always nice to win any tournament, but especially when you have such a strong field like they have at Bay Hill. It probably makes it a little more extra special, knowing they were in the field and that you have the ability to win, even though they are in the field.

Q. What did Jed do on 17?

CHAD CAMPBELL: In the water.

Q. Did he have a chance?

CHAD CAMPBELL: He brought the wrong clubs, that's what he's blaming it on.

Q. What's it like coming from Bay Hill to this place, with really this major field here this week, and trying to somehow find enough of yourself to give enough of yourself to try to win this thing?

CHAD CAMPBELL: Right. It is tough. Winning takes a lot out of you. And I've really felt it this week. I've been pretty wore out and just trying to get rested up. I haven't practiced that much, so hopefully I'll get some practice in today. You've got another hard golf course. You've got to be rested up and be mentally tough to get around this golf course.

As far as the golf course, I think they're kind of similar. The conditions, Bay Hill is pretty hard, as well. Hard greens, and these greens are harder. Harder today than yesterday, and I can only imagine what they're going to be like on Sunday. It's going to be definitely a hard test.

Q. What kind of confidence do you take from how well you played here last year? That was your first try, wasn't it?

CHAD CAMPBELL: Right. I think it helps out a lot, knowing that you have had success on this golf course and just use that this year, and knowing that you can play well is huge. And I think every year, most of the times if you don't play well at a tournament, it's kind of in the back of your mind all the time and it wears on you. It's nice to have good memories of a golf course.

Q. What did you do Sunday night or Monday, you and your wife, to celebrate, if anything? And did you hang out in Orlando or did you head straight up here? What did you do the last couple of whirlwind days?

CHAD CAMPBELL: Not too much in Orlando, not too much. They flew out Monday afternoon, and then me and my caddy just drove up here after that. Nothing too big.

Q. Get any notable congratulatory messages that were surprising or interesting?

CHAD CAMPBELL: No notes, just everybody was very happy, very complimentary of my play on Sunday. It's nice to see everybody. Everybody was pretty gracious and telling me good job. It's been nice seeing everybody. After I won THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP the year was over, so I didn't get to get it from everybody.

Q. Didn't get to gloat, either, did you?

CHAD CAMPBELL: It's been a lot of fun.

Q. President Bush didn't call?

CHAD CAMPBELL: No, no.

Q. Mickelson said 17 is a birdie hole, it's only 135 yards. What do you think?

CHAD CAMPBELL: I think it's a good hole. It's a good short hole, if you look at it that way. It's true, it's only 135 yards. If you take away the water, it definitely looks like a birdie hole. I guess you have to take that mindset into it. But if the wind starts blowing, crosswinds, into you -- last year on Sunday, I hit 6-iron into there. I chipped in for birdie. If you can find a place to chip on that green.

Q. Last year was the first year you played. Did you play this course before you got here?

CHAD CAMPBELL: I played the U.S. Amateur here in '94, I think.

Q. What did you think the first time you saw that hole, the first time you had to play it? Must be an easy hole in match play.

CHAD CAMPBELL: I didn't make it to match play, but that's all right. No, you know, it's intimidating, it is. But the way you said it, it's only 135 yards. You're hitting -- no wind you're hitting 9-iron, usually, maybe 8 at the most, a little 8. And there's a lot of green up there, but your mind plays tricks on you on that hole. The only thing you see is the bad stuff there, so you've got to block it out of your mind.

Q. Does it seem bigger when you get there?

CHAD CAMPBELL: When you're standing on it? When your ball is on it, definitely.

Q. Do you find yourself at all, at least going back to '94, even now, walking down the fairway at 16, and as soon as you get past that tent and the trees, kind of getting a peek?

CHAD CAMPBELL: Definitely you're watching that hole whenever you're walking up 16. You're seeing what everybody is -- what everybody is doing, watching where the pin is at and where the shots are landing. You're thinking about it before you get to it.

Q. Does the crowd add to the pucker factor? You don't want to humiliate yourself by doing a double dunk?

CHAD CAMPBELL: It's a great atmosphere. There's so many people out there on that hill, and it's great. It's great entertainment for all those people.

Q. For them.

CHAD CAMPBELL: Whenever I chipped in last year, I've never heard anything that loud before. It just erupted, it was awesome.

Q. Think of what would happen if you drank beer.

CHAD CAMPBELL: That's right.

Q. Your swing has been compared a lot on television to Hogan's, and I'm wondering if you see that at all, and if so, what might be some similarities?

CHAD CAMPBELL: I think the main thing that is similar is just a flatter plane is pretty much it. I've only seen a little video of his swing, and you know, I think that's about it. Obviously I've read some of his book, the fundamentals, and I don't really -- I don't do a lot of the things he said he did, as far as growing up, learning my swing through him, I didn't do that.

Q. You were pretty much self-taught, so obviously that's just what comes natural to you, the way you swing now?

CHAD CAMPBELL: Yeah, that's exactly it. I've never really had much coaching, especially growing up, didn't have that much at all, just whatever felt right.

Q. What about now?

CHAD CAMPBELL: No, still the same.

Q. Low maintenance?

CHAD CAMPBELL: I guess you could say that, yeah.

Q. Do you have anybody that checks you out regularly?

CHAD CAMPBELL: Yeah, I've got a couple of guys that just, you know, it's usually -- it's always the same thing. I know what it is. It's pretty -- not easy to fix, but it's easy to know what it is. It takes some work to get it worked out.

Q. Feel any different this week being in the Top-10 world rankings for the first time?

CHAD CAMPBELL: No, it feels good, though. It's definitely where you want to be. That was one of my goals a couple of years ago, was to get Top-10 in the world. It's taken a while, but it's been fun. I've learned a lot along the way, and it's been really good.

By the way I started off this year, to have the last three weeks work out the way they have, I've been really happy.

Q. If the wind's blowing out there like it has the last couple of days, two-club wind, how hard is this golf course relative to what you see the rest of the year? How high up in that list of ten hardest or whatever it would be?

CHAD CAMPBELL: It's up there. I think it's -- especially like yesterday, it's up there with any major, I would say. I mean I only played nine holes yesterday. I was tired of hitting it everywhere, I guess. But it's definitely a good test.

Q. What sort of town is Andrews, what's it near to and how many people live there?

CHAD CAMPBELL: It's near Midland, Odessa, West Texas, and 10,000 people, about.

Q. And what goes on there, oil?

CHAD CAMPBELL: Oil, yes, sir.

Q. Oil town?

CHAD CAMPBELL: Yes.

Q. What did you grow up doing there?

CHAD CAMPBELL: Playing golf. That's about it. Luckily my dad worked in the oil field, and luckily he didn't make me go out there too often, that's tough work.

Q. What sort of golf course is there?

CHAD CAMPBELL: It's a nice public golf course. There's members, but it's a public golf course. It's a short golf course, small town golf course, but usually in pretty good shape when I was growing up. And it was a nice place to learn the game. Compared to the other surrounding towns it was a very, very good golf course.

Q. When did you find out you had a little something extra special in your bag?

CHAD CAMPBELL: I guess it was when I started playing just junior golf tournaments and when I was probably 10, 11, 12 and winning some of those when I was 10, 11, against 13, 14 year olds. And I guess that's when I was growing up having -- being able to win tournaments and being successful at a young age.

Q. What's your history at The Masters?

CHAD CAMPBELL: Last year was the first year.

Q. How did it go?

CHAD CAMPBELL: Not too good last year, 77-77.

Q. Looks like it went the same way twice?

CHAD CAMPBELL: Yeah, it did.

Q. Talk a little about the excitement of getting in the Top-10. How long has that journey seemed? When you were in triple digits this time a year ago or starting the season last year, just kind of your progression to where you are now?

CHAD CAMPBELL: I really never paid that much attention to it until last year. When I was getting close to the top 50 to get into some events, that's when I really started paying attention to it was probably I guess halfway through last year, maybe, first part of last year. And before that I never really even worried about it.

Q. You got into The Masters last year based on --

CHAD CAMPBELL: Top-10 through last year.

Q. You hadn't cracked the top 50?

CHAD CAMPBELL: No.

Q. When you've won in the past on other Tours you always seemed to start winning in bunches. Can you feel that coming on?

CHAD CAMPBELL: I hope so. You know, I don't know --

Q. Do you feel the confidence back?

CHAD CAMPBELL: You know, it took me a while to get my first win, I know. And it's definitely nice to get my second one. So hopefully they'll keep coming pretty often. It's not the easiest thing to win out here. It's so hard, so many good players and tough golf courses. And you've got to put a lot of work in.

Q. Did you ever have any summer jobs or part-time jobs growing up, like in high school?

CHAD CAMPBELL: One, I worked out at the golf course one summer with greenskeeping, like watering greens.

Q. You didn't run the mower?

CHAD CAMPBELL: No, weed eater.

Q. Were you able to keep the gophers off the course?

CHAD CAMPBELL: Yeah.

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Chad, for joining us.

End of FastScripts.

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