THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 24, 2000

Omar Uresti

OMAR URESTI: Yeah.

OMAR URESTI: Well, actually starting this morning on 17 I had dumped it in the water, hit a really poor shot. Able to hit sand wedge up there about four feet; made the putt for bogey. That kind of got my day going, at least there, a halfway decent direction by getting up-and-down there. Then starting the second nine, started on No. 10. , made a good up-and-down on 10. Hit my drive in the right rough. Hit it short, and got up-and-down from about 20 yards. Made about a 4-, 5-footer for par there. Then 11, I got up-and-down from left of the green for birdie. So almost made my pitch shot. Actually went to about eight inches. Tapped that in for birdie. 12, I hit a good drive. Hit a wedge up there, oh, about four, five feet past the hole; knocked that in for birdie. 13, hit 8-iron, and it landed just on the side of the slope and rolled down towards the hole about six feet from the hole; made that. So I was pretty fortunate. Then, let's see, 14, hit a good drive. I hit -- I was in between clubs. I tried to hit a hard 9-iron, didn't quite catch, it plugged in the bunker short. I hit that out by twelve feet; made the putt for par. So I was -- that kind of kept me in there again. Then made a good par on 15. 16, hit it just short of the green in two. Hit a little -- my putt almost made that. So I tapped that in for birdie. Then parred 17 and 18. And No. 2, 3-wood off the tee because I figured I could still reach it in two with a 3-wood. I was able to hit a little draw with that. Right, just short right of the green. 5-wood, hit my putt by or my chip by about seven, eight feet; and knocked that in for birdie. No. 3, the wind was a little tricky. All three of us in the group came up well short of the green, and it was kind of a tough little chip shot from down there, being just short, hit it by twelve feet; missed that putt, left it short right in the heart, but other than that, hit a couple -- hit a good pitch shot. I thought it just took off; then the putt was just not quite hard enough. Got up-and-down on 4 from just over the back edge. Pretty happy with that. Then No. 5, didn't hit enough club on my second shot. Came up well short in the right, pitched it past the hole about six, seven feet; chipped my putt a little bit hard for the line that I hit it on; went by, so I made bogey. Then I get to 6, hit wedge on -- didn't quite hit it like I wanted to, but I had like a 25, 30-footer; somehow I made that. Then we get to No. 7. I hit a pretty good drive down there, hit my 5-wood up there about seven feet from the hole. I thought I hit a good putt, just misread it. It stopped breaking on me halfway there, so made par. 8, really good up-and-down from well right of the green. Made about a 5-footer for par there. 9, rolled in a 12-footer for par. I kind of struggled on 9, hit it just in the short cut, hit 3-wood right, in the rough, thought I hit a 9-iron out there; thought I hit a good shot released to the back edge, difficult chip, rolled it up to the green, made a difficult par.

OMAR URESTI: Actually I just kind of laughed because I have done that before on that hole and made bogey, so I wasn't too, too worried.

OMAR URESTI: I thought I was until this morning because the wind was still blowing. It didn't seem to let up overnight.

OMAR URESTI: Two, 17 and 18.

OMAR URESTI: Actually I didn't really think about it at all. Maybe I should have (laughs).

OMAR URESTI: The birdie streak?

OMAR URESTI: Started on the 4th hole and went through No. 12. Then I had parred 13 and I birdied 14, so, I made 9 in a row, then birdied 10 of 11.

OMAR URESTI: The past few weeks my game has gotten a little better and it is just a matter of getting the confidence and everything going, so I knew I was close to it and I am glad it is this week so far.

OMAR URESTI: So far this week I have made five putts that have been about 30 feet or longer for birdies and actually four for birdies and one of them for pars. So right now it has been my putting and when I have missed shots, they haven't been on the short side of the green where I have had a tough chip shot. They have been where I have had a lot of green to work with and able to run them up to the hole.

OMAR URESTI: Other than maybe a putt here and there, I think I played pretty well because I - I don't know how many greens I hit, but I know I made quite a few good par saves today where I had to get up-and-down, made a lot of 4, 5-footers for par.

OMAR URESTI: I haven't heard anything from some of the other guys. I actually have not been -- I haven't seen the article yet but some friends of mine and some other people have told me it was a really good article. I am looking forward to seeing it.

OMAR URESTI: Travel might get in the way. Actually we will probably drive up with my brother to Atlanta and we have a TV so we will probably plug it in and try to watch some of it.

OMAR URESTI: Oh, best actor is probably Denzel, in my books, anyway. Although it is pretty close with Kevin Spacey. Best movie overall, probably I am thinking the Green Mile. Those are the only two I feel pretty good about.

OMAR URESTI: Well, to pass the time out here on Tour I average two to three movies a week and I have been to one this week but that is all I am right now having time for.

OMAR URESTI: Well, watching in the past, it seems like slow players seem to affect the fast players a little more, but Fulty is used to playing with me. We played together quite a few times. I am just going to try and keep my pace up right now that I have been playing. I actually feel like I have sped a little bit the past this year, especially with my confidence a little bit better, you play a little faster, but Fulty is fast and I will give him that. We will just have to see. I don't want to make him mad or anything, but at the same time I don't want to disrupt my game.

OMAR URESTI: Yeah, he gives me a hard time every now and then. It is friendly needling.

OMAR URESTI: He just, you know, like every now and then he might say: You are playing slow or whatever. But it is usually after the round. He doesn't really say anything during the round.

OMAR URESTI: No, he hasn't done that to me.

OMAR URESTI: Oh, gosh. Maybe a handful. (laughs).

OMAR URESTI: No. And I was also a communications major, so I am a little --

OMAR URESTI: Yeah.

OMAR URESTI: Unfortunately I will probably hear it a lot throughout the day if I am or throughout the evening, but I am just going to try to put it behind me. There is still 36 holes of golf to play. See if I can just keep playing the way I have been playing.

OMAR URESTI: Not really. It is all about Sunday, so, we will see what happens then. I am very excited to be where I am right now, but we will just see what happens after Sunday's round. That is the important thing.

OMAR URESTI: If it happens, it happens. I am only 31 years old so I feel like I have quite a few years left.

OMAR URESTI: Actually I went and saw Hanging Up, the one with Meg Ryan.

OMAR URESTI: It was pretty good. A little different than I expected.

OMAR URESTI: Usually I have seen all the ones that are in the room. It is almost cheaper to go to the movie theater than it is to watch them in the hotel room.

OMAR URESTI: I forget the name of those ones. I have kind of forgotten the names of all the ones I see because I see so many. But one of them I did not like. I can't think of it right now. There is one, but I can't think of the name.

OMAR URESTI: Caddie Shack, Dead Solid Perfect as far as golf goes. My favorite western is The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. And just flatout different movies is Pulp Fiction.

OMAR URESTI: Actually we agree most of the time on what we see. We usually see them together quite often, so -- but our opinions are fairly similar.

OMAR URESTI: He doesn't see too many movies. He'd rather just sit at the house or whatever or his hotel and relax. But I can't stay inside like that. I'd rather go out and watch a movie rather than sit inside the room and watch a movie.

OMAR URESTI: Organizational communications, just real general thing. Could have gone into several different areas.

OMAR URESTI: Yeah.

OMAR URESTI: That is a backup. (laughter).

OMAR URESTI: Well, I have been with my instructor Chuck Cook since I was 13. But as far as idols, there was Crenshaw and Tom Kite being from Austin and Tom Watson, I always liked the way he was -- the way he hit the ball.

OMAR URESTI: I am starting to figure -- earlier in the year, my attitude wasn't the best and some of that comes with confidence as well. The swing wasn't feeling real solid and I'd hit some good shots but when I missed it, I was missing it really bad so the confidence wasn't quite there. Right now everything is feeling pretty solid. But I do wonder why it doesn't happen more often but that is the game of golf.

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