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BOOZ ALLEN CLASSIC

June 10, 2005

Robert Allenby

BETHESDA, MARYLAND

THE MODERATOR: We welcome Robert Allenby, your clubhouse leader through two rounds at the 2005 Booz Allen Classic. At 9 under par, 133, after a 6 under 65 today. Nice round out there. You got four birdies your fix six holes. Got off to a great start.

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah, I did. Got away to a good start. Just hit a lot of good iron shots and then made the putts as well, which was nice.

I think the only real bad hole in there was No. 9. I hit a good tee shot and I tried to go for the green in two, came up a little short and just had a nasty little lie on the upslope just over near the bunkers on the right. Just didn't have much of a shot. I got caught up in the long grass there. Anyway, ended up making 6 at the end of that.

Anyway, hit a lot of great iron shots and made a lot of good putts as well, made a lot of good putts. I was happy to finish with a couple under good par plays in the last two holes there, as well. A good way to finish.

THE MODERATOR: Talk about your season to date. You have two Top 10s, both came in February in back to back weeks. Are you happy with your progress this year?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I'm happy that I'm starting to play well now. I wasn't too happy pretty much from I mean, I know LA was two rounds, so I didn't really get to prove myself there. The match play, I played well. But after the match play, I don't know, I developed some inflammation in my hands. At first we thought I had rheumatoid arthritis or some sort of arthritis, did a bunch of blood tests. And ever since up until last maybe week or two weeks, it's only just started to go down. Only a couple of fingers in my right hand feel a little stiff and achy, but my left hand feels much better.

I haven't been hitting the ball that bad, but I just haven't been putting or chipping very well. I've had no feel, no touch around the greens at all. Even to this day we still don't know what was causing it. But after the US Open, I'm going to do an allergy test, see if I'm allergic to anything, maybe spicy foods, something like that. So hopefully I'll get to the bottom of it soon. But just dealing with it and just making the most of the way I'm playing at the moment.

Last week I actually played pretty well tee to green. I do most weeks. But, as I said, just not a lot of feel in the hands so that makes it hard to get the feel with the putter.

But this week it feels a little bit better. You know, yesterday I played well enough to shoot 8 under or 9 under. Today I shot 6 under, and I still missed a couple. But, you know, I played solid on the Back 9 when I had to. So it was good.

THE MODERATOR: Do you think the warm weather here may have an effect?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I think so maybe, yeah. You know, luckily the last couple weeks it's been warm. You know, it definitely has a little more feel in there. I find that in the morning it's really stiff and I can only close my hand about that much. I run it under the hot water and then it eases off a little bit. But, yeah, it's not the best thing to have being a golfer (laughter). I can think of better things.

THE MODERATOR: All right. We'll open it up to questions.

Q. Doing anything to counteract it other than running it under hot water? Taking a cortisone shot, steroids or anything like that?

ROBERT ALLENBY: No. Well, I had a patella tendinitis as well in my right knee. I've had that for about six, seven months. After Augusta, I just couldn't put up with the pain in my knee and the pain in my hand. And I had like a cortisone pack that I took for like 10 days, some tablets. All the pain went away. I felt like a champion. Then about three days after it had worn off, it all came back again.

But I just I don't know. I refuse to take any, you know, anything like that at all. I'm not really into that. I am taking some Celebrex for the inflammation in my knee and my fingers. I do have another tablet that I am taking, but it's a very mild tablet for inflammation, and that's just what my doctor put me on. But nothing major, no strong medication or anything like that. I'd rather put up with the pain than put something in my body that could, you know, long term jeopardize something.

Q. Did you notice maybe that reduced your feel? Even though it felt great, did that reduce the feel? Did you hit any balls during that point?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah, as I said, I felt like a champion. I felt like Superman.

Q. It didn't affect your feel at all around the greens?

ROBERT ALLENBY: No. It felt better, yeah, because the inflammation went down. I felt like I had a lot more feel. But, you know, I'm just happy at the moment that, you know, it's not as bad as what it was and I can put up with it. Knowing I'm sure it's only going to go down, so...

Q. Must be a tremendous mental challenge to deal with that and focus on golf week to week, yes?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah, I mean, I thought about taking a lot of weeks off and trying to, you know, just sit there and wait. But, you know, it's hard. Do I take the US Masters off? Do I take other tournaments off? No. I just try to deal with it and put up with it hoping that I'd wake up and it would feel a lot better.

You know, last couple weeks it has felt better where I have had a lot more feel with the putter.

Q. When exactly did it start?

ROBERT ALLENBY: The first time I actually felt it was the Saturday morning of LA. If we were playing Saturday of LA, I wouldn't have been able to play. I would have pulled out because my whole hand was massive. I couldn't have played. I couldn't even bend my hands like that.

And then Sunday was the same. Didn't feel good at all. It was really swollen. I took some antiinflammatories. Then Monday it was iffy after the match play. Tuesday it actually felt pretty good. Then, you know, I played pretty well throughout that week. But then it came back pretty much Doral. Then I've been battling it ever since.

Q. Did you rack your brain for what might have gone on in LA, what you ate, what you were exposed to?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Well, Friday night I had some food that was so spicy that I just couldn't even get it down. You know, now when I look back on it, I look back and think maybe I'm allergic to some sort of chili or something. I don't know. That's what I'll find out after US Open. Hopefully we'll get to the bottom of it.

Q. You seemed to putt very well, particularly on the Back 9. Was that the strongest part of your game today?

ROBERT ALLENBY: My iron play was pretty good. I hit a lot of shots close, but I definitely made some putts when I needed to. I made a great save I think the par 5, what is it, 15? I made, yeah, like a 7 , 8 footer for a par there. Made a good birdie at 16 from about 10 feet. Made a couple of good saves at the end from about probably eight feet on 17 and about six and a half footer on 18.

Putting was good, it was really nice. I was happy with the way I stroked it.

Q. You left your approach short at 17.

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah, I hit it just in the rough off the tee. Just had nothing. I tried to smash an 8 iron up towards the front of the green. I got it to within about 10 yards of the green.

Q. Could you have imagined a tournament at Congressional in which perhaps par might not even make the cut?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah, well, it's hard to believe after having the US Open here. Wasn't that many under that actually won the tournament. We're playing a totally different golf course to then. The golf course is soft. The rough is probably only three inches thick. The greens are really soft. They're still quick, but they're a little soft and sort of a little springy. Poa does that when you get a bit of rain on it's.

Q. How did you go there?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Too long ago to remember. You guys should know that (laughter).

Q. Do you know if you came away feeling good or bad?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I can't even remember if I made the cut (laughter). I'm not sure. You'll have to look it up.

Q. You said you went for the green on No. 9 in two. Most of the other pros aren't trying that. What was your thinking there?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Well, I had 265 to the front, and wind was a little bit in to had a good lie, maybe a little bit on the downslope. I just didn't want to hit 8 iron from my layup shot. You know, 8 iron and then a sand iron. So I just thought, well I don't know. I just thought even if I was short, just short there, it would be fine. You know, plenty of room to chip from. I was pretty unlucky with the lie I got. You know, I was sitting in some wiry grass about this long. I just I couldn't get it out.

Q. (No microphone.)

ROBERT ALLENBY: Well, just before I went to hit my 3 wood, my caddie did say, "Oh, what about laying up?" So I hit the 3 wood and I looked at him, I gave him the club and said, "Thank you very much. Thanks for the vote of confidence."

Q. Is that a hole they should have moved the tee up? It was playing fast and firm. As it is right now, as soft as it is, if they moved the tee up 15 yards, it's a lot more fun to watch.

ROBERT ALLENBY: I think so. Especially in front of the clubhouse there. Gathers a lot of people there. They might think about it on the weekend. Who knows.

Q. With as soft as the greens are, you mentioned you're playing well with the irons, is that probably the biggest advantage somebody could have out here? Is that a big key, the iron play?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Oh, absolutely. Obviously, you've got to hit in the fairway first. If you hit it in the rough, it makes it hard to get not only close but even to the green. You know, the rough's not super thick, but it's just thick enough to enable you to get to the green, at least on some holes. Most of the places where I hit it, I couldn't get to the greens.

But, yeah, I mean, if you're hitting your irons good, it's just up to your putter then. And last two days, I played tee to green very solid, yeah.

Q. (No microphone.)

ROBERT ALLENBY: There's a few tight ones in there. Because the greens are soft, you can just (indiscernible) straight on top of it. There are a lot of short holes out here. It seems like a lot of 9 iron, wedges, probably more than normal. I mean, especially after playing last week, you know, everything is driver, 5 iron sort of stuff. You know, there's a lot of short holes, so you can really take advantage of those ones.

Q. Sounds like the hand didn't affect your ball striking at all tee to green very much. Was it almost all chipping and putting?

ROBERT ALLENBY: You know, even over the last few months, it hasn't affected my ball striking that much. It's just I don't have any feel. And I guess for a long shot, you don't need a lot of feel, you know, it's all about technique. But for putting, especially for me, I'm a lot different to a lot of people. I'm a very "feel" player, very natural. I got to have the feel in my hands, otherwise I got no chance of getting it in.

Q. Has it affected your ability to shape the ball at all?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Not really. Not really. I find shaping the ball is pretty easy for me. I've never really had a problem so far with my hand with my ball striking. But definitely with my short game.

THE MODERATOR: Let's go through your birdies, starting with the one on the par 3, 2nd hole.

ROBERT ALLENBY: I hit a 5 wood there. Actually, I think I lipped it out. Went about eight feet past, I think. I made that.

The next hole, I hit driver, 9 iron, to about, I don't know, two or three feet.

THE MODERATOR: 5.

ROBERT ALLENBY: 5, short par 4, hit 3 wood off the tee, hit a little pitching wedge to about, I don't know, eight feet.

Hit a good tee shot down there, down the right side of the fairway. Hit a 5 wood and pulled it a little bit, absolutely dead, left, pin high. Flag was back left. I hit an unbelievable shot to about six feet, made it.

THE MODERATOR: 11, birdie.

ROBERT ALLENBY: 5 wood off the tee. Drove it into a nice big old divot, hit a wedge to about six feet, made it.

THE MODERATOR: 14.

ROBERT ALLENBY: 14, up the hill. 3 wood, 8 iron, 10 feet.

THE MODERATOR: 16?

ROBERT ALLENBY: 16, 5 wood, 7 iron, 10 feet.

Q. The last couple of years with Stuart playing as well as he has, Adam coming out, you were a guy who was dominant in Australia as a junior. Did you ever feel like you were being sort of overlooked from the new group of Aussies coming out?

ROBERT ALLENBY: No, not really. I'm just happy for them. Don't forget Peter Lonard, Mark Hensby, Geoff Ogilvy, Stephen Allan has been close. Nick O'Hern, Richard Green last week played really well. There's sole many Aussies, you know, now that are playing so well. We're loving it over here. You know, I haven't been up to par definitely the last year or so. You go through those stages. I had a bad year last year and I finished just outside the top 40. I mean, still did all right.

Golf is one of those things, it goes around in cycles. You know, you can't play well all the time. I'm afraid we're all human. But, you know, I've just been patient the last over the last few months knowing that, okay, this will wear off, my golf will get better. Especially the way I've been hitting it, I've been hitting the ball fantastic. It's just nice to finally see some rewards coming with the patience. I'm going to stay patient over the weekend and we'll see what happens.

Q. The average golf fan in the States I don't think knows your background, how dominant you were in the Australian junior golf. A player of your caliber had come out now, everybody would be talking about "Here is the next." I don't think anybody knows how dominant you were.

ROBERT ALLENBY: I'm not that old yet. I'm only 33. I feel like I've been around a while. I think there's a little bit of golf left in me. Very sensitive down there.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Robert.

ROBERT ALLENBY: Okay.

End of FastScripts.

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