MCI CLASSIC

April 15, 2000

Stewart Cink

STEWART CINK: It was a good round. I was pleased. I felt good all day. Everything was going straight. Putts were rolling pretty nice, and it was really just a nice day outside, after the last couple of days; and I think everyone, since that, the ball is traveling back to normal distance, and it was just a beautiful day. So I was pleased with the way I played, and took advantage of some good conditions. 2nd hole, I hit a 3-iron into the green just off the edge and chipped, and made about an 8-footer there for birdie. 7, I hit a 7-iron about 25 feet left of the hole there and made it. Kind of went up and over, kind of a roller-coaster type putt, and I was pleased there. 10, driver 9-iron about 15 feet and made that one. 13, almost knocked it into the hole. Hit a pitching wedge in there about a foot. Made a good up-and-down on the next hole to keep my momentum going. Missed the green, and made a good par save there. 15, I hit a sand wedge, laid up and hid a sand wedge on the green there about seven feet, and made that one. Parred the rest of the way in. I was pleased. I had a lot of good chances. I could have made a lot more birdies, and hopefully tomorrow a few more will drop.

STEWART CINK: The main difference was it was just enjoyable. It felt great. But the wind wasn't blowing much, the ball was traveling. You didn't have to add a club just because it was cold, just because you had on the extra clothing. And your hands were nice and -- the feeling was back into them, and you didn't have to worry about numbness. It was brutal yesterday. I mean, it was freezing, freezing. But today, the greens were soft, and the pins were tough on some holes, but it was still really just right in front of you. You could just fire right at them. There weren't many holes where we weren't aiming straight at it. But I think I hit every fairway today; so that made it -- it was an easy 66 today. I'd like to be able to say that more often. But I didn't give myself too many chances to make bogeys.

STEWART CINK: Yeah, but not on this tour, though. Everybody plays so good, especially when, you know, you've got a guy that's shooting 8- or 7-under on the first two days in weather like that, that's just phenomenal. The golf is just at a very high level out here. It doesn't surprise me. It's definitely not the first time that the leaders have pulled themselves away from the other guys. I just hope maybe that tomorrow I can put some pressure on whoever is leading at the end of the day and maybe make a run for it.

STEWART CINK: I didn't go out thinking they were going to play well; although, I knew they probably would. But I knew some scores from the early rounds and knew the course was ripe for some good scoring. And I knew that if you didn't shoot at least 2-, or 3-under par today, you were just going to get lapped. That's my mentality today. Everybody was shooting low; so why don't we go out and shoot low, too.

STEWART CINK: Well, satisfied, no, because I haven't reached my goals. I still want to be back in the winner's circle. I've been waiting for that now for three years, almost three years. So that's one of my major goals. Also I want to secure my place in the Top-30 a little earlier this year. I've been nail-biting the last two years, and I've come up on the wrong end. So I want to -- I want to take steps to solidify my position. So satisfied, no. Pleased? Yes. I've been playing pretty well. I haven't had too many hot putting rounds yet. So I feel comfortable on these greens.

STEWART CINK: Well, I don't know what he's going to finish today, but it's almost to the point where you have to -- you have to have some kind of a collapse to catch a guy like Ernie. You know, he's won many tournaments, and he's proven to be a pretty strong front runner, so I don't expect him to back down very much. Then again, though, if I didn't have the ability to shoot a pretty incredible score, I wouldn't be on the TOUR. Maybe a 62 or 63 is out there and that will put some pressure on whoever it is.

STEWART CINK: I've played some -- some with him, not a whole lot, but I've played enough with him to know his game and that he's a really good player. And it's no -- it's no accident that he's won two majors. He's a good playmate.

STEWART CINK: Well, from what I see, as far as what he does best, I don't think he makes too many mistakes. He's long off the tee, but he's also pretty straight, and he hits good iron shots. And he just doesn't do that much bad. He doesn't do anything wrong; that's his main strength. But compare my game to his, I think we're pretty similar. I mean, I -- what I'm playing well, I hit a lot of fairways and I hit the ball pretty long, too. And I think of myself as a good manager of the golf course. I'm playing the golf course. I'm not coming out there trying to force my style of play onto a particular course, and Ernie is like that, too. I think he really is very aware of what's around him and the conditions and how the wind is going to move the ball through the trees and whatever. So I think we're similar. Obviously, he's won more than I have, and he's more accomplished than I am, but our game styles are very similar.

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