VALERO TEXAS OPEN

September 26, 2003

Tim Clark

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Tim Clark, thanks for joining us. Great round today 63 7-under par puts you at 12 under for the tournament. 14 of 14 fairways today, and the second consecutive day only 26 putts. You have got most of the phases down this week.

TIM CLARK: I think the biggest thing for me this week has been the putting. It's the best putting I've ever putted before. The fairways are very generous. That's not unexpected to go out there and hit 14 fairways. Those putts I'm making obviously reflect me being 12 under right now.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: You have some big tournaments coming up. None more probably than the Presidents Cup. You were selected by Gary Player for the team a couple of weeks back. Talk about going to play for the International team in your home country of South Africa in November.

TIM CLARK: I was excited to be picked by Gary. It was unexpected at the time, and now I need to go out and prove I should be on the team. I've played nicely the last few weeks, I just had a few-week break, it's nice to come out here and have the form I had at the PGA, and I'm really looking forward to it. It's going to be a fun event, but also great golf.

Q. Is it strange to be 12 under after two rounds and not be on top of the leaderboard?

TIM CLARK: A little bit. The course sort of hasn't shown its teeth yet. The wind hasn't picked up yet. I'm expecting it's going to be low scoring on the weekend. You have to look at somewhere around 20-under winning and really go in and attack the course.

Q. Why were you surprised that Gary picked you?

TIM CLARK: Well, there were a few guys higher in points in front of me that could have been picked. Gary looked at my finishes in the majors in some of the bigger tournaments. Obviously, without my good play at the PGA I would not have been picked. That obviously had a big influence in his decision. I feel now that I do belong on the team and a win here would certainly go a long way in proving that.

Q. Talk a little bit about the conditions this afternoon. You're lucky to be playing in the afternoon instead of the morning.

TIM CLARK: I don't know what it was like in the morning. I was still sleeping, I think. I felt the course yesterday, I was first off, and the greens were just so good. It was easy to make putts. I half expected them just to be a little more bumpy today, but they were great again. The course played pretty much the same in the afternoon as it did in the morning for me. So yeah, I'm pleased with the times I got. I think the leaderboard is pretty spread out on both sides of the draw.

Q. What are the fairways like out there? Are they still pretty soft?

TIM CLARK: They were a little bit soft. A couple of times I had mud on the ball, and that always makes it a little bit tough. But they certainly weren't too bad. And the ball certainly isn't going as far as it was yesterday.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Let's go through your birdies, bogeys, and eagles. You started out with a birdie on the par 5.

TIM CLARK: My third shot hit the flag there, the pitch mark was about an inch from the hole. Luckily it came to rest six, seven feet from the hole. Sometimes those can shoot off the green. I was lucky there.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: The only bogey on No. 5.

TIM CLARK: I hit a great drive down the fairway, mud on the ball, I hit a 6-iron, and I was literally 30 yards from the flag right. Just one of those things that took off and had its own mind. That was unfortunate. But in the end I made a pretty good bogey there and it didn't hurt my round.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Birdies on 7 and 8.

TIM CLARK: 7, again there are holes where you have sand wedge and lob-wedge, and I hit it about 10 feet on 7, made the putt.

And on 8, again 10 feet and made the putt. I've been making those this week.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: And then came back with a birdie on 12, 13, and an eagle on 14.

TIM CLARK: 12, I hit an 8-iron into a pretty tucked flag today. I hit it probably 5 feet below the hole and made the putt.

13, I hit it about 20 feet, didn't hit a very good shot there, about 20 feet and made the putt.

And then on the eagle, I hit a 3-wood in there to about 20 feet, a really tough put up the hill and thought I missed it. It went too hard and it went in. I didn't expect it to go in. I'm not used to seeing that many balls go in the hole.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: The last birdie on 16.

TIM CLARK: I played from the fairway, took the safe route, took a sand wedge and hit three or four feet there, made the putt.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Any thoughts going into the weekend?

TIM CLARK: Like I say, it's going to be low scoring again. I need to go out there and shoot for birdies. You have to play aggressive. It all depends what the weather does, if the wind picks up. I'd like to see the wind pick up and get the scores not quite as low. I'd like to see a good score on the weekend being 6, 7 under.

Q. At the beginning of the week did you feel like the course set up for you?

TIM CLARK: Yes, it did, and leading up to coming here, Justin Leonard has won here a few times. We are similar length off the tee, so it's a course that doesn't necessarily require length. It does set up pretty good for me. Obviously with the scores like that, you're just going to have to putt well.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Tim Clark, thank you.

End of FastScripts.