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THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 23, 2006

Robert Allenby

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA

TODD BUDNICK: We thank Robert Allenby for stopping by after a 5 under, 67, his best opening round at TPC Sawgrass.

You started off with birdies on 11, 12 and 13.

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah, I actually made a good save for par from about eight feet on 10, so that was a good way to get the day started.

11, hit a good drive, and in between a 5 wood and a 3 iron, and just decided to cut up a little 5 wood, and just knocked it just off the back of the green. From where the flag was, it was actually in the front, only ten feet from the flag and just knocked it down and made a 3 footer for birdie.

Then I hit a driver, lob wedge into 12, to about probably 18 feet, and made that.

And a 7 iron at the 13th to about probably about eight feet, again. I made that.

Then drove it in the right rough on 14 and just had no shot. I hit a good shot in but it spun too much and ended up making 5 there.

I actually made a good save at the next hole, the 15th, with a 9 iron. Drove it in the rough again and had to chip out and hit a 9 iron out and made that.

Then hit 5 iron at the 16, and hit a perfect shot in there, in the middle of the green and rolled it down the slope into the hole from about 25, 30 feet.

And then drove it up, took 3 wood off the tee on 18. Hit it in the right rough, chipped it out, hit a lob wedge and sucked it all the way down the front and 2 putted, a bogey.

2 putted No. 2, which was my 11th hole for birdie.

5, I hit a 7 iron in there to about 15 feet and made it.

6, I hit 3 off the tee and blocked it a little bit, it didn't come back from the wind and ended up just near the cart path. Hit a wedge on to the green and rolled just off and the putted it up the slope and down the green from about 15, 20 feet and made it, which was a bit of a bonus.

No. 7, I hit a great drive down the right side. I only had just a little 8 iron in. That's all I did, hit it straight. I thought it was going to be stiff and it came up ten yards short of the green. Had a huge gust of wind just out of nowhere. And anyway, I just hit a poor chip and then missed the putt from probably 15, 10, 12, feet, whatever.

Then hit it close at 8, hit 4 iron to about 12 feet and hit a great putt. I thought it was in, but just missed on the right lip.

And then No. 9 was not much, just 2 putted from miles back.

But overall I played pretty good. I hit a lot of great shots. I hit a lot of good putts and just played pretty steady. I gave myself a lot of chances. Made a couple of silly mistakes, but I think anytime you shoot 5 under around this course it's always a good round.

Q. How is the course playing today?

ROBERT ALLENBY: It's playing nice this morning. I think the wind is starting to pick up a little bit. There's a little bit of drizzle out there. But this morning it was perfect. It was actually warmer this morning than it is right now. It's started to cool off in the last sort of hour, I guess. But this morning it was perfect. The first nine holes, first group out there, perfect greens, not a mark on them. They were just perfect. It was a good time to be out there, that's for sure.

Q. Were the greens quite receptive?

ROBERT ALLENBY: A little bit, yeah. Short irons, you're spinning them back. But mid irons, they're stopping within ten feet. So they're about as receptive as they're going to get, I would believe. But I don't know what the forecast is. They may get softer, they may not.

Q. Speaking of which, you must just die of shock when you show up here and it starts raining right off?

ROBERT ALLENBY: It always rains here. I think the last three years, haven't they gone into Monday, the last two or three? Pretty close, might even be more. Won't have to worry about it next year.

Q. Hopefully. You seem to have the first round figured out. Two weeks in a row, way up?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I'm happy with the way I played today. I played nicely last week. I thought I probably should have finished a little higher last week with the way I hit it. But that was last week, this is this week, totally different golf course, totally different places, different style of golf.

And I think this is this course sets up really well for me. I've had some good rounds here before. I'm happy with the way I'm playing at the moment. There's a few areas of my game I need to tune in just a little bit. I'll work on that this afternoon and hopefully tomorrow come out and play the same way.

Q. You would have been really young at the time, but you didn't happen to watch the '86 Masters on TV when Nicklaus won, did you?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Was I born then?

Q. Ten ish, somewhere in there.

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah, out of all The Masters I've ever watched, that's probably the most memorable one, because Norman was fighting it off with Nicklaus in '86. And I think the putt Nicklaus made at 16, where it's that big

Q. 17.

ROBERT ALLENBY: 17, was it? There you go. I told you I was young. Yeah, I still remember Norman's 3 iron at the last, missing out to the right. Obviously out of all Augusta tournaments, that's the one that sticks out the most.

Q. Watching that at home with your parents and such, probably?

ROBERT ALLENBY: No, dad was at work and I was sitting on the couch about 6 a.m. in the morning, glued to it.

Q. Why do you feel this place sets up well for you? A lot of guys talk about how it brings in the longer hitters and you obviously can get it out there about as good as anybody. So why is it a good place for you?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I think you've got to be a good ball striker around here. You've got to drive it really well. As soon as you start missing fairways, it makes it tough. You've got four inch, five inch, I think, rough out here. And the majority of the time it's wet, too, so it makes it pretty tough. I just think you've got to be a good ball striker and you've got to you definitely have to putt well around here, sure. But I think you've just got to really drive it on the fairways and hit really good iron shots.

I think you'll find a lot of Australians that that's what they're good at. They're good at driving it straight and they're good at their iron play.

Q. A few of you guys have done okay here?

ROBERT ALLENBY: A few.

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you, Robert. Good luck this week.

End of FastScripts.

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