Q. Did you get an sense on No. 1, that was a strange birdie, that it was your day or was going to be a strange day or --
FRED COUPLES: What went through my mind is about 50 yards from the green I was telling my caddie that I hope it stayed to the right of this tongue which would have made it go that way and it did that. I got up there, there was somebody that raked it. It rolled where the sand was behind the ball, but it was such an easy shot that I tried to get cute -- if I would have hit it out normally it would have probably had no spin and rolled 10, 15 feet behind the hole. I think it would have been a 15th or 18th hole today, I would have chosen that route. Whereas the very first hole I figured, try and get cute. I thought I could get it out of the trap and I left it in it. Make the shot, I don't think that's -- it set a tone that I felt like I could get it up-and-down but could have easily hit it out 4, 5 feet away, missed it and made 6 but turned around with a 4. But really what set the tone, I think, the way it played the back, and I got in a little bit of a groove.
Except for a shot or two, I kept telling myself, you make double on a hole, you lose a lot of ground here, but I haven't hit too many bad shots. That's what I have to do tomorrow. I have just got to hit it really solid. These fairways, as Mark said he will tell you, he hit a lot of good drives, they were curving a little bit, they'd hit and roll into the rough, so you just have to keep trying to get it in the fairway. When you get it in the fairway it's really short, really dried out that you are hitting 8, 9 wedges, those are scoring clubs, the back nine when I hit the fairways I had a lot of birdie chances.
Q. Yesterday you said having not been here in a while you wanted to go out No. 1 hit that good opening shot. Kind of go from there. (Inaudible) based on what you said yesterday, did you do it today, will it be the same?
FRED COUPLES: I did it pretty well. I hit a very bad shot on 7 and thought process was you know to get -- try and cut it right in there and get cute. Really that was a blunder and that you know, at the time took a lot of the steam away. But I went back to one shot at a time and I didn't get too down after that because I was still just -- Mark birdied the hole so picked up three shots, but tomorrow will be the same. Because I am working on my swing so every shot - sounds funny - is important. When I used to play, my swing would be good and I would play well and then when I didn't have some good days I could work my way around it, so right now, I am getting the yardage from Joe. Once I get that yardage I am actually trying to make the swing and not really worry about where it is going. For me that might be good. But again, tomorrow is -- I will be honest it is going to be hard. It is not like nowadays you can go out and play a so-so round and win a tournament. You have got to play as well as you did every other round. That doesn't mean if you shoot 65 or 4 one round you are going to shoot that every round, but tomorrow as I said, I need to be in the 60s again and if I do I will have a great chance the last four, five holes.
Q. Will you watch the scoreboard tomorrow?
FRED COUPLES: Yeah, I don't know how people play a round of golf and say they never saw what some other guy was doing, God bless them. I actually like to see what is going on. It's not -- if I see some guy 8-under after 12 I know there's a lot of birdies out there, that doesn't mean negative thoughts that oh, my God, he's ahead or he is one shot behind. It's different when there's a few guys doing it such as Ernie Els or Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson, but you know, for the guys up there right now if someone can shoot that round there's a good shot they are going to win even somebody at 11 or -- 10 or 11-under.
Q. (Inaudible)
FRED COUPLES: I think you just walked in. I said that was a huge blunder but really where I got a little bit riled up was the next hole, hit a beautiful iron left it a foot, birdie putt short. It was a weak stroke. It was a pretty nervous stroke, and I wasn't thinking about what I did there, but I knew that it was a big putt to pick one pup up that's really -- you need to worry about the line and the stroke and so just kind of chuckled and kind of kicked myself in the pants and said, just play the game, don't worry about whether it is going to go in or not because I can't control what the heck is going on. I can only control my game.
Q. So many people so close to the lead, Stuart Appleby suggested tomorrow would be a slug fest. Do you share that?
FRED COUPLES: I would agree with him. It is going to be a slug fest or a putt fest, whichever way you want to look at it. Everyone is going to bomb it down there and whoever hits the ball and makes more putts, I have got a couple of shot lead over Stewart and 1-over Calc, but you know, I can't worry about being in the lead or what is going on out there. But I know it is going to be a slew of birdies, and I just hope to go out and play well and be a part of this thing even though I am ahead. There's so many guys that if I don't play well I will be passed and that's not really what you look forward to but it can easily happen.
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