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BELLSOUTH CLASSIC

April 1, 2005

Slugger White

DULUTH, GEORGIA

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you for joining us for a few minutes at the media center at the BellSouth Classic. Another day of disappointing weather, why don't you begin with the scenario for the next couple of days.

SLUGGER WHITE: Where do I begin? This morning when we got here about 5:45, I went out and looked around -- we had weather that was just as wet as it was yesterday, basically. And we started with an hour delay because we were looking at weather coming at 7:30 this morning. It didn't really get to us till about 8:00. We went with another two-hour delay, and then it ended up being a five-hour delay. If I missed some hours in there, sorry; days are running into nights.

At about 11:00 we looked at the golf course again, and it's completely saturated. It's unplayable. Again, my hat's off to Mike Crawford and his crew. They have done an outstanding job of getting the bunkers ready and the greens ready, but it was just something we can't -- we've got a golf course that's completely saturated.

So we're going to try tomorrow to start the first round again at 7:00. Try to play 18 tomorrow. Try to play 18 on Sunday, make a cut, play 36 holes on Monday, the cut being to the nearest 60, nearest number to 60. That's in a perfect world.

Like I told you yesterday, our main objective is 72 holes completed. Now it's not going to be Sunday, but it will be Monday; that's our objective right now.

Q. Has there been any protest to playing 36 holes on Monday?

SLUGGER WHITE: No, Ma'am. I haven't heard a word. I don't know what the protest would be. That's our regulations.

Q. I know it's hypothetical, but if it gets to Monday and you've played 18 and there were weather delays along the way and it looks like you might not finish another 18 at the end of Monday, would it go until Tuesday?

SLUGGER WHITE: No. Our best scenario is 72 holes Monday. Our next best would be 54. Tomorrow is going to dictate a lot of what's going to happen in the next three days, I'll say, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

And again, I hate to keep sounding so redundant, but our objective is now 72 holes Monday. If we can't reach that, it will be 54 holes Monday. And tomorrow is going to have a lot to do with -- a lot to say about what we do.

Q. What is the forecast?

SLUGGER WHITE: We're going to have a little lull here in about 20 minutes or so for maybe about two hours, and then we've got some more weather coming behind that, getting out of here this evening, but into the early evening, early morning tomorrow, and we could see tomorrow morning when we get here, we could see a little mist, for lack of a better word; just the moisture that just remains because the low pressure is pushing everything up towards South Carolina and on out to sea.

Q. Any concern about withdrawals from players when you get into a situation like this?

SLUGGER WHITE: Concerned, I think our players have an obligation to the BellSouth Classic. They have committed to play here and are expected to play here. I hope it's not a concern.

Q. I know with the Masters, but this particular situation?

SLUGGER WHITE: We've been through this before, and I think the commitment is here to the BellSouth Classic to the people here. I mean, I feel confident enough that they will be here.

Q. What time tomorrow do you expect to tee off in the morning?

SLUGGER WHITE: 7:00, same time, just resuming the first round tomorrow morning.

Q. What kind of wind are you hearing about tomorrow?

SLUGGER WHITE: Well, fortunately and unfortunately, we're looking at upwards of 35-mile-an-hour winds out of the northeast, and a high of about 53 degrees. It might help. (Laughing.) It might help dry things out.

We just need time. Like I said yesterday, the golf course is so saturated, it just needs time. There's no place to push it. And again, you know, Mike Crawford and his guys are willing it, but it's just no place for it to go. It just keeps coming back at you.

Q. Cut to 60 for logistical reasons?

SLUGGER WHITE: Nearest number to 60, because, well, history serves, we need almost 12 hours to play 36 holes with that number and that's all we have. We get the time at the end with about a because of daylight savings time, but we lose it in the morning.

Q. Have you ever known it to be as wet as this?

SLUGGER WHITE: It's pretty bad. It seems like I've walked up and down that corridor between the cart path and the locker room many times at this event, and it's pretty wet. It has, it's been a constant -- there's no -- we haven't had any breaks, that's our problem.

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Slugger.

End of FastScripts.

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