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BAY HILL INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY MASTERCARD

March 19, 2005

Kenny Perry

ORLANDO, FLORIDA

JOE CHEMYCZ: Well, I know, Kenny, it's been a long day for you. Can you talk about coming over, just playing steady today, that was the key for you?

KENNY PERRY: Well, it was a good day. I drove the ball beautifully today and hit my irons really good. Started off this morning, I've never been in a golf tournament where you have a morning tee time every day. (Laughter.) I've had a morning tee time every day.

So I got off to a good start this morning. I shot 4-under on the front nine in my morning round and I missed it probably from three feet on 2, and from about four feet on 8 to really shoot a really super round.

I can't complain. I've hit a lot of fairways with my driver. I've hit a lot of greens. I don't think I missed a green all day -- I missed one. I made a bogey on the par-3 14 this morning. That might have been the only green I missed all day.

A real fun day, had a lot of opportunities. Frustrated that I didn't separate myself a little bit from the field. So hopefully in the morning, I'm in the middle of the 12 fairway; I hit a good drive on 12. So hopefully we can get out there in the morning and post it, finish up strong the next seven holes, and then go get 'em in the afternoon.

Q. On days like this, is it more of a physical drain or a more mental drain, which is worse right now?

KENNY PERRY: For me it's physical. You know, I'm 44, I'm definitely not a spring chicken out here anymore. So, you know, a lot of the guys yesterday played 36. I know Stephen Ames was in my group, he told me he had to play 36 yesterday. But I told my caddie on last hole, I hit the best drive of the day; I don't know if that meant anything or not, but my feet are definitely very sore.

Q. In retrospect, you seem like a guy who should play well here. You hit it pretty far and you hit it pretty straight which has sort of been the hallmark of guys here at least over the last seven or eight years; fair to say?

KENNY PERRY: I told people at the beginning of the week, the guy that wins this golf tournament is the guy that drives it the best. I've not had any luck when I've hit in the rough this week. I've not been able to get it out of the rough and do anything with it. I've sign Tiger do some magical stuff out of there of, but I don't know that I have the strength to move the ball like he is does.

Q. You missed one fairway today I think in 29 holes or so, didn't you?

KENNY PERRY: Yeah, one fairway. That was my 11th, I just finished it. The 11th hole, I pulled a 3-wood in the left rough.

Q. And you missed 12 this morning; that was it.

KENNY PERRY: Oh, yeah, two fairways all day. That's kind of nice, playing out of the fairway.

Q. You're disappointed you didn't distance yourself from the field, but you're hard on yourself that you don't distance yourself from guys like Goosen and Vijay who are playing pretty well?

KENNY PERRY: Yeah, I mean, the greens, they are not very fast and they are very soft and they are holding all our shots. You know what, it's a ball-striker's golf course this week. A lot of guys are saying, "I can't get the ball to the hole," and I've kind of struggled with that a little bit, too. The greens are drying out. We did have a lot of rain on Wednesday and Thursday. So they are getting faster but they are still very receptive. They are holding all the shots. If you can get the ball in the fairway, you can be very aggressive with your iron shots.

Q. Does that mean that guys are hitting the ball well; like Vijay, he could stay there all weekend?

KENNY PERRY: Yeah, he'll stay there all day. If he's driving it well, he'll be there all day.

Q. Is this the toughest that this course has ever played in the years that you've been playing here?

KENNY PERRY: No. I guess a couple years ago we couldn't even hit the 17th green; the ball would go over every time. That year the greens were so firm and so fast, I had remember you had to play front yardage and were just hoping it would stay on the back of the green. That was a tough year, and I forget what the winning score was, but it wasn't that low that year.

Q. Kenny, why are you hitting the ball closer?

KENNY PERRY: Don't know. I've been hitting my irons well all year. I'm probably close on the TOUR in greens in reg in year in statistics. So I've been -- I don't know. I've always been able to hit my irons pretty good. I've always been able to drive the ball pretty good and whenever I put decent, I always do pretty good.

Q. You've also been somewhat of a streaky player. Do you start wondering if maybe this might be one of those?

KENNY PERRY: I don't know what you call a streaky player -- I make lots of cuts. Maybe I don't finish -- maybe I don't finish in the Top-10.

Q. When you have a chance to win, that happens for like two months at a time it seems.

KENNY PERRY: It has, yeah. I get in stretches where I have chances to win three or four tournaments in a row and then I disappear for a while. I've done that throughout my career. (Laughter.)

Q. I think that's what he meant.

KENNY PERRY: Yeah, that has happened.

Q. This course setup is it a little different than maybe you guys have seen it before; is this preferable to set up a course like this, as opposed to just make it longer or make it hard?

KENNY PERRY: I think it's great. I think they have done a really good job setting it up. I mean, it's nice to have a little variety where you do -- there is a premium on the driving. That's one of the best clubs in my bag and I always push for rough.

So it's nice this week to know that if the guys drive it in the rough, they are not necessarily going to be able to do something with it and knock it up around the green. They may have to lay something up or play a little percentage shot.

Q. As you head into the final Sunday, normally with your name atop the leaderboard, do you have a score in mind you shoot for, or is it just score board watch?

KENNY PERRY: No. If I just keep hitting fairways and greens, I'm going to be there at the end. It's just a matter of how many putts I make. So hopefully I can keep hitting the ball like I did today. It was one of the funnest rounds I've had in a long time; the 30 holes I played, it was very easy and very fun. I was right in the fairway all day right down the middle and getting on the green, so I had a lot of opportunities.

Q. What I was getting at a minute ago, do you get a sense at all that you might be entering one of these stretches and it might be a good time of the year to be doing that?

KENNY PERRY: Well, I hope so. I've always been frustrated with Florida. I've never won in Florida and I played all of my mini-tour golf here when I was on the mini tours from '82 to '85, so I've played in south Florida a lot and I've never understood why I've not had a lot of success in South Florida.

I've won in the West Coast and I've won in the northeast and I've won in the central part of the country. I've definitely got a goal to try to win here in Florida.

Q. Did you play 36 today?

KENNY PERRY: 30.

Q. 29 and a half?

KENNY PERRY: 30 and a half, yeah.

Q. Are you going to do anything different in your normal routine or rejuvenate yourself or feel good physically to keep yourself, or are you playing so well right now you didn't want to stop playing?

KENNY PERRY: Yeah, I wanted to stop. (Laughter.) I had had enough. I was mentally and physically tired and I was ready to go. I'm ready to go get something to eat and try to get my body back in shape for tomorrow. It's going to be a long day.

Q. How do you cope with a longer-than-usual day tomorrow?

KENNY PERRY: It's not going to be as long. I only have to play 25 holes tomorrow. Hopefully I'm just not going to be sore tomorrow. Hopefully I don't go out and get stiff. So stay flexible and stretch and get comfortable out there.

Q. Can you elaborate on after a year that was a good year for you, did you almost have some frustrations at the same time?

KENNY PERRY: The only frustration I had last year is I never really had a chance to win a golf tournament. I think as a pro, that's pretty disappointing. I finished 30th on the Money List. I've always said if I can finish Top-30 on the Money List I'm pretty happy.

'03 was such a magical year for me, I had a chance to win eight or nine or ten tournaments, and then not really getting in contention last year. And I made a lot of cuts and I was real steady, had a few Top-10s, I think seven or eight Top-10s, but I was never really contending for the lead. So it's nice to get back there again.

Q. Did you feel like you were putting pressure on yourself maybe; that you thought you could get back?

KENNY PERRY: I had a little equipment change. The 360s I used for four years the grooves were gone, so I finally put in a new set at the Canadian Open last year. So I guess maybe they are starting to feel a little better to me. I'm starting to get comfortable with the yardages. I went from perimeter-weighted to a blade which is what I used to play all the time. They seem to help me a little bit better out of the rough which is nice.

Q. Are you working with anybody now?

KENNY PERRY: I've seen a bunch of different people. Norman Head was my teacher for 20-something years and he's not able to help me anymore, and then I went to Ron Green and then I went to Leadbetter just a few times last year.

You know what, I've always been the kind of guy that kind of watches his divots and watches his ball flight and kind of go from there and play by feel. It's always seemed to work. My instincts have always been pretty good.

Q. When is the last time you saw anybody?

KENNY PERRY: I saw Leadbetter at the Ryder Cup. That's the last time I worked with anybody.

Q. Did you just decide at that point you would just go back and try to figure out yourself?

KENNY PERRY: You know, I got one system, the Simm system (ph), I have the laptop and cameras and I do a lot on my own. So I look at my swing and critique myself, and then I'll e-mail to a couple of guys and they will critique it and they will send it back and see if I'm thinking properly and correct what I'm doing wrong. I've been a little steep and a little out. I've been a little ahead of it, so I've been pulling my iron shots a little bit. So I kind of sat back on it this week and waited on it and released the club a little quicker and now the ball is starting more on target. I've had a bunch of shots this week that I've hit it three and four feet from the hole, so that's kind of exciting.

Q. What would it mean to you to win Arnold's tournament? You've won Jack's; you've won Colonial.

KENNY PERRY: I've won at Mr. Hogan's place and Mr. Nicklaus'.

Q. Invitational Triple Crown there.

KENNY PERRY: That would be a nice feather in the old cap, yes, it would.

JOE CHEMYCZ: Thank you all.

End of FastScripts.

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