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FBR OPEN

February 3, 2005

Michael Allen

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA

JOHN BUSH: We've got Michael Allen with us for a few minutes. Michael, thanks for coming by, 1-under par 70. Exactly how good was that round today?

MICHAEL ALLEN: I don't know. I got a couple good breaks. I played hard all day, but when you play in the wind like this, it comes out a couple good breaks and just being able to putt without a big gust of wind hitting you is kind of a break.

JOHN BUSH: We'll get you to take us through your birdies and bogeys, starting with a birdie on No. 2.

MICHAEL ALLEN: I holed a long putt. It was about pin high, so I must have holed a 40-foot putt. Jeff had just putted, so I saw it, but I knocked it in.

Next one, I missed about a three-footer for birdie.

Then the 4th hole I hit a 7-iron just short of the green on the left, just on the fringe, so I was, I don't know, 15 feet from the hole, and I made that.

Bogey on 6, I hit a pretty good drive there and hit a 7-iron. I just laid up with a 3-wood, hit 7-iron, and it just plugged in the bunker, and then I came out to about 20 feet and missed that.

Then 8, that was the highlight of the day. 8, I hit a good drive, a 3-iron just to the right of the green, and the wind was just howling at that point. I made a putt from just off the green. It wasn't going very hard, but the wind was just going to take it ten feet by, but it hit the stick and went in. That was really the turning point in the round. That got me going.

Q. How far was that?

MICHAEL ALLEN: It was the longest putt I've had all year. It was probably 50 feet or something like that.

Bogey on 11, I hit 3-wood just right, just into the rough, just buried six inches. I hit 9-iron out and putted it by, so I had about a 20-foot putt for par that I didn't make.

14, again, I hit it right in the rough and again I had to lay up out of it, just smashing a 9-iron as hard as I could. I still had 150 yards left. I was just trying to hit a 150 yard shot and hit it in the middle of the green and two-putted.

Then birdie on 15, had a pretty good drive, laid up with a 5-iron and hit a little pitching wedge from 80 yards to about four feet and made that.

Q. How bad was that wind in terms of the kind of wind you've played in?

MICHAEL ALLEN: I remember the last time I did well out here, it was really blowing a lot like that the last day or last couple days. You don't get a lot of wind around here like that, but played in that condition once or twice. Of course they didn't have quite the rough that they have now.

Q. Where were you when the delay happened?

MICHAEL ALLEN: We were on the 12th tee, nice place to stop, nice view, a look at the water for an hour, half hour.

Q. Were you surprised? Were you having problems with your ball sliding or what did you think at the time?

MICHAEL ALLEN: Actually on the 11th hole I had to have a ruling because I hit my first putt after I chipped out and whatever. I had my first putt for par about three feet past the hole, and my ball was sitting there oscillating, and as soon as I put my coin down, the ball rolled about a foot and a half closer to the hole. So I had to get a ruling to see if the ball was actually marked, what that was, or if you play it from where it ends up. My lucky stars, that was a good break. I got to play it from where it rolled to.

A three-foot putt in these conditions with the wind blowing like it is is a tough putt.

I actually just laid it on the ground but I hadn't touched the ball yet. It was just sitting there honestly, and it rolled a foot and a half closer to the hole.

Q. You didn't give it a little push?

MICHAEL ALLEN: I wanted to (laughter).

Q. The holes that you were playing dead into the wind, how many club difference? Was it two, three?

MICHAEL ALLEN: Two or three, yeah. Like the par 5, the 15th hole, I was trying to hit it 170 yards, and I hit a 5-iron, keeping it down, and it went basically 168, and it's normally a 200 club. I didn't hit it up in the air.

Then the next hole I was trying to hit it 170 with that club, and I hit a really nice lower one, and it went kind of further than that with a 5-iron, also. It was playing at least 20 to 25 yards longer each direction.

Q. Did they move that tee up on 15 today?

A. They did, yes.

Q. That's about a 250 carry from the back, yes.

MICHAEL ALLEN: Yeah, a lot of guys -- I don't know if I would have been able to reach it. I'm a little longer, but a lot of guys would have a hard time. They should cut that grass so you could use the back tee today, at least the front of it.

Q. Do you feel like you got a break or it was more of a disadvantage to have to go off this morning in the cold and the wind? Obviously we don't know what the afternoon is going to bring, but there's going to be two different groups here.

MICHAEL ALLEN: Yeah, I think just being from around here, you just kind of know that these winds blow a little bit like this, but usually by the afternoon they kind of die out. So I think the guys in the afternoon will probably get the break in the long run.

Q. Except they're going to be on the course for two hours in the morning because they're not going to get finished.

MICHAEL ALLEN: You don't think so? How long was the delay?

Q. An hour and a half for the tee times.

MICHAEL ALLEN: Hour and a half? We only sat there for 20 minutes, half an hour.

Q. They were watering between rounds, though.

MICHAEL ALLEN: That's not right. That's an advantage for them. Those greens were getting hard. Jeff hit a beautiful shot into 11 that rolled over a third of the green. He probably only had a 7 or 8-iron.

Q. Did they water while you guys were out there?

MICHAEL ALLEN: They watered right behind us the whole way. They were just kind of following us around (laughter).

Q. With the twosome did you play through the group in front of you?

MICHAEL ALLEN: We tried to, but they wouldn't let us go (laughter).

Q. Was it windy when you won the Scottish Open all those many years ago?

MICHAEL ALLEN: As a matter of fact I've forgotten all about it. As a matter of fact it was the year that Calcavecchia won the British Open the year after, and we had the same weather at the Scottish. It was absolutely beautiful.

JOHN BUSH: Michael, thanks for coming by.

MICHAEL ALLEN: It's my pleasure.

End of FastScripts.

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