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OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE PRO-AM

February 25, 2006

Mark McNulty

LUTZ, FLORIDA

MARK McNULTY: Well, isn't this a lovely game. It's like as easy as it was yesterday, it was as difficult today. So it was like two opposite ends of the pole. I didn't play particularly well the first nine, the back nine, and I hit some very sort of uncharacteristic shots at the wrong time, and in particular, the par 5, 14, where I only had about 90 yards to the hole and I hit it about 50. The wind came up and I just lost my plot all together.

The next hole, I didn't get those shots up and down, and then I just sort of hung in there. The ball wasn't going exactly where I wanted to, but finally managed to hole a 5 footer at the fifth hole, followed that up with a good 35 , 40 footer on the next hole for birdie. Then a little bit of icing on the cake on No. 8 where I hit a 9 iron to about three feet. And as we all know, the ninth hole is playing pretty tough and I was just happy to get over the path.

In general I'm very happy with the 70. The wind is totally different. I haven't played the course in this wind. It's coming out of the south I think today or southeast, as opposed to the past where it either comes on the north or the west. I think if you've played the course a few more times than I have, the experience will count today for the guys who are playing this afternoon.

You know, otherwise, I'm obviously pleased with my position and I know very much for tomorrow what needs to be. Done, and a little bit of lunch, a little bit of practice this afternoon and hopefully get back to where I was yesterday.

Q. Given the fact that you seem a little bit disappointed with the way you played, are you surprised to be a couple ahead at this point?

MARK McNULTY: Well, sometimes you can play a great round of golf and shoot even 1 over when you haven't made any putts and you've missed one green and then a couple 3 putts when you shouldn't have. And you walk off and you could be disenchanted to such an extent that it can give you wrong vibes for the following day.

For me, I was pleased with my ball striking, but I think the game of golf as we've all seen in the past is more than just that particular time. You've got to grind them out. Whether we're talking about Tiger, we're talking about Jack in the past, they all have bad rounds, we all have bad rounds. You've got to fight for sort of best chance of the day. For me today that was the best I could have done. Okay, maybe, one or two more putts better. You've got to get it done and today was definitely one of those rounds where I'm very, very happy with the outcome.

Now, it is a difficult day out there. The wind, it's not blowing a gale at all, but it's tricky, it's coming across. And as I said early on, I will take this course, practice rounds, whatever, when I play Media Days, I've never played this course with this wind, so it's just totally different for me.

I'm sure somebody this afternoon will manage to go one up on it, but we'll see.

Q. What you just said, what you have to do tomorrow, exactly what

MARK McNULTY: Play better than today. You know, if I played what I was trying to say about hanging tough, you get rounds where you don't hit the ball particularly well, and as I said, I think I made the best possible score out of the day that I could have. I would like to go to the range and figure a few things out and try to get the ball striking back to where you can walk and be calm, as opposed to walking and being agitated. Because there's nothing worse than when you're in contention for a tournament and you're not striking the ball well and you hesitate when the ball is not coming out of the middle of the club and the ball is not going precisely where you want it. You aim five yards right of the flag because it's tight left and you push it and the next hole, you've been pulling it and the next hole you do the same thing and you pull it. That's what I'm trying to say.

I need to go and get myself back to where I was yesterday, which is not too far away. That's what I need to do to just get my ball striking back, and hopefully everything else will take care of itself. At least this is working well, which is the most important thing, the gray matter.

Q. Weather generally seems to be a factor with this event. Last year it was the rain and this year, the wind. Yesterday made it difficult for club selection, did you find that to be the case today?

MARK McNULTY: Certainly the front side I did. Even when the wind wasn't blowing as much, and it's not strong by any means now, but it's blowing to the extent of being tricky, as you said.

You know, we all know that these greens are quadrant greens. You've got to hit it into a particular quadrant to have a chance at a birdie. And if you're out of the quadrant, then you've got to 2 putt to make your par. So when the wind does blow like it is now, it does make it tricky to get the ball into that particular quadrant.

So, you know, I think I'm not sure what the weather is going to be bringing tomorrow, but I would much prefer a day like today than heavy rain like we had last year, and I believe there are a few showers coming tomorrow. But as I said, we've got to take what we get.

Q. Now in your third year out here, is it anything different than what you thought it was going to be like? Has it gone the way you thought, has it been harder, easier to compete out here?

MARK McNULTY: No, I think it's gone pretty much the way I thought it would be. The general consensus by people who knew I was coming on the Champions Tour said, "oh, you're going to clean up" and it was pushed into me too much. I didn't play great my last season in Europe, but it was okay. I think what they were trying to reflect upon there is that the likes of the Fleishers and the Irwins and the guys who have been dominant on this tour are getting towards their latter stages of their career where they can win on this tour.

And as we all know what's happening now, you know, you've got Loren, he's just come on, Jay has just come on full time, Nick Price coming on in January, Scott Hoch coming on now, it's very fun. And there's so many more people coming on. So I think the competition is going to be is going to get stronger and stronger out on this tour.

So getting back to what I said in the beginning about people saying I was going to get out and clean up, when I came on Tour, I was pleasantly surprised to see the competition was unbelievable. I got out here the first day and I shot 67, I think it was in, 2004, and Tom Kite shot 7 under and I thought, wow, I'm going to have to play well and I thought I played great. Even halfway through the year, I realized that even like with Gil Morgan, Gil can really still play. And Hale, we all know he can really still play. He won four times last year.

I think what's gone and what's coming on the Champions Tour only bodes well for it. You know, I don't know if you guys picked up on that press guy down in Naples last week about there's no names on the Champions Tour anymore. I think he's on a different page as far as he's thinking of Tiger Woods. I think that's all he thinks of. When you look at the Champions Tour, your life doesn't we used to say when Tiger is 50, he doesn't play anymore. I mean, who is to say that? He's just turned 30. He's got 20 years to go. Who is to say when he's 50, he can't play? You don't know.

You look at Seve now, he just can't play anymore. And he was a great, great player, one of the world's best magicians that we've ever seen. I think the guy was off the ball with that, and when you look at what's coming on, you know, obviously the names of Nicklaus, Player, Palmer, we'll miss them. But, you know, age catches up with us all. That's just life for you.

Q. On a less serious subject, just curious, when you're away from golf, have you ever watched McCord's broadcasts for CBS on the regular tour?

MARK McNULTY: I have, yeah.

Q. And I'm curious as an American, do you appreciate this humor?

MARK McNULTY: I do, yes. I like to watch golf at certain times, and the big tournaments, we all know which are the big tournaments on the PGA TOUR, and when Gary is commentating, I wish the CBS would just give him a bit more but they know it could drop them over the edge because he's very witty and very smart. We all know his intellect and his IQ is very high and that's why he's able to come up with this wittiness and same with David; they are both very, very smart people. Their wit is almost slightly over the top. Even if you look at Faldo now, where he's getting his rips on now, I don't know, because certainly as a player, he was never like this. He's coming out, he's brilliant. I think he's brilliant. I think he's picking something up from Peter Alliss.

There was a great English commentator by the name of Henry Longhurst and then Peter Alliss came along. It's not just about commentating in golf. It's about other things that happen and you're able to take all those things and make speech in the English language something special on TV. Some guys, you get bored of what they say on TV. When you have someone like Gary McCord and you have someone like David Feherty saying their things and reading articles in the paper, it's interesting. He think Gary is very entertaining.

Q. Would you like to have him commentating on this tour or it best be not?

MARK McNULTY: Good question, (laughter), because I don't know if you saw the little piece in the Golf Weekly, he said that's apart from Tiger and Mickelson, all of the big names in golf are on the Champions Tour. You've got to read between the lines, what he's really trying to say, and he's right. As good as they are out there, we all know they are brilliant, okay, but there's some game out there on the regular tour. Winning one tournament doesn't make you a household name, so household names are built over time. That's why I think renaming this tour to champions was No. 1.

End of FastScripts.

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