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BUICK OPEN

August 5, 2006

Vaughn Taylor

GRAND BLANC, MICHIGAN

DAVE SENKO: Thanks for joining us. 9 under 63 today which matches your low round of the year at the Verizon Heritage. Maybe just get us started, talk about your day, you got off to a great start with an eagle at No. 1 and maybe just go from there.

VAUGHN TAYLOR: No. 1, I hit two really good shots, driver and 3 wood just over the back of the green and chipped it in.

2, I drove it in the left rough and hit short of the green and didn't get up and down, made bogey.

3, I hit it to like eight feet and made birdie.

4, hit it about 20 feet and made that for birdie.

DAVE SENKO: Pretty close on 7, 8 and 9.

VAUGHN TAYLOR: 7, I was in front of the green in two. Hit it to about three feet.

Hit I great shot on 8 to a couple feet.

9, I hit a good drive down there. I had 87 yards or so and hit it to three, four feet there as well.

DAVE SENKO: On 11, ShotLink had you at a 52 foot bomb.

VAUGHN TAYLOR: That's one I was trying to get close there l and just put really good speed on it and it went in.

DAVE SENKO: 13, two feet according to ShotLink.

VAUGHN TAYLOR: Pretty good drive, second shot into the bunker, hit it out to a couple of feet, tapped it in.

Next hole, hit driver on the front fringe, chipped it to about four feet and made that.

16, I hit driver, pulled a 3 wood into the trees and hit a great shot with a pitching wedge. Landed right where I was trying to and that was probably as good as I could have done there. I hit a good putt and it went in.

17, didn't hit a bad shot. Hit it a little heavy but didn't think it was going to come up that short. I had a slow, long putt there. How far was that one?

DAVE SENKO: 72.

VAUGHN TAYLOR: One of those where you know, you hit it 72 feet, it's tough to 2 putt. Made a good par on the last and you know, good round.

Q. How far was the chip on 1 and what does that do for your confidence making an eagle right out of the box?

VAUGHN TAYLOR: Chipped it about 20 feet or so. Good way to start. I hit really two perfect shots with a drive and a 3 wood. You know, I think I had 282 to the hole. Really surprised I ran over the green. Kind of felt like I almost deserved it a little bit. I hit two really good shots. I was going to get off to a good start and kind of gave it back on No. 2, but came back with a birdie on 3 and 4 to get the momentum back.

Q. Can you just talk about you start the day seven shots out of the lead, what's your mind set, you're obviously right back in the tournament now but what were you thinking on the first tee? Were you thinking, "I've got to go low to make something happen," what was your thought process?

VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah, I think everybody knows with the conditions, as good of shape as the greens are in, you've got to go low. I knew Tiger being ahead that you had to go low.

Q. What does it feel like being named in the final pairing and going for a championship? How do you approach your day like that?

VAUGHN TAYLOR: Just trying to go through my normal routine. I've been in the last group before but maybe not paired with Tiger or, you know, I don't know how it's going to turn out today. It's what we play for. Love to compete and love to win. Any time you're in that position, you need to take advantage of it and hopefully I can do it tomorrow.

Q. How deflating is it, what happened at 13 yesterday? Obviously you bounced back, but what do you have to do to get your mine back straight again after something like that?

VAUGHN TAYLOR: You know, bad shots, bad breaks, any time you make a triple bogey on a par 5, it's kind of ridiculous in my opinion. But it took me a while, I was playing with Daly and Mike Weir; there's tons of distractions out there. I really had a tough time on the next five, six holes there.

Kind of made the turn and then, you know, the crowd kind of left, so it was late in the evening and I finally calmed down. Sometimes when you make the turn, you just kind of almost start over, which is what I tried to do there. When I made the turn I just made birdie at 10 and just felt like I got it back and was back in my groove.

Q. The inevitable Ryder Cup situation, you've been close all year, you're right on the bubble, how does that change what you try to do tomorrow, or does it?

VAUGHN TAYLOR: I don't think it's going to change anything. I think if I just go out and go through my routine and play my best tomorrow, then Ryder Cup takes care of itself. You know, I've love to play well tomorrow and maybe lock a position up and not have to grind it out anymore.

Q. Obviously a 63 is a good day, but is there frustration with the two bogeys that you left maybe even something better out there?

VAUGHN TAYLOR: 17 was a little frustrating. Any time you've got a good round going and you want to finish strong, you know, it's just one of those things. No. 2 was just a bad tee shot, but 17, I felt like I could have put a better swing on that. You know, like to finish stronger there, but got to take the positives.

Q. Just wondering, are you friendly with any of the guys who are on the Ryder Cup bubble, and if so, do you compare notes with either John or Brett?

VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah, we're all friendly. We're not best friends. I don't know those guys real well. We haven't really talked about it. I think we're all just, you know, trying to just get it done and there's not really much to talk about. It's just one of those things where you know what you've got to do and there's not much conversation about it.

Q. Do you know Brett Wetterich and Lucas Glover?

VAUGHN TAYLOR: I've known Lucas forever. Lucas is from Greenville and I've known him since we were probably 13, 14, 15 years old.

Q. At Hoylake, I think you were asked about being one of the unknowns and you kind of joked that, 'hey, I'm even unknown in America.' You've obviously won out here. You've had a great summer, is that changing a little bit, or do you feel like people are recognizing you as you walk the fairways or do you still think you're kind of, you know, below the radar a little bit?

VAUGHN TAYLOR: Still below the radar. Playing with Daly and Weir yesterday, I almost thought I was invisible. It was funny. It didn't bother me.

You know, I understand why; they have a lot of fans out. You know, since this Ryder Cup thing has been going on, a lot of people are noticing me and I'm probably not flying under the radar as much as I was.

Q. For us not knowing really what your life was like, what was it like growing up near the Masters, and did you have a chance to play that when you were a kid or just go out there and watch it?

VAUGHN TAYLOR: I went to the tournament every year. Probably went, I think the first time I went I was probably ten years old and pretty much went over year after that.

Didn't get to play the course until college. Played it a couple of times in college. You know, it was pretty special. A lot of people in Augusta don't realize what they have there with the tournament and how special it is. You know, since I've been out playing out here, playing in different majors now, it's even hit me even more how special Augusta is and it's a great place.

Q. Speaking of being anonymous, since your win came in an opposite field event, what would it mean to get a win here with such a strong field here?

VAUGHN TAYLOR: It's definitely a goal of mine to win a bigger tournament. I've always people kind of always say, you know, I won Reno, it's an opposite event. It's definitely a goal. I'd like to win a bigger tournament, and tomorrow is hopefully a great opportunity to do it.

Q. Everybody knows 70 is not going to win it for anybody tomorrow. Somebody is going to shoot 65 or maybe 64,63, how does that change your approach, your mindset when you come out here tomorrow? Do you try to be aggressive or do you just kind of let the romp happen?

VAUGHN TAYLOR: I wouldn't be overly aggressive. You have to see how the pins are and what kind of club you've got into greens and things.

You know when you've got to go low, you can't play too conservative. That's just the way it is. You just have to make birdies and just try to hang.

End of FastScripts.

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