WGC NEC INVITATIONAL

August 23, 2002

Robert Allenby

TODD BUDNICK: Welcome Robert Allenby, course record, 63 today. Robert, why don't we just get right into it. Wonderful day out there to play golf.

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah, it was obviously perfect weather. The course was set up for scoring. The greens were running really quick, and quite on the soft side. So you could really -- not too soft, but soft enough where you could attack. And if you hit some good iron shots it will stop pretty quick. Today that's pretty much all I did. I played very aggressive. I picked my shots at the right time to go for it and pretty much worked every time I teed off. I hit a lot of good shots and made a lot of good putts, too. The front nine -- not a lot happened on the front nine. I hit a lot of great shots.

I hit a lot of shots to 10 and 15 feet on the front nine. And I didn't make -- I probably made one of them, maybe two. And on the back nine I started reeling off a few birdies in a row.

An eagle at 11. I hit a good 3-iron in there. And hit that to about 10 feet and made that. And just kept playing aggressive all the way home and just kept playing smart and hit a lot of good shots and just made a lot of good putts to go with the good shots.

TODD BUDNICK: Let's go ahead with the birdies, starting with the one on 2.

ROBERT ALLENBY: 2, I hit a great drive, down the left middle and I only had a 5-iron to the green. I pulled it into the left trap. I didn't hit the best bunker shot. I still had about a 20-footer left, and I managed to hole it for birdie. So that was a good start. And that was after I hit a 7-iron to about 6 feet at the first, and missed that.

5, I hit -- I hit 5-iron to -- I actually hit a pretty good shot. I was just past the hole on the right about -- I was probably only 20 feet from the hole, but I had this great big swale that was coming off the back of the green, and there was no way I could stop it within 7 or 8 feet. So I hit it to about seven or eight feet past. And I thought I hit a good putt and missed. So I 3-putted that.

I hit it close at the next and missed it.

And 8, I hit a 5-iron to about ten feet.

The eagle was on 11, 3-iron to about ten feet.

Then I hit a 7-iron into 13 and that was about seven or eight feet.

Then I hit a pitching wedge into 14 to about six feet.

And then I hit a 9-iron to about 8 feet.

At 16, I hit 9-iron to about, I don't know, two feet.

And then the last, hit a great drive up the middle and I just pulled my 2-iron a little bit. I was a little bit confused if I could get my 2-iron to the green, and I hit it a little bit too hard. I was probably fortunate enough that the ball kicked out to the right and not to the left. It enabled me to hit a little bump-and-run with a sand iron, a running sand iron up to the green to about six feet. It was a good way to finish.

Q. If you had to pick one shot, might it be the 3-iron or something else?

ROBERT ALLENBY: The 3-iron was probably the best shot I hit today, definitely. That 11th hole, it's not the hardest thing to get the tee shot away, the hardest thing is to get the second shot through the trees. And I was tossing up in between the 2-iron and the 3-iron. I knew I couldn't hit the 2-iron over the trees. I had to take the 2-iron through the gap. And I elected to take the 3-iron and go over the top. And I just smashed it straight out of the top, and it went straight at it, and it landed pretty much 12 feet short and it ended up ten feet. So it stopped dead. It was probably the best iron shot I've hit this week, by far.

Q. Robert, what's your best score ever?

ROBERT ALLENBY: In a tournament 63 is probably my best.

Q. This ties that, then. You've had a 63 before?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I have.

Q. Can you tell me how you feel about this round?

ROBERT ALLENBY: I feel pretty good.

Q. Were you totally in the zone with this?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Pretty much, if that's what you want to call it, the zone. I was at ease. I was very comfortable with the way I was swinging it and very comfortable with my putting stroke. And I missed one green, and that was a pitching wedge on 10, three-quarter pitching wedge and pulled it left, plugged it underneath the lip, and splashed it out to ten feet and made it. So that was the only bad shot, and that's the only green I've missed in two days. I hit 18 greens yesterday and 17 today. If I keep doing that, I've only got to make a couple of putts, and all of a sudden you shoot three or four under. So I'm hitting it pretty good.

Q. How many putts on the back nine?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Do you want me to count them? Would you like me to tell you? 11 putts on the back nine.

Q. You talk about being aggressive. Is that because you're playing well, because of the course? What turned you into an aggressive player as opposed to a passive player?

ROBERT ALLENBY: It's just the way I've always been. I don't know. When I say aggressive, I play smart. I'm not silly with the way I do it. I don't just go at the flag because it's there. I go at certain flags because there's enough room in case I push it or pull it. We're not perfect, that's for sure. We're only human beings, and we make a lot of mistakes. If I feel comfortable, I will go at the flag. As long as I know where not to land it and where not to finish. And I'll have it in my mind that that's not the place to go, then I can commit to it. And if I commit to every shot, which pretty much on the back nine I did, I'm going to hit some pretty good shots. And that's what I did today.

Q. Robert, what would it mean for you to win this tournament?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Oh, it would mean a lot. I haven't won this year. I've played pretty well this year, but I haven't played anywhere near to the way that I played last year or the year before, when I won twice in both years. But things turn around, and I've been very patient. I've played pretty solid in the Majors, apart from the British, and a lot of tournaments and -- but I've had no magic or no spark in there. And last week I played really well. I played awesome last week. I played well enough to win last week. I had 15 birdies and an eagle. So I just sat there and made two mistakes, I made a 6 on 6 and an 8 on 8. You can't win tournaments when you make those sort of numbers, especially the 8.

I've had 7 over on two holes right there and I finished 10th. But that's just what happens. If you have a little lapse of concentration, things like that can happen. And today -- the last two days I've had really good concentration and I hope I can take it into the weekend doing the same thing. That's all I can try and do tomorrow and the next day, is just try to keep the same focus as what I've had today and yesterday, as well.

Q. Do you particularly like this golf course?

ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah, I think it's a great golf course. I think it's very nice. I think it plays better this way, the way it's playing at the moment. It plays a lot better because you can be a little more aggressive off the tees, as far as you can get a lot more 3-woods and a lot more drivers, compared to in '98 when it was running very hard and fast. And the greens were very fast, as well. You had to hit a lot of 2-irons off the tee. This year it's a lot softer, and that's why the scores are so good, too. That's why we're seeing so many good scores. The golf course is right in front of you. So it's just a matter of going out there and hitting a lot of good shots and trying to make the putts.

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you, Robert.

End of FastScripts....