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FUNAI CLASSIC AT THE WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT

October 19, 2006

Tag Ridings

LAKE BUENA VISTA: First Round

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Tag Ridings, thank you for joining us after a first round 7 under par 65, which included six birdies on your first nine holes. You started on the back side. Maybe a couple comments about your day and a great start.

TAG RIDINGS: Well, I birdied the first three holes to get out of the gate, which was obviously nice. I hit it about a foot on No. 10 after my playing partner Bubba Watson had hit it in there about two feet, so I got him. And then he outdrove me by 70 yards on the next hole after I hit it 320 (laughter).

I snuck a couple putts in on the next two holes and got it rolling, took some of the heat off early, birdied the par 5 around there and then made a bomb on 18 from about 35 feet, which was a great feeling. I hadn't made one of those in a long time.

I birdied the par 5 1st hole, and kind of kept it going all the way around until, oh, No. 6 it looks like. I made a 6 on 6. I hit it in the right rough and it landed on the downhill side and I had the ball below my feet and a bad lie. It was a better lie than I expected when I got there. I expected to have to lay up, and actually I got there and it looked okay, so I didn't lay up.

You know, I birdied the next hole, par 5, and got one back anyway. So 7 under out of that was a very good start.

Q. It was a couple years ago you came into this stretch of the season doing the Money List dance. Is it at least in the back of your mind, pulling it off that one year? Does that kind of help you as you're trying to rally this time around because it went down to the last putt on the last hole of the last tournament two years ago and you were 125 on the number, right?

TAG RIDINGS: Yeah. Not to correct you or anything, but it was kind of the same thing last year, as well. I finished 3rd in Tampa last year to move from about 127th to 101st, so it was kind of a similar position again there. So Tampa is a great place for me.

Q. You're just a procrastinator?

TAG RIDINGS: I am. My dad called me that about ten years ago and I guess it stuck (laughter).

Florida golf is good for me. I've played a lot down here, mini Tours. And the grain on the greens is very consistent so I can read it. And the golf courses at both places all three of the golf courses these two weeks are fantastic for long hitting, good putting players like myself.

Q. Do you sweat the Money List thing less given that you've dodged that bullet twice, maybe not as much as some of these other guys that are squeezing the rubber out of the grips of their putters?

TAG RIDINGS: You can just see it. You know, I probably sweat things early in the year, trying so hard to get it trying so hard to win or trying to get way up on top of the Money List. Middle of the year in the summer I kind of blow my brains out with putting pressure on myself. So by this time of year, I'm just kind of I don't have any pressure left. I'm done.

Q. How ripe is that course down there for the taking?

TAG RIDINGS: The Palm is in good shape. They're both the greens on both courses are just pure right now. Obviously the early morning tee time helps that. I didn't see them spiking up too bad, so I think, like you say, they are ripe. If you can get to some greens in regulation, it's sitting out there. I think the scores are going to be low all week. I'm surprised I'm on the top of the board still.

End of FastScripts.

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