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FORD CHAMPIONSHIP AT DORAL

March 3, 2005

Billy Andrade

DORAL, FLORIDA

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Billy, for joining us for a few minutes here in the media center at the Ford Championship at Doral.

Fantastic finish this morning, birdie, eagle, birdie. Moved you right up that leaderboard. Why don't you just talk about those last three holes and we'll go into questions.

BILLY ANDRADE: I had a par putt on 4 I missed and I hit it close on 6 -- or 3. 3 I missed and 4 I didn't convert and I had a pretty short putt on -- not a short putt, 15-footer on 6 that I missed. So I hit a nice 8-iron into 7 about 15 feet short of the hole and that was nice. I really wanted to make that and I made that.

I hit a nice drive with a 3-wood and I cut it on No. 8. I had 236 to the front. It was a perfect 5-wood, which is in the locker, so I couldn't go to the locker to get it. (Laughter.) So I had to just stick with cutting a big old cut with a 3-wood and knocked it about 30 feet on the green and I made that.

I hit an 8-iron on the last hole about five feet and I made that. It was a nice way to finish and a nice round. The back nine starting out, I didn't get off to a great start and I made some nice par putts, good up-and-downs, and just kind of hung in there on the back and shot 31 on the front.

Q. What club did you put in your bag to get the 5-wood out?

BILLY ANDRADE: 2-iron. I usually switch it up between that and my 5-wood.

Q. When a round ends like this, do you want to keep on playing when you're on a roll like that?

BILLY ANDRADE: No, it's only 18 a day, so you're ready to shut down. You always -- every day you want to finish well, and some days you do, some days you don't.

No, I was ready to have lunch and think about tomorrow.

Q. Can you speak about the state of your game, how you're feeling about that?

BILLY ANDRADE: I feel great. I haven't come to Florida and I can't think of the last time, maybe three or four years where I've come here playing well. I've always come here searching and right now I'm not searching. I had a nice West Coast for me, I made three out of four cuts. I finished 11th at Pebble Beach. I shot 63 at the third round at Pebble. So I haven't done stuff like that in a long time. This is kind of a continuation from last year. I started playing well and things started clicking about the end of April and from April to this point, I really have played some great golf. Last year, I just didn't putt very well and that was really my demise and that's always been the strong part of my game.

I was excited once the West Coast was over and coming here, I've played this tournament every year, this is my 18th in a row. I came here when I was a kid on spring break with my family and saw Jack Nicklaus and all the greats play here, so I'm familiar with this area. I just get excited once the Florida Swing starts.

But it's nice to be here when you feel good about your game versus being here when you're searching for something. That's just the nature of our sport.

Q. You played pretty well under stress last year when you were on that 125 line?

BILLY ANDRADE: Yes, I did.

Q. Can you speak about what that was like?

BILLY ANDRADE: I would just say that I've had years where I've finished 31st on the Money List, 14th on the Money List, 40th a bunch of times, 41st. I got more satisfaction out of last year than I had even winning in 2000 when I was really pitiful and I won at the end to jump. But this past year was, to me, was great. I got so much satisfaction out of it because the pressure was on; it's either do it or you're gone. I kind of thrive in that situation. I enjoy it. I love the challenge. There's no excuses. I played like -- it was what it was, and to finish when it was all said and done and keeping my card was as good as finishing 40th on the Money List, a couple of years there where I didn't really play that well. I just got lucky in a few tournaments and made a bunch of money and all of a sudden finishing 40th. So I got more satisfaction out of last year.

Q. Do you remember what you were going into your last event, did you have to post a number?

BILLY ANDRADE: I did it really at Disney which was the second to last event. It was kind of, you know, next time, hopefully it will never happen again, but when I went to Tampa, everybody was congratulating me like I had locked it up and I ended up missing the cut there. Then all of a sudden, things started happening and guys started blowing past me and next thing you know, I finished 124th. So you can't think that you're a lock -- any time somebody says you're a lock, the last time -- before last year, the last lock I heard was in '97 when I finished at Vegas, I was a lock for the Top-30. Somehow I missed it by five bucks. So that was the last lock that I seriously took.

Q. What was the weekend like for you?

BILLY ANDRADE: It was brutal, because, I mean, you don't know what's going to happen. You have no control. It's much easier when you have control of something than you don't. I was calling Tommy Au Clair about every five minutes to find out what's going on; Tad Ridings, he's going crazy, can he pass me; Tommy Armour, where did he come from, he's passing me. All of those things happened but everything worked out for the best.

Q. Do you remember going to Disney, what you jumped to?

BILLY ANDRADE: I think I made like 55,000, shooting 66 on Sunday at Disney to jump me to like 118 or 119 or something.

Anyway, it was very satisfying and my play so far this year is just a continuation, like I said, from the end of April until now.

Q. And some pretty good things happened off the course from a fan standpoint the few years with the Red Sox and Patriots and saw you at the Super Bowl, too. Talk about what that's been like for you.

BILLY ANDRADE: I was disappointed in the buffet they had set up at the Super Bowl that day. That was pitiful. (Laughter.) I always thought the biggest thing about being in the media is that you have great food, and the food was not good that day.

Q. You've got to eat here.

BILLY ANDRADE: Yeah, this is the best. I think the --

Q. How did you get a media credential?

BILLY ANDRADE: You've got to know people. PGA TOUR Productions, if you know them, you're in. (Laughter.)

I've done some of the other side and that was enjoyable. It was a tough day because I've never done it before, as far as Media Day at the Super Bowl, and you're there with legitimate people like yourself and then you're there with, you know, some guy with a cartoon outfit on going around getting interviews. You know, when do you ask the question and it was kind of like a vulture when you get up to a guy and you really want to say hi to Tom Brady but you have all of these guys screaming questions and when do you ask your question, and my question is -- I'm a joke compared to like you guys trying to ask legitimate questions.

But the funniest thing was I went up to Todd Light to say hello to the guy and just introduce myself to him and this guy next to him was interviewing him so I was kind of waiting. The guy goes, "So, what kind of dip do you chew?"

Todd goes, "Who the hell are you with?"

He goes, "I'm from National Public Radio." So the minute that guy did that, I was like, I'm as legit as this guy here, "What dip do you chew?" (Laughter.)

I've enjoyed that, I've enjoyed doing some television that I've been asked. I did THE TOUR Championship at East Lake when Judy Rankin broke her elbow and that was fun. But there's nothing that you can't buy, you can't try to simulate being your own boss and playing golf and doing what we do on a daily basis is the best of everything.

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Can we finish your round?

BILLY ANDRADE: I bogeyed 11. I hit it right behind that palm tree laying up there. There's one right in the middle of the fairway on 11, and I had to hook it around it and hit it in the bunker, didn't get up-and-down.

And I hit it from the left bunker on 14 to about five feet with a 6-iron and made birdie.

I hit a sand wedge on 17 about 15 feet and made that for birdie.

When Esteban was holing out, I had a ruling so I was up against a tree and I didn't get it. I chipped out and I hit a pitching wedge about six feet on 18 and made a great par. I think that kind of kept me going. The first hole, I hit it in the left bunker and hit a sand wedge to about three feet.

On 2, I hit, from the right bunker, I hit a pitching wedge to about three feet.

I bogeyed 4. I hit it in the left bunker off the tee and chipped it out to about six feet, eight feet, and I missed.

Q. Were you actually away on 18?

BILLY ANDRADE: I was, yes. Esteban, I just said, "Go, go ahead."

Thank you.

End of FastScripts.

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