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ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY MASTERCARDMarch 15, 2007Vaughn TaylorORLANDO, FLORIDA JOE CHEMYCZ: We welcome Vaughn Taylor. Vaughn, 6-under 64 today, obviously good day for you, just talk about that and we'll go ahead and open up. VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah, I played pretty solid today. It was just a good, all-round, just hit it solid and made a few putts. Q. Tiger said he took you to dinner, the Ryder Cup rookies, and you lit up the room. Can you tell us some of the stories. VAUGHN TAYLOR: I doubt I lit up the room. (Laughter) I don't think I said a whole lot. Q. Please don't take this the wrong way. Your two career wins have been in opposite events. What would something like this with the full field and the teeth of the world playing ear to you, if you could sneak out Sunday night with this in your back pocket? VAUGHN TAYLOR: It would mean a lot. Reno was good to me and played well there and really like it there. My goals are to win an event that is not opposite of another one, so it's definitely a goal and you know, I would love to win here against all of got players here. Q. Two-part question, the base of one, what specifically was clicking for you today out there, and secondly, I know it's early, but how do you like the sound of "Woods and Taylor atop the leaderboard?" VAUGHN TAYLOR: That sounds pretty good. A little bit of everything. The front nine, I hit it really well. I didn't really miss a shot. I missed one tee shot. So, you know, putted pretty good. I pretty much did everything well. So just a good all around day. Q. How would you say that your career has gone so far, and have you been able to see anything building toward where you are now? VAUGHN TAYLOR: The year has been a little rocky. I've had some good spurts, some bad spurts. So been struggling a little bit on Sunday, and you know, feel like it's close though. I've tried to keep a good attitude, keep my head up, because I feel like I'm pretty close. You know, hopefully just keep working hard and things had turn around. Q. Is that a challenge, to keep your head up? VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah, definitely, I've always struggled with a little bit of bad temper and getting my head down. So this past week was a tough one to swallow. You know, really just tried to take some advice from some friends and turn it around. Q. How many years have you played here? VAUGHN TAYLOR: This is my third year I think. Q. What do you think about the change at 16 and how that's going to affect the finish on Sundays; it's going to be hard to get an eagle, that kind of thing. VAUGHN TAYLOR: 16 is tough. It's playing a little into the wind, so 4 at least is downwind. If you hit a good drive there you can have a reasonable club in. But 16 is tough. You have to hit the ball in the fairway. If you don't, you've got to lay up. So come Sunday, you've really got to put that in the fairway and just hit two really good shots in there. Q. With the new rough, the rough being a little longer, and all of the predictions that the course will be a little harder, did you feel like it played harder for you today? I know you had a great round, but were there spots where you could feel the difference? VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah, I mean, the few times I hit it in the rough, I had a couple horrendous lies. It's just a matter of where you hit it. If you hit it in a spot where nobody has walked or been, you're going to be wedging it out. So if you hit it in a spot where it's pretty popular, been trampled down, you can at least, you know, hopefully get it to the green. But it's tough. You really have to hit it in the fairway. Q. Over the years, there's always guys that get a reputation for putting, Crenshaw, Faxon; Tiger has always had a very strong reputation. Do you think out there you are getting somewhat of a reputation from your peers that you're one of the top putters out here on TOUR? VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah, I'd say so. I don't talk to too many people about it, but I've heard guys mention something occasionally. But I don't really know the word going around. (Laughter). Q. Feel free to have fun with this, I'm wondering how a blue-eyed white kid from Augusta, Georgia has rap music in his CD player, because you don't strike me as original gangsta material. VAUGHN TAYLOR: I think a little of it had to do with the high school I went to. It was pretty popular. It was funny, I actually listened to a little bit of everything up until kind of about the last year I was in college of the just for whatever reason, just seems to be rap all the time now. It's just, I don't know, it pumps me up. I like listening to it on the way to the course. It's not -- you know, country music and rock even to me, it sounds -- it's just so sad. (Laughter). Q. About divorces and dead cars. VAUGHN TAYLOR: I'm pretty low-key enough, so I need something to get me going. (Laughter). Q. Who do you listen to? Do you have particular rap artists that are your favorites? VAUGHN TAYLOR: Oh, I listen mostly to just mainstream and like a few different -- I wouldn't to say Atlanta groups. I like Atlanta. Q. What would be a mainstream rap group? VAUGHN TAYLOR: T.I., Outkast, I don't like much new Outkast, but I like the old stuff. Q. Andre 3000? VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah. (Laughter). Q. There's a symposium tomorrow at Duke University, and the topic is Tiger Woods and his impact on society and all of these pinheads are coming in and discussing it. Do you think if there were to be a Vaughn Taylor symposium anywhere, what would they discuss and what would the world know about Vaughn Taylor? VAUGHN TAYLOR: Probably not a whole lot. I really haven't done too much. I don't know if anybody really knows too much about me. I'm just pretty quiet, pretty shy guy and just kind of go about my business. Q. We're getting there. VAUGHN TAYLOR: (Laughing). Q. Being on that Ryder Cup Team with Tiger, did you all develop any kind of a relationship at all, and what would it be like if you could be in that group with him this weekend when they start repairing? VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah, we did develop a friendship, and I still don't know him that well, still get a little starry-eyed when I look at him. He has a presence to him. But on the golf course, that's kind of out the window. You're competing and playing, so it would be great to get out there and play with him. Q. What kind of memories do you take from that Ryder Cup? VAUGHN TAYLOR: A bunch. I had a great time on and off the golf course. Q. Do you think back, that was a good week, that was a fun week? VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah, definitely. Even though we didn't win, it being my first time, I didn't know what to expect or what it was going to be like. Saturday's match I had with Chad, it was awesome. That was my highlight of the week I think. Nothing like it. It was awesome. Q. A while ago, you said especially after last week, I'm just trying to remember what happened last week -- did I miss something last week? Was it obvious? VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah, I shot 6-over on Sunday. Just a complete disaster. Trying to forget about it. Q. If it had started one day earlier, you would have won. VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah, possibly. Q. Speaking about Sunday and then last year when you were here and trying to get your game together, how is it -- what's your approach to adversity such as that, and are there any rituals you do, or do you just go out to the driving range and grind it out? VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah, a little bit of attitude adjustment and hard work. So it felt like my putting was a little off last week, and I saw my teacher and I think we kind of worked it out. It's part of it. It's just one of those days, you've got to have a short memory sometimes in golf. You just try and forget about it and move on. Just stay in the present and the future and just forget about it. Q. Where were you when Tiger won the Masters in '97? Do you remember where you were that day? VAUGHN TAYLOR: I was probably home watching it. '97, so I think I was a junior in college. Yeah, I was probably home watching it. Q. Couldn't get a ticket? VAUGHN TAYLOR: I could, but me and my dad never went on Sunday. We always liked to watch it on TV. Just too tough to follow the leaders, and Tiger especially. Q. Were you out there at all that week? VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah, I went -- I probably went Thursday, Friday. That's kind of usually what I did. I would go Thursday and Friday and watch on the weekend usually. JOE CHEMYCZ: Vaughn, thank you. End of FastScripts |
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