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ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS

April 19, 2007

Kyle Reifers

AVONDALE, LOUISIANA

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Thank you, Kyle, for joining us for a few minutes here in the media center at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Nice round here, nice start to your week, eight birdies, no bogeys, and a first round 64. Just talk about your day and what's going well for you right now.
KYLE REIFERS: Well, I think I managed my ball really well. Kind of had a talk with my -- the Walker Cup captain that I played with, and just kind of had a different approach today and the way I was going to approach the par 5s and kind of stuck with my game plan, and I think gave myself a lot of opportunities for birdie and rolled a few in.

Q. What do you mean by the way you approached the par 5s?
KYLE REIFERS: Well, I just kind of assessed what's been going on from the beginning of the year, and I haven't been taking advantage of the par 5s the way I'd like to. I have plenty of length to reach most of the par 5s, so I kind of had to say, hey, what's going on, and look in the mirror and kind of assess that.
I think that I played them a little more conservatively, but I played my angles a lot better and just gave myself a lot of good looks.

Q. Other than the par 5s have you been playing well?
KYLE REIFERS: Yeah, I've been playing well. I just haven't really got much out of my rounds. I've grinded a few out, but I can kind of feel my game coming around. I was real -- pretty confident in the way my game is right now, so just kind of believe in myself and play each shot one at a time.

Q. Was the way you played 18 indicative of what you're talking about?
KYLE REIFERS: A little bit. There wasn't much room there to blow it up there, and if you do hit it by the green, you really don't have much with the downwind and downsloping away from you. So I think that I hit a 2-iron and a 4-iron and a wedge. So there was really no risk, hit three really good shots and gave myself a good look.

Q. How many feet did you have there?
KYLE REIFERS: I probably had 20, 25 feet. I hit that a little harder than I wanted to, but got that next one in, so it was a good way to finish.

Q. Who was the Walker Cup captain in '05?
KYLE REIFERS: Bob Lewis.

Q. And what specifically did you guys talk about?
KYLE REIFERS: Well, he's been a good family friend for a long time, so we just -- he kind of has been following what's been going on, and just kind of talked about how you approach it. He's played in a lot of -- he's played in the Masters I think four or five times and he's been around, so we just kind of had an up-front talk with each other, and it paid off.

Q. This was on the telephone I assume?
KYLE REIFERS: Uh-huh.

Q. Last night?
KYLE REIFERS: Yesterday morning, yeah.

Q. Did this round surprise you?
KYLE REIFERS: Not really. Like I said, I kind of felt my game coming around, and just you'll have these days, and hopefully you can finish them off and run. It's a great way to start, and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the week.

Q. You're not exactly a household name, but if somebody picks up the paper tomorrow morning and your score stands up and they go, Who is Kyle Reifers, how would you answer that question?
KYLE REIFERS: Well, I'm 23 years old, so there hasn't been much time to really know -- I got my TOUR card within six months of graduating college and won on the Nationwide Tour, so when my -- I believe in what I'm doing, so hopefully I'll just let the clubs do the talking, and I think that that's kind of -- hopefully that's kind of what's going to bring a name to me. So hopefully I don't need to say any words about it, just look at the score and say, hey, this guy can play.

Q. Did you hear any fans on the tees or anything asking who you were?
KYLE REIFERS: I mean, I'm used to it by now. "Reefers," and "Who is this guy? He looks young." I'm used to it by now. I have a few more good rounds like this, and hopefully people will know my name.

Q. With Zach Johnson and Boo Weekley, does it enter your mind that you could be the next -- I know it's early, but is it encouraging?
KYLE REIFERS: Yeah, it's encouraging to say, hey, I played with Boo quite a bit and I played with Zach, and it's just one of those things where if it's your week and you're playing well that pretty much any guy out here can win. It's just a matter of doing it and believing in yourself, and I think that I use that as motivation. When I'm sitting at home watching Zach make those big putts or win The Masters, that's encouraging to me, and it also says, hey -- gives me a little fire to go out and play well.

Q. How hard is it to stay sharp with only six starts through the year?
KYLE REIFERS: It's been very tough, especially on the West Coast. I've played in a couple Nationwide events just to kind of fill -- just to keep playing, really.

Q. Were you in Lafayette?
KYLE REIFERS: Yeah, I played Lafayette and then I played Valdosta. I just try to keep playing and keep my game sharp, and I think that I'm better off playing in tournaments than I am going home and practicing for a week. Whatever way, I think that I'm on the right track, and hopefully if I continue to play well when I have opportunities, everything will work out.

Q. You said you only saw the course once, on Tuesday?
KYLE REIFERS: Uh-huh.

Q. You played the whole --
KYLE REIFERS: Yeah, played 18 on Tuesday and just kind of took some good notes. My caddie was here two years ago, so we talked it out and I came up with a game plan last night and felt comfortable with it.

Q. What's his name and who did he caddie for then?
KYLE REIFERS: Val Lopez. He caddied for Patrick Sheehan.

Q. You were first alternate at Hilton Head last week. You decided to bypass that and go play Valdosta?
KYLE REIFERS: Yeah, just like I was talking about, I felt like I needed -- I needed to play. I had the week off before The Masters, but the Masters week I had off, so it really wasn't looking very good. So I decided to head down to Valdosta. It's kind of an interesting -- it's kind of like a chess match. You could be the eighth alternate and the first seven guys decide that they're going to play in the Nationwide event and then you're the first alternate. You just don't know what's going to happen, and it turns out I would have missed by one, so it was a good move.

Q. You've got your card, you're anxious to play, and yet you don't get in until San Diego, and there was nothing on the Nationwide Tour to play. Can you maybe describe how some of those weeks went for you?
KYLE REIFERS: Well, it was tough. The West Coast, I mean, I was out there every week. I actually Monday qualified for the Buick in San Diego. So I was out Monday qualifying every week, missed LA by one, and I had missed my first three cuts that I actually got in the tournament, Pebble, Cancún and San Diego. So it was tough because I was out there traveling and staying on the West Coast so it felt like I had missed six cuts, or whatever it was.
But you just kind of have to -- that's part of the game, and if that's what I'm going to do for a living, then you're going to have stretches like that, and you just have to stay positive. I could be doing a lot worse things, so it was -- you know, I kind of rolled with it and tried to stay positive and say, hey, if I play well when I have opportunities, then everything will work out.

Q. Being on top of the leaderboard, I guess you could say you were flying under the radar coming into this tournament. Now you're the guy to shoot for if the score stands up. Does it change your game plan at all?
KYLE REIFERS: No, like I said, I'll just evaluate how the wind is and try and give myself as many opportunities. The greens aren't very big out here. Front pins, even if you knock it to the middle of the green, you're still going to have a good look at it. Middle of the green to the side pins, you've got a good look. So I'm just going to try and stick with my game plan and not let that affect what I'm doing.

Q. Were there any shots from this round that stand out as highlights to you, particularly good shots, or do you feel like it was just consistent --
KYLE REIFERS: I hit two really good shots on the par 3s, on 9 and 17, which are good holes, very similar holes. Hit a 6-iron to about three feet on 9, made birdie. Then 17, I actually think I lipped out, and it kind of trickled down and I ended up making par. But it was a good shot, considering where I was. I was pleased with the way I hit it.

Q. Your thoughts of just setting the course record.
KYLE REIFERS: It's great. You know, I'm very happy about it. It doesn't really mean much to me right now, but once I -- at the end of the week hopefully it'll mean a lot. It's always good, considering they have a TOUR event here. It's not like they just had one a couple years ago. So it's a good start and I'm really pleased.

Q. You said you didn't do anything crazy. What was the longest birdie putt you had, that you made?
KYLE REIFERS: Probably 25 feet.

Q. Where was that?
KYLE REIFERS: That was on 15.

Q. What is it about you and course records?
KYLE REIFERS: Hopefully they turn out well.

Q. Well, they have so far.
KYLE REIFERS: Yeah, they have. I'm one for one, so --

Q. Two for two.
KYLE REIFERS: Two for two, I guess.
JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Take us through, you graduated last spring. Just kind of brief us how the progression went, what you won and how it got you here, how you got to the TOUR last year real quickly so they understand how incredible what you did -- it was pretty neat, and it doesn't happen very often.
KYLE REIFERS: Well, I turned pro, and I think when I turned I was the No. 1 ranked amateur. I turned right after the NCAAs. I finished runner-up at the NCAAs.
Then I went and played in a Tarheel Tour event down in Charlotte and I won that, and then I went and Monday qualified in Chattanooga and shot 61 on Sunday and won that, and that was just that -- that kind of got everything rolling and everything changed, and I didn't have any status. I had a place to play, and I had a little -- I was able to travel like I wanted to and not really -- didn't have to worry about it. So it was a great start.
I played the rest of the season on the Nationwide Tour, just missed my card by a little bit and had to go to second stage. Got through second stage, then made about an 18-footer at last stage to get my card on the number.
And then here I am. So it's been -- it feels like it's been a lot longer than it has, but it's been a good six, eight months.

Q. Did you feel like you left any shots on the course today? 64 is pretty good.
KYLE REIFERS: Well, you can always say that. I had a couple pretty easy wedge shots that the wind picked up a little bit on 1 when I was over it and kind of fanned it to the right and made a good par. It could have been better, but I'm not kicking myself in the foot over any bad mistakes.
JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Let's go over your birdies. You started on 1. Birdie on 2.
KYLE REIFERS: I hit driver, 5-iron just short of the green and chipped up to about three feet and made it.
Birdie on 6, I hit a good drive and a 7-iron to about 25 feet, made that up the hill.
7, I hit driver, 3-wood just short of the green and knocked it to about eight feet, made that.
9, hit a 6-iron to three feet, made it.
11, I hit driver, iron just short right, chipped up, made about a seven-footer.
12, hit driver, 8-iron to 12 feet, made that.
15, I made a 25-footer.
16, I hit a wedge to about three, four feet.

End of FastScripts

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