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EDS BYRON NELSON CHAMPIONSHIP

April 28, 2007

Scott Verplank

IRVING, TEXAS

STEWART MOORE: We'd like to welcome Scott Verplank to the interview room here at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. Congratulations on a great round of 66 today. If you could maybe go through a couple of highlights of your round. I know there was one seven-hole stretch when you made five birdies plus a great birdie on 18 to finish it off.
SCOTT VERPLANK: Thank you. You know, I just kind of -- I finally hit a decent shot -- I actually hit three nice shots to the green on 3 and 4, but I kind of scrambled the 1st hole and the 2nd hole a little bit.
Started hitting it a little bit better with my approach shots, and I hit it close on 5 about four feet.
And then I chipped in on 6, which was nice. I thought I hit a good drive, and I guess it kind of clipped that tree over there and it kicked it into the rough, so I was just short of the green. I chipped in.
7, two-putted.
8, hit a pretty nice shot and missed it.
9, hit a pretty nice 8-iron in there and made about a 15-footer, which is always nice when you're not sure what you're looking at between yourself and the hole. I hit solid putts, and if you hit good putts, amazingly most of the time they go where they should.
And I birdied 11, hit a wedge there about four feet.
So yeah, it was -- I wasn't really paying that much attention, but I don't know, I always enjoy making birdies. I figure it's a lot more fun to do that than the other stuff, so I was just kind of trying to ride the wave.
STEWART MOORE: You hit it earlier, this sort of being the fifth major for you. Could you explain that?
SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, it's just because I'm from here, and Byron was so great to me for 25, actually 25, 26 years that I knew him. He kind of took me under his wing when I was a kid and called me up and offered -- he called me up and said, this is Byron Nelson, and I can't speak, and he says, would you like me to watch you hit some golf balls? I was barely -- I think I was just barely smart enough to say, yes, please, and the guy was great to me.
I ended up playing -- I probably played half a dozen rounds with him, played a couple rounds out here, played around Dallas and different places, and he told me stories about 1945 and what he was thinking and what he was doing.
One story that I think was really great is he would go to the golf course and he won all these tournaments and shot all these low scores and he'd go to the golf tournament, come back to the hotel, and Louise was there and she'd say, how did you do, and he'd go, not that good, I shot 66. She'd go, well, that's great. He'd go, no, I wish I would shoot 80 and get it over with.
I just thought that was really interesting. He said the pressure got -- even back then without a bunch of you guys running around and not much coverage, whatever that is, but he said the pressure that he felt was getting to be unbearable, and I just thought that was really interesting. He was telling some stories like that.
God, he was one of the finest gentlemen I've ever met in my life. I have the utmost respect for him, and because I'm from here and this tournament has his name on it, it's a pretty big deal to me.

Q. How old were you when he called you? Do you remember?
SCOTT VERPLANK: I think I was 17. I'm pretty sure I was 17. I think I was a senior in high school possibly.

Q. Toward that end, what was the moment of silence like for you out there today?
SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, I thought it was appropriate to be honest with you. A person like that -- I mean, the guy was a legendary golfer, but anybody that's lucky enough to meet him on a personal level, he was even a better person. You know, to me that is appropriate to look up and honor a person like that.

Q. You've obviously always wanted to win this event. More special this year?
SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, it would be special any time. I had a great chance a few years ago, I didn't get it done. But I don't know what Luke Donald is at or whatever, but if I play really well tomorrow, then hopefully I'll have a real shot at winning this tournament, and if I happen to do that, it would probably be the highlight of my career.

Q. Fair to say the first time you hit balls in front of Byron you were just a tad bit nervous?
SCOTT VERPLANK: I don't know, I was probably a little cocky little high school player (laughter). No, I don't know. The first time I met him and hit balls we went to Preston Trail, and we got out there on the range and the head pro came running out of the golf shop and says, Byron, Byron, Byron, how old is this guy? He's 17. Well, he can't be here. You've got to be 21 to be on the grounds out there. He's telling Byron Nelson you've got to leave, and I'm going, you've got to be kidding me.
So we did; we left and we went over and played at Northwood. He watched me hit some balls, we played 18 holes, then he watched me hit some more. He probably wrote me 40 notes over the last 20 years, 25 years. Couldn't have done anything more for me.

Q. How is it playing out there today?
SCOTT VERPLANK: You know what, to be honest with you, today is the first day all year that it was actually nice weather, I mean, that I've played in. It was the first time you actually perspired. The weather has been so weird.
We were walking down the fairway today and I was talking to the guy I was playing with, Kent Jones, and I said, this is the nicest day we've had all year. The weather has been so funny.
I thought it was great. I'm happy that the forecast is for mid-80s again tomorrow. You've mentioned two or three times how old I'm getting, and the warm weather is a lot better for old people (laughter).

Q. How many notes do you think he wrote you over the years?
SCOTT VERPLANK: Oh, you know, I haven't counted them all up. I've got them all. I've got them all saved up. I think I might try to make some sort of little collage or something. I'd say at least 30.

Q. And was there one or so that really stood out, any message?
SCOTT VERPLANK: You know, no, because every one of them was pretty significant to me, to be quite honest with you. He always had encouraging words at good times and bad times, and it always meant a lot to me to get -- whenever the little letters came in the mail, I knew right who they were from, and that was pretty cool.

Q. You said you changed shafts in your clubs earlier in the week. Obviously today it seemed to be a little more comfortable, you seemed to strike the ball better and your score reflected it?
SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, I hit some better iron shots. I hit it -- just like the last hole, I just had a perfect number, 156 yards, it was just a perfect driving range 8-iron, and it landed about six inches from the hole and ended up with three feet or something. So far they're a pretty good fit.

Q. Did the first note come after the Western, or do you remember?
SCOTT VERPLANK: You know, I'm not sure I remember. I'd have to go back and look.

Q. I wondered if maybe it stood out, that's all. You won the Amateur before the Western, right?
SCOTT VERPLANK: I think I got a few when I was in college.

Q. Looks like it's going to be another Nelson shootout tomorrow.
SCOTT VERPLANK: I hope so.

Q. You do?
SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, that makes it fun (smiling).
STEWART MOORE: Scott, thanks for your time.

End of FastScripts

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