U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 11, 2002

Chris DiMarco

RAND JERRIS: We are now joined by Chris DiMarco. Chris is playing in his third United States Open.

Chris, maybe you can start us off with maybe a few general comments on the course, your impressions of it.

CHRIS DiMARCO: Hit it straight. (Laughs).

It's extremely difficult. If the wind blows, it's almost going to be impossible. It's very fair. It's just very, very tough. There's just a lot of really hard shots out there that you have just got to -- I know there's no hazards, except for one hole, but pretty much you're going to have to hit it over the rough lines to get it back in the fairway on some, and that's pretty much a hazard hitting over the rough because you are going to lay up anyway. It's going to be a very difficult golf course.

It's going to be very tough mentally. It's going to be a very tough mental week.

RAND JERRIS: Week in and week out the Tour returns to the same course. When you come to a new course, how does that change your strategy or approach to the Championship.

CHRIS DiMARCO: Well, normally I just come in on Wednesday and play the Pro-Am and then go play the tournament. I got here Sunday, played 18 on Sunday, played nine yesterday, 18 today and nine holes tomorrow, so 54 holes; that's a lot of golf for me to play before a tournament. The round today took us five hours and 40 minutes. You just hope you hit it in spots and say, "Hey, maybe not not a bad place to be here." You just try to map out the least likely place to make a big number.

Bogeys are not going to hurt you this week. Everybody is going to make a bunch of bogeys. If you can just eliminate the doubles and the bigger numbers, you should be able to do okay.

Q. Do you think starting, the two-tee start situation that we have this year, do you think if you start on 10, is that potentially a disadvantage?

CHRIS DiMARCO: You mean when I start on 10 Thursday? (Laughs)

We do it every week on TOUR. 10 was a driver and a 5-iron today. It's a great hole. But put the ball in the fairway, you can still knock it on.

Obviously the back nine is tougher than the front, no doubt. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, every hole on the back is extremely difficult.

It's good, actually. I like the fact that we are using both tees. You don't have that one person going off at 6:00 in the morning and the next person at 3:00 in the afternoon. It brings everybody in the same conditions.

Last year I got extremely lucky playing at 2:40. I came in the next day and there was no wind and it was soft so I got a very good break.

I like it this way better. You'll see everybody have the same conditions, which is what should happen anyway.

Q. A number of golfers are changing what they have got in the bag because of the rough and some of the challenges this course provides. Are you doing anything like that?

CHRIS DiMARCO: You know, yes. I am trying to figure out if I'm going to take my 8- or my 9-iron out. One of those two are coming out, because you don't need one of those two clubs. I haven't hit a 9-iron or a wedge in three days. I'm putting a 2-iron and a 5-wood in. I'm going to probably take either my 8- or my 9-iron, if I have one of those yardages, I'll work it in there and do what I have to do.

It's definitely a good week to putt a 5-wood. I know a lot of guys are using woods this week, 5-wood or some type of rescue club or driving iron or something like that.

Q. As you moved up in the World Rankings and won a tournament here and there, do you sense any growing pressure to win a major? And the second part, how do you feel as a player about a guy like Phil Mickelson, a guy under immense pressure?

CHRIS DiMARCO: That's how I was going to answer. I was going to use him as my answer.

From watching how you guys have made it almost impossible for him to win a major, you know, I'm not going to let that affect me. It's just another golf tournament. I'm just going out and try to win it, put myself in position on Sunday. We have only got four of these a year, this is my ninth or 10th I've played in so I'm trying to learn these wings. Would I like to win? Yeah. Am I playing to win? Yeah.

If I don't win will I feel my career is not satisfied? No. I don't aim to be the best player ever to play the game, ever. I'm past that: I'm 33, I have two kids, I've got a family. I'm past all this. My deal is maybe win one here, win one there, maybe knock out a major, great. Just play consistent and give myself opportunities.

My goals don't change. They are the same every year. Try to get back to Kapalua and get back to the TOUR Championship. If you do those two things every year, you've had a very successful year.

Do I want to win a major? Of course. Would it be icing? Sure. But I'm not going it put that extra added pressure on myself to do it.

Q. Your driver might be the squirreliest club in your bag most day; how do you see yourself using it? What's the game plan?

CHRIS DiMARCO: That is unfortunately probably our worst stat that we have, I think. I have driven the ball probably better than I have ever in my career and I'm still ranked 100th in accuracy or something. I bet you if they poled first cuts, I've probably hit in 15 percent of the first cuts. You add that with 66 percent, I guarantee I'm hitting 86 percent of the fairways. I'm not hitting wild shots anymore.

I'm going to hit the driver a lot this week; I have to. You're talking about a 7,300-yard course. We have four par 4s over 470. It's coming out. I'm going to live and die with my driver for sure. I'm very confident with it right now. I'm hitting good. I'm going to go out and tee it up and rip it and see what happens.

Q. I know it's been a long time and you're very young, but what do you know, what have you learned about your family roots here on the Island?

CHRIS DiMARCO: Oh, I remember them. I was seven when we moved.

It was funny yesterday. I took my wife and kids back to where I used to live off off Melissa Avenue in Huntington and drove down the block and all of those overwhelming memories came back: Remember riding my bike here; we drove up the block and went to the church; and I remember that's where I learned to ride my bike in that parking lot; and I used to climb that tree. My kids' eyes were wide open and my wife was loving it because she was getting the nostalgia, the whole thing. It was pretty cool.

Q. You won at Phoenix which is known as one of the loudest tournaments on TOUR. How do you deal with that and could you expect the same kind of atmosphere here?

CHRIS DiMARCO: Actually, I probably expect a little bit better atmosphere here. There, they are just out to yell and scream and get drunk and hope you hit a bad shot. They want to scream at your bad shots. They don't necessarily want to see good shots.

Here, obviously being from up here, I think a lot of people are going to pull for me so I think I'll yet get a lot of positive yells and screams and that's always appreciative. It's the ones that get negative, negative and loud, obviously like the guy said to me on 16 in Phoenix, those are the ones that get out of control. Nothing wrong with being positive and loud. I think that's a good thing. It's when you're negative and personal; I know in Phoenix they can get kind of personal, and there's no reason for that. There's no place for that in golf, period.

Nothing wrong with having a good time, screaming and yelling at good shots. That's certainly a good thing and I'm expecting hopefully a lot of that this week.

Q. Following up on the family question: Did you discover many more relatives and friends than you ever thought you had?

CHRIS DiMARCO: I've met a lot of people that remember, hey, I used to baby-sit you -- yeah, okay, whatever you say. 28 years ago, I don't remember.

I can remember some of the names, I've had some names that I do remember, from my parents, friends and stuff and I know there's a lot of people that probably if I was not playing golf would not remember me, but because I'm playing golf remember that.

It's pretty neat to come up, try to be as nice as I can and sign as many autographs and be as gracious as I can but I'm still up here to do a job, I'm up here to work. It's sort of a homecoming but it's also the U.S. Open and that's what it's about, really.

Q. How desperate were you and what has the Claw meant to your career?

CHRIS DiMARCO: Golf just wasn't fun anymore. Basically, it rejuvenated my career, without a doubt. It makes me -- I feel like I putt good every week. I feel like I'm going to stroke the ball good every week. To take that and not have to worry about how I'm going to come out each day and putt, is huge.

I know I'm a very consistent putter now. My weeks that I win, I'm a great putter. The weeks I don't win, I'm still a good putter.

It's just a matter of -- for me, it's confidence or whatever, but I know I'm going to put a good stroke on the ball like that and it's a good stroke for me.

Q. Do you see more and more players doing it? Do you think it's a good thing for amateurs? What specifically does it do for you mechanically?

CHRIS DiMARCO: Mechanically it takes my right hand out and I try to putt with my left side. Again it's one of those things. I've had a lot of success with it so guys will try something that has stuck. If I would have come out and not played well, lost my card and moved on, I don't think anybody would have tried it. But because I'm winning tournaments and they are seeing it -- I know Kevin Sutherland looked at the putting stats saw that I was No. 1 and Calcavecchia was No. 2 in putting and he said, well, gosh I'll going to try it. So he goes out and wins The Match Play.

There is certainly a good reason to it. It takes your right hand out. There's no hit with the right hand. If guys are struggling, that's what they struggle with. On TOUR, I know a lot of guys use it on the putting green to practice with and it's a good way to practice.

Q. Do you or other golfers that you know of maybe ever wonder what golf would be like today without Tiger Woods?

CHRIS DiMARCO: I thank him every day. He made our purses go from a big purse being $1.5 million to we are playing for $6 million a week now.

He was about right at the perfect time for golf. I don't know anybody who can say anything negative about what he's done for the game. He's made the game so much better. He's brought so many more fans to the game. He's brought kids that might never pick up the game are picking up golf clubs now. It's just a total positive thing for the Tour. I don't know how anybody could say anything negative about it.

Q. Do you ever think about how many other players would have won regular events or majors?

CHRIS DiMARCO: You mean if he wasn't here, how many more tournament who is other guys have won? You know what, if you are not playing against the best, you want to win against the best. I have not won -- the three tournaments I won, he didn't play in; and trust me, they would be that much sweeter if he was there.

He's the bar where we try to rise to, and he sets the standard for us, for sure. I get to see it for the first two days, too. So that will be fun.

RAND JERRIS: We thank you very much for your time and we wish you luck this week.

CHRIS DiMARCO: Thanks.

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