GENUITY CHAMPIONSHIP

February 28, 2002

Chris DiMarco

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Welcome Chris DiMarco to the interview area. Thanks for coming in today. 65 today, 7-under par. Just real quick, talk about your round a little bit. Go ahead.

CHRIS DIMARCO: Got off to a great start actually. I hit two good shots on No. 1 short of the green actually chipped it over and chipped in for birdie. That was a nice way to start.

On 2 made a good 15-footer.

3 hit it in there about eight feet, made that. Got to have a great start birdie, birdie, birdie.

4 I parred. That's always good. That's almost like another birdie. Then was able to just play real good on all the way to 8, on the green 2-putted for birdie.

9 hit 7-iron in there about four feet, made birdie there.

10 I missed about 6-footer.

11 I made about 15-footer for birdie.

12 I made 15-footer for birdie.

I hit good 2-putt on 13 to make par.

14, I hit a pretty good putt. I thought I made it but didn't go in. Just over the green.

Next hole, made a little good 3-footer for par, little slider.

16 I hit a 3-wood and sand wedge to about two feet made birdie.

17 I drove it in the right bunker, kind of a bad lie, I hit 8-iron out just short, hit a good sand wedge from -- had about a 50-yard bunker shot about 8 feet, just missed, thing snapped from the green.

And then 18 hit driver and 8-iron to about 20 feet short and misread that one a little bit too.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: David Toms mentioned his last 12 holes, the weather was great as far as no wind, the cold wasn't that bad; do you agree with that?

CHRIS DIMARCO: Totally. It just laid down out there. It was -- kind of stopped blowing I would say for us about the 8th hole, 7 didn't play that long and that was it would have been into the wind. 8 we got to drive off downwind, it kind of slowed down after that. It was perfect out there. Good scoring conditions.

Q. Kind of strange, the afternoon guys playing in the best conditions weatherwise?

CHRIS DIMARCO: I kind of knew that was going to happen because of the cold front, it was blowing really hard last night. I don't know if anybody else heard it but I heard it blowing all night outside my window. It just seemed like it was going to blow itself out, cold front was going to stay in. I think tomorrow it's supposed to nice too; then on the weekend I think it is supposed to blow again.

Q. Do you know what your best round here was, career-wise?

CHRIS DIMARCO: Probably 74 (laughs), no I don't know. Probably 68 or something.

Q. 69.

CHRIS DIMARCO: Yeah, I drove the ball very well today and if you can keep -- I never hit out of the rough once. I hit it in the first cut twice, I hit it in the bunker once, that was it. If you can do this on this course, it's very scoreable.

Q. When you make the turn with 31, do you start having to fight designs of 60, 61s, 62?

CHRIS DIMARCO: The day before I shot 31 on the back nine in the pro-am, then I shot 31 on the front, so I said well, that's 62 right there let's go out and try do it again. I hit -- I missed about 6-footer on 10, then I birdied 11, 11, 12, and I don't know, made three other ones, I was thinking about it, sure, why not, get as many under as you can. There's a lot of good players out here. Why not try and get on them as much as I can.

Q. Probably the best west coast swing you ever had, I would suspect?

CHRIS DIMARCO: Yeah.

Q. How does that set you up, do you think, for the rest of the year?

CHRIS DIMARCO: My goals are kind of the same. I want to win a tournament and I want to get back to THE TOUR Championship, those are the two goals, I want to get Mercedes and THE TOUR Championship; if you do those two things you have had a good year. Obviously winning early in the year gives me -- I want to win once for sure, but it's nice to get that one out of the way and not have to worry about going back to Mercedes Championship, I am there. It is kind of a free-for-all from here on out.

Q. Talk about being at the top of the money list, what it feels like to be the man in charge right now?

CHRIS DIMARCO: That's all great. I want to be there in November, really right now in March doesn't really matter that much, to tell you the truth. Someone's going to win $900,000 this week, so unless it is me, I am going to be knocked off that, so I just want to play consistent all year, give myself a chance and be there at the end.

Q. One more time you were in the lead or had your share of the lead on Sunday Mercedes, Hope, obviously Phoenix were those the two, was there more?

CHRIS DIMARCO: Where else -- no L.A., Never -- yeah, I think those are the first three tournaments, first three, four tournaments, yeah.

Q. Now leading this thing early --

CHRIS DIMARCO: It is nice to play good in Florida. You look back at -- I don't really think I have had too many really good Florida tournaments so this is a good start. I think Disney is the best one I have ever played in. I think I finished 17th there, I think -- you would think I'd play better. I have put a lot pressure on myself in Florida, but I told myself going in this week I am going to try to be really relaxed, just try and play; not let myself get in my own way.

Q. You hear about some guys who say, well, they don't play good on the West Coast, usually one or the other, can you psych yourself out a little bit if you start thinking that way or --

CHRIS DIMARCO: I think you can. My first few years on the West Coast I was miserable, so it couldn't do anything but get better. A lot of it is learning the golf courses and knowing what the scores are to shoot and knowing where to be aggressive and where not to be aggressive. Just getting experience out here. I have just once -- if you played the West Coast enough or the East Coast enough or wherever, you are going to learn the courses, you are going to learn where you play well. I know what courses I don't play well at so I take those weeks off. I know the ones I play well at so I make sure I play those.

Q. Feel odd, throughout the entire West Coast we had had like 30 minutes of drizzle and we get to Florida and guys are in turtlenecks?

CHRIS DIMARCO: It is kind of scary, yeah. It was cold last night, and it is kind of weird, and it is nice not to see any rain. For about two years there, it seemed like every week we had a rain delay. I don't think we have had one this year so it has been nice.

Q. Are you especially friendly when you see Skip Kendall now -- he just did a half hour's worth of interviews relating to nothing but you know what?

CHRIS DIMARCO: Skip just showed me we -- were in Lake Buena Vista pro shop, he showed me that. He's been a friend of mine for years years, he knew I was struggling; he showed me something that he thought it would help. I don't think he ever thought that it would get to this level. Certainly it has rejuvenated my career, but again it's not something that I picked up this week. I have been doing this for seven years. So it's not a Band-Aid for me. It is just the way I putt.

Q. What is going so right for you right now? Is it putting? Is it ball-striking?

CHRIS DIMARCO: I just think it is confidence. I am very comfortable out there, and I have gotten a lot more experience. Once you have won once you kind of get the monkey off your back and twice you kind of vindicate that first one; every win after that I just feel like I can go for a win. It's not about finishing second or 10th or 12th anymore it is about winning the tournament.

Q. I am not following you entirely on where the comfort comes from...

CHRIS DIMARCO: Just from being up there. Just being comfortable out there I guess not being nervous on the golf course just trying to when I am home playing with my buddies I am relaxed and I am comfortable out there. I am not trying to -- putting pressure on myself. I am just out trying to play golf and when I play like that I always play a lot better.

Q. Are you knowing where you belong with these guys now?

CHRIS DIMARCO: Sure, I guess in a way like that, sure. There's still a few guys I get a little pumped up to play with. I always get pumped to play with Freddie. He has done so great out here, and I always get pumped up to play with Tiger and some of bigger guys. It kind of gives you know, to go out and try to beat these guys is great.

Q. Fred Funk or Couples?

CHRIS DIMARCO: Did I say Funk?

Q. You just said Fred.

CHRIS DIMARCO: There's only one Freddie. Freddie Couples.

Q. Would case in point be if you shoot 31 on the front side, would you have not thought about shooting 31 on the back?

CHRIS DIMARCO: No, I think that it goes all the way back to -- I think for me the whole over-the-hump-thing for me was the 1999 Jackson tournament which was the last tournament of the year I finished second and somebody went out and shot 4-under on the back nine to beat me. I didn't beat myself in that tournament. At that point I felt like I could win out here. At that point I said I didn't beat myself. I handled myself under pressure; gave myself a chance to win just didn't do it yet. I knew I needed to give myself a lot more chances and the more chances you give yourself obviously you are going to break through.

Q. How much did your performance at The Masters factor into what is happening now? Did it increase your confidence?

CHRIS DIMARCO: Certainly if you can play in that spotlight and play well, I mean, there's no bigger one we have out here, so it was awesome and it certainly did do a lot for my confidence to go on Saturday play with Tiger at The Masters in the last group and hold my own, shoot even par and only -- 3-putt on 17 and lip-out on 18 away from being tied for the lead going into Sunday. So I felt very satisfied with my play there.

Q. Mercedes and TOUR Championship but is Augusta on your list right now?

CHRIS DIMARCO: Certainly. Augusta will be my only 8th major, so it's not like I have played 25 majors or anything. I am still relatively new to those things. So it was-- made all 4 cuts last year. I had 3 top 15s or 16s or whatever, and so you know, majors are a big concern mine, but I am not going to put too much pressure on myself in those tournaments. I don't want to diminish how big they are but I don't want to put so much pressure on myself that I feel like I -- I can't go out and play. I just need to go out and be relaxed just go play golf, it is just another 72 holes, it is just on a little higher scale.

Q. Have you been or will you drop by Augusta to see it?

CHRIS DIMARCO: I might go there on maybe Monday or Tuesday of Atlanta I might drive over and maybe play a practice round.

Q. Are there any disadvantages to being No. 1 on the money list?

CHRIS DIMARCO: I don't see any. (Laughs) it is kind of a good spot to be, I think.

No, I mean, like I said, right now, it's no big deal look looking at where the No. 125 is right now. It doesn't -- it's going to change so dramatically, it doesn't really matter.

Q. What does your schedule look like going up to The Masters?

CHRIS DIMARCO: I am going to play Honda, then I am going to take the kids skiing, my family skiing during Bay Hill, then TPC, Houston, Atlanta, The Masters.

Q. Seems odd - I am not being critical - someone from Orlando won't play Bayhill?

CHRIS DIMARCO: It is kind of odd, and if people that know me know that there's one thing that's really really important to me and that's my family and that's my kids' spring break. We play enough golf tournaments a year. And you know, we get to go somewhere else; not have to worry about school for them taking off, so we're going to go skiing. If you look at my record it's not particularly one of my better tournaments on top of it, that's something that I weigh in there. I think I have only made the cut there once. I think I shoot 150 every year.

But so there's a few reasons. Obviously it's not -- I don't play well there. I am -- just like Westchester I love the course, I don't play well there. I don't play anymore. I don't play well at Cog Hill and don't play there. I just know where I play good.

Q. You are not playing the Buick Classic?

CHRIS DIMARCO: Westchester but I am going to go early up to Long Island try and played Bethpage a couple of extra days, get a practice round in there.

Q. When does that open?

CHRIS DIMARCO: I do not know that. Born on Long Island, I have a lot of family out there, I will try to get up there early and hopefully get to play it maybe Saturday and Sunday.

Q. Have you inquired on if you wanted to go up and like the odd weekend in May because of the long lines that it takes to get on there?

CHRIS DIMARCO: I have not even inquired.

Q. Do you know of a special deal worked out for the guys that already made it?

CHRIS DIMARCO: I don't know. I am sure that there probably isn't much. I don't think the course will probably be Open too much to the public come may.

Q. It Opens in April. They have already supposed to start limiting tee times for everybody?

CHRIS DIMARCO: Right. I would think there would be a limited number of play there.

Q. You said you feel real comfortable when you are at home playing with your buddies, you feel like that now out here?

CHRIS DIMARCO: Certainly. I think another thing that's by being in the winners's bracket now and playing with other winners it elevates your game. These are the guys that are playing best out here so you get to play with those guys week-in and week-out, it elevates your game.

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