BUICK OPEN

August 12, 2001

Chris DiMarco

CHRIS DIMARCO: Yeah, after last week's finish to go out and -- I know I needed to finish strong this week to prove to myself, you know, you don't do well down the stretch like I didn't last week and if I wouldn't have done it this week, then it would have just been adding to the confidence interruptment in the wrong way. Today I just erased it and we can move forward. I did everything good coming in. I made a couple of really good putts on 15 and 16. And the other four birdies were a foot combined.

CHRIS DIMARCO: One bogey all week. No. 7 today. I hit -- I was going for the green with a driver from the fairway. I hit it just a hair right, it caught that tree and kicked right went underneath another tree, and I kind of just chopped it out and then I chipped it up about five feet and missed a 5-footer, probably the only -- just kind of bounced and I might have misread it a little bit. Really the only 5-footer I missed all week.

CHRIS DIMARCO: Not much, tell you the truth. I said it yesterday or two days ago that if I just concentrate on myself and worry about what I need to do and not worry about what everybody else is doing, that all the best is going to come with it. I guess from 11 I got to go out one more week, and have another Top-10 next week, because I mean who knows, maybe Curtis is looking on and seeing how good I am playing and I think it is going to be hard for me to be picked, tell you the truth. I think I got to go out and earn it. So that --

CHRIS DIMARCO: I don't know. I have been playing pretty solid all year, so -- but I don't know, but I would think that would be the reason.

CHRIS DIMARCO: You know what I mean, the bottomline is that if I go out and finish Top-10 next week then I deserve it and nobody can take that away from me. So I am not going to get my hopes up. I am not going to start pleaing, please pick me, please pick me. I am going to try to go out and get the job next week.

CHRIS DIMARCO: We were walking down No. 1.

CHRIS DIMARCO: Actually when he did it both Bob and I hit it on the green and way left, his way right. I had 115-foot putt; he had an 80-foot putt. We both 3-putted. Then I made a great birdie on 2 and good birdie on 4 so was right where I needed to be. Then made my only bogey on 7. That could have been a two-shot swing if I hit a good shot it, gets on the green, I 2-putt and there's the two shots right there.

CHRIS DIMARCO: Yeah.

CHRIS DIMARCO: It has been there all week. There has been 63s and 64s, you know, just about time for someone to shoot 61. It has been there all week. The course unfortunately was defenseless this week. The greens -- I would like to have seen the greens harder. I know this, if they would have cut them lower or didn't water them they would have died. I know they had to do that. With the greens being soft and fairways being as fast as they are, it was a wedge in every hole just about.

CHRIS DIMARCO: On that tee, that 17th hole they were brutal out there today. They were really disruptive pretty much the whole round. They were loud. You could hear them everywhere on the course no matter where you were. And I hit a great shot into 17 to about 15 feet short and just kind of misread it. I thought it would it go left and bounced a little right on me. 18 I was driving it really good all week, so I stepped up and put a driver in my hand just ripped it right down the middle. I had 119 yards and I found a little thing I was doing with my swing was kind of decelling a little bit through the ball; that's why I was hitting those pull left shots like I have been hitting down the stretch, shortened it up a little bit, more aggressive through, little wedge, choked it down a couple of inches, went right at it. If it kicks a little left, it probably has a chance of going in. It kind of kicked straight; then the break of the green (inaudible) -- little right of the hole.

CHRIS DIMARCO: It was a foot. I like that distance on 18. (Laughs).

CHRIS DIMARCO: I don't know how the points work. World Ranking, I don't know how that thing works. Bottomline is that I have got one more week to get myself in the Top-10 and it has become a huge goal now. I wouldn't say that two months ago because I didn't-- who knows if I would even thought I would be there. Now it's a huge goal. I am not going to put anymore pressure on myself next week. I am playing good. It's just a matter of continuing to play good.

CHRIS DIMARCO: I guess. Bottom line is I have played 23 events this year, I have made 20 cuts. I have had 13 or 14 Top-20s, so -- and I just think this is my 8th Top-10. I have played very much where I thought I should have been in the last three, four years. Last year was a good year -- my last two years are starting to become what I envisioned myself and I am starting to get there. So it is just a matter of you know, who knows I got one more week obviously and next week I guess the points are doubled and everything, so you know, it will be an honor to be on that time, I can promise you that.

CHRIS DIMARCO: Unfortunately really I know they were having a good time out there, but if -- the way this course is set up, you got No. 9 tee, 8th green, 11th tee, 12th tee, 11 -- everything is right there and I mean they are doing the wave and they are being loud-- I mean it really -- unfortunately there's no place for that out here, really isn't. I had no problem with people having a good time, but have a good time with the golfers, watching them; don't have a good time between yourself and -- you know what I am saying? I think what happened unfortunately I think it should have started throwing guys out earlier. If they would have done that they would have stopped earlier. They do that at Phoenix, same problem there. By the time I got on the 16th hole there were six guys out, nobody said a word. It was great. Nobody is saying you shouldn't have a good time. I think everybody should have a great time. There is no need to scream -- this isn't a football game or baseball game. It is a golf tournament. It's still a gentlemen's game and there's still a lot of courtesy and it is not shown out there on the 17th hole.

? CHRIS DIMARCO: Not so much -- you don't see it much anymore, really don't. Phoenix used to be like that. You know what started happening, guys stopped coming because they don't even want to deal with it. There's nothing wrong with guys having a good time, don't get me wrong. I go to Gator games, I am like that at a Gator game. But that is a football game, it's not a golf tournament.

CHRIS DIMARCO: When I was going down 12th, I was hearing them and when I was playing 8 I was hearing them. I just told myself when I get to that tee I am going to do everything in my power just to block out everything, not even notice anybody and I didn't. I hit-- knew that at that point I knew if I went birdie, birdie I had a chance of winning the tournament. So I hit a great shot in there and I had a 15-footer in there, they are yelling, "it is straight, don't leave it short," all this stuff. You are trying to concentrate out there. That's not the stuff you want to hear before you are playing. It didn't really affect me because I didn't really let it. I think that if things were going bad and they are booing you or something like that, I think it can affect you that way. I heard a few that were out there too.

CHRIS DIMARCO: No, no, no, I heard it when I was on the 5th green, that's about the furthest point of view. It is annoying everywhere. On the fifth green I was hearing it.

CHRIS DIMARCO: I love it here. I like this course. I have always kind of played well here. I think that something needs to be done for sure. I think that they need to take not even minuscule -- I think they need to take drastic measures here for sure. Like I said, there's nothing wrong with having a good time, but they were ridiculous, and that's the bottomline.