CANON GREATER HARTFORD OPEN

June 29, 2001

Chris DiMarco

CHRIS DIMARCO: Really? Yeah, I saw that bunched out there the whole day. It was a tougher day today, I thought. The wind totally changed directions and a lot of the holes, like No. 1, I hit driver sand wedge into yesterday, and it was a driver 5-iron today. It played a lot tougher, I thought. Even like 10 and 12 was even a lot longer hole. This is a tougher wind when it blows like this. I started on the back. I made a good up-and-down on 10. I hit it right of the bunker and chipped it like a foot. Made a real great good par. 2 putted 11. Hit in the right bunker on 12. Hit it about two feet and made a good putt. Then I laid up L-wedge to about an inch. I don't know how it didn't go in, curled down and just missed. Parred the next hole. Missed a 5-footer on the short par 5 for birdie. Got up-and-down on 16. 17, I hit a 7-iron about 20 feet and made that for birdie. 18, I hit it in the right side bunker. Hit it in the green-side bunker, I don't know how, but it plugged. The bunkers are really good. Plugged; left it in the bunker and I made about a 10-footer for bogey which was nice. 12, missed the fairway. Hit it on the green and made -- really hard putt. Slow putt, about five feet, and made that for par. Parred 2. Hit a 7-iron in there about 12 feet on No. 3. Made that for birdie. Made a really good up-and-down on 4. Drove it right. Had to lay up and L-wedged it to about eight feet behind the hole and a really good down-the-hill putt there. Good up-and-down on the next hole out of the right bunker chipped it out about three or four inches. Hit a driver, 3-wood and a little sand wedge into No. 6 to about four feet behind the hole and made that for birdie. Parred 7. 8, I hit a 5-iron and it landed about five feet right of the hole and just trickled over the back of the green. I had two sprinklers in my way so I had to putt and chipped it by about eight feet and missed it.

CHRIS DIMARCO: No, totally it was a lot harder today. You're looking at holes like 12, usually driver, sand iron and it's driver, 5-, 6-iron. 13 is not reachable for most people -- for a few people, it is. 14 played harder. All the holes, that if the wind is blowing the other way, if it's driver, wedge, you're now hitting driver, 4-iron, 5-iron, 6-iron. When the wind is in your face I think the fairways are a lot harder to hit. I know I missed six fairways. Luckily, I hit it in five bunkers. You can play out of the bunkers. You can't play out of the rough.

CHRIS DIMARCO: I guess. I can't really explain it. I felt like I played a really good round of golf today and shot 3-under. I made two bogeys. I've only made two bogeys all week. So, you know, it's a hard golf course. I mean, just because the scores are low here every year, it's a hard golf course. There's only two par 5s.

CHRIS DIMARCO: I have no idea. I have no clue. I don't really -- 36 holes, I try not to worry about. I just try to put myself in a position. Even 54, try to get in position, and try to get in position on the last nine on Sunday. That's all really you can do is give yourself a chance at it. I would like to go out and shoot 62 tomorrow and then shoot 30 and have like a ten-shot lead on the back nine. But I'll just try to keep doing what I'm doing. I'm putting and chipping really good. My short game is really good. It's just a matter of hitting a few more fairways and making it not so hard on me out there. I think I only hit like ten greens today and shot 3-under, so I had a lot of good up-and-downs.

CHRIS DIMARCO: You know, actually I hit a lot of good shots that just either trickled over a green. It's a good sign. If you are chipping and putting good, that's a good thing. The long game, you can always fix. It's just, you know, I hit -- it was just tougher driving today. The course played harder. Some of these holes don't really set up good when the wind is blowing a certain direction, for me. Just a matter of hitting straight and hitting on the green and making putts. I guess that's the old saying, isn't it?