SEI PENNSYLVANIA CLASSIC

September 16, 2000

Chris DiMarco

CHRIS DiMARCO: Well, first hole started out great. Hit a driver and an 8-iron in there about four feet and made birdie. That was nice, because it just kind of relaxed me for the rest of the day. Played solid, 2 and 3. 4, I had a good shot there. Thought I had birdie but didn't made it. Birdied 5. Hit a 3-wood and chipped it about three feet and made birdie. Next hole I hit driver and a wedge about five feet behind the hole and made that for birdie. Then I bogeyed 8. Hit it just a little left. There was a root and I hit my sand wedge just short and there was a big knob. I putted by about 20 feet and 2-putted from there. Going into 9, I knew 9, 10 and 11 were playing hard. I hit it right in the trees and I hit a tree coming out and I had 140 yards to the hole and hit an 8-iron about six feet and made it. That was really big to go into the turn with that. I made another good putt on 10. I hit driver and 4-iron into the front bunker. Blasted by the hole, which is not where you want to be on that hole. Hit it 10 feet there and I just touched it -- if it didn't go in, it was probably five, six feet by. 11, I hit a driver and 6-iron about eight feet right of the hole another putt where I played about five feet of break and tried to hit it three inches and it drove right in there. That was another good putt. No. 14, the par 3, hit it about five, six feet and made birdie there. 17, I hit a 3-iron about 10 feet right of the hole and made a really good birdie there. Another one where I played it probably two feet outside the right edge, just barely touched it and it went right in. So, a good solid round.

CHRIS DiMARCO: Hopefully I don't worry about that until the 18th hole. I'm hitting the ball really good. Driving it good, hitting my irons extremely solid and I'm making a lot of putts. Just going to go try to, you know, get a seven- or eight-shot lead, just push it ahead. I'm playing good. So no reason why I cannot go out and shoot 5-, or 6-under tomorrow and have a nice leisurely stroll down 18, that would be nice.

CHRIS DiMARCO: There's a lot of places you don't want be on this course. I picked and choosed today. You do not want to be close to the pin on these greens. I tried to play short of the pins and give myself chances at birdie. I made a lot of good, curling putts. If a couple of those don't go in, it could have been four or five feet by and a three- or four-shot difference. You've got to be careful out there.

CHRIS DiMARCO: Those holes are really hard. 9, for some reason there was a two-group wait on 9 and a two-group wait on 10; and 11, we even waited. Just really good holes, and to come out of those 1-under today was a huge bonus, especially where I was on 9 in two.

CHRIS DiMARCO: You know, on 18, I certainly would not have hit that 3-wood. I knew that I had that over there; so with where I was, I knew that right was not where you wanted to be. I knew if I hit in that right bunker that would be a really hard bunker shot. I was trying to hit in the front left bunker and get where Steve Pate was and give myself a bunker shot like that. The club just grabbed that grass and turned over. I knew I was going to get relief if I hit over there. And then 15 -- or 16, I hit it right, and I hit it really good so I knew I got past all the trees, luckily, but they need to move the tents on 16 next year, I think, because it's kind of in play over there. They are not far off the fairway.

CHRIS DiMARCO: Yeah, hit it over there the first day playing with me so I knew they were there. I hit it good there the first two days; so I was not expecting to hit it over there.

CHRIS DiMARCO: It was both. I got a lot of good breaks, and you need that to shoot a 66 on a day like today. You need some good things to happen, and I certainly had a lot of those happen today.

CHRIS DiMARCO: Loren is a lot different player than I am. He doesn't hit it extremely long off the tee. I'm going to be probably by him all day. So I'm going to watch him hit into the green. And he's a great putter. This is his type of course. You've got to hit the fairways and green, like they are. I feel like I putted really good this week. If I can just keep putting good -- I made a lot of really good, key, 7-, 8-footers for pars and birdies and I've just got to keep that going.

CHRIS DiMARCO: The greens are starting to firm up a little bit. Like I was very surprised on 18 that my ball rolled almost to the back of the green there. Yesterday that ball probably would have stopped 10 feet short of the hole and it went by 15, 18 feet. It is firming up. The fairways are still soft and makes the course play long; and with the greens being firm, it is certainly going to play tougher.

CHRIS DiMARCO: That day I think I shot 70 or 71, or even 69. I forget what I shot, but I was right in it until the end, and he happened to make two birdies in the last three holes to beat me. So, you know, that was a good learning experience for me. I certainly didn't beat myself that tournament. And this year, the same thing. Both Sundays I've been in contention I've shot in the 60s. I feel like, you know I have a lot of confidence in my game right now, the way I'm playing; so I certainly have that going for me. If you can just control the nerves out there, that's what it is all about. At least 50 percent mental. So if I can keep it nice and confident between the ears, the way I'm playing, I should do fine tomorrow.

CHRIS DiMARCO: You know, I don't know. You just kind of hit good shots and then you make a key putt here or a key putt there. That relaxes you, and that's going to be the key for me. Obviously everybody says that first four- or five-footer you make kind of relaxes you, and I've been putting good all week. So going into tomorrow my confidence is going to be there. And I've had some putts that I've been extremely nervous on and I've stroked them perfectly. Looking forward to tomorrow, to tell you the truth.

CHRIS DiMARCO: I've been doing it for five years, so I don't really hear it as much. You know, I was very -- it used to bother me to hear that. But if they go in, I could care less. It doesn't matter to me. If I was not putting like that I certainly would not be sitting right here right now. So I attribute where I am today because of that grip. I am not ashamed of it at all. That's just the way I putt. And I get about five or six people a week telling me: "You saved my game, I can play on Fridays with the fellows because I'm not afraid of those 2-footers anymore." It takes the right hand out, which was a lot of my problem.

CHRIS DiMARCO: Certainly how I played today. That's just a game. I mean, this is my life. You know, I'll be disappointed if they don't win, certainly, but I'll get over that and try to shoot a good round top. A win would certainly take precedence over a loss by them.

CHRIS DiMARCO: It doesn't matter, to tell you the truth. I'm certainly going to have a lot of pressure on me. I've never won. I'm going to be in a situation where everybody is going to be looking at me and trying to catch me, and I've never been there before. I've done it -- I played on the Canadian Tour and I won up there and I did on the Nike Tour, I won out there, but I've never won out here. I've just got to keep playing good. If I shoot 66 or 67 tomorrow, I'm going to win. I need to take care of me and not worry about anybody else.

CHRIS DiMARCO: Never out here on TOUR. Up around it. I've been one back or even, but I've never had a two- or three-shot lead.

CHRIS DiMARCO: I don't know. Never been there. I like it right now, sure. Spot me three tomorrow, I like that.

CHRIS DiMARCO: I've got two kids. I'll sleep fine. They will wear me out, my four-and-a-half and two-and-a-half will wear me out.

CHRIS DiMARCO: They are here, yeah.