	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

AT&T NATIONAL

July 5, 2007

Billy Andrade

BETHESDA, MARYLAND

NELSON SILVERIO: Billy, thanks for coming in. You're 2-under today, you're one shot back right now, just some general comments on your round.
BILLY ANDRADE: Yeah, I started early on the back nine, which is a very difficult hole to start on, that new first hole, No. 10. I made a great par there, and made a few pars in a row.
10 and 11 are probably the two toughest holes to start, ever. Might be like getting that back nine at Pebble, you know, when it's blowing. That's not a good one to start on, either. Made a few pars.
Then I birdied 15, 17 and 18. 15, from the left rough I hit a 9-iron about four feet, made my first birdie.
17, I hit a 7-iron about ten feet.
18, I hit a 9-iron about five feet. So I was 3-under at the turn. I had a chance at 1. I got up-and-down at 2.
3 to the house I had birdie tries on every one and hit some really good putts and didn't make any of them, and then I 3-putted the last hole for a 6.
It wasn't a nice way to finish, but I gave -- in all of those holes where I didn't make any birdie putts, I hit one putt that wasn't a very good one on 5.
But the rest of them are all beautiful putts and all looked like they were going in and none of them did. That's what you need to do. You need to just stay steady and hang in there, and every hole out here is a challenge in itself. You're just trying to execute and have some chances and get off to a good start. That's what Thursdays are all about.
Some guy yelled at me on 7, my 16th hole. He said, "You won, Man! You got it! You're in the bag! You can start spending that money!" (Laughter)
"Thanks, Pal." There's a lot of tournaments I've played and I've won on Thursday: "You don't need to play on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Pal. You've got it!"
All right, have another beer. (Laughter)
It was a nice start. Not happy obviously with not getting it done on the last one but looking forward to tomorrow.
NELSON SILVERIO: There's been a lot of talk about 6 today. How did that play?
BILLY ANDRADE: I hit a nice drive and a 6-iron. It was a sucker pin today, right over the water, and I played it out to the left and took the slope and had about a 25-footer that I thought I made and didn't make.
Par is irrelevant. If you want to make it 71, 72, whatever, I think that's a much better par 5 hole than a par 4 hole. We have enough of these holes out here that are monsters. That one is a perfect par 5 hole. It's risk/reward if you hit a good drive. If not, you lay up. But it's a hard par 4. You have to keep it in play off the tee, and then you go for it from there and see; if you can get it anywhere on that green, you're happy.

Q. What was your leave at 9 on the 3-putt?
BILLY ANDRADE: I was in-between clubs. Hit it in the right rough off the tee and I hacked a 7-iron out. I had between 7 and 8, and it was a little cut 7 maybe or an 8. I was kind of tied up there, and I hit an 8 left, pin-high, maybe 40 feet.
So I had to go down the slope, up the slope, and then it goes downgrain down towards that way, going towards that way -- I don't know what that way is. I left it short; just a little harder and it would have been perfect. I left it short so I had a little side-winder about four feet and I hit a pretty good putt that didn't break and lipped it out.
You know, all you can do when you have -- especially on downhillers and sidehillers is hit a solid putt and hopefully it will slide in for you. But they are very difficult when you're defensive putting because they can wiggle any which way out here.

Q. We talked yesterday about you being close, but this is I think your fifth straight week you said, also?
BILLY ANDRADE: I've played a few in a row, yes.

Q. So how do you balance the two of those in the sense that --
BILLY ANDRADE: Well, you've got this whole new schedule. It's like some you're working your way in. I've been a horrible starter. I've played pretty good as the year goes on and I've played pretty good in the fall and I do okay.
Now, basically if you don't make your money, your points, by the middle of August, you're out. And I don't think there's any player out here that want to take a month and a half off in August and September. So, you've got to play. You've got to keep playing.
And that's where I'm at now. I started slow. I've been playing much better in the last few months. I'm putting better. I'm just competing now. I feel like I'm definitely in a better place.
But there's not much time left. You know, you've got to make it -- you have to do it quickly. If not, no one wants to have to take a break, and you want to be in all of these All-Star Games and these Playoff tournaments and all that, so you've got to play. What a better place to do well than here? Winning changes everything. It gets you in all of these extra tournaments, and, you know, that's what we all want to do.
NELSON SILVERIO: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297