MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 11, 2002

Scott Verplank

P. DAN YATES: Good afternoon everybody, I'm Dan Yates, and we are just delighted to have Scott Verplank who had a nice 70 today. Let's ask Scott to say a few words before y'all have a go at him, if you don't mind.

SCOTT VERPLANK: It's really great to be here. I didn't even know this was on the property. (Laughter.) If you want to know the truth, I didn't know what was over here.

I found the golf course was a little softer from the rain. The greens are still very fast. The pin placements are still very tricky, and I think the changes they made are -- I like the changes they have made. I think they just kind of -- it just brings a little bit more of your all-around game into play.

Even though they made it longer, and it's still a bomber's paradise, they made it where you have to hit it a little bit straighter, too, so I was happy about that.

Q. How confident were you coming in, knowing nothing about the changes and knowing that it was going to be longer at a place where you had not made the cut?

SCOTT VERPLANK: There's really not a whole lot of pressure on me since I had never played any good here.

P. DAN YATES: Why don't we go through the card first.

SCOTT VERPLANK: I hit it in the left bunker on 3 with a 3-wood, but it was a good distance. And hit a pitching wedge about three feet and made a birdie.

6, I hit a 6-iron about 12 feet right behind the hole and made a nice putt there.

No. 9, I kind of flared it out to the right into the first cut, and just kind of -- I had to hit kind of a punch-cut shot out of the right rough, and I just hit a nice shot. I hit it right on top of the first slope, rolled up six feet from the hole. It was just ideal. And made that.

Parred around until 13. 13, I hit it perfect. Hit a really nice-looking 4-wood right at it and it came up like -- ended up perfect. I was only 15 feet from the hole, but it hit right on the front fringe and stopped. It could have gone either way. Could have gone forward and then right next to the hole or gone backwards and right into the creek. I was a little nervous over that chip because I thought the ball was going to start rolling backwards, because if it would have, it would have gone into the creek. Anyway, I got that up-and-down.

Bogeyed 14. I just hit a bad -- I just pulled my iron shot and got left of the hole there, which is very difficult. Hit a beautiful par putt from about 12 feet and lipped out.

15, I hit a good drive. I hit it into the right bunker on my second shot. I hit the sand shot about 20 feet left of the hole; that was a pretty tough sand shot. Not that unhappy with the sand shot, and I made that putt, which was very nice.

17, hit a perfect drive right up on top of the hill on the right side of the fairway, so I got a good look at the flag. I got so much mud on the right side of my ball, I'm not really sure what it's going to do. So I really said, well, instead of even trying to get around the flag, I'm going to play it middle of the green and just try to hit it the right distance, and if the mud makes it hook, you know, that would be a bonus.

Well, it not only hooked, it snap-hooked. It almost flew into the bleachers over there into the left and I started in the middle of the green. Actually had a very nice swing, felt great, looked up and the ball was going sideways. I was just dead. And I hit a chip shot ten feet from the hole and hit a nice putt and missed it.

18, I made a bad swing off the tee, hit it a little bit right, got caught up in the junk over there, and that's not the place to be on 18.

P. DAN YATES: Questions, please.

Q. Coming in, having not made the cut and reading about the changes, being more difficult, what confidence did you have coming in?

SCOTT VERPLANK: In all honesty, I felt like the harder they make the golf course, if I play good, that's to my advantage, whether it's with length or rough or whatever it is. The harder, the better the score that even par is, the better chance I have.

Q. Does the course feel more dramatic playing back from some of those tees, 9 or 7, or do you guys feel that kind of stuff?

SCOTT VERPLANK: I guess I don't feel it because I don't even know what you're talking about.

What do you mean? They are just harder tee shots now. 9 is a tougher shot and you're going to have a lot longer club in.

14 is a little -- actually 14 easier for me because I don't have to worry about curving it around the corner, I can just hit my normal shot. Except for today, 18 the same way. I'm not ever going to hit it in those bunkers unless I'm chipping out into the bunker.

Q. It's almost like the average player moves from the men's tees back to the championship tees.

SCOTT VERPLANK: That's right, the holes that they added length on are different golf holes now.

Q. Can you describe your frustrations over the years here, and why you think it's been hard for you to play here, as opposed to all of the other places where you have played well?

SCOTT VERPLANK: No, I can't describe that. I don't know. I mean, I just have -- I know a couple of times I came in here and I was playing good and very comfortable. Last year I was playing fine and had a nice first round last year, I think I shot 69 the first round last year, and then just shot 78 or something in the second round.

I don't know. I would think if I play well, then this course would be pretty good for me. My strengths are going to be keep it in play. I'm not going to overpower the golf course, but not everybody that plays well here overpowers the golf course, but my strengths are keep it in play and have a good short game, and that's generally what I did today.

Q. Have they moved more of the trouble to where the bombers hit it, and for a guy who hits it 250 to 270, maybe taking a little trouble out of play?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Maybe. Like 18, I'm not going to drive it in those bunkers, at least not this year.

Yeah, they have moved -- they have made some appropriate changes. I guess from what I understand, they didn't move some of them far enough.

Q. No. 8, also?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, No. 8 is better for me. Unless it was straight downwind I wasn't knocking it over that bunker anyway. As long as they get everybody to hit it left of that bunker, then it makes it -- it equalizes it.

Q. You talked about this being almost a vacation with your kids and with your wife being from nearby. So did you come up here with no expectation, and is that why you played well?

SCOTT VERPLANK: I guess that is part of it. I mean, that would be a good attitude to have every week, just go out and play.

Q. I guess the question being, did you come in here geared up or thinking what you wanted to do, or did you just come in playing it by ear?

SCOTT VERPLANK: I would not be here if I wasn't trying to do well in the tournament. But, you know, I'm not sitting here thinking I'm going to win the golf tournament. Hell, I've never made the cut here. (Laughs).

But if I play my game, I feel like, hey, I probably have a chance, but I've just never been able to pull that off around here very good just the same.

Q. Just the same you were 4-under at 13, and with three bogeys on the last five holes, what do you go to bed thinking?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Not really. I played good today. You look at the -- whoever wins this tournament on Sunday afternoon, is going to have made some bogeys and made some mistakes that they think they should have made and miss some putts, and got a few good breaks, but got a couple of bad ones, too. That's just all part of playing here, and particularly now with the golf course stretched out and the greens quite a bit faster than they were like last year. That's part of playing a big tournament.

Q. How is your health? I know sometimes you have some foot problems associated with the diabetes, do you get around okay?

SCOTT VERPLANK: I'm okay. I wouldn't even say they are associated with diabetes. I just have had -- more associated with my shoes. (Laughs).

Q. Blisters?

SCOTT VERPLANK: I've had them. But my feet felt good today, and this was a tough golf course to walk and I wasn't limping around. I've been limping around for the last month and today was pretty decent.

Q. Does diabetes affect your game in any way?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, it's my whole life.

Q. Your play out on the golf course?

SCOTT VERPLANK: It's just a routine thing I go through that nobody else has to go through right now, I mean, as far as guys playing at this tournament or on the Tour. That's my No. 1 priority when I'm coming to the golf course is make sure I feel decent, where I can play. If I don't feel any good, it doesn't matter how good I'm playing, it's not probably going to work out very good.

Q. Does the little box --

SCOTT VERPLANK: Insulin pump, yeah, it's been great.

Q. Does that help?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yes, it's tremendous.

Q. On the list of golf accomplishments, how does a green jacket rate, and did you ever think about a green jacket, putting in all those hours of practice in?

SCOTT VERPLANK: I think every little kid does. You watch the tournament all the time. It would be great. Obviously, it would be great.

Even if I did that, it's going to be hard to beat making a hole-in-one with my son caddying for me on the par 3. That's the greatest thrill I've ever had in golf without question. That was the most exciting thing I've had happened, having my 8-year-old caddying for me, pick the club and I dunk it on the last hole on the par 3. That's a pretty good thrill right there.

Q. The mud on 17, was that a problem on any other shots?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, there was some mud, but none of them were as severe as that one. That's just unfortunately part of the deal sometimes.

Q. We're all trying to find out about the new course; on 8 and 13, does it put the wedge back in the hands of some guys who are good wedge players?

SCOTT VERPLANK: I would think so, yeah. Since they are longer, if you don't hit a really -- really, you have to pretty much hit driver on No. 13 now instead of 3-wood.

Yeah, it's putting just a little bit longer clubs in everybody's hands. There's no way around that.

Q. It's easy to say how the course helps the long hitter, but it's interesting how it helps the short hitters with other skills, too.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, I think as long as the greens are hard and fast, and you still -- and, in fact, the reason why it's helped like myself, short hitter as you put it -- (Laughter.) -- the thing that's helped is they have moved the bunkers out, at 290 or 300. 18 is a great example. I could hit it -- if I hit a career drive, I might hit a pitching wedge to the front pin. And these other guys the bunkers were not even in play and they are hitting sand wedge or L-wedge. Now, they have got to hit a cut off the tee if they want to try and knock it up there past the bunkers. So I like that. This is one of the first places that at least has started to do that, move the bunkers out to where some of these guys really hit it, instead of killing us short hitters at 275.

Q. Can you explain the problems with your shoes?

SCOTT VERPLANK: No. If I could, I wouldn't have -- no. I think my feet started hurting obviously earlier this year. Then I tried to change shoes to some that would fit better, be more comfortable; that didn't work. So it's just been kind of ongoing. But I'm on the upswing now. I'm doing better.

Q. You spoke of the insulin pump. Are there other things that you do to make sure that your body is regulated and you're playing your best?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, being diabetic, you have to regulate your insulin, exercise and food, food intake.

Q. So is there a regulation of when you might eat and what you might eat?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, I eat a lot of the same -- I carry the same stuff in my golf bag every day. I've been doing it so long that it's just routine for me.

Q. Would it be fruit?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, I have raisins, granola bars, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Gatorade. If I need something quick, if I need some sugar quick.

Q. You should be sponsored by a delicatessen?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, thank you. Do you know any of them? (Laughter.)

Q. Are there very many times when you go out there and you don't feel that well because of the diabetes?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, there's some, yeah. But I'm used to it. I've just got to get around it. That's just the way it goes.

Q. Can you eat the Pimento cheese sandwiches?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Oh, yeah, absolutely.

Q. Have you ever missed any tournament golf because of diabetes?

SCOTT VERPLANK: I don't really know how to answer that. I would say no. No. May not have played like I was there, but I would say no.

Q. No withdrawals?

SCOTT VERPLANK: No.

Q. How much time do you have to spend adjusting that pump? I saw you, at least on 12, you took a few minutes to catch up with everybody else; does that happen a few times during the round?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, if I eat something, then I adjust it, and I just monitor what I need to do during the round. Like I said, that's more important than really anything else out there. So it's just routine for me.

Q. When did you first get on the pump?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Two and a half years ago.

Q. Did you notice a change?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Immediately.

Q. Before the hole-in-one on the par 3, what was your biggest golf thrill? What did it replace?

SCOTT VERPLANK: What did it replace? Gosh, probably -- it was probably winning the year before after I had not won for 12 years and been through so much trauma and turmoil and stuff, and then coming back and winning in Reno. That was pretty exciting, just because it had been such a long time since I had won and been able to kind of, you know, have a quick look from somewhere near the top of the heap instead of looking up from the bottom.

Q. What club did your son pick, by the way?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Wedge.

Q. Was any of that turmoil and trouble anything outside of how you were playing?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, it was all generally health-related, yeah. Three elbow surgeries, being diabetic.

Q. I know it's a long time ago, but what do you remember about 1985 and coming here as an amateur for the first time, those rounds and what your impressions of the place were there?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, obviously, when you're a college player, amateur, it's a dream come true to play here as an amateur. It's interesting, I played with Ben the first round in '85, and I was paired with him again today, and we were paired with Tim Jackson, who is the Mid-Amateur Champion. It's very cool to play here when you're a kid.

Q. What do you think you're going to have to do to maintain the pace that you've set and possibly be in contention on Sunday?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Just play my game. Like I said, I'm not going to drive it out there where some of these guys do. Just play my game, hit good iron shots and try to give myself some chances, and if the putts fall, then I'll be okay.

P. DAN YATES: Scott, I appreciate you coming down here.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Thank you.

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