MERCEDES CHAMPIONSHIPS

January 3, 2002

Scott Verplank

TODD BUDNICK: Scott Verplank, 6-under 67 today. Started off the day, first birdie on No. 5.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Are we going to do that? Going to have to go through the whole thing? Okay. This course, you need a cart, too, I can tell you.

No. 5, I hit my second shot about 15 feet with a 3-wood, and I 2-putted.

No. 7, I hit a 3-iron about a foot pretty good.

9, I 2-putted from about 15 feet for birdie.

11, I hit it about three feet with an 8-iron.

12, I made about a 12-footer.

14, I hit it about three feet L-wedge.

15, I 2-putted for a birdie.

Then 18, I hit a great drive and a great 3-wood. I hit it down there where I guess the senior citizens play it from (laughter). I hit a nice drive, it plugs, hit it on the far right, rolls all the way down the hill into the rough, really bad lie. Really just hoping to get it on the green somewhere. It squirted out a little bit right of the green into another bad lie. Actually, just made a textbook bogey (smiling).

Q. How far was (inaudible)?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Long. I left my chip shot on the fringe. I had a shot where if I trickled off the fringe, it would go all the way to the hole. Left it about three feet short. I had a bad lie by the grandstand.

That was more bad luck. If you do all that, it rolls down into a playable lie, you can hit a 9-iron, land it on the front, roll to the back of the green, which is what Joel Edwards did, who I was playing with, just rolled into a terrible lie.

TODD BUDNICK: You have to be happy with the start today, other than the bogey?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, great. I hit it pretty good. Didn't really make any putts. I made one 12-footer for birdie on 12. That was about the only putt I made. I had a lot of other chances. I had it probably four feet on 16 and five feet on 10. Missed both of those.

I had it eight or ten feet a couple other times. Didn't make those.

Yeah, it was pretty nice playing here without the wind blowing 40.

Q. How long have you had those new irons in the bag?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, it depends on when you want to start counting. Either I started with them today or yesterday (laughter). I played in the ProAm with them yesterday. After I hit them yesterday, I hit the ball pretty good. I said, "I'm going to try them today."

Q. And you have been playing the last couple years?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Golfsmith. They're forged iron. I'm staying with forged irons. They're very similar. I went and designed them basically. They're pretty close to what I want.

Q. They made them to you?

SCOTT VERPLANK: I made them for me, yeah, not for you (laughter).

Q. When you say you went and designed them, what does that entail?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Went to the factory, got the raw heads, got them to grind them the way I wanted them, re-weight them, put the shafts I wanted in them and all that. They're still a work in progress. I'm trying to get some other sets that are very similar to kind of tinker with. I think I can get a better set of clubs than the ones I've been playing with, to be honest with you. I think I can build a better set of clubs. I know a couple of them are already better than the ones I was playing with.

Q. Does the playability of these clubs, is it different?

SCOTT VERPLANK: It's the same. They're forged, you know, small-headed blades. They say "for professionals only" (smiling).

Q. Do you have a new endorsement contract with TaylorMade?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Not yet.

Q. Golfsmith deal still going?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Gone, done. They bagged it. They bagged me. I mean, I was wanting to stay with the same stuff and they bagged me.

Q. It didn't expire?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, it was up.

Q. How did they bag you?

SCOTT VERPLANK: You know, it was -- I was trying to do like these really smart free agents do, have a great year right before your contract is up, you resign for a gazillion million dollars. Well, they bagged me (laughter). I had my contract up, and I had a really nice year, was hoping to get a gazillion million dollars and they bagged me.

Q. They didn't see the value in the Canadian Open champ playing in The Ryder Cup?

SCOTT VERPLANK: I guess not, not in the framework of how their marketing or whatever. They didn't. So that's the way it goes.

I wasn't really particularly looking to switch clubs or anything. You know, hey, I'm not going to go where I'm not wanted.

Q. It's called a contraction.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Contraction, yeah, thank you. Thanks, uh-huh.

Q. Is this about as benign as you've seen the conditions over here?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah. I actually played one day early, like Saturday, Friday or Saturday I got here. It was kind of like this. I remember last year it was hard Trade Wind every day. It was great there. It actually got kind of windy in spots around my last nine holes, got really windy the last few holes. All in all, it was a pretty nice day for a wind-swept area like this is.

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