VERIZON BYRON NELSON CLASSIC

May 13, 2001

Scott Verplank

SCOTT VERPLANK: I'm disappointed I didn't win the tournament, but other than not winning, I couldn't ask for anything else. I mean it was pretty fun coming down the stretch. Robert and I were both making things happen, and it was, like I said, making a birdie on the 18 to get in the playoff here at home, pretty cool, and I was pretty excited about that. It was great -- that was a great situation, but I hit a lot of good shots coming down the stretch and I hit a lot of great-looking shots in the playoff and I never got close. I mean I was right at the hole every time and it was either a little long, a little short, kind of like the whole week was. It was kind of weird because this week I made a lot of birdies and all that and I never hit the ball a gimmee. I never had one where I could walk up there and give it the six-inch backhand for birdie. I didn't have any like that, so I kept hitting the ball at the hole, but I wasn't hitting it quite the right distance for a week.

SCOTT VERPLANK: When?

SCOTT VERPLANK: I was hoping it would go in. I thought it was perfect. It was right on line. It was cutting in, and obviously I wasn't getting it -- I thought it was going to be -- I thought the shot was two feet when I hit it and I watched it go and it flies 20 feet past, kind of like, shoot, I thought I might have made it when I hit it on the second time around in the playoff when I hit a 6-iron. When I hit a 5-iron the first time around in regulation, hit obviously nice shot and I hit a 7-iron the second time right at it, thought it was great and came up 15 feet short. And then the next time I had a 6-iron right at it, I was hoping it would just fly in the hole and we could get out of here, but it flew about six to eight yards past the hole, and that was actually probably my best chance. I thought I made that putt when I hit it and it was right center and I thought it was going left and it ended up going to the right in the last foot or so. And you know, that's kind of the way it went.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Oh, yeah. I got all kinds of --.

SCOTT VERPLANK: I guess. I hope it's just allergies. I didn't feel very good today. I didn't have a lot of adrenaline flowing until I chipped in on 15 and then things got a little -- then I forgot I had allergies for a couple holes.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, I thought I had a perfect club on 17, but when the ball was about halfway there, the wind kind of really shot it up and I didn't think it was going to be that close. It landed on the green, but a little closer than I was hoping for. It was actually a great shot, except I was up next to the fringe and I couldn't hit the putt solid.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, I wasn't watching it much because I wasn't -- I figured when I was through 14 holes, I was 1-under par for the day, I figured I was probably not in very good shape, to be honest with you. And then I did about that time I saw that only 15 -- I think Nick Price was 15-under or something. Then I got it up there when I chipped in on 15, then I kind of figured I was back in the ballgame a little bit and then I saw on 16 the leaderboard and it was just me and Robert. That's when I kind of knew what was going on. I was just playing, trying to make birdies and it wasn't happening up until that point.

SCOTT VERPLANK: I kept waiting for him to make one. No, listen, I mean that's probably the good part about the playoff is we both kind of striped it. I mean he hit a couple of more middle-of-the-green shots on 18, but they weren't bad shots. You know, he striped it off the tee every time and hit some nice iron shots on 17, and he finally got it in there on the same line he had earlier and he hit a great putt. He putted very well today. I mean he made a lot of -- he scrambled around quite a bit on the front nine and made quite a few par-saving putts and stuff, and he played good.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Oh, yeah. We're friends and we enjoy playing with each other, and we were talking quite a bit and just kind of joking and laughing about a couple things.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, yeah. It was funny because both of us were on the first tee and he hadn't been feeling -- I guess he said he had allergy stuff and neither one of us were -- you know, it was kind of like, all right, time to tee off. I was a lot more nervous yesterday when I was on the first tee than today. We were walking down the first fairway and he goes, God, I got this allergy stuff; I'm just a little bit low-key. And I said, you know, I can barely walk down the fairway. It was just playing. We were just out there playing really. It was nice, you know, not -- it wasn't a lot of stress or a lot of tension for either one of us. I mean I didn't feel any and I don't think he did since I was talking to him most holes and he played good. For a guy that hadn't won, he hit the ball pretty great in the playoff and down the stretch.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, obviously it's hard. I mean he -- today like I said, neither one of us were playing very well up until the end, and I guess we were fortunate that nobody else kind of got up to 16 -- 17-under, you know, like I kind of figured they would. But yeah, I mean he played good. Like I said, there coming down the stretch, the last couple holes and then into the playoff I played pretty well. I mean I hit the ball as good as I can hit. I was at the hole, was striping it, and he pretty much did the same thing.

SCOTT VERPLANK: No. I didn't really care what he was doing. I figured if I played good, he wouldn't be a factor.

SCOTT VERPLANK: No. I'd like to be leading every round. I mean, like I said, I was just trying to play and I was very relaxed and I was real comfortable, so I was just trying to win the golf tournament, but I wasn't really thinking about wire to wire or anything else, to be real honest with you.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, like I said, that kind of got my blood flowing a little bit. I just hadn't been hitting that many good shots before that. I was hitting it in the fairway and on the green, but nothing close, and that kind of got me a little more fired up. And then I made a nice putt on 16 and then obviously made a really nice putt on 18.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Gosh. What was the pin on there? 32, so 90. Maybe a little longer than that, since I was putting across the green instead of straight up it. So yeah, that was a pretty long putt. Hit a nice 7-iron on 17 the first time around that just barely got to the green, but it was a good shot. And then I hit a good drive on 18 and hit a great-looking 5-iron right at the hole, 10 feet from the hole, and made it to get in the playoff.

SCOTT VERPLANK: No. I've been taking some allergy medicine, but I didn't take anything extra. Just hoping I wouldn't be too dizzy. I'm okay. I'll survive. I've had a lot worse things.

SCOTT VERPLANK: No. I wouldn't say I expected it. And it didn't. I mean I kept hitting good shots and he kind of matched me, you know, and then made a couple good two-putts on 18 when he was further from the hole. So he didn't look like he'd never won. I mean he didn't play like it. Both of us hit some pretty good shots coming in.

SCOTT VERPLANK: He just told me "great putt and pretty exciting and good luck."

SCOTT VERPLANK: I didn't have a chance. No. I came right into here.

SCOTT VERPLANK: 7-iron every time.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, but I just kept hitting it further and further.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Let's see. About 15, yeah, about 15, 18 feet the first hole; probably 25 feet the second one; probably 20 feet the third one; and then I had it about 25 feet the last one.