home

jobs

	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

BELLSOUTH CLASSIC

April 2, 2004

Brian Gay

DULUTH, GEORGIA

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Brian, thank you joining us for a few minutes at the media center at the BellSouth Classic. You had a steady round today under some tough conditions, right now the best score in the house is Blaine McCallister at 3 under. And you shot 2 under and kept yourself in at 70, 138, 6 under for the tournament. Why don't you just start with a couple of comments about the conditions today?

BRIAN GAY: I thought it was very tough, maybe even tougher than yesterday, because it was so cold this morning. By the third or fourth hole, it was already blowing a good 15 miles an hour. The greens were probably tougher today, too. Just hard to fit clubs with the wind out there. So I'm pretty happy.

Q. How do you like this course?

BRIAN GAY: I've only played here once. I haven't been here since 2000. Just has not worked in my schedule. I always play like L.A., tucson and all through Florida and I end up, it's already been six in a row and I didn't come.

I played decent here the one year I played. I did like it, though. I kind of wished I had skipped something else and played here the past few years.

Q. A lot of guys come here with the intention of going to Augusta, sometimes do you feel like you guys that are not going to Augusta get sort of

BRIAN GAY: Maybe week sneak in there, huh?

Q. all of the attention with who is going to Augusta, and sometimes here, it's an event that it doesn't really matter except about Augusta, do you sometimes feel a pinch publicity wise because of that?

BRIAN GAY: It doesn't bother me. Hopefully they will be talking about me one of these years going over there.

Q. If the Augusta invitational is still up for grabs like it used to be, if you win, you got in, would that make it a little more fun?

BRIAN GAY: It would make it obviously a much bigger reward for winning. I don't know if it would make it any more fun during the process, but it sure would be nice to have it.

Q. It's only the second day, but is fatigue going to be a factor with the conditions and the wind and the length of the course?

BRIAN GAY: Possibly. It's tough to walk. It's real hard after yesterday because it took us maybe 5 1/2 hours to play; only waited a couple times. But, you know, a lot of years they have had to play two rounds here, which I definitely wouldn't want to do because of weather. I think if it's just 18 a day, it's probably not that big of a deal.

Q. Are the greens still receptive or they starting to firm up a little bit more now?

BRIAN GAY: A little bit firmer but they are still a little bit moist. They are a little bit drier. I'm sure this afternoon they will dry out.

Q. Did you have any of those downwind chips that you are worried they are going to stay on the green?

BRIAN GAY: I had a real tough one on 7. I wasn't worried about keeping it on the green, but it was, you know, up the slope and then I was short sided and it was running away from me and made a real good 15 footer for par.

So other than that, I didn't really put it in too many bad spots. Just try to play smart and didn't really shoot at a lot of pins, other than wedges. Just trying to get the ball on the green.

Q. Yesterday, the 7 under in the morning in those conditions, was that surprising to you?

BRIAN GAY: I was real surprised. Actually our whole group, we were on the course and I guess Tambellini was 6 or 7 under and a couple other guys were up there. I was pretty surprised. It's a heck of a round.

Q. As far as toughness goes, how did this course rank with some of the others you've played on the Tour?

BRIAN GAY: I think it's real tough to walk? It's one of the toughest here. Denver, what else is tough Denver has got to be the toughest. It's pretty tough.

Q. Is that Cherry Hills?

BRIAN GAY: Castle Pines.

Q. This is a favorite of long hitters, but you're not generally up in that category; obviously you are playing well, what are you doing right this week so far?

BRIAN GAY: I'm putting well, hitting my irons pretty good. Yeah, I think it does favor a long hitter because there's really not a premium of hitting it straight off the tee. The fairways are generous and there's not much rough to speak of. But I think it's the toughest around the greens, so a good putter I think will do well here.

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Let's go through your birdies and bogeys, starting with No. 1. You birdied No. 1.

BRIAN GAY: No. 1, I hit a driver and a 3 iron, 15 feet.

8, I hit a 5 iron about three feet.

12, I hit a 3 wood and a pitching wedge, 20 feet.

15, I pushed my drive to the right. Hit a tree, came backwards. I had like 210 out of the rough, tried to hit it short and left. Pitched it about 10 or 12 feet underneath the hole and missed it.

Q. Inaudible?

BRIAN GAY: Tuesday I hit it was mostly left to right and I hit 6 or 7 iron to the middle of the green. Today you could barely drove it right at the top of the hill and didn't really roll and I had a 3 iron from 190. I had 3 iron yesterday, as well.

Q. Have you been playing well for a while? Have you made any swing changes that have helped?

BRIAN GAY: I felt like I've been close for the last month or. So I was playing real well at Bay Hill. Had about 65 good holes there, a place where I've never played well. So that was pretty positive, I thought. Just kind of drove it crooked early on Sunday and got a bunch over early. But I felt like my game has been close.

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Brian. Good luck on the weekend.

End of FastScripts.

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297