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April 10, 2008
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA
ROBERT ALLENBY: Well, I mean, a double bogey at the 3rd wasn't too nice, but I just -- I actually hit a great shot into the green, but it just came up short. It's very easy to misjudge the wind here, as we've all seen in years past. You know, it's probably one of the trickiest golf courses in the world for judging the wind. It laid down just as I hit my 9-iron into it.
You know, that's just the way it goes, on that hole. But I played well, I really did. It was a shame I made double bogey at 9. I really didn't have a lot of options there. I mean, it was just -- after hitting a poor 8-iron into the green, pulling it left into the trap, I was left with, where do I hit it? Do I hit it -- if I go for the flag, I could easily run it off the green, off the front, so I just thought, try and get a bit of spin on it, try and hit it up to the top. There's no way to stop it at the top. It did.
I just left myself a really tough putt and I knocked it down into the first tier. It's always a tough two-putt from there.
But overall I played really well on the back nine. I probably had three or four chances on the back nine for birdies, good birdies. I was a bit unlucky on 13, hit a great 4-iron into the green, and it sort of -- it might have just caught it one groove too low on the club. It's such a tough shot. It's such an uneven stance. The ball is two feet above your feet, and on a sidehill lie trying to hit a draw in there, and the lie wasn't fantastic, and it was a bit bare.
I caught it one groove too low. I got away with it. It's the first time I've ever seen grass, thick grass, in the hazard, so they've actually made it quite nice for us.
Q. (Inaudible.)
ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah, it was fine. I chipped it up. Actually hit a good putt. I hit it past the hole and I couldn't hit it. You hit anything past the hole here, you can't make a stroke. It's like my putt at the last there, you look at it, I'm only ten feet from the hole, but it's like, I can't make a stroke. I can only take it back an inch and then go through an inch.
Q. What did you hit into 18?
ROBERT ALLENBY: I hit 6-iron.
Q. Does it surprise you given the conditions the scoring isn't lower?
ROBERT ALLENBY: A little bit, a little bit, because the greens are quite receptive. They're quite soft. And the speed is manageable, and the wind is not there. It's a picture-perfect day, really. I'm happy that it's not more (laughing).
Q. (Inaudible.)
ROBERT ALLENBY: I've been battling a bit of tendonitis in my right elbow and it's been killing me. And then my hip, my right hip, I felt something last week when I was playing, and I felt it on the front nine. But I think I've just got tight hip flexors. I stretched them on 10 and it kind of eased off a little bit. I think I know what to work on now.
Q. What was the strength of your game today would you say?
ROBERT ALLENBY: I hit a lot of good iron shots, a lot of great iron shots, but I putted well, too. That's one thing I just haven't done well in the past here, I just haven't putted well.
A couple loose shots but not to the point where -- there wasn't many. There was no more than probably a few bad shots. You know, a couple of shots were misjudged with the wind, but still, I hit great shots and putted nicely.
Q. Given how disappointed you've been in the past, was today a big confidence booster?
ROBERT ALLENBY: I think so. The toughest thing to do around this golf course is to chip and putt and leave the ball in the right spot. I'd say 90 percent of the time I did that today, so I'm happy with the way I played. I know I left a few out there, and I definitely gave the course a few. Two double bogeys, and on two not very hard holes, either. There's a lot harder holes than those two. 3 should be a birdie hole, and I've turned it into a double.
Q. (Inaudible.)
ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah, 17 was nice. When I walked up to it, I was, like, I really didn't want to be there. It's one of the toughest chips in the world to have. Luckily enough I hit it perfect and it went in.
Q. Because you can't stop it?
ROBERT ALLENBY: Well, it wasn't one that you could actually land it on the green. I had to bump it into the hill or land it a foot short of the top and then let it skip up and then check and then release down to the hole. Any other place in the world is easy, but around here it's tough because the grass is so sticky. First of all, you've got to get the club through it because into the grain -- every chip is into the grain when you chip and every shot wants to stop. It's the first shot I actually hit through, and I was very happy when it went in.
Q. How far away were you?
ROBERT ALLENBY: I was probably 30 feet, 40 feet.
Q. What did you think of Cambo's performance today?
ROBERT ALLENBY: Did I play with Michael Campbell today? I wasn't watching, sorry.
No, Cambo hit the ball well. He hit the ball well, he putted well. He was unlucky a couple of times, he did hit a couple of average shots, but he did play really well. From what I've been hearing and stuff, I was very happy to see him play the way he played.
Q. (Inaudible.)
ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah, he nearly holed it, yeah. Ask him about the putt. He nearly missed it. It lipped in the right edge. We looked at it, like, what the hell was that? I halved it with him (laughter).
Q. (Inaudible.)
ROBERT ALLENBY: I think so. He's too good a player. He'll be all right. He'll come good. A bit of patience, everyone leaves him alone, and he'll be --
Q. (Inaudible.)
ROBERT ALLENBY: No, I don't. I don't look at records. I'm not a reporter.
Q. (Inaudible.)
ROBERT ALLENBY: Yeah, a couple of holes I wished Sponge was caddying for me.
End of FastScripts
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