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MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 13, 2008

Heath Slocum

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA

Q. How difficult were the conditions out there today and who you did you manage to pull off a 69 under them?
HEATH SLOCUM: The conditions were tough. They just got tougher. The wind just keeps increasing or has. I tell you what, I putted my ball extremely well today and I chipped it maybe even better. I didn't hit it that bad, but I missed a lot of greens. And I just hit a lot of really good chip shots and made some really crucial putts out there.

Q. Will the scoring be difficult as the day wears on?
HEATH SLOCUM: No doubt about it. They still have 10, 11, 12. Even 13 it's into the wind, so anything can happen there. Then you got 14 straight down, that green's hard to hit anyway, hard to putt on it too. 15 into the wind. 16's across. 17's straight down and I putted it off the green there. Then chipped it in for par. And then 18's just tough.
So, yeah, I think that -- I think it's going to be really tough out there. But the greens are -- they were holding better than I anticipated with the wind. So I'm sure somebody will shoot a good number, but it's going to be tough.

Q. And what will happen if you get aggressive in this?
HEATH SLOCUM: You can make doubles, bogeys and doubles very, very easily. You just have to -- obviously the guys playing in the last group the leaders and stuff they're playing well this week so they're thinking well and that's what you have to do, you just have to remain patient out there. And you hope for your putter to be hot. You have to chip it well and putt it well to have a good round.

Q. Starting out so strong, finishing strong. Was it a good week?
HEATH SLOCUM: It was a good week. Obviously the two middle rounds I struggled a bit. But I'll walk away from this with a year under my belt, a year of experience. I learned a lot of things out there today, even in these conditions. On 17 for instance, I played to the front left of that green, and I would have been honestly better off just hitting it right of the green and just taking my chances chipping. Because that's where I ended up anyway.

Q. I saw your body language on that. What were you thinking as it took that sharp turn?
HEATH SLOCUM: I knew that it was a possibility. But I kept telling myself just don't be too aggressive with this, just hit it left of the hole eight feet you're still going to be better off than playing with that. And yet my stupid brain sometimes gets in the way and I thought, well, maybe, I'm rolling it really well, let's try it. And I ended up making a good save, but you know, nine times out of ten you're not going to make that save. So you have to be patient. You have to be, I wouldn't say conservative out there, but you just have to play aggressive to conservative spots.

Q. How long was the putt on 17?
HEATH SLOCUM: Probably 35 feet. From just off the green to well off the green.

Q. And that chip-in was nice?
HEATH SLOCUM: That was nice. And it was one -- I knew it was into the wind, it was a little bit kind of into that hill and I could be aggressive with that because I knew that it was going to be a little slower. So I just tried to throw it up there and just really just salvage a bogey and just don't make any more than bogey. I still had the demanding 18th to play and I had a good round going.

Q. 16, how close was that?
HEATH SLOCUM: Probably six inches.

Q. What did you hit?
HEATH SLOCUM: 6-iron. The wind was pretty much just left-to-right across and it's coming, I just aimed it at the flag and I played a little draw and I'm just hoping that -- I just held it right there and it was one of the better shots I hit today.

Q. You said yesterday that today's round was kind of a pride thing. How proud are you to put up a number like that in these kind of conditions?
HEATH SLOCUM: Well, very proud. And I tried to base my career on being a grinder. Because with the length that I have and everything I can't really take advantage of making tons of birdies. I grind a lot of rounds out.
And today was really no different. I was determined. I wanted to go out and shoot a good round. Not only to just for pride for this tournament, but I got a week until one of my favorite events next week, so I'm trying to take any kind of momentum going into next week. And obviously finish as well as I can here. So like I said, I knew the conditions were going to be hard and I was hoping that if I did go shoot a low number I would move up considerably.

Q. Do you think you'll pass more people starting now or pass more people out of here?
HEATH SLOCUM: It's hard to tell. I mean those conditions are just, they're tough. But there's a lot of good players out there and I saw a few red numbers on the board a couple birdies, so they're out there.

Q. What do you think the Stimpmeter on the greens today was and how did it compare to the previous three days?
HEATH SLOCUM: They were definitely faster today and I would be guessing, totally guessing if I knew what they were on the Stimp. I'm terrible with that. But probably as, they're the fastest greens I've ever putted on today. I mean bar none. I thought I had putted on some fast greens and they had some spots today that it was just unbelievable how far I was taking the putter back and how far the ball was going.

Q. Talking about pride, what about the pride of the three of you guys, Bubba, yourself, and Boo all making the cut and playing great right now.
HEATH SLOCUM: Well, I think it says a lot for Milton. I think that's what a lot of us we're not only playing for ourselves but we're playing for the Milton as well, the community, so I think what we were doing was just trying to have Milton be proud of us. The whole area. So and I definitely think that they're very proud of us this week. Everybody's played relatively well.

End of FastScripts

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