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FUNAI GOLF CLASSIC AT WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT

October 23, 2005

Lucas Glover

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA

TODD BUDNICK: We'd like to welcome the 2005 Funai Classic at Walt Disney World Resort champion, Lucas Glover. Your first victory on the PGA Tour. Emotions run high when you get that first victory. Talk a little bit about that today.

LUCAS GLOVER: I think I just remembered where I was, to be honest with you. That bunker shot went in and I've been four feet off the ground ever since. It's just great. A long time coming. Not really, but I guess a year and a half, two years. A major goal and I just realized it. It's nice.

TODD BUDNICK: Tom Pernice mentioned the birdie you made at on the last hole at Q School last year to make your card on the number. Which was the bigger birdie, the one there or the one today to win?

LUCAS GLOVER: At that time that one was, because it got me to here. But for the next few years this one will be. I wouldn't be here but for that. You have to look at it a couple different ways.

TODD BUDNICK: Walk us through that 18th hole. You hit your drive, you end up in the bunker. Give us your thoughts.

LUCAS GLOVER: Standing on the tee, I knew Justin, had me by a couple. I wasn't sure what was going on. Honestly, I have some demons on this hole. I had to finish Top 10 here last year to get into Tampa, I blocked my drive right and ended up making bogey. Luckily finished 10th. Standing on the tee, I said, This one isn't going right. I pulled it a little left, didn't have a shot at the green.

I wanted to run it up to the front right area there and then chip and putt and hopefully finish top 3 or get lucky and get in a playoff. It came out a little left, ran up into the bunker. My bunker game has been horrendous this week, and pretty much all year, to be honest. I've been short all week. So I squared the club face up a little bit more, give it a little bit more, and it went in.

I can't explain it, it's just the way it happened.

Q. It looked like you may not have even have seen it go in the hole. You dropped your head to avoid flying sand or something. You had a puzzled look.

LUCAS GLOVER: I looked up, and you're right, I did have sand flying up. I did see it go in. I saw the first bounce and I thought it should be close.

You can always tell by the crowd. You could hear them stand up and hear them gasp, and then I saw it go in. And I didn't know what to do, didn't know what to I think. I looked at Coop and he said, "Good shot." And I've been four feet off the ground ever since.

Q. Heck of a way to win your first title, holing out from a bunker on the 72nd hole in a tight championship.

LUCAS GLOVER: Right. It wasn't a bunker shot I walked up to and said, hey, let's make this one. It was one of those, let's get it close and get out of here. Like making a long putt every now and again, you think I'll just lag it up there, and then it gets to the front edge and then just kind of trickles in. Same kind of mentality on that shot, get it close and see what happens. And it was my time. That's all there was to it.

Q. (Inaudible)?

LUCAS GLOVER: I don't think it was moving very fast. I don't know. I shouldn't say, because I don't know. I think it would have been in the leather if it hadn't gone in, but I was on ground view. You couldn't hear it hit the stick or anything.

Q. You said you didn't have a shot at the green on your second shot at 18. Described what that shot looked like to you.

LUCAS GLOVER: I was on the back side of that left bunker. I didn't even get yardage to the hole. I said what's the front, because that's all I wanted to do, hit on the front right of the green. I was on the back side of the bunker, downslope. If it would have been flat, I probably would have tried to go upstairs with it and knock it on the green.

Because of the downslope and because of the lie I had, the only choice I had was to go down. The Bermuda kind of grabbed it and flipped it over. It went 10 steps left of where I was looking.

Q. (Inaudible)?

LUCAS GLOVER: I had to go under and just draw it, and it came out it came out where I needed to have it finish and then drew. I was trying to skirt it just right of the bunker that I was in. And it almost skipped out of it as it was running, and then it just kind of came back. Luckily it got to the bottom of the bunker instead of staying on the upslope. That was fortunate, as well.

Q. Were you actually in the bunker or in the rough near the left bunker of the fairway bunker?

LUCAS GLOVER: I was just over it. I would say four paces passed it, just over the left lip or excuse me, the right lip.

Q. You chipped in on a par 3 earlier in the round, 12. Talk about that.

LUCAS GLOVER: I think I had 166 to the hole on the 12th, and that's usually a pretty standard 8 iron. I had a little wind left to right. I like to draw the ball. So I was thinking draw a 7 iron up and hold it. I started online and the wind drifted it out, didn't draw it enough. It kind of kicked right. Had a good lie over in the right rough, upslope, tight pin, one of those you think about making and just hit it out. It kicked left and broke left and went in.

Q. Do you really ever think that's how you're going to do it?

LUCAS GLOVER: Well, you always see someone tapping in to win or making a 12 footer for birdie and going nuts. Like I said, I was trying to make par. For it to happen that way, it's going to be, oh, lucky shot. Yes, it was a lucky shot and everyone can say that because it's true.

When it's your time, it's your time. I was playing with Ryan last year, 10 under on Sunday, got the win and it was his time. That's the way it goes.

Q. (Inaudible)?

LUCAS GLOVER: Absolutely. That was better than I would have been a lot more nervous with a 10 footer to get to 23 as opposed to trying to do that. It's just like after a week off you have no expectations. I didn't have very high expectations to make that shot, because, you know, probability is not very high. It wasn't quite as nerve racking.

Q. You kind of answered this, was there any point during that hole you ever thought about birdie, which the answer was emphatically no, apparently. We saw Justin hit kind of that same shot later, high and toward the hole. As it left your club, is there any point you're thinking this has a shot?

LUCAS GLOVER: On the bunker shot?

Q. Yes.

LUCAS GLOVER: When it left I knew it was going to be a decent shot. It's not in the air long enough to I hit it and I thought, that's pretty good. It should be pretty good. From where I was, I was eye level with the green, maybe a touch above it, so I could see it bounce. And yeah, it's going to be all right. And then it went toward the flag and then it just fell in.

Q. You were saying you were four feet off the ground ever since that ball went in. You had to go out to the practice tee and get ready for a possible playoff. How mentally ready were you coming down to earth?

LUCAS GLOVER: That's why I went over there. I did a couple of interviews and signed autographs and then I was herky jerky, kind of shaky. I thought the best way to get rid of this energy is to go over there and hit a bunch of balls and be with my caddie.

So I went over there and hit some wedges and hit some drivers and just waited for Tom to putt. But that was just a way for me to release some of the nervous energy and tension I did have. Just like exercising or anything, it's just a release.

Q. Two questions. You stopped right before Tom went to putt. Was the suspense killing you in a way?

LUCAS GLOVER: Yes. Cliche, cliche, you dream about, something you always talk about, think about, blah blah blah. Standing there it was killing me, absolutely. If anybody says otherwise they're lying, I'll just tell you. Steve, the Tour official was watching, and you can tell by the crowd, too. And they came back and said about 15 feet. And I said, it's in. Let's get warmed up here. Let's hit some draws like we would on the 18th tee. It didn't go in for him.

Q. In all your years of watching golf as a youth, was your favorite

LUCAS GLOVER: Azinger at the Memorial. I played there for the first time this year and realized how hard that shot was for the first time. That, and Bob Tway at the '86 PGA. Those are the two biggest ones I remember. That was a major and then the Memorial. To me it's bigger, heck yeah.

Q. Not to let you dwell on this moment, but could you look ahead to next week? Suddenly you have a chance for the Top 30 in the TOUR Championship. How does Innisbrook set up for you? Are you comfortable? Do you like that course? Goals change suddenly?

LUCAS GLOVER: Goals haven't changed, because playing in Atlanta was one of the ones I wrote down, January 1st. But to be in position, priorities have changed or expectations, however you want to put it.

It does set up well for me. I think it's one of the better courses we play. They're going to have their work cut out with the weather we're going to have, unfortunately, but just like this week, they're going to have it ready for us. I have to go down and be patient and do the same thing this week, one shot at a time and play my game. It just finally worked. If I birdie the last two, it will be all right.

Q. Give us a play by play of the last hole at Q school and whether you knew what was going on, and the clubs you hit. Paint a picture of the hole and scenario and such.

LUCAS GLOVER: I obviously wouldn't be here without that. I knew where I stood, and I birdied 15 and 16 and parred 17. I knew I needed to birdie 18. Just looking at the computer, and you kind of know what's going on Monday at Q School, so you have a pretty good feeling.

Tee shot on that course, 18, PGA Tour West, it sets up good for me, it's a draw shot. I hit a low draw and chased it down there. I think I had 157 to the hole, left to right, and it was somewhat chilly. It wasn't exactly 80 or anything. It was a good draw 8 iron. A similar shot on 12 today, just draw it and hold it up against the wind. There again, back left pin. I like to draw it, it was perfect, and it came off. It worked and three feet and made the putt.

Q. Tom Pernice called it a $2 million shot.

LUCAS GLOVER: Thanks Tom. That's the first thing I said earlier today. If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be here. I would have only gotten 14 or 15 events this year. I think I was 133 last year on the list. I birdied three of the last four at Q School. It was pretty important Todd.

TODD BUDNICK: Let's go through your birdies, No. 3, the par 3.

LUCAS GLOVER: 180 right to the hole. A good 7 iron, because you don't want to be long. I hit it 10 feet long. It was about eight feet past the hole, left edge putt, made that one.

5, with a new tee. It was a heck of a hole. It was a heck of a hole without the new tee. Kind of heeled a driver just straight. Had 214 to the hole, hit 5 iron to 25 feet, 20, I don't know, 25, made that one.

TODD BUDNICK: 7.

LUCAS GLOVER: 7 was driver, pitching wedge, 134 in there to six feet.

Bogey on 8, good drive, good lay up, had 100 yards, and I missed the green. I hit it short the green and spun it back down. I had a perfect lie in the rough. Hit it six feet by and missed it. That was fun.

11, par 4, 3 iron, pitching wedge, to the left fringe, made a long one there, 25 feet again, maybe a little bit longer.

TODD BUDNICK: How far was the chip in on 12?

LUCAS GLOVER: I would say about that distance, 25 feet total. I was probably 6 steps off the right fringe and it was 5 off the right.

13 was a short hole. Hit driver, just trying to get it down in front, because you had the whole green to pitch up. Hit a very average pitch shot to 18 feet, just a left edge putt, rolled that one in.

17 was driver off to the right, 201 to the hole. I was pumped so I said, let's lean on a 6 iron. And I flagged it. I was staring at it, and it came up front fringe, right online with it, 35 feet. It was the longest putt I've ever had that was straight.

My caddie read it and he said it's straight, if you hit it hard enough. If it's creeping when it gets there it's going to move an inch right. It got to the left edge, about three feet from the hole, and worked an inch right and went right in the middle. An inch, literally. It was the longest putt I've ever had that was that straight, it was crazy.

Q. (Inaudible)?

LUCAS GLOVER: ShotLink I was going to ask how deep the green is, but that sounds right. Because it was 31 paces on and I was pin high with the front. So I would say that's right.

Q. You say when it's your time it's your time, but when you've had a college career like you've had, is it hard to be patient out here? What kind of challenge is that?

LUCAS GLOVER: There are great players, friends of mine that still haven't won that deserve to win more than me, but like I said, it was just meant to be and it was pretty obvious in that bunker. When you've had a little success your expectations are high. That was the reason that was a goal this year. I didn't do it last year and was never really in position last year to say I had a chance to win. I had a couple earlier this spring and didn't capitalize on them and struggled in the summer, struggled in the fall.

A couple of veterans told me a long time ago, when you win, you're not going to expect it. You're not going to be playing your best, you're not going to be doing this right, doing that right. Boom, it's going to hit you in the face. And that's what happened. I had great practice. I prepared well, and putted really well, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I said, if I can keep putting I'm going to be all right, and there it was.

Q. (Inaudible)?

LUCAS GLOVER: Olin Browne, about four months ago. Why he told me that, I don't know. We were just in passing, "How did you play?"

"No good."

"Just keep working, you will never know when it will happen. You won't expect it." That's it.

Q. Do you know if anybody from Clemson has ever won on the PGA Tour?

LUCAS GLOVER: Jonathan Byrd has two wins, the B.C. Open and Buick Challenge that used to be in that little town Galloway Gardens.

End of FastScripts.

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