84 LUMBER CLASSIC OF PENNSYLVANIA

September 18, 2003

Grant Waite

GRANT WAITE: Right from the go, I just played very well. The golf course, the greens are very receptive. The greens are difficult at times to get close to the hole because there are a lot of mounds on them. But because the greens are receptive, I was able to fire at the holes, and especially earlier I managed to execute very well and made some birdies.

The fairways are more generous than what we are used to on the PGA TOUR, so it is really going to be for the most part a second-shot-and-in challenge this week. I think long-ball hitters should have a slight advantage. I still think that you need to be on the right side of the fairway. And also, there's a lot of contours to the fairway that if you do get going too far one side, it will run off into the rough.

As far as my round, I started off and birdied 10, bogeyed 11. I hit a little 8-iron into No. 10, four, five feet.

Bogeyed 11. I missed my third shot over the green. Didn't get up-and-down.

Birdied No. 12. I had just a little cut 7-iron to four feet maybe.

Next hole, hit 2-iron off the tee, a little 9-iron 12 feet and made that.

Next hole, I hit a good drive and then 7-iron, 14 feet maybe a little less, made that.

15th hole, I bogeyed. I 3-putted from 28 feet.

16th hole, 2-putted from 21 feet; I hit 5-iron in.

18, I birdied with a sand wedge to three feet.

No. 1, I birdied with a sand wedge to four feet.

And then No. 5, I holed a bunker shot, the par 5. My third shot was left of the green, over the green and holed my putt. That was a 40-foot bunker shot.

So, you know, I made a couple bogeys, one on the par 5 and another 3-putt. Those were giveways, but I holed a bunker shot. And the shots I had for birdies -- I took advantage of the opportunities that I had.

I think this golf course, you're going to have opportunities to birdie, to put the ball in the right position; and if you do, you will have those opportunities. And it will probably come down to who can take advantage of putts from 4 to 12, 15 feet.

We are going to get some weather over the next day or so. So the golf course is going to play soft for the rest of the week. There's no way to prevent that. The greens are receptive; so a guy that's really in control of the ball should be able to hit the ball close to the hole.

Q. Did you have a good lie in the bunker where you holed it?

GRANT WAITE: It was perfect. It was a perfect lie. You are not going to hole out a bunker shot very often. Today happened to be my day, my turn to hole a bunker shot.

Really, the only -- I hit a bad third shot over the green, and the par 5 over the bunker I made, those were really the only two shots all day that I didn't like.

Q. (Inaudible.)

GRANT WAITE: Well, golf is such a fickle game. I've been working very hard on my putting. I've been hitting the ball well on range, but in tournaments the last couple of weeks I've hit the ball very badly, as bad as I have. I've concentrated so much on my putting, I've gone to a long putter and working hard to get a feel for that, that I've neglected pretty much the rest of my game.

So after last two weeks, now I feel comfortable with my putter and I've spent time hitting balls to where I feel comfortable now. Today, the combination was good. I hit the ball well and I managed to make some putts when I needed to.

Q. How long have you been using the long putter?

GRANT WAITE: This is my third week.

Q. You missed the last three cuts, is that the main thing --

GRANT WAITE: In Boston I got in 2:30 in the morning on Friday. That was a golf course you had to play a practice round. There were so many carries around corners could not see where you're going. So the first round I shot first round I shot 75 and 65 the second round. I actually played well the whole week, but it was just a bad circumstance, the way I got into the tournament, the time.

But then Canada and last week, the John Deere, I just played poorly, no question.

Q. You went eight holes without a par, is that a good or a bad thing?

GRANT WAITE: Yeah, I did, actually. When I parred the eighth hole, the par-three 17, I thought, this is the first par I've had. Then I birdied the next three. I thought if I keep making birdies, I'll be fine. I went through a patch that every number I got on was the right number for the club I was going to hit. The pin setup is good for me. It's just one of those things where everything just fell into place, and then I executed.

You know, the PGA TOUR, anyone out here is capable of shooting low scores any time, and it's been proven at the majors this year with two unknowns like Ben Curtis and Shaun Micheel winning. It's just putting it together for four rounds that is a challenge. I've done it for one round; now can I do it for three more.

At this point in the tournament, the length of the tournament isn't such a thought as, okay, I've got off to a good start, gives me an opportunity to be in contention. Tomorrow if I can continue to play well for the next day to Sunday, and then it comes down to whose day is it, hitting right shot at the right time.

Q. You said it favors a long-ball hitter; is that because of the length and it's picking up some mud?

GRANT WAITE: Two reasons. The length of the golf course, it's a little bit longer than average but not much. But the fairways are a little more generous than what we are used to. So having said that, even though there are some holes that may play long on other golf courses, we'll still hit 3-woods off the tee or position our ball here; you can just go ahead and go a little further down.

Because it's soft, the ball is not going to run off into the rough or take the contours and run off into the rough. So it's more through the air, and so the further you can hit the ball, it's a little bit more of an advantage that you're going to have. And then it's going to be questionable as to how much rain we get, whether we are going to be able to play the ball down or up. They want us to play the ball down. We all do, too, but depending how much rain and how much wet the golf course is. So if do get to play it up, then the long-ball hitters are going to have even more of an advantage.

Q. When you have a forecast such as it is here with the hurricane and more than likely you'll get a lot of rain, do you just kind of say, "Hey, I'll wait to see what happens," or do you approach it any differently?

GRANT WAITE: I've already in my mind, I understand that tomorrow is going to be potentially a difficult day for us to play and I may not even play tomorrow. Hopefully that situation won't arise, but I have to be ready for that.

Or, I may only play a few holes, depending on how much it rains and how quickly they get the course ready -- and if it rains all day tomorrow. We are all aware of it.

And we also know that if we lose tomorrow, there is going to be a 36-hole day probably on Sunday, or if we need to, we'll finish the tournament Monday.

Mr. Hardy put on a tournament here on the PGA TOUR and provided us with outstanding facilities, and we want to give him the best product we can. That means we want to play 72 holes and try and get finished on Sunday, but if we have to go to Monday to get a winner, that's what the tournament will do.

As players on the PGA TOUR, we really push for that. We think that 72 holes is the best way to determine it. And if we have to play 36 on Sunday, that's what we'll do. So I'm already mentally thinking about that, and hopefully I'll be a factor and hopefully I'll play well tomorrow or whenever I get to play and be out there.

This year has been terrible. I don't think we have had a tournament -- hardly any tournament where we haven't had a delay of some kind. It's just been an unusual and difficult year. And let's put it this way: At Reno, we got a rain delay, and it only rains there once every ten years.

DAVE SENKO: Thanks, Grant.

End of FastScripts.