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THE 50TH BOB HOPE CLASSIC HOSTED BY ARNOLD PALMER

January 21, 2009

Pat Perez

LA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA

JOE CHEMYCZ: We would like to welcome Pat Perez to our interview room. Pat with a 11-under par 61 today that included a bogey. Started on the back nine with an 8-under par 28. Maybe just talk about the blazing start you got off to.
PAT PEREZ: It was excellent. Not really unbelievable, I wasn't really comfortable teeing off this morning, I don't know, it was just something with me.
And I birdied 10, 11, 12, they were all, I had a -- just got it going, basically. Just felt like I could attack every flag and make all the putts. And I did.
The weather was perfect, perfect temperature. It was just one of those nine holes. That's one of my favorite nine holes to play anyway on the TOUR. So I don't know why, I just, I love playing that nine.
And it was just a lot of kick-ins and couple lipouts and that was it. It was nice.
JOE CHEMYCZ: After turning at 28 you start thinking of numbers.
PAT PEREZ: I was thinking 58 for sure.
JOE CHEMYCZ: Really.
PAT PEREZ: One, two, four, five, today, it could have been, six, seven, eight, and then nine's kind of questionable, but I think I made three pars, but, yeah, it was there. I can't believe it, it's the second year now I've been right there and I haven't been able to do it.

Q. It was 2006 you shot 60 over at Bermuda Dunes.
PAT PEREZ: It was here.

Q. If I remember correctly you were like 10-under through 11 holes.
PAT PEREZ: Yeah, I shot 61 there and exactly, same deal. I haven't been able to get it done.

Q. And yet only three guys have ever been able to get it done in the history of the TOUR and you've been looking at it twice. Is that a function of these golf course, the way that you prepare early in the year?
PAT PEREZ: No, I did prepare. I played a lot this winter. I probably missed about a week's worth of golf all winter. So I did. I was playing all day, every day, I was out here at the Madison Club and down at Eldorado for awhile and I played a lot. But I don't know what it is. I just, that course fits my eye for some reason. I can play that course.

Q. Didn't you say out there that you started playing like in '93 in the member/guest or something? Did you guys win the member/guest?
PAT PEREZ: Yeah. Yeah.

Q. Somebody you knew here who was the member here?
PAT PEREZ: Just a member. A member here.

Q. 61, and yet you have a one shot lead. It's nice to shoot 61 any time, obviously, but in the Hope, can you even get excited about that?
PAT PEREZ: No. Because the number is 30-under. 30 plus. That's the number. So you don't try to get there fast, you try to get there over five days. So if you have a bad stretch of holes, you're going to have a stretch somewhere where things kind of go south in 90 holes, so you got to kind of weather that storm.
But to win this tournament you got to shoot, I think the weather's going to be perfect all week, so we're not going to get any wind, so I mean it's going to be 30, 30 plus to win. So, yeah, it's nice, it's a good round, the conditions are perfect, that's all. There's no wind, the greens are running 10, and the fairways are perfect, and you got some short holes. There's going to be a lot of low scores with that. So 61's nice, but I'm not surprised that there's that many low scores at all.

Q. What were the best shots you hit out there today and what were some of the ones that got away?
PAT PEREZ: Well the back side, they were all pretty good. I had lipout for an ace on 14.
I hit it to about three inches on 16.
I hit it eight feet on 18.
I hit it about 10 inches on 8.
I hit it -- I had like four kick-ins, where it was literally within a foot. So those are nice.
The only one I made a mess of was 7. I bogeyed 3. That was pretty bad. But what are you going to do?

Q. Did you think that the par-3 literally lipped out? Did you see it?
PAT PEREZ: Yes. Yes. Yeah. It bounced and then it lipped out and it was like that (Indicating).

Q. Is it safe to say that you and a few others won't miss duelling the winds at The Classic Club twice?
PAT PEREZ: That's why I haven't been back in a while. I shot 60 that year and I had the first tee time the next morning, and it was blowing a hundred. I mean, it was literally it was blowing a hundred down there.
I said, you know, how the hell can you put a golf course where a thousand windmills over here are? I hit the first ball in the water and I literally almost got in the car and drove home. I said, you know, I just -- something about it doesn't fit my eye.
I think that this, the Hope tournament needs to end here on Sunday. I think this place is phenomenal. I think it's just, it's closer, I think the rotation here is awesome. It's such a good tournament as it is anyway, but I think that this is a great rotation and I'm just happy to be back.

Q. Wasn't Sunday as bad that year?
PAT PEREZ: Oh, I didn't even try. I didn't even try. I was actually going to try and be the first guy ever in a tournament to shoot 60, 70, and 80. I had a chance, I told my caddie, I said, should I hit it in the water, do you think, and make the six and shoot 80, so I have something that no one has ever done? 60, 70, and 80 right on the button? You know, and I actually hit a good shot finally middle of the green and made birdie and shot 78. Jeff would have been mad at me, but I didn't care any more, I just wanted to get out of there.

Q. Speaking of the rotation when you go to Nicklaus Private tomorrow, the new course in the tournament, replacing The Classic Club, have you had much time over there and if you have, what do you think about it?
PAT PEREZ: I played there twice, I think it's awesome. I love the layout of the course. I think the different colors, the way it's edged out, I think it's awesome. You can make a lot of birdies. I think it's -- you know, I like it. I love this Palm Desert area out here. So any of these courses out here will be great.

Q. I think you were first all around statistically last year and if so what does that mean to you?
PAT PEREZ: Not much. Because I didn't win a tournament. I was first, but I'm still, somehow I dropped to 80th in the world and I haven't won a tournament and I'm 43rd on the Money List. So I don't know what any of these stats mean as far as that.
Money List, World Ranking, those are things that matter to me. All around ranking? I was 1, Anthony Kim was 2. Anthony made four and a half million dollars and two wins. I got no wins and finished 43rd. So I don't know how I could even be all around ranked better than him, so, you know.

Q. Have you got the R 9 hat on. Have you got it in the bag already?
PAT PEREZ: I'm not just saying this because I play it, but I'm telling you it's the best driver I've ever hit. And I've tried a lot. It is, it's got the screw in at the bottom, you screw the shaft in deal. I got it on, I got it on Monday, I told the guy I had to try this thing. And it looks like the old 510 head which was my favorite before that. And then I got moved into the, you keep moving on with all the stuff. And, but I'm telling you, this is the best driver. I was playing the Limited before, and this is unbelievable to start with. It's unbelievable.

Q. Can you talk about getting a lot of work in in your off season? What was your confidence level coming in to the year about how you felt and physically, mentally, all that?
PAT PEREZ: Everything was great. I played every day. So I'm not surprised with today's score at all. I've been playing at the Madison for basically all winter, working with Mike, my coach. I was hitting it great for two months. And I feel like I can hit the shot when I need to. And that's what you want to do.
JOE CHEMYCZ: All right, Pat, thank you.
PAT PEREZ: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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